Cutaneous Bacteria of the Redback Salamander Prevent Morbidity Associated with a Lethal Disease

Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is an infectious disease that causes population declines of many amphibians. Cutaneous bacteria isolated from redback salamanders, Plethodon cinereus, and mountain yellow-legged frogs, Rana muscosa, inhibit the growth of Bd in vitro. In this study, the bacterial community present on the skin of P. cinereus individuals was investigated to determine if it provides protection to salamanders from the lethal and sub-lethal effects of chytridiomycosis. When the cutaneous bacterial community was reduced prior to Bd exposure, salamanders experienced a significantly greater decrease in body mass, which is a symptom of the disease, when compared to infected individuals with a normal bacterial community. In addition, a greater proportion of infected individuals with a reduced bacterial community experienced limb-lifting, a behavior seen only in infected individuals. Overall, these results demonstrate that the cutaneous bacterial community of P. cinereus provides protection to the salamander from Bd and that alteration of this community can change disease resistance. Therefore, symbiotic microbes associated with this species appear to be an important component of its innate skin defenses

Nothing a Hot Bath Won't Cure: Infection Rates of Amphibian Chytrid Fungus Correlate Negatively with Water Temperature under Natural Field Settings

Dramatic declines and extinctions of amphibian populations throughout the world have been associated with chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease caused by the pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Previous studies indicated that Bd prevalence correlates with cooler temperatures in the field, and laboratory experiments have demonstrated that Bd ceases growth at temperatures above 28°C. Here we investigate how small-scale variations in water temperature correlate with Bd prevalence in the wild. We sampled 221 amphibians, including 201 lowland leopard frogs (Rana [Lithobates] yavapaiensis), from 12 sites in Arizona, USA, and tested them for Bd. Amphibians were encountered in microhabitats that exhibited a wide range of water temperatures (10–50°C), including several geothermal water sources. There was a strong inverse correlation between the water temperature in which lowland leopard frogs were captured and Bd prevalence, even after taking into account the influence of year, season, and host size. In locations where Bd was known to be present, the prevalence of Bd infections dropped from 75–100% in water <15°C, to less than 10% in water >30°C. A strong inverse correlation between Bd infection status and water temperature was also observed within sites. Our findings suggest that microhabitats where water temperatures exceed 30°C provide lowland leopard frogs with significant protection from Bd, which could have important implications for disease dynamics, as well as management applications

Karl Weschke and the reframing of Cornish modernism

This thesis is the first in-depth scholarly study of Karl Weschke (1925-2005), and focuses on his life, work, and construction as an artist. Born in Germany, in 1945 Weschke arrived in Britain as a Prisoner of War, and then moved to Cornwall a decade later. He has become associated with the artistic formations of post-war West Cornwall, and regularly placed under the labels of ‘St Ives modernism’ and the ‘St Ives School’. My research examines these extant art historical genres, offering a recalibration. This recognises Weschke, and others, as part of a distinct yet marginalised grouping that art historians have thus far failed to recognise. This thesis, an investigation into how and why Weschke has been misaligned, undervalued, and often omitted, provides a significant contribution to knowledge for Cornish, British, German, and Anglo-German art histories. Doing so presents a challenge to the formations of art historical national canons. To thoroughly explore these points, I adopt an interdisciplinary theoretical approach, as follows: Chapter 1 explores Weschke through archival material and literature. I scrutinise archival frameworks and provide a comprehensive literature review. These interrelated strands are the foundation to my thesis. Chapter 2 centres on Weschke’s topography, considered through the ideas of heterotopia as geographical ‘othering’, and looks at time and memory via the lens of heterochrony. Chapter 3 interrogates the canonical art historical framings of St Ives and West Cornwall and examines their bearing on Weschke’s status. My recalibration addresses the marginalisation of Weschke and others and enables the proposal of a new genre that disrupts extant framings. Chapter 4 furthers the discussion of othering, exploring identity, abjection, and trauma. This centres on conceptions of animals and allegory in Weschke’s work, and ‘Germanness’ in terms of the ‘degenerate’. Chapter 5 brings key themes full circle, for example, othering, abjection, topography, and provides analysis of Weschke’s multi-layered engagement with ideas of the sublime. This thesis unearths Weschke and confirms his importance in a recalibrated Cornish modernism and beyond

Real Life Manifesto: Original vs. New

Contribution to Unlimited Imprint, a new PDF Publication Real Life Manifesto: Original vs. New Issue one - original Unlimited Imprint is a journal of visuality that sits within the shifting dissemination of images and ideas today. The works and letters in this PDF publication are designed to be printed at home and once printed are an original artwork within an unlimited edition. The journal is disseminated freely under copyleft. Meaning all material can be shared, gleamed, edited, hacked, quoted, and remixed, as long as these outcomes are shared in the same spirit of copyleft. Anyone who signs up to receive Unlimited Imprint can access, print and take ownership of the content, including editing and redistributing. The first edition of Unlimited Imprint is based around the theme original/the original

The distribution and host range of the pandemic disease chytridiomycosis in Australia, spanning surveys from 1956–2007

Chytridiomycosis is the worst disease to affect vertebrate biodiversity on record. In Australia, it is thought to have caused the extinction of four frog species, and it threatens the survival of at least 10 more. We report the current distribution and host range of this invasive disease in Australia, which is essential knowledge for conservation management. We envisage that the data be used in a global and national context for predictive modeling, meta-analyses, and risk assessment. Our continent-wide data set comprises 821 sites in Australia and includes 10 183 records from >80 contributors spanning collection dates from 1956 to 2007. Sick and dead frogs from the field and apparently healthy frogs from museum collections were tested opportunistically for the presence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the fungal pathogen causing chytridiomycosis, and apparently healthy frogs and tadpoles found during surveys were tested purposively. The diagnostic tests used were histology of skin samples and quantitative PCR of skin swabs. Chytridiomycosis was found in all Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory, but not in the Northern Territory. Currently it appears to be confined to the relatively cool and wet areas of Australia, such as along the Great Dividing Range and adjacent coastal areas in the eastern mainland states of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, eastern and central Tasmania, southern South Australia, and southwestern Western Australia. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis may have been introduced into Australia via the port of Brisbane around 1978 and spread northward and southward. It did not appear to arrive in Western Australia until 1985. The earliest records from South Australia and Tasmania are from 1995 and 2004, respectively, although archival studies from these states are lacking. We also report negative findings showing that the disease does not currently occur in some areas that appear to be environmentally suitable, including Cape York Peninsula in Queensland and most of the World Heritage Area in western Tasmania. Infection with B. dendrobatidis has been recorded from 63 frog species in Australia to date, all belonging to the Hylidae, Limnodynastidae, and Myobatrachidae, with the exception of one individual of a species from the Microhylidae and the introduced cane toad of the family Bufonidae