Background Mosquitoes are the deadliest organisms in the world, killing an estimated 750,000 people per year due to the pathogens they can transmit. Mosquitoes also pose a major threat to other vertebrate animals. Culex territans is a mosquito species found in temperate zones worldwide that feeds almost exclusively on amphibians and can transmit parasites; however, little is known about its ability to...

Global amphibian populations are declining rapidly, due largely to infectious diseases such as chytridiomycosis caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). The Herpetolo18gy Department at the Sam Noble Museum has screened for Bd prevalence among amphibian communities across Oklahoma for over five years, providing ongoing data about the disease’s prevalence and distribution. Recently, the museum partnered with other Oklahomans through a...

Have you ever wanted to be a scientist? Or help a scientist make new discoveries? Join the Herpetology Department of the Sam Noble Museum in a brand-new citizen science project, where YOU become the scientist collecting real-world data! What is Citizen Science? Citizen Science is an up and coming method of gathering scientific data collection by members of the general public, rather than traditional...

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and ranavirus (RV) are pathogens contributing to the global decline of amphibian populations. Both pathogens can be spread through direct contact between amphibians, through water carrying the infection, the accidental movement of disease particles between waterbodies by cattle, boats, or aquatic recreational equipment, or the intentional movement of infected amphibians used as fishing bait. Amphibians can also experience indirect...

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Chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (chytrid or Bd), has not been well studied in Oklahoma. This is of particular concern regarding the connection between seasonality and chytrid infection. To further investigate this connection, chytrid prevalence and infection load were quantified within amphibians in central Oklahoma from March to October, across two sites in Oklahoma Co. and two...

Several infectious diseases are threatening amphibian species worldwide and have resulted in mass- mortality events across the globe. An emerging group of viral pathogens (ranaviruses) are documented to cause die-offs in amphibian populations worldwide, including in several regions of the U.S. Unfortunately, large gaps remain in our understanding of the distribution of this systemic pathogen in the U.S., including within the state...

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Global amphibian decline continues to be a great concern despite our increased understanding of the causes behind the observed patterns of the decline, such as habitat modification and infectious diseases. Although there is a large body of literature on the topic of amphibian infectious diseases, pathogen prevalence and distribution among entire communities of species in many regions remain poorly understood. In addition...

The Sam Noble Museum Herpetology Department was recently funded by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) and Oklahoma City Zoo Conservation Action Now (CAN) to conduct Oklahoma statewide surveys to test for the presence and prevalence of the amphibian infectious disease Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (also know as Bd or chytrid) over a three year period (2015-2017). Members of the Siler Lab spend August–October of each year extracting DNA from swabs...

The Herpetology Department of the Sam Noble Museum was funded through grants from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) and Oklahoma City Zoo Conservation Action Now (CAN) to determine the presence and prevalence of the amphibian infectious disease Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (also know as Bd or chytrid) in Oklahoma. This project will be ongoing for three years and covers field research in multiple areas of the...