Invited Talk ESA-SRB-ANZBMS 2024 in conjunction with ENSA

Under Pressure: How Environmental Stressors Impact Amphibian Reproductive Health (#220)

Rose Upton 1 , Anne IBBOTSON 1 2 , Kaya KLOP-TOKER 1 , Nadine NOLAN 1 , Ian GRAINGE 1 , John CLULOW 1 , Alex CALLEN 1 , Phil JOBLING 2
  1. School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AUS
  2. School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, AUS

 The climate crisis currently at play worldwide has led to a long list of stressors on biodiversity in a wide array of ecosystems. Our biodiverse environs are often sensitive to seemingly small changes, with many organisms being affected by disruptions to habitat and disease. Biobanks have the potential to advance and complement current conservation efforts, at a relatively low cost, by preserving the genetic diversity of species and allowing correction of genetic effects caused by decreasing population sizes. For example, by reintroducing sperm collected before a disturbance event, captive breeding programs can improve genetic diversity of captive and reintroduced wild populations. While these methods have been used successfully in some species, this approach is often overlooked and has experienced a slow uptake in conservation. Amphibians are currently experiencing alarming declines and provide a perfect case study for demonstrating the value of biobanking to conservation. However, there is a paucity of understanding of how genetic diversity, disease and immune health affect reproduction in amphibians. Here, we present our progress in applied efforts to understand variations in sperm quality from threatened frogs affected by poor genetic diversity, changing climate and the fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the most destructive pathogen known to biodiversity.