Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, also called the amphibian chytrid fungus, is responsible for the decline or extinction of hundreds of amphibian species around the world. Chytrid infects permeable amphibian skin, disrupting the essential flow of water and electrolytes and often leading to death.

 

In a bid to save diseased amphibians, biologists from the Forest Service, universities, and private timber companies are collaborating to treat wild frogs with antifungal medications. In northern California, hundreds of thumbnail-sized Cascades frogs are bathed every day for a week in an antifungal slurry. These treatments will give the young frogs time to outgrow their sensitivity to the fungus and improve their chances of reaching adulthood. Recent research suggests that these treatments can reverse population declines for imperiled amphibians.