How chytridiomycosis has devastated global amphibian populations and what conservation and welfare responses are being developed.
Chytridiomycosis represents one of the most catastrophic infectious disease events ever recorded in vertebrates, and the welfare dimension of this crisis is enormous. Dying frogs experience the progressive failure of their most critical organ system — their skin — as the fungus prevents essential water and gas exchange. The scale of suffering is almost impossible to comprehend given the millions of amphibians affected globally. Conservation responses must include both population-level interventions and attention to the welfare of individual animals in captive assurance colonies, where disease management, appropriate environments, and species-specific care all matter for both survival and wellbeing.