Even climate change — which is posing its own threats to many frog species — may be temporarily helping some frogs withstand the fungus. When Dr. Voyles rediscovered a few vanished frog species, she initially suspected that the Bd fungus was becoming less deadly. Dr. Voyles wondered if frogs had acquired more potent skin secretions, allowing them to rebound. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyTo determine how much good skin secretions do, Dr. Lips said, it would be necessary to infect frogs and see whether stronger skin secretions actually keep more frogs alive. It’s possible that the immune system of frogs will turn out to be a key to the rebound of some species, or their skin secretions — or both.

Source: New York Times March 29, 2018 18:00 UTC