Action

Remove the chytrid fungus from ponds

How is the evidence assessed?
  • Effectiveness
    25%
  • Certainty
    25%
  • Harms
    0%

Study locations

Key messages

  • One before-and-after study in Mallorca found that pond drying and fungicidal treatment of resident midwife toads reduced levels of infection but did not eradicate chytridiomycosis.

 

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

  1. A before-and-after study in 2009–2010 of a pond in Mallorca (Lubick 2010) found that drying out the pond and treating resident Mallorcan midwife toads Alytes muletensis with a fungicide reduced the prevalence but did not eradicate chytridiomycosis. All samples from tadpoles came back positive for the chytrid fungus the spring after pond drying and treatment. However, the number of spores detected on each swab was lower than the previous year, suggesting a lower level of infection. Healthy-looking toads were seen breeding in the pond following pond drying and treatment. Over 2,000 toad tadpoles were removed from the pond in March–August 2009. The pond was emptied and left to dry over the summer. Tadpoles were taken to a laboratory and given daily five minute baths in the fungicide itraconazole for one week. They were held in captivity for up to seven months. Once the pond refilled in autumn, tadpoles were released. The following spring tadpoles were swabbed to test for chytridiomycosis.

    Study and other actions tested
Please cite as:

Smith, R.K., Meredith, H. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Amphibian Conservation. Pages 9-64 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

Amphibian Conservation

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Amphibian Conservation
What Works 2021 cover

What Works in Conservation

What Works in Conservation provides expert assessments of the effectiveness of actions, based on summarised evidence, in synopses. Subjects covered so far include amphibians, birds, mammals, forests, peatland and control of freshwater invasive species. More are in progress.

More about What Works in Conservation

Download free PDF or purchase
The Conservation Evidence Journal

The Conservation Evidence Journal

An online, free to publish in, open-access journal publishing results from research and projects that test the effectiveness of conservation actions.

Read the latest volume: Volume 21

Go to the CE Journal

Discover more on our blog

Our blog contains the latest news and updates from the Conservation Evidence team, the Conservation Evidence Journal, and our global partners in evidence-based conservation.


Who uses Conservation Evidence?

Meet some of the evidence champions

Endangered Landscape ProgrammeRed List Champion - Arc Kent Wildlife Trust The Rufford Foundation Save the Frogs - Ghana Mauritian Wildlife Supporting Conservation Leaders
Sustainability Dashboard National Biodiversity Network Frog Life The international journey of Conservation - Oryx Cool Farm Alliance UNEP AWFA Bat Conservation InternationalPeople trust for endangered species Vincet Wildlife Trust