Ever go walking in the woods and feel something sticky on the bottom of your shoe? Be it mud, soil, or just water, you may be transporting all sorts of microscopic organisms that are best left behind.

The pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) is one of those microorganisms to leave behind. Bsal is causing die-offs in European salamanders, and there is concern that it may invade North America. The fungus is closely related to B. dendrobatidis (Bd), which has caused amphibian population declines for more than 20 years in many parts of the world.

“Amphibians are an important part of our ecosystems. They are central cogs in food webs as key predators and prey, eating smaller animals and being eaten in turn, moving energy between trophic levels as well as between aquatic and land habitats,” said Dede Olson, a scientist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station.

A recent journal article, Enhanced between-site biosecurity to minimize herpetofaunal disease-causing pathogen transmission, featuring Olson, discusses biosecurity measures to forestall the human spread of diseases to amphibians and reptiles. Identifying areas on the landscape that may benefit from enhanced biosecurity measures can help stop the spread of infectious diseases such as Bsal and Bd, thus protecting amphibians and retaining the integrity of food webs.

By the time scientists discovered the first outbreak of Bsal in Europe, the pathogen had already begun reducing populations of fire salamanders there. Today, standard biosecurity measures are quickly becoming standard operating procedures on Forest Service lands in areas of concern.

Standard biosecurity measures include cleaning off your boots and vehicle tires when you’re done visiting a site. Enhanced measures can include wearing special clothing, the use of disinfectants and planning the order of the sites visited. If doing field work, or recreating in an area, which involves contact with mud or water, consider adopting basic field biosecurity recommendations outlined in the article.

Contexts that warrant consideration for enhanced biosecurity practices include:

• Working at known areas with disease (don’t export it). 
• Working in disease-free areas with sensitive populations of amphibians (don’t import it).
• Rare species refugia (don’t import disease). 
• Protected areas for natural resources including native biodiversity (don’t import disease).

Other measures that reduce disease transmission:

• Don’t turn pets loose. 
• Don’t take wild animals home. 
• Don’t move wild animals or components (rock, plants) from their habitat.

Interested in learning more about amphibians? Amphibian Week 2021 will be celebrated May 2-8. To learn more please visit our partners at Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.