Juvenile agile frogs spatially avoid ranavirus-infected conspecifics

Area of Science:

• Amphibian disease ecology
• Animal behavior
• Infectious disease dynamics

Background:

• Contagious pathogens can induce behavioral changes influencing disease spread.
• Amphibians face global threats from infectious diseases, with limited understanding of their behavioral responses.
• Behavioral alterations in healthy and infected individuals can impact disease transmission.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate behavioral changes in agile frog (Rana dalmatina) juveniles upon exposure to Ranavirus (Rv).
• To determine if frogs exhibit social distancing or self-isolation when exposed to infected conspecifics.
• To assess the potential role of behavioral responses in mitigating amphibian disease spread.

Main Methods:

• Utilized classic choice tests to observe behavioral responses of juvenile agile frogs.
• Exposed focal individuals (both healthy and Rv-infected) to infected conspecifics.
• Quantified spatial avoidance, generalized social distancing, and self-isolation behaviors.

Main Results:

• Both non-infected and Rv-infected frogs spatially avoided infected conspecifics.
• No evidence of generalized social distancing or self-isolation was observed in infected frogs.
• Infection status did not significantly alter the time spent near conspecifics, suggesting limited pathogen manipulation.

Conclusions:

• Spatial avoidance of infected individuals may reduce Ranavirus transmission among agile frogs.
• The lack of self-isolation by infected frogs could potentially facilitate disease spread.
• Further research is crucial to understand amphibian behavioral responses and their impact on disease dynamics in natural populations.