Modeling the Distribution of the Chytrid Fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis with Special Reference to Ukraine.

Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates. While habitat loss poses the greatest threat to amphibians, a spreading fungal disease caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Longcore, Pessier & D.K. Nichols 1999 (Bd) is seriously affecting an increasing number of species. Although Bd is widely prevalent, there are identifiable heterogeneities in the pathogen's distribution that are linked to environmental parameters. Our objective was to identify conditions that affect the geographic distribution of this pathogen using species distribution models (SDMs) with a special focus on Eastern Europe. SDMs can help identify hotspots for future outbreaks of Bd but perhaps more importantly identify locations that may be environmental refuges ("coldspots") from infection. In general, climate is considered a major factor driving amphibian disease dynamics, but temperature in particular has received increased attention. Here, 42 environmental raster layers containing data on climate, soil, and human impact were used. The mean annual temperature range (or 'continentality') was found to have the strongest constraint on the geographic distribution of this pathogen. The modeling allowed to distinguish presumable locations that may be environmental refuges from infection and set up a framework to guide future search (sampling) of chytridiomycosis in Eastern Europe.

Survey for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in Latvian Water Frogs.

We used quantitative PCR to detect Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) in 135 samples of Pelophylax esculentus complex water frogs from 41 Latvian populations. We detected Bd in 18 populations of water frogs. None of the samples was positive for Bsal.

Comparing saccadic and manual responses in the attention network test.

Attention is proposed to be a system of multiple functional networks, including alertness, orienting and executive control. A popular experimental paradigm for testing these networks and their interactions within a single design is the Attentional Networks Test (ANT) (Fan et al., 2002). The role of the oculomotor system in these various networks, however, has not been tested despite the strong link between attention and eye movements. We modified the executive control component of the manual response ANT version (ANTm) that allows testing the networks' involvement with oculomotor responses. Specifically, we used a central target to signal pro or anti-saccades that allows us to match the saccadic response compatibility of the original ANTm. We conducted three experiments to compare interactions of the networks between the traditional ANTm that used a flanker task response, our new ANTs with saccadic responses signalled with a fixation arrow, and a manual response version with the response arrow at fixation (ANTf). Results for all three experiments showed typical main effects of all three attention networks, but we observed differences in their interactions. The ANTm showed only an interaction of alerting enhancing the orienting; ANTs showed a congruency by orienting interaction with the orienting effect only observed for pro-saccades. The ANTf showed both alerting by orienting, and orienting by congruency. Although the saccadic response did differ from the original ANTm, key differences were also highlighted by the switch from peripheral to central target. Overall the proposed ANTf is a valid tool to test main effects of attentional networks. Further investigation of interaction differences between manual and oculomotor systems is required.