Connecting habitats, boosting disease resistance: Spatial connectivity enhances amphibian microbiome defenses against fungal pathogen
(Bd), sustained host exposure in contiguous terrestrial-aquatic habitats may promote selection of microbiomes with enhanced antifungal properties. In contrast, under conditions of high habitat split, where key habitats such as forests and water bodies are spatially disconnected, limited exposure to Bd during the pre-tbreeding and overwintering seasons may hinder the selection of Bd-inhibitory microbiomes that are critical for host protection during the subsequent breeding season, when pathogen exposure in water bodies is at its peak. Our results demonstrate that habitat split may limit recruitment of putative Bd-inhibitory skin bacteria, while Bd loads increase with habitat split for certain amphibian species. Results from Joint Species Distribution Models also indicate that habitat split is a key driver of reduced skin bacterial diversity, even after accounting for biotic and abiotic metrics. Our study provides evidence that spatial connectivity among natural habitats is essential for maintaining multiple levels of biodiversity, from host species to their associated functional microbiomes, highlighting a critical link between environmental disturbance, microbial defenses, and disease dynamics.
Authors
- Sasha E. Greenspan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8883-2968)
- Renato A. Martins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8733-290X)
- Douglas C. Woodhams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4559-1046)
- Molly C. Bletz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4120-9356)
- C. Guilherme Becker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5122-8238)
- Paula Ribeiro Prist (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2809-0434)
- Shannon Buttimer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4128-5482)
- Laura Kauer Schuck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6532-4792)
- Wesley J. Neely (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4563-5248)
- Patrick J. Kearns (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8112-9927)
- Daniel Medina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5217-6353)
- Mariana L. Lyra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7863-4965)
- Célio F. B. Haddad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7044-5764)
- Vinícius A. São-Pedro
Institutions
- Kennedy Krieger Institute (US)
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (US)
- Texas State University (US)
- Universidade Federal de São Carlos (BR)
- University of Massachusetts Boston (US)
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (United States) (US)
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (Guinea-Bissau) (GW)
- EcoHealth Alliance (US)
- New York University (US)
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) (BR)
- School for Field Studies (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2026-04-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2520745123
- Primary Topic
- Amphibian and Reptile Biology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo