Pictured: Molly Bletz and Doug Woodhams smiling with a frog
Nature Ecology and Evolution published a new collaborative study with UMass Boston researchers Jordan Kueneman, Molly Bletz, Rob Stevenson, and Doug Woodhams. The study found that bioclimatic factors were important in shaping the skin microbiome of amphibians at a global scale. Samples from over 2,300 amphibians of 205 species were included in the study.
Kueneman JG, Bletz MC, McKenzie VJ, Becker CG, Joseph MB, Abarca JG, Archer H, Arellano AL, Bataille A, Becker M, Belden LK, Crottini A, Geffers R, Haddad CFB, Harris RN, Holden WM, Hughey M, Jarek M, Kearns PJ, Kerby JL, Kielgast J, Kurabayashi A, Longo AV, Loudon A, Medina D, Nuñez JJ, Perl RGB, Pinto-Tomás A, Rabemananjara FCE, Rebollar EA, Rodríguez A, Rollins-Smith L, Stevenson R, Tebbe CC, Vargas Asensio G, Waldman B, Walke JB, Whitfield SM, Zamudio KR, Zúñiga Chaves I, Woodhams DC, Vences M. (2019) Community richness of amphibian skin bacteria correlates with bioclimate at the global scale. Nat Ecol Evol. 2019 Mar;3(3):381-389.