New Paper! Limb Malformations Spike in Colorado Amphibians

The Johnson lab has recently released a new paper, “Outbreak of parasite-induced limb malformations in a declining amphibian species in Colorado” featured in the International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife. This paper details the discovery of severe malformations in Northern leopard frogs from a pond near Boulder, Colorado in 2022. Suspecting parasite infection, Dr. Johnson, his laboratory, and a group of biologists from City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks did comprehensive malformation surveys over the period of 3 months and collected 15 frogs to determine if they were infected by parasites! 

All 15 leopard frogs were infected by the trematode Ribeiroia ondatrae, a parasite that has been well-documented in Dr. Johnson’s other papers to cause malformations depending on the intensity of infection. In addition to R. ondatrae, the leopard frogs were also infected with five other trematodes! Dr. Johnson and his team will continue to monitor this pond over the next few years to track parasite infection. 

Read the full publication in the Journal of Parasitology here!