Sitting in the Sun. Like most researchers, Barille, a University of Wyoming PhD student, started his project with a question: Why were boreal toad populations in the western portion of Wyoming persisting with chytrid but populations of the same species were crashing in other areas?

Likely causes include an alien amphibian disease called chytrid fungus, development, urban runoff, water loss from diversions, drought and fire from climate change, past predation by humans and current predation by non-native fauna.

Now 99 percent of all exported bananas are Cavendish—with almost all of them grown in Latin America.“What we’re having is an almost apocalyptic scenario where we’ll probably lose Cavendish as well,” says Sarah Gurr, Exeter University’s chair in food security.

A Human-Spread Fungus Is Killing Amphibians, and More News. Amphibians may have survived the extinction of the dinosaurs, and all kinds of other catastrophes, but a fungi that humans helped spread is doing damage.