Tiny ‘Frog Saunas’ Help Endangered Amphibians Fight off Fungal Disease

July 11, 2024 journo

The bell frogs in their sauna – credit, Anthony Waddle

In humans, sauna use is so beneficial that some medical researchers are attempting to add it to the standard of care for those at high risk of heart disease.

Well, researchers in Australia have found that this same leisure activity can save certain species of frogs from the ongoing fungal pandemic called chytrid.

GNN has already reported on chytrid and the ways in which it can be combated. Documented as having infected 500 species of frog or more, it’s a massive threat to the amphibiome.

Anthony Waddle at Macquarie University in Australia built a series of “frog saunas” to see if they could help golden bell frogs and green bell frogs native to Australia recover from chytrid. The fungal pathogen thrives in cooler tropical temperatures, and is unviable above 84°F (29°C).

Consisting of unshaded black brick structures with narrow holes inside an artificial greenhouse habitat with water and plants, the frogs quickly made themselves right at home inside the saunas.

Four healthy frogs were used as control for a study group of eight frogs, half of whom were infected with chytrid. Some of the habitats were shaded, and others were left uncovered to test a range of temperatures. Infected frogs who frequented the unshaded structure, where temperatures could climb as high as 97 to 100°F, had milder infections, but access to any sauna helped the frogs fight off the disease.

Once they recovered via the saunas, the bell frogs were 23 times less likely to die in the case of a repeat infection with chytrid.

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Bell frogs “used to live in people’s toilets and letterboxes and everywhere before chytrid,” Waddle told Science News. “Setting up these habitats where they still persist might give them enough of a boost that you could see a population increase.”

Building these simple structures in a garden could help frogs not only survive chytrid outbreaks, but also help the local population to develop resistance.

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Not all frog species enjoy a nice roasting, however, so the saunas are limited in their scope to warm-weather species. For those who enjoy cooler temps, another solution needs to be found.

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