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Geographic occurrence and taxonomic distribution of snake fungal disease
  • Jacob Adam,
  • Timothy Colston
Jacob Adam
University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez
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Timothy Colston
University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez

Corresponding Author:tim@maddreptiles.com

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Abstract

Reptiles are the largest clade of terrestrial vertebrates, yet the microbiome of reptiles is one of the least studied of any vertebrate group, despite the known presence of various pathogens impacting multiple species declines across the globe. One of these pathogens is the dermatophyte fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causal agent of Snake Fungal Disease (SFD). SFD has been linked to population declines in multiple snake species, including the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) and the Common Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon) in North America and the Grass Snake (Natrix natrix) and the Little Filesnake (Acrochordus granulatus) in Europe and Asia. However, the full phylogenetic and geographic extent of snake species impacted by SFD has not been formally quantified. Here we perform a systematic literature review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses in Ecology and Evolution (PRISMA-EcoEvo) guidelines and quantitatively compile snake species being infected by SFD, their taxonomic distribution, if infected snakes were wild or captive and the known geographic distribution of SFD cases. We show that while the most studied cases of SFD are found within wild populations of Viperidae, and that Colubridae is the family of snakes with the most prevalence of SFD infections. Additionally, we show a geographic bias in SFD studies, with 85% of the known cases being found in the United States. This study will inform future research regarding emergent disease, One Health principles, and host-microbiome interactions and spans fields from ecology and evolutionary biology to conservation.
05 Dec 2024Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
06 Dec 2024Submission Checks Completed
06 Dec 2024Assigned to Editor
10 Dec 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
01 Jan 2025Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending