ORCID

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Amphibian populations are declining, and species are going extinct due to habitat loss, climate change, and emerging infectious disease, prompting the increasing use of translocations as a conservation tool. Skin-associated bacterial communities play a key role in amphibian health, particularly in protecting hosts from pathogenic infection. However, to date weknow relatively little about the impact of translocation on the dynamics of skin-associated bacteria, or the consequences oftranslocation-mediated disturbance of the microbiome for amphibian health. We investigated the skin microbiome of the critically endangered frog Craugastor ranoides, now restricted to a fraction of its historical range in Costa Rica. We first conducted a multi-population survey to characterise among-population variation in skin bacterial communities. We then translocated individuals to a new site, using radio tracking to monitor them over time and assess individual-level changes in body mass, microbiome composition, and predicted microbial function. We found limited among-population variation in skin microbiome composition across three different populations of C. ranoides. Response of the microbiome to translocation was highly individual-specific; some frogs demonstrated relatively stable community richness and composition, whilstothers exhibited marked turnover in bacterial membership and predicted function. Body mass showed similar dynamics, but several of the recaptured frogs had gained mass after several days in the translocation site. Our findings highlight the importance of considering microbiome dynamics in threatened species translocations to optimise individual health. This includes considering whether individuals should be prioritised for translocation based on their initial microbiome composition, and understanding how shifts in microbiome post-translocation may alter the overall success of translocation efforts. These insights extend beyond amphibians, offering a broader framework for integrating long-term monitoring of host microbiomesand health into conservation efforts.

Publication Date

2026-09-22

Publication Title

Animal Conservation

ISSN

1367-9430

Acceptance Date

2026-08-19

Deposit Date

2026-09-22

Funding

National Geographic Society. Grant Numbers: NGS-67216C-20, NGS-97833C-22 Leverhulme Trust. Grant Number: RPG-2020-320

Keywords

amphibian declines, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, conservation translocation, microbiota, kin bacterial community

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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