Characterizing species roles in wildlife communities is challenging because most disease emergence events are unpredictable. Compounding the challenge are naive multi-host communities which include species that may differentially maintain, transmit and amplify novel pathogens. Longo, Lips, and Zamudio (2023) used field-collected data from amphibians in the cloud forest of El Cope, Panama, to investigate how species-specific attributes influenced the degree of exposure, probability of infection, and pathogen intensity, during the emergence of the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). The ecological species traits identified in other Bd studies positively associated with infection prevalence and intensity at the species level during the outbreak. They identified hosts that disproportionately contributed to transmission dynamics and found a signature of phylogenetic history in disease responses. This study establishes a framework that could be applied in conservation efforts to identify key species driving disease dynamics under enzootics before reintroducing amphibians back into their original communities. Reintroductions of supersensitive hosts that are unable to overcome infections will limit the success of conservation programs by amplifying the disease at the community level.

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