Local Research In Boston
During the past 3 years at Boston University, Ivan Gomez-Mestre, Karen Warkentin, and I have been conducting research on the interactions between embryos of three species of amphibians, 1) Rana sylvatica, 2) Bufo americanus, and 3) Ambystoma maculatum, and water mold (Family: Saprolegniaceae) that kills them.
Water mold can infect Rana and Bufo embryos, whereas the thick jelly surrounding Ambystoma eggs protects them. Rana eggs are rarely infected in the wild, as they breed when ponds are very cold and water mold growth is inhibited. Bufo eggs are commonly infected in the wild. Both species are able to hatch precociously and escape death. Bufo eggs hatch the earliest, up to 44% early. Bufo eggs also hatch early in response to conspecific and heterospecific predation. Rana eggs only hatch early in response to water mold infection (up to 19%). For more specific information, go to Ivan Gomez-Mestre's webpage.