On the Cover

November/December 2006

The mysterious aquatic fungus B. dendrobatidis is known as the "frog chytrid" because it inhabits the skin of amphibians and has been implicated in population declines worldwide. University of Maine mycologist Joyce Longcore has been studying chytrid fungi for decades. Indeed, she was one of the first to identify the frog chytrid after veterinary pathologists found that it was responsible for killing frogs in captivity and in the wild. Today in her laboratory, she maintains what is probably the most comprehensive collection of chytrid fungi in the world, including strains of the frog chytrid. She shares her cultures with scientists who are racing to find out how the frog fungus kills and spreads among populations.