By Rebecca Morelle
BBC News science reporter
An invasive frog species may be implicated in the spread of a fungus linked to global amphibian decline, research indicates.
Scientists writing in the journal
Biology Letters found that non-native North American bullfrog populations routinely carry the chytrid fungus.
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The scientists suggest the bullfrog may act as a vector because it can carry the fungus without developing disease.
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The bullfrog was initially introduced to countries around the world to be farmed for frog-legs, and was later imported as a pet or to decorate garden ponds. But it has since proven a scourge to many native frog species, either by competing with or even preying on them.
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Amphibians around the globe are in dramatic decline. The Red List of Threatened Species and the Global Amphibian Assessment put about one third of all amphibian species at high risk of extinction.
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more:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5008940.stm