Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is the deadliest wildlife pathogen ever recorded, contributing to the decline of over 500 and the extinction of at least 90 species. Earlier this year, Anthony Waddle and his colleagues published a paper detailing how his inexpensive “frog saunas” allow frogs to clear infection in Australia. This also provided frogs with resistance to future infections. I’m interested in adapting these shelters to in the cloud forest of Cusuco National Park, Honduras (CNP) with 2 species in the Plectrohyla genus.

By supporting the efficacy of frog saunas in a cloud forest, they could be implemented in other cloud forests, which represent one of the most important yet threatened ecosystem types for endangered amphibians. If successful, I plan to train and employ local people to build and deploy saunas around the park, providing socio-economic benefits to conservation rather than illegal logging.