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able for such routine testing. Sampling a subset of the animals ischeaper, but as in the case of the cricket frogs from Michigan, itcan lead to oversight.LITERATURE CITEDANNIS, S. L., F. DASTOOR, H. ZIEL, P. DASZAK, AND J. E. LONGCORE. 2004. ADNA-based assay identifies Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in amphibians.J. Wildl. Dis. 40:420–428.NICHOLS, D., AND E. W. LAMIRANDE. 2000. Treatment of cutaneouschytridiomycosis in blue-and-yellow poison dart frogs (Dendrobatestinctorius). In More and Speare [eds.], Proceedings: Getting the Jumpon Amphibian Disease, p. 51. Rainforest CRC, Cairns, Australia.OUELLET, M., I. MIKAELIAN, B. D. PAULI, J. RODRIGUE, AND D. M. GREEN.2005. Historical evidence of widespread chytrid infection in NorthAmerican amphibian populations. Conserv. Biol.19:1431–1440.PESSIER, A. P., D. K. NICHOLS, J. E. LONGCORE, AND M. S. FULLER. 1999.Cutaneous chytridiomycosis in poison dart frogs (Dendrobates spp.)and White’s tree frogs (Litoria caerulea). J. Vet. Diag. Invest. 11:194–199.RICKARD, A., E. SONNTAG, AND K. ZIPPEL. 2004. Amphibian conservationstrategies: Translocating an entire population of Blanchard’s cricketfrog (Acris crepitans blanchardi) in southeast Michigan. The EndangeredSpecies UPDATE 21:128–131.Herpetological Review, 2008, 39(2), 193–196© 2008 by Society for the Study of Amphibians and ReptilesOccurrence of the Amphibian PathogenBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Blanchard’sCricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi) in theU.S. Midwestand Skinner 2006; Mierzwa 1998; Mossman et al. 1998). A numberof hypotheses have been proposed to account for the asymmetricdecline of Blanchard’s Cricket Frog including: habitat lossand fragmentation, drought and climate change, contaminants,competition and/or predation by fish or other amphibians, andchanges in local and regional successional patterns (Beasley et al.2005; Gray and Brown 2005; Hammerson and Livo 1999; Hay1998; Irwin 2005; Jung 1993; Lannoo 1998; Lehtinen 2002;Lehtinen and Skinner 2006; Reeder et al. 2005; Russell et al. 2002).The potential involvement of B. dendrobatidis in the decline ofthis species is clearly another hypothesis in need of investigation.Here we report on tests for the presence of B. dendrobatidis inBlanchard’s Cricket Frog.Methods.—Skin swabs or tissue samples from 205 Blanchard’sCricket Frogs were collected from 21 haphazardly chosen pondsin six states in the midwestern United States (Fig. 1). Most samples(N = 197) were collected between June and October of 2006 fromlive frogs in the field. A small number of samples (N = 8) camefrom venter skin sections of alcohol-preserved museum specimenscollected in April 2002 and June 2003. Most samples were fromjuveniles or adults but a small number of larvae were also sampled.Skin swabs were obtained by running a sterile cotton swab alongthe skin of the captured frog for approximately 30 seconds, focusingon the hands, feet and pelvic region. For larvae, swabbing wasconcentrated around the oral apparatus. Tissue samples were eithertoe clips or skin sections. Toe clips were removed from livefrogs using sharp, sterilized scissors. Both skin swabs and tissuesamples were preserved in 70% ethanol in 2.0 ml screw-cappedmicrocentrifuge tubes. In a few cases, voucher specimens wereretained for reference purposes (deposited at the Illinois NaturalHistory Survey and the James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History),otherwise frogs were released at the site of capture. AllSHELDON L. STEINERandRICHARD M. LEHTINEN*The College of Wooster, Department of Biology931 College Mall, Wooster, Ohio, 44691 USAcorresponding author e-mail: rlehtinen@wooster.eduBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a chytrid fungal pathogenof amphibians that has been implicated in a number of amphibiandeclines (Berger et al. 1998; Lips et al. 2006). However, despitethe importance of B. dendrobatidis as a potential causative agentof population declines and biodiversity loss in amphibians, manyquestions remain regarding this pathogen and its impact. Mostimportantly, we still have relatively few data on which species areinfected by B. dendrobatidis, if infection is commonly associatedwith declines, and the geographic scope of its occurrence. Even inNorth America, where the amphibian fauna is relatively wellknown,only a small number of studies have examined infectionand distribution patterns of B. dendrobatidis.Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi) is a smallNorth American hylid that was formerly one of the most commonfrogs in North America (Gray et al. 2005). Recently, serious declineshave been reported in Blanchard’s Cricket Frog populationsthroughout much of the midwestern United States, particularlythe northern and western parts of its range (Brodman and Kilmurry1998; Hay 1998; Lannoo et al. 1994; Lehtinen 2002; LehtinenFIG. 1. Geographic distribution of sites where Blanchard’s Cricket Frogswere sampled in the U.S. Midwest. Filled dots indicate sites where B.dendrobatidis was detected with the PCR assay. U.S. States: IL = Illiniois;IN = Indiana; IA = Iowa; KS = Kansas; MI = Michigan; MO = Missouri;OH = Ohio; OK = Oklahoma.Herpetological Review 39(2), 2008 193