Hall, E. M., Brunner, J. L., Hutzenbiler, B., & Crespi, E. J. (2020). Salinity stress increases the severity of ranavirus epidemics in amphibian populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 287(1926), 20200062.

The authors tested whether salinization of wetlands from salt runoff increases the frequency or severity of ranavirus epidemics in larval wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) populations. 

Larvae raised in elevated salinity had 10 times more intense infections and shed five times as much virus, illustrating how a small change in habitat quality leads to more lethal infections and potentially greater transmission efficiency, increasing the severity of ranavirus epidemics.

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The Wildlife Society also featured this research in a news story: De-icer may intensify tadpoles’ viral infections