Puerto Rico lacks research related to pet traffic due to the limited resources and importance are given. Although the introduction and the sale of any amphibian are illegal in this island they are one of the most popular in recent years. The global trade in amphibians is widespread, involves hundreds of species, and have been implicated in amphibian population declines. Amphibian species around the world are in crisis, with nearly one-fourth at risk of extinction. Although the causes of these declines vary, their most recent declines have been attributed to a deadly pathogenic fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). This pathogen has been implicated in the decline of over 200 amphibian species worldwide. The global trade of amphibians for human consumption and as pets is suspected to have facilitated the emergence of Bd. The main objective of this study is to investigate the presence of Bd in the pet trade in Puerto Rico. I visited 43 pet stores around Puerto Rico, the government animal confinement center, online animal sales pages, attended to animals exposition, a research laboratory and joined 13 social media pages with the purpose of identifying amphibian sales and being able to sample animals. Bd was diagnosed via quantitative PCR.
Results/Conclusions
I managed to sample a total of 49 individuals of 7 families, 9 genera, and 11 species. From the total sample, 8% came from illegal confiscations, 27% from private collections, 25% from independent sellers, 16% from a research laboratory, and 25% from a pet shop. Among those tested, there were 6 Bd-positive individuals (14%) in 4 species. Despite the presence of Bd in these animals, all individuals appeared healthy and did not exhibit any of the symptoms associated with chytridiomycosis. The most sold amphibian genus in the pet trade in Puerto Rico are the Ceratophrys, followed by the Hymenochirus and it is believed that this is because of the low cost of specimens, adaptation to local temperatures and easy maintenance. If some of these specimens are released to the Puerto Rican ecosystem it is understood that they would be quite successful in adaptation and represent a major problem for local ecosystems (competition, predation, displacement, etc.). It is my intention to continue this research with the purpose of increasing the number of samples and study in more detail the pet trade in Puerto Rico.