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Prevalence of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola and epizootiology of snake fungal disease in free-ranging Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) in New Jersey

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Abstract

Snake fungal disease, caused by Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, is recognized as a potential concern for North American snakes. We tested skin swabs from Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) in the New Jersey pinelands for the presence of O. ophidiicola before emergence from hibernation. We used qPCR to test the collected swabs for the presence of O. ophidiicola, then determined pathogen prevalence as a function of sampling year, sampling location (skin lesion, healthy ventral skin, healthy head skin) sex, and age. There were no temporal trends in O. ophidiicola detection percentages on snakes, which varied from 58 to 83% in different years. Ophidiomyces ophidiicola detection on snakes was highest in swabs of skin lesions (71%) and lowest in head swabs (29%). Males had higher prevalence than females (82% versus 62%). The fungus was not detected in hatchling snakes (age 0) in the fall, but 75% of juveniles tested positive at the end of hibernation (age 1 year). We also screened hibernacula soil samples for the presence of O. ophidiicola. Where snakes hibernated, 69% of soil samples were positive for O. ophidiicola, and 85% of snakes lying on positive soil samples also tested positive for the pathogen. Although a high proportion of snakes (73%) tested positive for O. ophidiicola during our 4-year study, the snakes appeared healthy except for small skin lesions. We conclude that O. ophidiicola prevalence is high on hibernating Northern Pine Snakes and in the hibernacula soil, with a strong association between snakes and positive adjacent soil. This is the first demonstration that snakes likely become infected during hibernation.

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Data availability

The data are available from the senior author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the many people who have helped throughout these studies, particularly Taryn Pittfield and Dave Burkett for sample collection and Daniel Taylor and Megan Winzeler for assistance with sample processing in the laboratory. The authors thank the several individuals, NGOs, and state agencies who provided permission to access their lands, the NJ Division of Parks and Forests, NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, NJ Natural Lands Trust, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. We thank the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and Division of Parks and Forests for permits. All snake studies were conducted with approval from the Rutgers University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol 86-017, renewed every 3 years).

Funding

Specific funding for the SFD studies came from the Pinelands Commission, Pinelands Research Station, Rutgers University, and the Lorch laboratory. Funding for the long-term studies was largely from Rutgers University, the Tiko Fund, Herpetological Associates, and the NIEHS Center of Excellence (NIH-NIEHS P30ES005022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Life Sciences, Rutgers University, 604 Allison Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Joanna Burger & Kelly Ng

  2. Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Michael Gochfeld

  3. Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), Rutgers University, 170 Frelinghuysen Rd, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Joanna Burger & Michael Gochfeld

  4. Herpetological Associates Inc, 405 Magnolia Rd, Pemberton, NJ, 08068, USA

    Robert Zappalorti & David Schneider

  5. New Jersey Pinelands Commission, 15 Springfield Rd, New Lisbon, NJ, 08064, USA

    John Bunnell & Christian Jeitner

  6. Pinelands Field Station, Rutgers University, 501 4 Mile Road, New Lisbon, NJ, 08064, USA

    Christian Jeitner

  7. New Jersey Conservation Foundation, 170 LongView Road,, Far Hills, NJ, 07931, USA

    Emile DeVito

  8. U.S. Geological Survey – National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Rd, Madison, WI, 53711, USA

    Jeffrey M. Lorch

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  1. Joanna Burger
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  2. Michael Gochfeld
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  3. Robert Zappalorti
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  9. Jeffrey M. Lorch
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Contributions

Joanna Burger: designed and executed the study, field collection, data analysis, writing, editing. Michael Gochfeld: conducted QA/QC, sample collection, data analysis, editing. Robert Zappalorti: sample collection, long-term study, editing. John Bunnell: study design, sample collection, editing. Christian Jeitner: aided in long-term study, sample collection, statistical analysis. David Schneider: sample collection. Kelly Ng: sample collection, statistical analysis, graphics. Emile DeVito: aided in long-term study, editing. Jeffrey Lorch: study design, conducted SFD analysis, editing.

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Correspondence to Joanna Burger.

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Burger, J., Gochfeld, M., Zappalorti, R. et al. Prevalence of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola and epizootiology of snake fungal disease in free-ranging Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus) in New Jersey. Environ Monit Assess 195, 662 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11259-w

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