The recent globalisation of travel and trade has increased the international spread of diseases into naïve ecosystems, with often-disastrous consequences. This was seen in the current European outbreak of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, an Asian amphibian pathogen, which has
decimated populations of fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra). Seven years on from its introduction, with few susceptible populations remaining in outbreak areas, conservationists are considering reintroducing the few rescued individuals back into these regions. As knowledge of the potential of B. salamandrivorans to adapt to European communities is vital to predicting the success of reintroduction efforts, I propose an interdisciplinary approach to elucidate the underlying mechanisms, extent and timeframe over which B. salamandrivorans can and has adapted to European amphibian communities. Specifically, I will combine community infection trials, field data and laboratory trials with bioinformatic techniques to assess i) how B.
salamandrivorans has evolved during the current outbreak in terms of virulence, host range and the associated genomic changes, and ii) how amphibian communities (i.e. in the presence or absence of certain species) drives its evolution. Together this will dramatically improve our understanding of how novel pathogens evolve in new ecosystems, and of the conservation prospects of European salamander populations.