In June, over 160 amphibian and reptile champions, from scientists, vets, and students to policy makers, zoo professionals, and pet trade leaders, gathered at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville for the 3rd Global Amphibian and Reptile Disease Conference (GARD26). Delegates joined from 20 countries across six continents (in person and virtually) with one shared mission: figuring out how to keep our wild and captive cold-blooded friends healthy.
A huge highlight of the conference was honoring Dr. Louise Rollins-Smith with the GARD Lifetime Achievement Award for her incredible commitment to the amphibian disease community and her groundbreaking work in amphibian immunology.
Students stole the show this year, giving over half of all presentations! Thanks to 48 travel grants awarded to emerging and established researchers worldwide, the conference truly felt like a global family gathering packed with great science and fresh ideas.
What We Talked About: Key Highlights
The Emerging Pathogen Frontiers: Chytrid (Bd and Bsal) was a major recurring character across multiple sessions. Presenters dove into everything from the emergence of Bd hybrid lineages in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest to tracking how European newts are managing to survive on the Bsal frontline. Speakers explored the mechanisms of pathogen virulence, host resistance, antifungal skin defenses, and genomic signatures left behind by disease-driven selection. But we didn’t stop at chytrid! The meeting took a true multi-pathogen lens, covering ranaviruses, herpesviruses, Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Snake Fungal Disease), Perkinsea, parasitic pentastomes, microsporidia, Cryptosporidium, trypanosomes, bacterial threats, and even mysterious, newly discovered pathogens.
Immunity, Host Defenses & Skin Secrets: A strong mechanistic thread ran throughout the conference. Dr. Louise Rollins-Smith’s capstone seminar set the stage by unpacking the ultimate arms race between amphibian immune defenses and chytrid counter-defenses, exploring antimicrobial peptides, skin microbes, innate immune cells, and protective mucus antibodies. Other speakers used field surveys, infection trials, and multi-omics tools to look under the hood of host defenses. Topics spanned transcriptional responses to bacterial infections, gene-expression shifts during chytridiomycosis, nutritional immunity, salamander skin peptides, and how defensive skin microbiomes assemble in the wild. Together, these studies showed that host genetics, skin chemistry, microbiomes, and pathogen traits interact to shape outcomes.
Environment, Climate & Predicting the Future: Changing environments took center stage as researchers explored how temperature, microclimates, humidity, seasonal shifts, contaminants, host density, and habitat restoration alter infection risk. Sessions on thermal ecology showed how warming trends, erratic storms, and host behavioral shifts directly impact host immune function and pathogen growth. Long-term ecological monitoring paired with predictive modeling was a recurring theme, including work on Bd persistence in multi-host communities, three decades of chytrid tracking in wild frog populations, how forest restoration affects Snake Fungal Disease, and using environmental DNA (eDNA) to track chytrid in river systems. All of this helps us shift from just documenting outbreaks to predicting exactly when and where interventions are needed most!
Smart Trade, Biosecurity & Working Together: The international pet trade featured prominently as a vital ally in disease prevention. Talks tackled regulatory differences around the globe, risks in legal and illegal trade, and pathogen surveillance across breeding and retail networks. We also heard about the human side: testing consumer willingness to support certified “low-risk” businesses and practical biosecurity habits among traders. One clear takeaway was: collaboration is key; through testing, quarantine standards, clear communication, and accessible best practices, we can protect wild populations while supporting sustainable animal care and trade.
Beyond the room of captivating talks and posters, participants joined four practical workshops centered on disease modeling, trade partnerships, biosecurity practices, and Bsal decision-making tools. Plus, attendees cleaned their boots and went out on six regional field trips, surveying native salamanders, searching for hellbenders in Great Smoky Mountain streams, and getting behind-the-scenes zoo tours.
GARD26 was graciously supported by: Amphibian Survival Alliance, Healthy Trade Institute, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (AgResearch, College of Veterinary Medicine, School of Natural Resources), Global Ranavirus Consortium, Wildlife Disease Association, Nashville Zoo, Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians, Tennessee Aquarium, Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Fort Worth Zoo, and David Lesbarrères.
Next Stop: South Africa!
GARD26 showed that our global network is strong, collaborative, and dynamic. The next meeting of amphibian and reptile disease minds for GARD28 will be in Potchefstroom, South Africa, at North-West University, where we will continue to engage around one central theme: addressing emerging infectious diseases threatening amphibian and reptile populations. Please join us, bringing your voice to the conversation! For more information about GARD28, please contact Ché Weldon (Che.Weldon@nwu.ac.za).