SUNDERLAND, Vt. (AP) - Scientists across the United States have launched an ambitious survey to determine whether a deadly fungus is infecting salamanders.
The goal is to collect samples from as many as 10,000 salamanders in hopes of determining whether the fungus is present in the United States.
It has already ravaged populations in parts of Europe, and concerns are growing that it will reach the North America. The continent is home to the world's largest concentration of salamander species.
The fungus is related to the one which has decimated frogs. It kills salamanders by eating away their skin.
Salamanders are considered critical to ecosystems either because they feed on insects and small fish or provide food for other animals.