Abstract
The amphibian chytrid fungus *Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis* (*Bd*) has
caused catastrophic frog declines on several continents, but disease
outcome is mediated by a number of factors. Host life stage is an
important consideration, and many studies have highlighted the
vulnerability of recently metamorphosed or juvenile frogs compared to
adults. The majority of these studies have taken place in a laboratory
setting, and there is a general paucity of longitudinal field studies
investigating the influence of life stage on disease outcome. In this
study, we assessed the effect of endemic *Bd* on juvenile *Mixophyes
fleayi* (Fleay’s barred frog) in subtropical eastern Australian
rainforest. Using photographic mark-recapture, we made 386 captures of
116 individuals and investigated the effect of *Bd* infection intensity
on the apparent mortality rates of frogs using a multievent model
correcting for infection state misclassification. We found that *Bd*
infection status nor infection intensity were not correlated with
mortality in juvenile frogs, counter to the expectation that early life
stages are more vulnerable to disease, despite high infection prevalence
(0.35, 95% HDPI [0.14, 0.52]). Additionally, we found that observed
infection prevalence and intensity were somewhat lower for juveniles
than adults. Our results indicate that in this *Bd*-recovered species,
the realised impacts of chytridiomycosis on juveniles were apparently
low, likely resulting in high recruitment contributing to population
stability. We highlight the importance of investigating factors relating
to disease outcome in a field setting and make recommendations for
future studies.