Heather Walden of UF has discovered the presence of the rat lungworm parasite in the invasive Cuban treefrog in Florida. The lungworm parasite can cause meningitis, brain damage, and blindness in humans, and rear limb weakness and hind leg paralysis in dogs.

“These frogs are going through the state, disrupting our native populations,” said Walden. “They are eating native species, such as green treefrogs, and consuming not just the frogs and other food sources, but the parasites they carry with them.”

• Heather Walden