Sarah J. Converse Erin L. Muths Harry J. Crockett Brittany A. Mosher Larissa L. Bailey Brian D. Gerber 2018 <p><span>Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a salient threat to many animal taxa, causing local and global extinctions, altering communities and ecosystem function. The EID chytridiomycosis is a prominent driver of amphibian declines, which is caused by the fungal pathogen&nbsp;</span><i>Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis</i><span><span>&nbsp;</span>(Bd). To guide conservation policy, we developed a predictive decision-analytic model that combines empirical knowledge of host-pathogen metapopulation dynamics with expert judgment regarding effects of management actions, to select from potential conservation strategies. We apply our approach to a boreal toad (</span><i>Anaxyrus boreas boreas</i><span>) and Bd system, identifying optimal strategies that balance tradeoffs in maximizing toad population persistence and landscape-level distribution, while considering costs. The most robust strategy is expected to reduce the decline of toad breeding sites from 53% to 21% over 50 years. Our findings are incorporated into management policy to guide conservation planning. Our online modeling application provides a template for managers of other systems challenged by EIDs.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1111/conl.12393 en Society for Conservation Biology Identifying species conservation strategies to reduce disease-associated declines article