Artificial
water bodies aiding spread of cane toads
December 2012. It may be possible to stop the spread of can toads into new
areas of Australia according to new research. One of the lead authors of the
study, James Cook University's Dr Ben Phillips, said that their work, which
involved an international team of scientists, showed that artificial water
bodies installed by graziers acted as critical stepping-stones for the toad
invasion.
"By
removing these water bodies in key locations it is possible to halt the spread
of toads," he said.
Cane
toads spreading into The Kimberley
Cane toads are currently spreading into the vast Kimberley region of north-western Australia and will likely completely occupy this region within ten years.
Cane toads are currently spreading into the vast Kimberley region of north-western Australia and will likely completely occupy this region within ten years.
10-30,000
eggs produced by 1 female toad
Dr Phillips said "This conquest has not gone unchallenged, but massive efforts by community groups over the past five years have done nothing to stop or even slow the invasion of toads. The reason for this failure is that toads produce 10-30 thousand eggs at a time and can move very large distances, so removing enough individuals to slow their invasion is effectively an impossible task."
Dr Phillips said "This conquest has not gone unchallenged, but massive efforts by community groups over the past five years have done nothing to stop or even slow the invasion of toads. The reason for this failure is that toads produce 10-30 thousand eggs at a time and can move very large distances, so removing enough individuals to slow their invasion is effectively an impossible task."
Removing
artificial water bodies could save an area the size of Great Britain
Dr Phillips said that "by removing around 100 artificial water bodies, toads can be prevented from occupying 268,000 square kilometres of their potential range in Western Australia, which is an area larger than Great Britain".
Dr Phillips said that "by removing around 100 artificial water bodies, toads can be prevented from occupying 268,000 square kilometres of their potential range in Western Australia, which is an area larger than Great Britain".
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