January
21, 2019, Macquarie University
Cane toads
are picking up some shady habits, according to a new study co-authored by a
Macquarie University researcher.
Toads in
Western Australia have been spotted awake and active during the day in deeply
shaded habitats, despite the species usually being nocturnal in Australia and
other parts of the world.
However
nearby cane toad populations at more exposed sites remained only active at
night.
"We
didn't expect them to change such a fundamental behaviour," says Dr. Simon
Clulow from Macquarie's Department of Biological Sciences. "Particularly
given their nocturnal neighbours were only four to seven kilometres away."
"This
suggests that cane toads are
particularly good at changing their behaviour in response to their environment,
something known as behavioural plasticity, which might assist their invasive
spread into new environments."
The
research, which was published in Scientific Reports overnight, looked
at cane toad populations near the invasion front in El Questro Wilderness Park
in WA's Kimberley region from 2013 to 2015. It's research that has consequences
for managing Australia's cane toad plague.
The toads first arrived
at the sites studied in 2012 or 2013.
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