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... Scientific Name: Rhinella Marina
Why Introduced to Queensland: Cane Toads where introduced to…
...
Scientific Name: Rhinella Marina
Why Introduced to Queensland: Cane Toads where introduced to control the population of scarab beetles
Georgia
What biological properties have helped the Cane Toad's population increase?
The cane toad mostly eats ants, termites and beetles but it's a voracious feeder and can eat a wide variety of insects, frogs, small reptiles, mammals and even birds.
Added to this, a cane toad can lose half its body weight through dehydration without dying. It will replace its body fluids when water becomes available.
Unlike many native frogs, the cane toad doesn't need special food or conditions to start breeding. Cane toad eggs are unlike those of native frogs. The small, black eggs of the cane toad form long, sticky strings. Native frog eggs form in clumps. The cane toad produces many more eggs than native frogs and toads. An individual attaches up to 35 000 eggs to water plants or debris in slow-moving or still water.
Cane toad tadpoles resemble some native tadpoles but differ in two ways. Cane toad tadpoles gather in large, slow-moving schools while native tadpoles are solitary. Also, native tadpoles develop lungs at an early stage, regularly rising to the surface to breathe. Cane toad tadpoles stay under water.
In ideal conditions, a cane toad can reach adult size in less than one year. The cane toad is also long lived; a cane toad has lived 16 years in captivity.
What can and is being done to control/manage the Cane Toad population?
Cane toad control remains largely the responsibility of the individual. In 1989, Brisbane City Council started a cane toad eradication program which showed people how to control this pest.
Cooling in a fridge overnight or until they are unconscious and then freezing for at least 2 days has been suggested as the most humane way of killing cane toads. Toads should first be collected in a container that has air holes. When put into a fridge, a cane toad will become dormant as a reaction to the cold. It will eventually die in its sleep once placed in the freezer. It can then be placed in the compost bin or buried in the garden deep enough to prevent pets or native animals digging it up.
Whose responsibility do you think it is to manage the effects of Cane Toads?
It is everybodies responsibility because eventually it could have an impact on the whole of Australia. It should not be left to just the scientists or the people directly affected right now. Very soon the problem will be upon all of us
Canetoad4us created
12:17 am
