It may well be that the most serious ecological impact attributable to cane
toads is the chytrid fungus, thought to be responsible for the frog declines
in Australia and elsewhere. Cane toads and Axoltl (sold by many pet shops)
are exotic amphibians which can carry the disease, and seem to have an
immunity to it. Endemic frogs have, as far as we know, little or no
immunity. Cane toads and Axolotl may have spread the chytrid, and may still
be spreading it. An axolotl can live as long as 20 years. Amphibians
dumped by bored pet owners could be doing a lot of damage.
Scott O'Keeffe
-----Original Message-----
From:
Behalf Of Andrew Taylor
Sent: 04 January 2001 08:20
To:
Subject: Cane Toads and Night Herons
On Thu, 4 Jan 2001, Goodfellow wrote:
> On a recent trip to Mataranka and Roper Bar we saw perhaps three hundred
> cane toads, mostly around Mataranka. Can't help but feel that the sight
> of night-herons catching frogs on the road at night during the wet season
> will soon be a thing of the past. Does anyone have a list of birds
> affected on the east coast by these creatures?
For all thats said about Cane Toads, I still haven't seen any convincing
evidence of long-term effects on any species. This isn't as comforting
as it sounds as such evidence is difficult and slow to gather. The
shear biomass of Cane Toads suggests there must be effects - but little
other than anecdotal data seems to exist.
Any initial effects on Rufous Night Herons should have occurred already
around Roper Bar as toads reached there in 1995. Rufous Night Herons
persist in Queensland in areas where Toads have been present for
decades. Its possible Rufous Night Heron encounter native frog species
with toxins which mean they must be avoided or consumed only with
care.
Andrew Taylor
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