Not sure if theis belongs here, sorry.

SCIENTISTS may have uncovered the 'silver bullet' in the battle against WA's cane toad invasion.
Researchers from the University of Sydney have found that cane toads release a chemical which stunts the growth of competing tadpoles and reduces their chance of survival.

Older tadpoles release their poison on new cane toad egg clutches to better their own chance of survival.

Cane toad expert Professor Richard Shine from the University of Sydney said the species ‘speak’ to each other using pheromones which don't appear to affect native animals and this newly discovered toxin could be exploited and used as the latest weapon in the fight to stop the invasion.

“If you wanted to control an invading species the ideal silver bullet might be some major chemical that affects that species but doesn’t have any affect on any others,” Prof Shine said.


It turns out cane toads have spent the last several million years designing such a chemical themselves because competition is such a big deal between cane toads.”

The invaders, which kill native species, are 30km west of Kununurra and moving south after leaving a trail of destruction across Queensland and the Top End.


Prof Shine made the discovery while studying waterborne chemical cues used by tadpoles from the Northern Territory.  His team found that tadpoles exposed to the chemical for even a short period of time grew to only half the size of their unexposed counterparts.

"We don't know where they are producing the chemical from,  they do have some specialised cells in their skin that produce chemicals... the chemical responsible may be one that we have already been looking at and identified from earlier work we have been doing," Prof Shine said.

Native to Central and South America, cane toads were introduced to Queensland in 1935 to control beetles.

While the species was largely unsuccessful at reducing cane beetles, the animals thrived in Australia, evolving into bigger, stronger creatures and wiping out native species as they spread across the country.

Prof Shine said the next step is to work out how the toads make their poison and if it affects native species.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/special-features/new-weapon-in-cane-toad-fight/story-e6frg19l-1226126527259

A golf club or a cricket bat is still the best option...

gizmo_2655 wrote on Sep 1^st, 2011 at 4:12pm:

A golf club or a cricket bat is still the best option...

Better watch out for all those fours or sixes then huh.
or some idiot can try getting cheap highs by licking a cane toad!

I just wonder how specific this pheronome is. Will it affect other species?

We need to remember the reason why Professor Catchpoole in the 30's introduced the canetoad to combat the cane beetle.

It's all a bit like the Old Woman who swallowed the fly, the spider  etc.

The esteemed Sydney professor could stand to lose some of his Shine  ::)

muso wrote on Sep 2^nd, 2011 at 10:54am:

I just wonder how specific this pheronome is. Will it affect other species? We need to remember the reason why Professor Catchpoole in the 30's introduced the canetoad to combat the cane beetle. It's all a bit like the Old Woman who swallowed the fly, the spider  etc. The esteemed Sydney professor could stand to lose some of his Shine  ::)

Yes it effects other species. Any Animal, native, wild or domestic that eats them.
I have read about dogs that get high from licking the toad.

I was talking about the new deterrent.

muso wrote on Sep 2^nd, 2011 at 11:13am:

I was talking about the new deterrent.

Maybe it is another case of damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Yeah.  They originally introduced the Cane Toad to a lot more places than Australia, but it's here that it has done most damage.

I guess the advantage of the pheronome is that unlike the canetoad itself, it doesn't multiply.

Quote:

A golf club or a cricket bat is still the best option...

Get caught doing that kind of crap and you risk being hit with a hefty fine.

Life_goes_on wrote on Sep 2^nd, 2011 at 12:03pm:

Quote: A golf club or a cricket bat is still the best option... Get caught doing that kind of crap and you risk being hit with a hefty fine.

yeah, far better to poison something  >:( Isn't that called hypocrisy?

Deborahmac09 wrote on Sep 2^nd, 2011 at 2:09pm:

Life_goes_on wrote on Sep 2nd, 2011 at 12:03pm: Quote: A golf club or a cricket bat is still the best option... Get caught doing that kind of crap and you risk being hit with a hefty fine. yeah, far better to poison something  >:( Isn't that called hypocrisy?

I didn't say it was better to poison them.

Personally, I don't mind cane toads. During the summer months I have a couple of house toads that charge about the place eating spiders and insects. They are way more effective than getting out the bug spray.

Yeah?
Well I have some native geckos, birds, spiders and skinks to eat cockies ants etc. Rather them than a cane toad ANY DAY.

As for fines  - perhaps you refer to animal cruelty?  
I'm aware of no other reason why a person would be fined for killing cane toads.  They are a noxious pest, by Law,  - I've lived in Qld for more than 30 yrs, and have no pity for them.  
My preferred method is to pick them up by hand- said hand inside a plastic bag, wrapping them up and putting them in the fridge, first, then the freezer,  then the BIN.

I love our native frogs, skinks, etc,  and would be happy to never see another cane toad.
So , fh, get yourself an Oz insect killer.

Cane toads should not be here.

i like cane toads

'i like cane toads' - Imp II

another environmental vandal.! People who like cane toads.
Gawd knows where you reside, but liking cane toads is very un-Australian, don't you know?

You are saying,  you don't like native frogs, skinks, or anything else native that is edible, even remotely.

They are extremely fecund, will eat anything, and are poisonous, not just to our wildlife, but to our domestic family pets as well.
WHAT"S TO LIKE?? :-?

barnaby joe wrote on Sep 3^rd, 2011 at 12:28pm:

i like cane toads

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3ENUqV5-bw


You're easily teased, Jalane  :P

this is true. :)