The Cane Toad : An Invasive Species Problem

The conquering and development of natural land has in the past, been seen as a mark of human civilization. In the United States, our progress is often measured by growth and development, but should this be re-examined? There are many opinions on the subject of urban sprawl and its effects on wildlife, but one thing is for certain, we are expanding. From 1955 to 2005, urban and suburban areas grew by 300%, however, the population only increased by 75% over the same period (Ewing, Kostyack and Chen). According to NatureServe, a non-profit conservation organization, urban sprawl threatens one of every three endangered species in the United States. NatureServe’s analysis states, “rare and endangered species data shows that three-fifths (60

The main problem is that with urbanization people can really stop building our community. One solution is that we can preserve lands to keep them safe. There is also another solution of a bigger issue that may affect all animals, pollution. The problem of pollution is also another factor that affects all animal. There are somethings that people doing to stop this problem. In Pennsylvania the Eastern Spadefoot toads are considered to be a threatened

Invasive species make bad situations into worse situations. Having a species from a different ecosystem makes them invasive species. Such as a toad or even bacteria being in another ecosystem other than their natural habitat.

Florida, a treasure trove of many, many species of animals and diverse wildlife. How many of those, ‘Florida’ species are actually native to Florida though? If you walk outside you will probably see lizards everywhere, you know, the brown ones. Well, what if I told you, that they are not actually native to Florida? Those lizards are called Brown Anoles, and they are actually from Cuba and the Bahamas. This is just one example of the many invasive species, which compete with Florida’s native species for food, resources and territories everyday. A few more examples of invasive species that are harmful to our wildlife are the Cuban tree frog, which is a threat to not only other frogs but toads and lizards as well, the Burmese python, which is invading the everglades, and the air potato, which is slowly creeping its way up through Florida, tree to tree.

The new population of cane toads has been quickly growing throughout Australia while carrying with it, a parasitic nematode, rhabdias pseudosphaerocepala. Once infected with this lungworm, both adult and metamorph toads can experience stunted growth and reduced stamina. This is a problem that is effecting native species. When predators feast on these toads, they become poisoned. Introduced pests can sometimes be controlled by using native predators or competitors. By conducting experiments and finding possible solutions, researchers may be able to protect these native species.

One environmental issue that the great lakes watershed has been exposed to is invasive species. An invasive species is any organism that is foreign to an ecosystem and causes harm (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2016). In ordered to be classified as foreign they do not have to be from a different country but they just must be a non-native to an established ecosystem. Some of the species travel at their own will but they primarily spread through human activities unintentionally. As we import and export goods, or travel, some uninvited species may ride along and travel to new places. Organisms can be stowed away in ships or products like wood. Some ornamental plants may

A very common invasive species in Florida is the Cuban tree frog. The Cuban tree frog came over on a ship in the early 1930’s. The Cuban tree frog has spread all throughout the state of Florida, from Miami all the way to the panhandle. The Cuban tree frog is extremely hostile towards the native tree frog species in Florida. Scientist have said that the best way to remove the Cuban tree frog is by extermination.

There are many different species of snakes in the U.S that are all important to the ecosystem, but there are some that don’t belong here and they are now considered invasive species. I believe that the Burmese python has had a massive impact to the Everglades National Park located in Florida.

Florida’s ecosystems are at risk due to the invasive species which inhabit our state. Because of the negative impact of the invasive species of Florida, we should be informed and aware of the effects. There are many non-native, not only animals, but plant species also which are of concern. Three invasive species that are harming Florida are Lionfish, the Burmese Pythons, and the Brazilian Pepper.

The cane toads damage is not that serious than the brown recluse spider. Their damage is not

In the past we have tried to contain these Cane Toads by setting up traps in the dry-seson however many blue tongue lizard got caught in them. They also tried to set up fences around areas that only have 1 or 2 freshwater lakes in them so that the babies cannot walk away from the area. This worked but we cannot simply fence up all the water sources in the top half of Australia. But I think we should create a poison on the cane toads. Because the other thing that eats Cane Toads is Cane Toads; therefore if we create a poisson on them we are able to get rid of many toads. The first step in creating this plan would be to make the poission. Secondly we would give the poison in a syringe to every homeowner in Northern Queensland so that they can

The cane toad, also known as rhinella marina, got its bad reputation soon after being released into the Australian ecosystem in 1935 with the expectation that it would control the destructive cane beetle population. However, instead of controlling pests, the cane toad became a pest of its own. About 3,000 cane toads were released in the sugarcane plantations of north Queensland in 1935. There are now more than a million cane toads and their still expanding over an area of thousands of square kilometres in northeastern Australia. They are large, amphibians with dry, warty skin, and are native to the southern United States, Central America, and tropical South America. Their numbers are controllable in their normal range, but they have boomed

In the set of the reading and the listening, they both discuss how to destroy cane toad in Australia. On the one hand, the reading argues that it is three easy ways to stop the spread of the cane toad: building a national wall, telling volunteers to capture the cane toads, developing a disease virus to destroy them. On the other hand, the professor opposes by stating that the three methods that present in the reading passage is not useful but also cause more harm to the environment.

The biodiversity effects of non-native invasive species have been described as “immense, insidious and usually irreversible” (Veitch and Clout, 2002). There is significant evidence proving that invasive species can cause severe economic, environmental and ecological damage (Mack et al., 2000). A lot of time and research has been devoted to dividing the world into regions with distinctive habitats and species. Numerous pathways, mostly anthropogenic, are breaking down these realms and facilitating the ecological and biological invasion of non-native species.

One example of an invasive species is Xenopus laevis, or the African clawed frog. These frogs carry a fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Chytrid fungus infects amphibians with chytridiomycosis by attacking the part of a frog’s skin that contains keratin. Frogs use their skin to