Cane Toad Environmental Analysis

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Introduction
Australia is home to around 24,000,000 people and almost as many environmental issues. With severely high carbon emissions, drought, and many invasive species, the country is in environmental turmoil. Australian biota has been severely impacted by changes occurring since European settlement began in 1788, with more than 10% of mammal species lost in the past 225 years (Turvey, 2013). There have also been 23 bird species or subspecies, 4 amphibians and more than 60 plant species known to be lost during this period (Shine, 2010). Invasive species are viewed as one of largest threats to biodiversity, however, there are examples of introduced species that have had relatively minor ecological impacts and still others that have even …show more content…

It is a member of the genus Rhinella, but was formerly in the genus Bufo, which includes many different true toad species found throughout Central and South America (Tyler and Knight, 2011). The cane toad is very large, reaching an average length of 10–15 cm, with a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years in the wild (Tyler and Knight, 2011). The warty and dry skin of the adult cane toad is toxic (Shanmuganathan et al, 2010). When the toads are threatened, parotoid glands behind their eyes, as well as other glands across their backs, secrete a milky-white fluid known as bufotoxin (Tyler and Knight, 2011). Components of bufotoxin are toxic to many animals, making the cane toad especially dangerous to predators attempting to eat it (Shanmuganathan et al, 2010). The cane toad is a prolific breeder; females lay single-clump spawns with thousands of eggs. Its reproductive success is partly because of opportunistic feeding: in addition to the normal prey of small rodents, reptiles, other amphibians, birds, and even bats and a range of invertebrates, they also eat plants, dog food, and household refuse (Tyler and Knight,

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