Analysis of the Australian Cane Toad
The cane toad, Bufo marinus, or giant toad, was introduced to Australia by the sugar cane industry with government sanction, in order to control two specific pests of sugar cane. The grey backed cane beetle and the frenchie beetle. Native to Central and South America, the cane toad has been introduced to several Pacific islands as well. One hundred and one toads arrived at Edmonton in North Queensland in June 1935. About 11 sugar growing locations in northern and central coastal Queensland received authorized shipments. People at Normanton and Burketown, and in northern New South Wales deliberately released the cane toad into the wild. Scientists warned the farmers not to bring the cane toad to Australia but the farmers did not listen and brought them in anyway.
Did the cane toad have any impact on the two cane beetles it was introduced to control? Apparently not. The cane toad ate beetles when they were available, but as a control agent, it had no impact at all. Instead of controlling certain insect populations, the cane toad ate large numbers of bees and other beneficial insects. Within 5 years, an effective insecticide became available and the sugar industry lost interest in the cane toad.
Although not native to Australia, the cane toad has one of the widest ranges of any living toad. The species lives in a wide variety of habitats, but is restricted mainly by the availability of water, since water is a vital element in the breeding cycle. However, toads can survive near very small pools, or steams in arid regions. During the dry or cold seasons, they remain inactive in shallow ground excavations beneath ground cover.
Description
Cane toads are very large and he...
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...to avoid eating them. Other animals have shown they can eat the toad. The Keelback Snake can detoxify the venom and Water Rats, Ibis, Crows and other birds turn the toads over and eat only the non-poisonous internal organs. Opinion is divided concerning their current status, some think the native wildlife is starting to recognize them as a threat and they stay away.
Australia is still a long way from controlling cane toad numbers or putting a stop to their expansion. Scientific evidence suggests that this "imported animal represents a nuisance to man and an ecological threat to the Australian environment." The rapid growth of the species may have consequences in areas considered irrelevant at the time of its introduction. The cane toad has provided a painful lesson in what can happen to native species when an exotic species is introduced to a new habitat.
Without the horned lizard, the Saguaro desert would fall apart quickly. If you have ever heard someone say, “Hey look! There’s a horned toad!” they are really referring to a horned lizard. They have spines (spikes) to protect themselves from predators. These lizards move slowly, and are patient for their food. They eat mostly insects such as ants, and in the Saguaro desert, they eat kangaroo rats. There are 14 different species of horned lizards. They are different in some ways, but all of their colors resemble their surroundings, and it helps them to stay safer. Horned lizards can survive in many climates and temperatures. If it gets too hot, they burrow with their head sticking out at the surface of the ground. That way, it cools them down without having to go far. Conveniently they can stay in their home for the winter. They survive by burrowing in the ground and hibernating. Horned lizards mostly lay eggs, but for some species, the young are born alive. After the eggs are laid, the parents ...
The invasive species, the Burmese Python has done irreparable damage to the Everglades National Park in Florida. A steady decline in mammals has been observed since the introduction of Burmese pythons occurred. Burmese pythons were first introduced into the United States as part of the pet trade which then led to the escape or intentional release out into the wild. The first notation of these species arriving was in the year 2000. However, within just eleven years this invasive species had done such a large amount of damage to Florida’s Ecosystem that many species had gone almost completely extinct.
The invasive reptiles are eating almost everything in sight like raccoons, opossums, bobcats, alligators and many federally protected animals like the Key Largo wood rat and Wood stork. There have been cases of children and pets being eaten or even squeezed to death by the large snakes in their own yards.
Geographically, sugar made its way around the world rather rapidly once it first left Indonesia. Sugar cane was first found in New Guinea around 8000 BC. One of the most significant causes that came out of sugar production was the Atlantic Slave Trade. “The vast majority of the African captives transported across the Atlantic, some 80 percent or more, ended up in Brazil and the Caribbean (Strayer 568).”
Sugar has been the basis of Europe and America where very few Europeans knew about sucrose in 1000 A. D. but shortly after cane sugar was highly sought after but why? Was sugar only loved because of its sweetness? By 1650 the English nobility and wealthy were very inve...
The spread of sugar was very important in the world. The uses of sugar was passed around by different cultures and nations. This made sugar very needed throughout the world. At one point, it became almost impossible to purchase this commodity. It brought preservation of fruit, sweetening of bitter foods, and was a source of quick calories for the underprivileged workers. It brought independence to nations and built great economies. Sugar grew the business of slave trade and expanded the production of such an important crop. Without the sugar commodity, world history would not be anywhere to where it is
All discussions regarding the phenomenon of invasive species will inherently result in the consensus that they are an unwanted or an even evil entity. Ever since the age of exploration humans have been primary dispersers of these so called “exotic” species (Mooney and Cleland 2001). Famous examples include the release of cane toads in Australia (Urban et al., 2008); the rainbow trout (Fausch 2008) and the Japanese Kudzu vine in the southern U.S. (Blaustein 2001) and zebra mussels in the great lakes of Canada (Nalepa and Schloesser 1992). However, documented marine invasions compared with
Parry, Wynne. (Sept. 23Rd , 2011) Exotic Pets Turning Invasive, Threatning Florida. Tech Media. Retrieved March 10th 2014, from http://www.livescience.com/16204-florida-invasive-reptiles-amphibians.html
In 1996, the Asian Longhorn Beetle made its way into the New York and New Jersey creating the decimation of the forests. The Asian Longhorn Beetle has so far caused the cutting of over 10,000 trees in New Jersey, and quarantine of 109 miles in New York today . The spread of this foreign beetle has created great impacts on the environment. The Asian Longhorn Beetle is an invasive specie, a harmful specie from another locations, mainly other countries, that has ended up in a foreign habitat. As time has progressed, invasive species have continued to come into our environment more frequently creating many unforeseen consequences. The relationship of invasive species within the United States’ environment and ecosystem has been changing ever since the arrival of the Europeans in the 1700s to present day. Due to these encounters with other species whether harmful or neutral, the majority, if not all, of the United States has been affected with the threatening encroachment of native species due to the industrialization of waterways and transportation.
Get ready to learn about the deadliest and smallest poisonous animal in the world. The Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog (Oophaga pumilio) is the most poisonous animal in the world. It’s as big as a finger very colorful. These frogs are native from Central America. In this essay, you will learn what its adaptations are, what process has it used to become what it is now, how it impacts society, how it relates to everyday life and what are the short-term and long-term impacts.
Sugar is not only a sweet substance used in coffee, cookies, and many other sweet tasting foods we love to eat and enjoy. It is truly a good that changed the world in many ways all the way back to its roots. In more than one way sugar is a useful and profitable tool, originating all the way back to the early middle middle ages. The sugar trade impacted the the Earth both socially and politically with the use of slaves brought to the Americas by the middle passage and other places. Economically, especially when prices dropped due to new technological improvements and slave abolishment all over the world. Lastly, the sugar trade impacted the world culturally, by leading
Despite the fact that they are dreaded and despised little creatures, cockroaches are beneficial to the environment. We take a brief section to discuss the cockroach’s role in nature. This section is not to create sympathy for the cockroach, but to provide knowledge about the cockroach. Understanding how and why cockroaches are they way they are can provide necessary information on how to keep your home bug free.
Invasive species, (also known as invasive alien species or simply alien species) are defined as any organism (plant, animal, pathogen, or other living thing) that is alien (non-native) to an ecosystem, which can cause adverse economical, ecological, or health effects to native species and/or humans. The roots of these problems all stem from the massive negative ecological impact these organisms are having on the environment (CBD, 2009). For all animal extinctions where the cause is known since the 1600’s, invasive alien species have been a contributing factor 40% of the time (CBD, 2006); the second most contributing factor to extinctions after loss of habitat (GC, 2013). By eliminating native species through competition for resources, predation, and transmittal of disease, invasive species continue to reduce biodiversity in almost all ecosystems around the world (CBD, 2009). In the future, this problem may worsen, and if no action is taken, could lead to a cascading ecological problem so large that whole communities or even ecosystems could collapse.
Many scientists were fascinated by the creatures that seemed to disappear from the forests of Queensland every year and during this time were thought to be hibernating. Although before they had a chance to study them in further detail the frogs became extinct.
It is thought the sugarcane originated from New Guinea in the South Pacific roughly 8000 years ago, which then spread to the nearby Solomon Island, the New Hebrides, and New Caledonia. (Tomerb,2013) Around 2000 years later sugarcane had reached Indonesia, the Philippines, and then finally Northern India. Sugarcane was also observed to have an Eastward spread which was traced to the migrations of the Pacific Islanders when it had arrived in Hawaii between 600 and 1100 A.D. The introduction of sugarcane to China from India occurred around 800 B.C. A form of crude sugar began being produce by 400 B.C and 700 A.D., the Indians began commercially exploiting it in the sub-continent. On the other hand, in China, the sugarcane was being boiled down to produce a sun-dried juice called “stone honey”. (Tomerb,2013) In around 510 B.C, a Persian military expedition recorded findings of sugarcane in the sub-continent while later Alexander the Great