Management Information
Preventative measures: The main controls on the spread of cane toads in southern Australia are quarantine checks and public awareness and response. One publicity campaign on the north coast of New South Wales resulted in 100 people collecting more than 900 cane toads.
Physical: Cane toads can be excluded from garden ponds and dams by a 50cm high barrier, such as a thick hedge or a wire mesh fence. Toads may be killed humanely by putting them inside a plastic bag or container and placing them in a freezer (Brandt and Mazzotti, 1990).
Biological: In 1994, the CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology (Australia) was assessing the pathogenicity and specificity of viruses against cane toads. Scientists at the CSIRO Animal Health Laboratory in Victoria have been searching for biological controls of cane toads and in 2001 they began investigating gene technology as a mechanism of control. Environment Australia have launched a project for the development of a cane toad biological control. The aim is to develop a self disseminating viral vector to disrupt the development of the toad. Scientists at the University of Adelaide (Australia) have isolated a sex pheromone in a native Australian frog; they hope that a similar pheromone will be found in cane toads that could be used to disrupt the breeding cycle. These are long term solutions. Scientists at Sydney University have identified a parasitic worm that attacks the cane toads' lungs,
stunting their growth and, in most cases, killing them. They believe the parasite has the potential to reduce toad populations
dramatically.
Location Specific Management InformationBermuda
Bufo marinus were actively searched for and removed from Nonsuch Island (Madeiros, 2003 in Varnham, 2006). Iriomotejima Is. (Japan)
The Japanese Environment Ministry is conducting research in an effort to exterminate the cane toads. Locals are being encouraged to cooperate with officials. Kakadu National Park (Australia)
Surveys of the toad population and a risk assessment have been conducted to try and determine the effect that the toads will have on the ecology of the area. Louisiana (United States (USA))
Chemical and mechanical control options used. Viwa Is. (Fiji)
There is a proposal to eradicate cane toads and invasive mammals (rats, cats and dogs) from Viwa Island (60 ha), in Fiji to protect (among other native wildlife) the endangered Fijian ground frog (see Platymantis vitiana in IUCN Red List of Threatened species).
The removal of these invasive species from Viwa Island would benefit a range of other native species, including the banded iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus), Pacific boa (Candoia bibroni), and several species of gecko and skink. In addition to the biodiversity benefits, this project is expected to have several socio-economic benefits to the people on Viwa. These include an increased agricultural harvest, improved health and sanitation (domestic water supply and disposal), ecotourism and employment opportunities, and finally cultural pride for the Viwa Island people (104 people live on the island).
The University of the South Pacific is implementing this project with Joape Kuruyawa as the full-time project manager and funding by the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF), the Australian Regional Natural Heritage Programme (RNHP) and the New Zealand International Aid & Development Agency (NZAID).
Management Resources/Links
4. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)., 2008. Decision support tools-Identifying potentially invasive non-native marine and freshwater species: fish, invertebrates, amphibians.
Summary: The electronic tool kits made available on the Cefas page for free download are Crown Copyright (2007-2008). As such, these are freeware and may be freely distributed provided this notice is retained. No warranty, expressed or implied, is made and users should satisfy themselves as to the applicability of the results in any given circumstance. Toolkits available include 1) FISK- Freshwater Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (English and Spanish language version); 2) MFISK- Marine Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit; 3) MI-ISK- Marine invertebrate Invasiveness Scoring Kit; 4) FI-ISK- Freshwater Invertebrate Invasiveness Scoring Kit and AmphISK- Amphibian Invasiveness Scoring Kit
These tool kits were developed by Cefas, with new VisualBasic and computational programming by Lorenzo Vilizzi, David Cooper, Andy South and Gordon H. Copp, based on VisualBasic code in the original Weed Risk Assessment (WRA) tool kit of P.C. Pheloung, P.A. Williams & S.R. Halloy (1999).
The decision support tools are available from: http://www.cefas.co.uk/projects/risks-and-impacts-of-non-native-species/decision-support-tools.aspx [Accessed 13 January 2009]
The guidance document is available from http://www.cefas.co.uk/media/118009/fisk_guide_v2.pdf [Accessed 13 January 2009]. 5. CSIROnline, 2001. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
Summary: Good information on cane toad control in Australia. 6. Doody, J.S., Green, B., Sims, R., Rhind, D., West, P., and Steer, D. 2006. Indirect impacts of invasive cane toads (Bufo marinus) on nest predation in pig-nosed turtles (Carettochelys insculpta). Wildlife Research 33, 349–354. 8. Hyatt, Alex and Humphrey, John. 1995. Biological Control of the Cane Toad in Australia. FROGLOG Number 15. CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory.
Summary: Has information on efforts to use biological control on cane toads in Australia. 10. Lever, C. 2001. The Cane Toad: the history and ecology of a successful colonist. Westbury Publishing, West Yorkshire. 230pp.
Summary: An extremely comprehensive text on all aspects of cane toad ecology and history. Has very detailed coverage of all the locations where cane toads have been introduced. An excellent resource for further information. 15. Wilson, Colin, Wildlife Management Officer, Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, Parks & Wildlife Service, Northern Territory, Australia.
Summary: Compilor of original GISD profile of Chromoleana odorata. Results Page: 1
|
