Cane toads evolve longer legs to go further
16 February 2006
by Richard
Conan-Davies
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The annual rate of progress of the cane toad invasion has increased five fold since their introduction into Queensland in 1935 according to research by The university of Sydney. Expanding their range by about 10km a year during the 1940s to 60s Cane toads are now invading new areas at a rate of over 50km a year. Professor Rick Shine and his team used radio transmitters on the toads and discovered that toads with longer legs not only move faster and are the first to arrive in new areas, but also that those in the leading invasion have longer legs than those in long-established populations. Professor Shine explained that "These findings indicate that evolutionary forces are likely to fine-tune organism traits in ways that facilitate more rapid expansion of the invading population. Hence, control efforts against feral organisms should be launched as soon as possible, before that invader has time to evolve into a more dangerous adversary,' warns |
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Related Links
Original press release from University of Sydney
Nature
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