Diurnal activity in cane toads (Rhinella marina) is geographically widespread

Pettit, Lachlan; Ducatez, Simon; DeVore, Jayna L.; Ward‐Fear, Georgia; Shine, Richard

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-62402-3

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Broadly, activity patterns of cane toads in their native range resemble those in the areas to which this species has been translocated. Adult toads are largely inactive by day, although occasional individuals forage during daylight hours 51 , 52 , or leave their diurnal shelter sites to escape lethally high temperatures 53 . Our observations of diurnal activity in radio-tracked toads at the French Guiana study sites (in 4 of the 34 toads 51 ) indicate that diurnal foraging sometimes occurs within the native range as well as invaded regions, though such behaviour is relatively rare.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adult toads are largely inactive by day, although occasional individuals forage during daylight hours 51 , 52 , or leave their diurnal shelter sites to escape lethally high temperatures 53 . Our observations of diurnal activity in radio-tracked toads at the French Guiana study sites (in 4 of the 34 toads 51 ) indicate that diurnal foraging sometimes occurs within the native range as well as invaded regions, though such behaviour is relatively rare. Overall, movements varied among sites as well as among individuals, indicating that toads exhibit substantial behavioural flexibility in their native range; these toads not only adjusted their movement patterns in response to environmental conditions, but also exhibited environment-dependent flexibility in response to individual-level variation in morphology or state.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial ecology of cane toads (Rhinella marina) in their native range: a radiotelemetric study from French Guiana

DeVore

Shine

Ducatez

2021

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Like most invasive species, cane toads have attracted less research in their native range than in invaded areas. We radio-tracked 34 free-ranging toads in French Guiana, a source region for most invasive populations, across two coastal and two rainforest sites. Coastal toads generally sheltered in pools of fresh or brackish water but nocturnally foraged on beaches, whereas rainforest toads sheltered in forested habitats, moving into open areas at night. Over five days of monitoring, native toads frequently re-used shelters and moved little between days (means = 10–63 m/site) compared to invasion-front toads from Australia (~ 250 m). Larger toads moved less between days, but displaced in more consistent directions. At night, foraging toads travelled up to 200 m before returning to shelters. Foraging distance was related to body condition at coastal sites, with toads in poorer body condition travelling farther. Rain increased the probability of coastal toads sheltering in the dry habitats where they foraged. Dispersal and rainfall were lower at coastal sites, and the strategies utilized by coastal toads to minimize water loss resembled those of invasive toads in semi-desert habitats. This global invader already exhibits a broad environmental niche and substantial behavioural flexibility within its native range.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial ecology of cane toads (Rhinella marina) in their native range: a radiotelemetric study from French Guiana

DeVore

Shine

Ducatez

2021

Sci Rep

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“…More broadly, cane toads key in on resource patches that offer abundant prey (González-Bernal et al 2013, Feit et al 2015. We observed many cane toads preying upon invertebrates attracted to our baits (Pettit et al 2020) and upon invertebrates attracted to carcasses of domestic and native animals (G. Ward-Fear, personal observation; Fig. 1d), suggesting that toads may benefit from the ecosystem change they drive by fatally poisoning keystone reptilian scavengers, toads thereby increase their own prey availability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

A biological invasion impacts ecosystem services: cane toads change the rate of scavenging and the suite of scavengers

2021

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By affecting the abundance of key native species, invasive taxa may disrupt ecosystem services. In Australia, large monitor lizards (Varanus spp.) play critical roles as scavengers and apex predators. Our broadscale surveys (across two transects, 1300 and 2500 km) show that in tropical areas where the arrival of fatally toxic cane toads (Rhinella marina) has massively reduced the abundance of monitors (Varanus panoptes), rates of removal of deployed baits are more than halved, and the assemblages of scavengers are dominated by birds or mammals rather than reptiles. In contrast, populations of another monitor species in eastern Australia (Varanus varius) were little affected by toad arrival, as were scavenging rates and assemblages. The mechanisms responsible for those shifts, and their consequences on ecosystem services, warrant further research.

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“…Our field observations showed that the nighttime niche is dominated by adults, along with a non-random subset of juveniles with higher body condition. In this context, it seems plausible that the less fit juveniles might be constrained to diurnal activity in order to improve their foraging efficiency by taking advantage of food sources that are less exploited during the day [ 69 , 70 ], thus avoiding competition and predation risks from both adults and the better fit juveniles. The lower body condition found in diurnal juveniles as compared to nocturnal juveniles suggests a lower payoff of the diurnal behaviour.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult—Juvenile interactions and temporal niche partitioning between life-stages in a tropical amphibian

et al. 2020

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Divergence in ecological niche offers organisms the opportunity of exploiting different food and habitat resources, scaling down competition and predation both among species, and within different age or size-classes of the same species. In harsh environments, where abiotic factors determine a clustering of resources during short timespans, competition and predation between organisms is likely to be enhanced. This is the case in tropical dry forests, where amphibians have limited opportunities to feed, their activity being restricted to the short rainy season. One way to maximize resource exploitation while avoiding predation risk is by adopting different diel activity patterns. We tested this hypothesis by comparing activity patterns in adults and recently metamorphosed juveniles of Pacific horned frogs ( Ceratophrys stolzmanni ) during field surveys and in an experimental study. Field surveys showed that the adults are strictly nocturnal, whereas freshly metamorphosed juveniles can be found active above ground at all hours, with a peak activity during daytime. The average body condition index of juveniles found active during the night was higher than that of juveniles found active during the day, suggesting that the weaker individuals may be constrained to being active during the day. On the other hand, in a laboratory experiment, juveniles that were visually exposed to adults moved less than those in the absence of adults. Both field and experimental observations indicate a temporal niche divergence between life stages. The results of the experiment offer support to the hypothesis that the juveniles in this species display an inverse activity pattern compared to adults, which can reduce competitive interactions and predation pressure from the larger conspecifics.

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Diurnal activity in cane toads (Rhinella marina) is geographically widespread

Abstract: Behavioural flexibility in the diel timing of activity-a trait inherited from the native range-may thus affect both the spread and the impact of this iconic invasive species.

Cited by 5 publications

References 27 publications

Spatial ecology of cane toads (Rhinella marina) in their native range: a radiotelemetric study from French Guiana

Spatial ecology of cane toads (Rhinella marina) in their native range: a radiotelemetric study from French Guiana

A biological invasion impacts ecosystem services: cane toads change the rate of scavenging and the suite of scavengers

Adult—Juvenile interactions and temporal niche partitioning between life-stages in a tropical amphibian

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