ABSTRACT
Although cane toads have been blamed for causing environmental problems in several of the areas to which they were introduced, by far the most extensive information comes from the toads’ invasion of Australia. Reflecting that continent’s isolation from other landmasses through evolutionary time, many lineages of organisms widespread in Africa, Eurasia and the Americas did not reach Australia until they were assisted by anthropogenic translocation. A lack of co-evolution with bufonids has rendered many native Australian taxa unable to tolerate the powerful chemical defences (bufadienolides) produced by cane toads, with the result that cane toad invasion has caused catastrophic levels of mortality in populations of some native predators (Shine, 2010). For example, more than 70 per cent mortality within a year of toad arrival has been reported for some populations of varanid lizards (Griffiths and McKay, 2007; Doody et al, 2009; Ujvari and Madsen, 2009), bluetongue skinks (Price-Rees et al, 2010), freshwater crocodiles (Letnic et al, 2008) and marsupial quolls (Oakwood, 2003).
