Shawnee Gilbert

TyphoidMaryinthefrogpond
Thisarticleisexploringtheoptionsineliminatinganinvasivetoadspeciesfrom
Australia.Thereareprosandconstoeachoptiondiscussedinthearticle.Themaintopic
writtenaboutisinfectingGreenTreeFrogs,whicharenativetoAustralia,witha
parasiticnematode(lungworm).WhileintheFrogsitdoesn'tappeartocauseanyharm,
butitreducesproductivityandlifespanoftheinvasiveCaneToad.Thedownsideto
infectingthenativefrogisthescientistswhoarelookingintothedilemmahavenowayof
knowingwhatcouldhappentotheanuransovertime.Willthelungwormsevolveinto
somethingunmanageablebythefrog?Thestudiesdonewiththisspecificnematodewere
doneinextremelymeasuredandcontrolledenvironments.Meaningthatthedosegivento
eachfrogwascontrolled.Thereisnowwaytocontroltheamountofexposureinthewild.
Someotherfactorstoconsiderareasfollows;whatotherspeciescouldpickupthis
lungwormandsufferilleffects,suchastheMagnificentTreeFrog(whichisextremely
sensitivetosuchparasites).ByinfectingtheseGreenTreeFrogsthereisnoguarantee
thatthelungwormevenmovesintothetoads,itcouldgoelsewhereordieoffaltogether.
TheCaneToadwasintroducedintoAustraliainthe1930s.Yearslatertheill
effectsofthisspeciesintroductionwasnoted.They'vedevastatedmuchofthevegetation
intheAustraliantropicsinwhichtheyreside.They'vealsopoisonedmanyoftheother
nativecreatures,greatlyreducingtheirnumbers.So,formanyyearsdifferenttacticsand
optionshavebeenexploredonthebestwaytogoaboutreducingthenumberoftoads,or
removingthemaltogetherfromthecontinent.

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Thistopicisrelevanttotheworldbecausebyusingtactandcarefulconsideration
thesemethodsandfindingscanbeappliedtomanyoftheproblemswhichdifferent
countriesfacetoday.Therewasasimilarprobleminasmallbaywhereaninvasive
speciesofseakelpwasaccidentallyintroduced.Itcompletelyovertooktheentirearea
andsmotheredoutallotherplantlife,aswellastheresidentsofthewaters.Because
nothingwouldeatthatparticularkelpitflourishedandbeganmovingoutofthebay.
Scientistscanusesimilarmethodstoberidofotherintrusivespeciesbythinking
carefullyandusingcuesandjumpingoffpointsfromwhatothershavealreadydone.
Thereweretwolengthyexperimentsdoneinthisarticle.Onewasdoneonthe
GreenTreeFrogs,andtheotherontheCaneToads.TheGreenTreeFrogswere
randomlyselectedfromthewildandtreatedtoremoveanyandallparasitesfromthem.
Theyweretestedtwotimesoveraperiodof45daystoensurethatallinfectionswere
clearedupandeachsubjectwascompletelyparasitefree.Thentheywereinfectedwith
thelungworm(R.pseudosphaerocephala,whichisthelungworminquestion).Overthe
next3monthstheyweremeasured,weighed,andhadtheirphysicalabilitieschecked.At
theendoftheexperimentthefrogshadsufferednonoticeableimpact.Bodymass,and
physicalabilitiesstayedthesame.'Asthereproductiveseasonapproached,malefrogs
begancalling,andatthetimeofeuthanasia,allfemaleshadwelldevelopedeggsintheir
ovaries.'(L.Pizzatto,R.Shine,2012,p.548).
Thesecondexperiment,onthetoads,wasconductedinthesamefashion,theonly
differencewasintheresults.Thetoadspeciesdidnotfareaswellasthefrogs.There

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weremuchhigherdeathratesinadultsaswellasthejuveniles.Theseexperimentsprove
thatthelungworminthesespecificdoseswillcutdownonthenumberoftoads.But
againhowmuchexposuretheyreceiveinthewildistobigofvariabletoaccurately
predict.
Theconclusiontheresearchersreachedattheendofthearticlewasuncertainty.
Yestheyhavetakengreatstridesinsolvingtheongoingissuewiththesetoads,butthere
isstilltoomuchtoaccountforintheend.Asitisstatedinthearticle;'Thissituation
raisesasecondissue:theethicsofinfectingnativespeciesinordertomanageaninvasive
species.Numbersofnativefrogsdonotdecreaseaftercanetoadsinvade(seereviewby
Shine,2010),andthuswemightinflictsignificantsufferingonnativespeciesthat
otherwisewouldexperiencelittleifanynegativeimpactfromtheinvader.Isitethically
acceptabletoimposesufferingonanativespeciesinordertoreducethe(catastrophic)
impactoftheinvasivecanetoadonothernativetaxa(suchaslargelizards,snakes,
crocodilesandmarsupialpredators;Shine,2010)?'(L.Pizzatto,R.Shine,2012p.550).
Furtherexperimentationwouldbebeneficial,suchasalargerpopulation,andmore
populations(somethatcouldpotentiallybeinfected)tostudy.DuetothesizeofAustralia
itwouldbeimpossibletoconductastudyofthatsize.Whateverscientistsactively
workingonthisissuedecidethereneedstobecarefulconsiderationandthoughtbehind
theirfinalchoice.

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Bibliography
Pizzatto, L., and R. Shine. "Typhoid Mary in the Frogpond: Can We Use Native Frogs to Disseminate a
Lungworm Biocontrol for Invasive Cane Toads?" Animal Conservation 15.6 (2012): 545-52.
Web. 16 Apr. 2015.