Ugly and unwanted

Discussion on preserving Nature: preventing the pollution, destruction and disbalancing of the finely-tuned natural ecosystems on our planet.

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
Yothu
Posts: 439
Joined: Sat Aug 14, 2004 11:46 am
Location: Europe
Contact:

Ugly and unwanted

Post: # 6538Post Yothu »

Ugly and unwanted

Image

Wipe out female cane toads

Scientists are hoping to develop a strain of daughterless toads as a way to control these introduced pests.

As the cane toads continue on their seemingly unstoppable march across the top of the continent, researchers at the University of Queensland want to wipe out female toads.

"We have had a lot of experience studying the genes that control that process in mammals and it just a matter now of transferring our knowledge into the cane toad system," he says. Once the gene which controls the mechanism has been identified, the researchers will use standard lab techniques to inject cane toad eggs.

The result - males stay as males but females change to males, says Prof Koopman. This biological strategy has advantages in that there should be no side effects. "The strategy doesn't involve releasing any pathegens, viruses, or toxins into the environment: so in fact the side effects are none."

For instance, he says that viruses can escape to other species or countries. "In this case, the genes are only transferred to other cane toads by mating and you can't effect any of the species you're trying to protect."

News Link

The Toad Files

In Austrian News I read that Australia considers using military force against the "toad invasion". Brought from Venezuela to Australia a long time ago, these toads turn into a serious problem because they lack natural predators. They seem to be so poisonous that even crocodiles who swallowed them died some minutes later.
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got.
Lena
Posts: 212
Joined: Fri May 27, 2005 1:12 am
Location: CT

Post: # 6543Post Lena »

wow. that's kind of amusing actually :roll: are toads really that big of a problem down there?
survivor
Posts: 288
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:32 am
Location: melbourne, Australia

Post: # 6545Post survivor »

Monday night on Australian TV, I saw a program on cane toads where people were selling the frogs stuffed. (embalmed). You could also buy the head that was on a key ring. Talk about cashing in! :pukel:
User avatar
shezmear
Posts: 573
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2005 2:48 pm

Post: # 6546Post shezmear »

Through out my childhood I was chasing around cane toads with golf clubs, bats, rocks, ect, they are tough, luv to breed and if anything’s eats them, it dies...

You could never kill enough of them, there was always plenty more, each night we would go out in the rain and kill as many as we could and next night they would all be back, big fat brown tough toads....
By their deeds shall you know them.
J.C
Post Reply