Desiccation Risk Drives the Spatial Ecology of an Invasive Anuran (Rhinella marina) in the Australian Semi-Desert

Abstract

Some invasive species flourish in places that impose challenges very different from those faced in their native geographic ranges. Cane toads (Rhinella marina) are native to tropical and subtropical habitats of South and Central America, but have colonised extremely arid regions over the course of their Australian invasion. We radio-tracked 44 adult cane toads at a semi-arid invasion front to investigate how this invasive anuran has managed to expand its geographic range into arid areas that lie outside of its native climatic niche. As predicted from their low physiological control over rates of evaporative water loss, toads selected diurnal shelter sites that were consistently cooler and da..