153 The Rising Toad Tide

Toads are wonderful creatures, and their exceptional adaptability makes them superb invaders when transported to new lands by humans. Unfortunately, this can be bad news for the creatures already present –see Cane Toads in Australia. We check in on the progress of Asian Common Toads in Madagascar this episode.

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Main Paper References:

Licata F, Ficetola GF, Falaschi M, Muller BJ, Andreone F, Harison RF, Freeman K, Monteiro AT, Rosa S, Crottini A. 2023. Spatial ecology of the invasive Asian common toad in Madagascar and its implications for invasion dynamics. Scientific Reports 13:3526. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29467-2.

Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:

Vences M, Brown JL, Lathrop A, Rosa GM, Cameron A, Crottini A, Dolch R, Edmonds D, Freeman KLM, Glaw F, Grismer LL, Litvinchuk S, Milne MG, Moore M, Solofo JF, Noël J, Nguyen TQ, Ohler A, Randrianantoandro C, Raselimanana AP, van Leeuwen P, Wogan GOU, Ziegler T, Andreone F, Murphy RW. 2017. Tracing a toad invasion: lack of mitochondrial DNA variation, haplotype origins, and potential distribution of introduced Duttaphrynus melanostictus in Madagascar. Amphibia-Reptilia 38:197–207. DOI: 10.1163/15685381-00003104.

Other Links/Mentions:

Indus Valley Bullfrog information from AmphiaWeb - https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?where-scientific_name=Hoplobatrachus+Tigerinus&rel-scientific_name=contains&include_synonymies=Yes

Indus Valley Bullfrog call from Md Azijul Hakim - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAxF0MKBcUw

Editing and Music:

Podcast edited by Emmy – https://www.fiverr.com/emmyk10 

Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson

Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy

Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com