Australia's Most Destructive Creature

Summary

The video script recounts the ecological disaster of the cane toad introduction in Australia, initially as a biological solution to a pest problem but resulting in an invasive species nightmare. The toads' rapid population growth, toxicity, and impact on native species are highlighted. It also touches on the evolutionary responses of affected animals and the challenges of managing the toad population, including potential genetic solutions. The script humorously acknowledges the cane toad's role in a memorable documentary, blending science with entertainment.

Takeaways

• 🌏 The cane toad (Bufo marinus) was introduced to Australia in the 1930s as a biological control for sugar cane pests but became an invasive species.
• 🐛 The toads were ineffective at controlling the cane beetle grubs they were introduced to counter, as the beetles were out of reach.
• 📈 The cane toad population in Australia exploded from 100 to over 100 million, becoming a major ecological threat.
• 🏞️ The rapid spread of cane toads has been linked to the decline of several native Australian species, including lizards and snakes.
• 🔥 Cane toads are highly toxic, with venom glands that can kill predators quickly, but this defense mechanism has not deterred some Australian species from adapting.
• 🧬 The cane toad's biology, particularly its toxicity and reproductive rate, makes it a formidable invader that is difficult to control.
• 🐊 Some Australian animals, like freshwater crocodiles, have suffered from the toads' venom, but there are signs of natural selection favoring tolerance to the toxin.
• 🥚 Cane toads lay an extraordinarily high number of eggs, which are also toxic, contributing to their overwhelming population growth.
• 🏃‍♂️ Modern cane toads have evolved to move faster than their ancestors, expanding their range at an accelerated rate.
• 🔬 Researchers are exploring genetic solutions, such as the W-shredder gene drive, to control the cane toad population by creating male-only offspring.
• 🎥 The cane toad story is also a subject of a unique and humorous documentary, which serves as a memorable piece of science communication.

Q & A

What was the initial problem faced by Australian farmers in the 1930s?

Australian farmers faced a significant problem with their sugar cane crops being decimated by the larvae of the cane beetle, which destroyed the plant's roots.

Why did Australian officials decide to introduce cane toads from Hawaii?

Australian officials decided to introduce cane toads as a biological solution to control the cane beetle grubs, hoping that the toads would prey on the grubs and solve the pest problem.

What was the unintended consequence of introducing cane toads to Australia?

The introduction of cane toads led to a massive ecological disaster, as the toads multiplied rapidly and spread across the continent, becoming one of the most notorious invasive species in Australia.

Why were the cane toads ineffective in controlling the cane beetle population?

Cane beetles perch too high off the ground for the cane toads to reach, and the toads cannot access the grubs underground, rendering the toads ineffective in controlling the beetle population.

How has the rapid spread of cane toads impacted native Australian species?

The spread of cane toads has been linked to the decline of several native species, including the Australian monitor lizard, the northern blue-tongued lizard, the Australian water dragon, the king brown snake, the common death adder, and the northern quoll, with many species at risk of total extinction.

What makes the cane toad's biology particularly destructive to the Australian ecosystem?

The cane toad's biology is destructive due to its large size, rapid reproduction, and high toxicity. The venom glands on their shoulders secrete a highly toxic substance that can kill predators quickly.

How do cane toads' reproductive strategies contribute to their invasive nature?

Cane toads are r-strategists, meaning they lay a large number of eggs with little investment in each offspring, expecting most to survive due to their high toxicity to predators.

What evolutionary adaptations have been observed in some Australian animals in response to the cane toad invasion?

Some Australian animals, like freshwater crocodiles and blacksnake populations, are showing signs of higher tolerance to the toad toxin, and Australian water rats have learned to eat the non-toxic parts of the cane toads, such as their hearts.

How have cane toads' legs evolved over time to aid in their rapid spread?

Over a 60-year period, Australian cane toads' legs have grown over 25%, with the largest legs found in toads on the western front, indicating an evolutionary advantage in faster spreading.

What is the proposed genetic solution to control the cane toad population?

Researchers are exploring the use of a W-shredder gene drive to create cane toads that can only produce male offspring, which would eventually lead to a significant reduction in the female population and halt effective procreation.

How does the documentary mentioned in the script contribute to the understanding of the cane toad problem?

The documentary provides a humorous yet informative perspective on the cane toad problem, making it a memorable piece of science communication that has had a lasting impact on viewers.

Outlines

00:00

🐸 The Cane Toad Invasion of Australia

In the 1930s, Australian farmers faced a devastating pest problem with the cane beetle grubs destroying sugar cane crops. In an attempt to control the grubs, officials introduced the cane toad from Hawaii without considering the ecological impact. The toads rapidly multiplied, becoming an invasive species that decimated native wildlife due to their toxic nature and insatiable appetite. The toads' inability to control the cane beetle population, which was the original intent, highlighted the disastrous consequences of their introduction. The summary also touches on the broader issue of invasive species and the criteria that define them, as well as the unique biology of the cane toad that makes it a formidable ecological threat.

05:04

🔮 Evolutionary Adaptations and Cannibalism Among Cane Toads

This paragraph delves into the evolutionary responses of cane toads and some native Australian species to the toxic invaders. The cane toads' potent venom, which is lethal to most animals that attempt to eat them, has led to a natural selection process where only the fittest survive. Some Australian predators, like freshwater crocodiles, have suffered massive die-offs, while others, such as black snakes and Australian water rats, have developed strategies to avoid the toads' toxins or exploit their size for nourishment. The paragraph also discusses the cane toads' reproductive strategy as r-strategists, producing a vast number of offspring with high toxicity, which has led to an unexpected evolutionary event where the toads are evolving to become faster and larger, potentially due to the intense competition within their rapidly expanding population.

10:05

🏃‍♂️ Rapid Evolution and Cannibalism in the Cane Toad Plague

The rapid expansion of the cane toad population in Australia has led to observable evolutionary changes within a short time span, challenging previous beliefs about the speed of vertebrate evolution. The toads are not only spreading faster than initially thought but are also evolving physically, with modern cane toads having larger legs than their ancestors. This adaptation provides them with an advantage in colonizing new territories with less competition. Interestingly, the toads' high numbers have led to cannibalism as a population control mechanism, with more developed tadpoles consuming the majority of hatchlings, a behavior more prevalent in Australian cane toads than their South American counterparts.

15:06

🎬 The Educational and Entertaining Impact of Cane Toad Cinema

The final paragraph shifts focus to the cultural impact of the cane toad story, highlighting a memorable documentary that has served as both entertainment and education on the subject. The documentary, characterized by its humorous approach, unique interviews, and catchy jingles, has left a lasting impression on viewers. The paragraph also promotes a platform, CuriosityStream, which hosts the documentary and supports independent content creators. By signing up through a provided link, viewers can access CuriosityStream and Nebula, a platform created by educational YouTubers, at a discounted rate, supporting the creation of more informative and original content.

Keywords

💡Biological Solution

A biological solution refers to a method of addressing a problem by introducing or utilizing living organisms. In the video's context, Australian officials sought a biological solution to control the cane beetle grubs by introducing a predator, the cane toad, which unfortunately led to an ecological disaster. The script mentions this as the initial thought process that 'wasn’t entirely unreasonable' but resulted in the cane toad becoming 'the most notorious of all invasive species in Australia.'

💡Invasive Species

An invasive species is a non-native organism that causes harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. The video discusses the cane toad as a prime example of an invasive species, which has led to the decline of several native Australian species. The script explains that 'a species only gets the “invasive” title when it causes harm to the environment, displaces, or outcompetes native species,' highlighting the cane toad's detrimental impact on Australia's ecosystem.

💡Cane Toad

The cane toad, scientifically known as Bufo marinus, is a large, poisonous toad native to Central and South America. The video's main theme revolves around the cane toad's introduction to Australia and its subsequent impact as an invasive species. The script describes the cane toad's rapid population growth, its diet, and its toxicity, which have made it a significant ecological threat in Australia.

💡Venom

Venom is a toxic substance secreted by animals, often used for defense or hunting prey. The cane toad's venom glands, as mentioned in the script, secrete a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides that can be lethal to predators. This venom is a key factor in the cane toad's ability to spread and dominate the Australian ecosystem without natural checks from native predators.

💡Evolution

Evolution is the process by which species change over time through genetic variation and natural selection. The video discusses how cane toads in Australia have evolved larger legs over a 60-year period, enabling them to spread more rapidly. The script states, 'over a 60-year period, Australian cane toads’ legs have grown over 25%,' illustrating how evolution can occur rapidly under certain conditions.

💡Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the act of consuming members of one's own species. The video describes how cane toads in Australia have evolved to engage in cannibalism, particularly among the tadpoles, as a means to control their rapidly increasing population. The script notes that 'the toads are quickly evolving a taste for themselves,' which is an unusual and rapid evolutionary adaptation.

💡Gene Drive

A gene drive is a genetic mechanism that increases the likelihood that a particular gene will be inherited over others. The video mentions the use of a W-shredder gene drive as a potential solution to the cane toad problem, aiming to create a population that can only produce male offspring. The script explains this as a method to 'greatly reduce the numbers of females' and thus control the toad population.

💡Ecological Disaster

An ecological disaster refers to a sudden event that causes severe damage to an ecosystem. The introduction of the cane toad to Australia is described as an ecological disaster in the video, as it led to the decline of native species and a significant alteration of the Australian environment. The script refers to the cane toad's impact as 'the single worst decision they could have made,' highlighting the disastrous consequences of their introduction.

💡Adaptation

Adaptation in biology is the process by which organisms become better suited to their environment over time. The video discusses various forms of adaptation in response to the cane toad invasion, such as Australian water rats learning to eat the hearts of cane toads to avoid toxins. The script illustrates this with the example of 'Australian water rats [that] have learned to flip cane toads over to carve out and eat their hearts with surgical precision.'

💡R and K Selection Theory

The R and K selection theory categorizes species based on their reproductive strategies. 'r-strategists' have many offspring with little investment in each, while 'K-strategists' have fewer offspring with more investment. The video uses this theory to explain the cane toad's reproductive strategy, where 'one cane toad female can lay up to 40,000 eggs at a time,' which is typical of r-strategists.

💡Eradication

Eradication refers to the complete elimination of a species or problem from a particular area. The video discusses the challenges of eradicating the cane toad from Australia due to their vast numbers and rapid reproduction. The script mentions various methods attempted, such as 'trapping large numbers of toads using speakers to play the cane toad’s song,' but acknowledges that there is no easy way to eradicate them.

Highlights

In the 1930s, Australian farmers faced a severe problem with cane beetles devastating their sugar cane crops.

Chemical control methods failed, leading to a biological solution involving the introduction of cane toads as predators.

The introduction of cane toads from Hawaii to Australia was done without studying the potential environmental impact.

Cane toads rapidly multiplied and spread across Australia, becoming the most notorious invasive species.

The largest recorded cane toad was nearly 40 cm long and weighed 2.75 kg.

Cane toads consume a wide range of organisms but not the cane beetle, which was the original target.

Cane toads have been linked to the decline of several native Australian species, including the northern quoll.

Cane toads are extremely poisonous, with venom glands that can kill predators within minutes.

Some Australian predators, like freshwater crocodiles, have not adapted to the cane toad's poison and face mass die-offs.

Adaptation to cane toads is occurring, with some species learning to avoid toxic parts or develop resistance.

Cane toads lay up to 40,000 eggs at a time, an apocalyptic amount that contributes to their rapid spread.

Cane toads have been evolving to move faster, with modern toads having larger legs than those from decades ago.

Cannibalism is evolving rapidly among cane toads, with tadpoles consuming the majority of hatchlings.

Attempts to control the cane toad population include culling methods and genetic research to produce only male offspring.

A W-shredder gene drive is being researched to reduce the female cane toad population and control their spread.

The cane toad problem has inspired a unique documentary that combines science communication with humor.

CuriosityStream offers a documentary on cane toads, providing both entertainment and education on the issue.

Transcripts

In the 1930s, Australian farmers had a really big problem.

Their sugar cane crops were being decimated by a voracious grub, the larvae of the cane

beetle, which destroys the plant’s roots.

After failed attempts at chemically controlling the grubs, officials sought a biological solution.

They thought that if they introduced a predator of the beetle, the grub problem would go away.

At the time the thought process wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

But it would turn out to be the single worst decision they could have made.

After hearing about a measure to control a similar cane beetle in Hawaii with the voracious

cane toad, Australian officials jumped at the idea.

After dutifully carrying out exactly zero studies of the potential impact on the Australian

environment, they transported 100 toads from Hawaii and let ‘em loose.

And with that one single action, the Australian ecosystem was never the same.

100 toads quickly became 1000, and then 10,000, then 10 million, and then 100 million.

They have rapidly spread over much of the continent.

Today, cane toads, properly known as bufo marinus, or bufo toads, are the most notorious

of all invasive species in Australia.

This lumpy guy is massive, poisonous, and seemingly unstoppable.

The biggest cane toad ever recorded was almost 40 cm, or 15 inches long and weighed six pounds,

or 2.75kg.

It eats anything it can fit into its mouth - insects, trash, dogfood, small reptiles,

small rodents, and even birds.

The one thing it doesn’t eat though, is the cane beetle.

Cane beetles perch too high off the ground for the cane toads to reach, and the toads

certainly can’t get to the grubs underground.

So you could say there are some regrets.

Cane toads are now moving westward at a remarkably fast pace, and the Australian government admits

that it's unlikely they will ever be fully contained.

Since their introduction 87 years ago, cane toads have been linked to the decline of several

native species in the Northern Territory and Queensland, including the Australian monitor

lizard, the northern blue-tongued lizard, the Australian water dragon, the king brown

snake, the common death adder, and the northern quoll.

Many species are at risk of total extinction, all because of this stupid, ugly toad.

What is it about the cane toad’s particular biology that makes it so destructive and able

to spread so easily?

Why are some introduced species worse than others, and what can be done to stop them?

Invasive species, unfortunately, have become a major part of our modern world.

They can be introduced to an area by ship ballast water, accidental release, or, like

in the case of the cane toad, by misguided intentional human action.

But a common misconception is that any species found living in its non-native habitat is

an invasive species.

This however, is not the case.

Many species are introduced to new areas without it being a problem.

Most crops are non-native - potatoes, for example, are from south america but are now

grown on most continents without causing an issue.

Honeybees were introduced to the Americas from Europe in the 1600s, and have yet to

cause any major problem.

A species only gets the “invasive” title when it causes harm to the environment, displaces

or outcompetes native species, hurts the economy of the area, or becomes a danger to human,

animal, or plant health.

The brown tree snake has eaten a dozen kinds of forest birds in Guam to extinction; zebra

mussels clog pipes around the Great Lakes and, speaking from personal experience, shred

your feet to a pulp in Lake Travis; house cats murder any creature they can get their

paws on if they are let outside, pushing as many as 70 bird, reptile, and small mammal

species out of existence already.

The kudzu plant is a climbing vine that smothers and outcompetes native plants all over the

southeastern United States, and grows up to a foot a day.

All of these organisms have found a place to thrive where they didn’t originally evolve,

meaning other organisms haven’t had the time to adapt to their presence.

Native organisms don’t have defenses against the invaders, methods to compete alongside

them, or even ways to prey on them.

And the cane toad’s particular biology makes it so most of the natural inhabitants of the

Australian ecosystem don’t stand a chance.

Largely, because cane toads are extremely poisonous.

Adult cane Toads have venom-secreting poison glands on each shoulder where a highly toxic,

milky substance is released when they are threatened.

If an animal tries to bite at the toad, the venom is secreted directly into the animal’s

mouth, and its effect is almost instant.

The venom, which is full of cardiac glycosides, causes sodium to build up within the animal’s

cells.

When this happens in heart cells, it completely alters the rhythm of the heart, usually making

it beat out of control.

Meanwhile, potassium builds up between the cells, which can cause paralysis.

This then leads to difficulty breathing, convulsions, and soon after, death.

A cane toad’s poison can kill within minutes.

This makes the cane toad quite an undesirable snack for most animals, especially animals

in Australia.

In the cane toad’s natural habitat of South and Central America, some predators, like

the broad-snouted caiman, have evolved mechanisms to block the action of the poison.

But similar predators in Australia have not had time to keep up their end of the evolutionary

arms race.

Freshwater crocodiles in Australia are experiencing mass die-offs due to the very same toad.

A study conducted in 2008 saw 77% of freshwater crocodiles die in a period of 3 years, directly

following the inland progression of cane toads from the mouth of the Victoria River.

The pace of their deaths exactly matched the pace of the toads’ invasion.

But all hope is not lost for the crocodiles.

Eventually, the high death rate may naturally select for crocodiles that have a higher tolerance

to the toad toxin.

This is already being observed in some blacksnake populations that have been hit hard by the

cane toads.

And other animals are adapting in even freakier ways.

Australian water rats have learned to flip cane toads over to carve out and eat their

hearts with surgical precision, avoiding any toxins.

The rats even opt for the biggest, most poisonous toads.

It’s easier to avoid the poisonous parts of bigger toads, and if the poison is no bother

to them, they might as well go for the biggest meal.

In turn, this could have a positive effect for other native animals, because the largest

toads getting killed are the more toxic and more dangerous ones.

With enough time, maybe there is hope that Australian animals can fight back.

But, unfortunately, it's not just the adult cane toads that are the problem.

Even the eggs and tadpoles are poisonous, which, if ingested by vertebrate predators

like fish and turtles, can be fatal.

And this is no small threat.

Cane toads don’t just lay a few eggs, they lay an apocalyptic amount of eggs.

And their toxicity, added to their sheer numbers, is creating a completely unexpected evolutionary

event

The life of a cane toad begins within an egg - part of a long gelatinous string that the

female lays underwater and the male simultaneously fertilizes.

One cane toad female can lay up to 40,000 at a time.

This is a LOT of eggs.

But usually when an animal has so many offspring, they don’t expect many of them to survive.

Different kinds of animals have different strategies for their offspring, often described

as the r and K strategies.

K-strategists, like humans, whales, elephants, or bald eagles - have few young and invest

a lot of time and energy into rearing those young, with the idea that all or most will

survive into adulthood.

r-strategists, on the other hand, like mice, octopus, or you guessed it, toads have many,

many young and invest little energy into them, thinking the majority won’t survive to adulthood.

But the problem with cane toads in Australia is that basically all of them do survive.

These tiny black dots speckled down the string of eggs soon will hatch into tadpoles.

And the pond in which they live will become full to the brim, completely blackened with

them, killing most predators that try to eat them.

These tadpoles gradually develop forelimbs and hind limbs, reabsorb their tail, while

their gills disappear and their lungs develop.

Once metamorphosis is complete, armies emerge onto land as young toads.

And these armies are only getting more formidable.

Between the 1940s and 1960s, cane toads expanded their range by about 10km a year.

But today, cane toads are moving west and south at a rate of over 50km a year.

Why are they so much faster now than before?

At first, researchers thought that the toads might somehow be slipping onto to trucks and

hitchhiking across the country.

To find out for sure, they strapped tiny radiotransmitters to the toads.

And what they found shocked them.

The toads were not hitchhiking, but were themselves traveling at an alarming rate - up to 1.8

kilometers a night - far further than any other frog or toad ever studied.

Could this ever accelarating takeover be a result of the army of toads evolving into

a faster toad right in front of our eyes?

While researchers can’t go back in time to race modern toads with the first toads

brought over from Hawaii, what they can do is look at preserved specimens of toads from

decades ago.

And what they found is that over a 60 year period, Australian cane toads’ legs have

grown over 25%.

And scientists soon realized that the modern cane toads with the largest legs are those

on the western front - the first toads to arrive in a new area.

Later waves of toads had much shorter legs.

The cane toads able to spread farther and faster have less competition, and thus there

is an adaptive advantage in doing so.

The cane toads were always spreading fast, but now they are evolving to spread even faster.

This is all pretty worrying.

Where we used to think vertebrates can’t really evolve on such short time scales, the

cane toad is proving that they absolutely can, if the conditions are right.

And for invading organisms, whose populations explode very quickly, this rapid evolution

is all the more likely, and all the more dangerous.

But the intense competition between the toads that’s driving adaptation has an upside.

The toads are quickly evolving a taste for.. themselves.

They have become so numerous that their only natural predator is other cane toads.

And while scientists have observed cannibalism evolving in animals before, they have never

seen it evolve so quickly.

Adult cane toads can be seen eating smaller toads, but its their tadpoles that are doing

most of the cannibalizing.

Researchers found that a handful of more developed tadpoles can devour 99% of the tiny hatchlings

that emerge from the tens of thousands of eggs in a single clutch.

And when compared to the native cane toads of south america, invasive Australian cane

toad tadpoles were 2.6 times more likely to engage in this behavior.

So in this instance, their immense numbers and rapid evolution is helping to put a cap

on their numbers.

But short of the cane toads eating each other out of existence, is there anything we can

do to stop them?

Australians understandably want the cane toads gone, but unfortunately, there’s no great

way to round them up and kill them.

The government, community groups, and frustrated individuals do their best to cull them but

its not easy, and not always humane.

The current guidelines on the ‘most humane’ way to kill cane toads is to stick them in

the freezer.

Some groups try to trap large numbers of toads using speakers to play the cane toad’s song

to lure toads to it.

Other people just straight up shoot them with air rifles, hit them with golf clubs, or run

them over in their cars.

There are even “toad-busting” militias that make it their mission to kill as many

of the toads as possible.

But there are too many toads in Australia to eradicate by simply removing individuals.

That’s why some want to take a more intentional approach.

Researchers are trying to genetically develop a cane toad that can only produce male offspring,

using something called a W-shredder gene drive.

The ZW sex-determination system is a chromosomal system that determines the sex of offspring

of many animals like birds, some fish, some reptiles, and the cane toad.

ZW chromosomes will give you a female, and ZZ will give you a male.

This is sort of the opposite of the mammal system, where the heterozygous XY gives you

a male, and homozygous XX a female.

And in the ZW system, it is the egg that determines the sex of the offspring, unlike in the XY

system, where it is the sperm.

A W-shredder toad is a toad who has been gene edited so that all of its W bearing eggs are

defective.

That leaves just Z bearing eggs.

So when the male adds his Z chromosome to that, you get only ZZ offspring, meaning you

get only male offspring.

And if the W shredding gene is located on the Z chromosome, then this shredding gene

can be inherited.

With enough gene shredder toads in the environment, the numbers of females will be greatly reduced.

And a male-dominated population would be incapable of effective procreation.

Some may argue against this technology - saying we have clearly already messed with nature

enough.

But at this point, when the damage has already been done and the toads march on, we don’t

have the luxury to not intervene.

We as a species already are playing god, whether we like it or not.

So we might as well get good at it.

We might as well do it in a well researched, calculated way to undo some of the damage

we have done.

Despite their destruction, we can be grateful for the cane toads for one single reason.

They are the subject of the single greatest cinematic experience a person could ever have.

This whole video was inspired by a memory cemented in my brain from 10th grade biology,

of watching the most hilarious documentary I have ever seen.

Perhaps you too, have a distant memory of a cane toad named Dairy Queen,-- he’s dancing

line — inexplicable camera angles, amazing interviews – hit them with stick line–

– scientist making sound effects– grown men singing songs in the shower about cane

toads while they stalk him, psycho style?

… All textured with 80s synth and incredible jingles.

It feels like a mockumentary, but its all real - like a lovechild of National Geographic

and Monty Python.

The cane toad problem is obviously an awful thing, but sometimes in the face of a terrible

situation, all you can do is laugh.

And in all seriousness, its a powerful piece of science communication.

This film has been cemented in my brain for 15 years afterall.

As I was trying to reminisce on this magical film, I wondered if I would even be able to

track it down..

And to my great surprise and delight, I realized its on CuriosityStream in its entirety.

I almost could not believe my luck.

If you haven’t seen it, go watch it now.

You will not regret it.

And if you’re like me, and watched it years ago, go rewatch it.

I promise it is just as funny now as it was back then.

And make sure to watch it on CuriosityStream, to support this channel and other independent

creators like me.

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