| disease exposure and antifungal bacteria on skin of invasive cane toads, australia. | cane toads, an invasive species in australia, are resistant to fungal pathogens affecting frogs worldwide (batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). from toad skin swabs, we detected higher proportions of bacteria with antifungal properties in queensland, where toad and pathogen distributions overlap, than in other sites. this finding suggests that site-specific pathogen pressures help shape skin microbial communities. | 2019 | 31441753 |
| non-reproductive male cane toads (rhinella marina) withhold sex-identifying information from their rivals. | a male cane toad (rhinella marina) that mistakenly clasps another male (rather than a female) in a sexual embrace (amplexus) can be induced to dismount by a male-specific 'release call'. although that sex-identifying system can benefit both males in that interaction, our standardized tests showed that one-third of male cane toads did not emit release calls when grasped. most of those silent males were small, had small testes relative to body mass, and had poorly developed secondary sexual charac ... | 2019 | 31409244 |
| at the invasion front, male cane toads (rhinella marina) have smaller testes. | as a colonizing species expands its range, individuals at the invasion front experience different evolutionary pressures than do those at the range-core. for example, low densities at the edge of the range mean that males should rarely experience intense sperm competition from rivals; and investment into reproduction may trade-off with adaptations for more rapid dispersal. both of these processes are predicted to favour a reduction in testis size at the invasion front. to explore effects of inva ... | 2019 | 31337295 |
| occurrence of rat lungworm (angiostrongylus cantonensis) in invasive coqui frogs (eleutherodactylus coqui) and other hosts in hawaii, usa. | the rat lungworm (angiostrongylus cantonensis) has emerged as an important human and animal health concern in hawaii, us. although the life cycle of the parasite requires both rat and gastropod hosts, other animals acting as paratenic hosts, such as frogs and centipedes, have been identified as sources of infection. we investigated the occurrence of rat lungworm infections in potential paratenic hosts in hawaii to provide information on how they might be involved in transmission of angiostrongyl ... | 2020 | 31295084 |
| may the (selective) force be with you: spatial sorting and natural selection exert opposing forces on limb length in an invasive amphibian. | spatial sorting on invasion fronts drives the evolution of dispersive phenotypes, and in doing so can push phenotypes in the opposite direction to natural selection. the invasion of cane toads (rhinella marina) through tropical australia has accelerated over recent decades because of the accumulation of dispersal-enhancing traits at the invasion front, driven by spatial sorting. one such trait is the length of the forelimbs: invasion-front toads have longer arms (relative to body length) in comp ... | 2019 | 31278788 |
| cytotoxicity and antimitotic activity of rhinella schneideri and rhinella marina venoms. | rhinella schneideri and rhinella marina are toad venoms distributed in different parts of the world, including brazil, columbia and amazon. venoms extracted from different species have many clinical applications such as antimicrobial cardiotonics and treatment of cancer. aim of the study; in this study, we aim to investigate the effect of venoms extracted from r. schneideri and r. marina on cancer cells and verify possible mechanism of action. | 2019 | 31265888 |
| corrigendum to "biochemical and biological profile of parotoid secretion of the amazonian rhinella marina (anura: bufonidae)". | [this corrects the article doi: 10.1155/2019/2492315.]. | 2019 | 31263705 |
| comparative cytogenetics of nine populations of the rhinella genus (anura, bufonidae) with a highlight on their conservative karyotype. | the genus rhinella is one of the most diverse groups of bufonid toads, currently composed by 93 valid species and naturally distributed throughout different neotropical ecoregions. here, we analyze nine brazilian populations of toads representing species of the rhinella margaritifera and rhinella marina groups. these new data include the first description of the r. hoogmoedi and r. proboscidae karyotypes, as well as other taxonomically unresolved forms. chromosomal analysis of the populations re ... | 2020 | 31259364 |
| biological control of pests and a social model of animal welfare. | this paper considers the sociocultural implications of biological pest control that sit at the cusp of managing an invasive species for conservation or productivity (i.e. a 'natural enemy') and socially driven 'manipulating life' arguments. we consider the role of perceived humaneness or, more accurately, animal welfare as it relates to managing invasive species from a scientific and social perspective. in order to highlight and articulate particular nuances and standards across different pest c ... | 2019 | 31252230 |
| different vasodilator mechanisms in intermediate- and small-sized arteries from the hindlimb vasculature of the toad rhinella marina. | in this study, myography was used to determine the effect of arterial size on nitric oxide (no) vasodilatory mechanisms in the hindlimb vasculature of the toad rhinella marina. immunohistochemical analysis showed no synthase (nos) 1 immunoreactivity in perivascular nitrergic nerves in the iliac and sciatic arteries. furthermore, nos3 immunoreactivity was observed in the vascular smooth muscle of the sciatic artery, but not the endothelium. acetylcholine (ach) was used to facilitate intracellular ... | 2019 | 31242019 |
| immune and environment-driven gene expression during invasion: an eco-immunological application of rna-seq. | host-pathogen associations change rapidly during a biological invasion and are predicted to impose strong selection on immune function. it has been proposed that the invader may experience an abrupt reduction in pathogen-mediated selection ("enemy release"), thereby favoring decreased investment into "costly" immune responses. across plants and animals, there is mixed support for this prediction. pathogens are not the only form of selection imposed on invaders; differences in abiotic environment ... | 2019 | 31236254 |
| biochemical and biological profile of parotoid secretion of the amazonian rhinella marina (anura: bufonidae). | skin secretions of frogs have a high chemical complexity. they have diverse types of biomolecules, such as proteins, peptides, biogenic amines, and alkaloids. these compounds protect amphibians' skin against growth of bacteria, fungi, and protozoa and participate in defense system against attack from predators. therewith, this work performed biochemical and biological profile of macroglands parotoid secretion from cane toad. for poison analysis, we performed molecular exclusion and reverse phase ... | 2019 | 31214612 |
| the cost of chemical defence: the impact of toxin depletion on growth and behaviour of cane toads ( rhinella marina). | many animals capable of deploying chemical defences are reluctant to use them, suggesting that synthesis of toxins imposes a substantial cost. typically, such costs have been quantified by measuring the elevation in metabolic rate induced by toxin depletion (i.e. during replenishment of toxin stores). more generally, we might expect that toxin depletion will induce shifts in a broad suite of fitness-relevant traits. in cane toads ( rhinella marina), toxic compounds that protect against predators ... | 2019 | 31088275 |
| rapid adaptation to cold in the invasive cane toad rhinella marina. | understanding rapid adaptation to novel environments is essential as we face increasing climatic change. invasive species are an ideal system for studying adaptation as they are typically introduced to novel environments where they must adapt if they are to persist. we used the invasive cane toad, rhinella marina, to investigate the contribution of plasticity and evolution to rapid adaptation in a novel environment. rhinella marina is a neotropical toad that has invaded areas with climates outsi ... | 2019 | 30800317 |
| patterns of fluctuating asymmetry in the limbs of anurans. | it has been hypothesized that fluctuating asymmetry (fa) may provide an indication of the functional importance of structures within an organism, with structures that more strongly impact fitness being more symmetric. based on this idea, we predicted that for tetrapods in which the forelimbs and hindlimbs play an unequal role in locomotion, the less functionally important limb set should display higher levels of fa. we conducted a multispecies test of this hypothesis in anurans (frogs and toads) ... | 2019 | 30779370 |
| survey of ranavirus and batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in introduced frogs in hawaii, usa. | ranaviruses and the fungus batrachochytrium dendrobatidis are globally important agents of emerging infectious amphibian diseases. amphibians on oahu, the hawaiian island with the greatest potential for disease introduction through the movement of goods and people, have never been surveyed for ranaviruses or b. dendrobatidis. we surveyed all five species of frogs on oahu, hawaii, us for these pathogens. of 325 individuals sampled from six sites, none were positive for ranavirus. however, we foun ... | 2019 | 30768916 |
| seasonal comparison of the neuromuscular junction morphology of bufo marinus. | at mammalian neuromuscular junctions (nmjs), prolonged inactivity leads to muscle denervation and atrophy. by contrast, amphibian nmjs do not show such degeneration even though they can remain in a state of drought-imposed dormancy (hibernation) for many years. we have previously reported that during the dry season, toad (bufo marinus) nmjs display decreased sensitivity to extracellular calcium-dependent neurotransmitter release, which leads to minimal neuromuscular transmission. in the present ... | 2019 | 30737989 |
| marinobufagenin extraction from rhinella marina toad glands: alternative approaches for a systematized strategy. | marinobufagenin is a bufadienolide compound detected mainly in skin and parotoid gland secretions of rhinella marina (l.) toad. bufadienolides regulate the na+ /k+ -atpase pump by inhibiting the cardiotonic steroid dependent-site and act as cardiac inotropes with vasoconstrictive properties. marinobufagenin and other bufadienolides, such as telocinobufagin and bufalin, are thought to be found endogenously in mammals in salt-sensitive hypertensive states such as essential hypertension, congestive ... | 2019 | 30667156 |
| novel habitat causes a shift to diurnal activity in a nocturnal species. | plastic responses may allow individuals to survive and reproduce in novel environments, and can facilitate the establishment of viable populations. but can novel environments reveal plasticity by causing a shift in a behavior as fundamental and conspicuous as daily activity? we studied daily activity times near the invasion front of the cane toad (rhinella marina), an invasive species that has colonized much of northern australia. cane toads in australia are nocturnal, probably because diurnal a ... | 2019 | 30659222 |
| induction of phytoalexins and proteins related to pathogenesis in plants treated with extracts of cutaneous secretions of southern amazonian bufonidae amphibians. | cutaneous secretions produced by amphibians of the family bufonidae are rich sources of bioactive compounds that can be useful as new chemical templates for agrochemicals. in crop protection, the use of elicitors to induce responses offers the prospect of durable, broad-spectrum disease control using the plant's own resistance. therefore, we evaluated the potential of methanolic extracts of cutaneous secretions of two species of amphibians of the family bufonidae found in the amazon biome-rhaebo ... | 2019 | 30653617 |
| dare to eat cane toad eggs? | | 2019 | 30637866 |
| cane toads (rhinella marina) rely on water access, not drought tolerance, to invade xeric australian environments. | the invasion of habitats with novel environmental challenges may require physiological tolerances not seen in conspecifics from the native range. we used a combination of field and laboratory-based experiments to assess physiological tolerance to limited water access at four sites distributed across the historical invasion path of cane toads (rhinella marina) in australia that, from east to west, alternated between mesic and seasonally xeric habitats. toads from all locations were well hydrated ... | 2019 | 30535812 |
| morphological and biochemical characterization of the cutaneous poison glands in toads (rhinella marina group) from different environments. | amphibian defence against predators and microorganisms is directly related to cutaneous glands that produce a huge number of different toxins. these glands are distributed throughout the body but can form accumulations in specific regions. when grouped in low numbers, poison glands form structures similar to warts, quite common in the dorsal skin of bufonids (toads). when accumulated in large numbers, the glands constitute protuberant structures known as macroglands, among which the parotoids ar ... | 2018 | 30479646 |
| ecological patterns in the skin microbiota of frogs from tropical australia. | the microbiota of frog skin can play an important role in protecting against diseases and parasites. the frog skin microbial community represents a complex mix of microbes that are promoted by the chemical environment of the frog skin and influenced by the animal's immediate past environment. the microbial communities of six species of frogs sampled from the campus of charles darwin university (cdu) were more similar within species than between species. the microbiota of the introduced cane toad ... | 2018 | 30464823 |
| age- and size-dependent resistance to chytridiomycosis in the invasive cane toad rhinella marina. | in australia, the cane toad rhinella marina and chytrid fungus batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (bd) are examples of invasive species that have had dramatic impacts on native fauna. however, little is known about the interaction between bd and cane toads. we aimed to explore the interaction of these 2 species in 3 parts. first, we collated data from the literature on bd infection in wild cane toads. second, we tested the susceptibility of recently metamorphosed cane toads to bd infection. finally, ... | 2018 | 30460917 |
| effects of skin region and relative lipophilicity on percutaneous absorption in the toad rhinella marina. | owing to the dynamic interaction between frog skin and the environment, xenobiotics in frog habitats are of particular concern, and knowledge of percutaneous absorption in frog skin is necessary for risk-mitigation purposes. baseline transdermal kinetics in adult aquatic and arboreal frog species have recently been reported; however, there is little information regarding absorption kinetics in adult terrestrial species. the present study investigated the in vitro absorption kinetics of 3 model c ... | 2019 | 30370675 |
| interactions between corticosterone phenotype, environmental stressor pervasiveness and irruptive movement-related survival in the cane toad. | animals use irruptive movement to avoid exposure to stochastic and pervasive environmental stressors that impact fitness. beneficial irruptive movements transfer individuals from high-stress areas (conferring low fitness) to alternative localities that may improve survival or reproduction. however, being stochastic, environmental stressors can limit an animal's preparatory capacity to enhance irruptive movement performance. thus individuals must rely on pre-existing, or rapidly induced, physiolo ... | 2018 | 30352824 |
| vision fine-tunes preparation for landing in the cane toad, rhinella marina. | in toad hopping, the hindlimbs generate the propulsive force for take-off while the forelimbs resist the impact forces associated with landing. preparing to perform a safe landing, in which impact forces are managed appropriately, likely involves the integration of multiple types of sensory feedback. in toads, vestibular and/or proprioceptive feedback is critical for coordinated landing; however, the role of vision remains unclear. to clarify this, we compare pre-landing forelimb muscle activati ... | 2018 | 30258029 |
| spinal arthritis in cane toads across the australian landscape. | loss of fitness can be a consequence of selection for rapid dispersal ability in invasive species. increased prevalence of spinal arthritis may occur in cane toad populations at the invasion front as a cost of increased invasiveness, but our knowledge of the ecological drivers of this condition is lacking. we aimed to determine the factors explaining the prevalence of spinal arthritis in populations across the australian landscape. we studied populations across a gradient of invasion histories. ... | 2018 | 30127531 |
| the development of toad toxins as potential therapeutic agents. | toxins from toads have long been known to contain rich chemicals with great pharmaceutical potential. recent studies have shown more than 100 such chemical components, including peptides, steroids, indole alkaloids, bufogargarizanines, organic acids, and others, in the parotoid and skins gland secretions from different species of toads. in traditional chinese medicine (tcm), processed toad toxins have been used for treating various diseases for hundreds of years. modern studies, including both e ... | 2018 | 30127299 |
| draft genome assembly of the invasive cane toad, rhinella marina. | the cane toad (rhinella marina formerly bufo marinus) is a species native to central and south america that has spread across many regions of the globe. cane toads are known for their rapid adaptation and deleterious impacts on native fauna in invaded regions. however, despite an iconic status, there are major gaps in our understanding of cane toad genetics. the availability of a genome would help to close these gaps and accelerate cane toad research. | 2018 | 30101298 |
| bufadienolide toxicity in a child following cane toad egg ingestion. | | 2018 | 30039591 |
| differential gene expression to an lps challenge in relation to exogenous corticosterone in the invasive cane toad (rhinella marina). | the cane toad (rhinella marina) is an invasive amphibian in several parts of the world. much of the research performed on assessing the dispersal potential of invasive species has focused immunity. invaders are predicted to rely less on pro-inflammatory immunity, allowing them to allocate energy to dispersal. elevated stress may play a role in regulation of immune responses used by invasive species. rna sequencing of spleen tissue from cane toads subjected to an acute lps challenge revealed gene ... | 2018 | 30030104 |
| invasive colonic entamoebiasis in wild cane toads, australia. | we detected a disease syndrome in free-ranging australian cane toads involving atypical behavior and emaciation that is associated with a previously undescribed entamoeba sp. that infiltrates the colonic lining, causing it to slough. the organism may become seasonally pathogenic when toads are under hydric and nutritional stress. | 2018 | 30015612 |
| anuran predators overcome visual illusion: dazzle coloration does not protect moving prey. | predators everywhere impose strong selection pressures on the morphology and behavior of their prey, but the resulting antipredator adaptations vary greatly among species. studies of adaptive coloration in prey species have generally focused on cryptic or aposematic prey, with little consideration of color patterns in palatable mobile prey. complex color patterns have been proposed to decrease the ability of visual predators to capture moving prey (motion dazzle effect). most support for this hy ... | 2018 | 29922864 |
| viral discovery in the invasive australian cane toad (rhinella marina) using metatranscriptomic and genomic approaches. | cane toads are a notorious invasive species, inhabiting over 1.2 million km2 of australia and threatening native biodiversity. the release of pathogenic cane toad viruses is one possible biocontrol strategy yet is currently hindered by the poorly described cane toad virome. metatranscriptomic analysis of 16 cane toad livers revealed the presence of a novel and full-length picornavirus, rhimavirus a (rhiv-a), a member of a reptile- and amphibian-specific cluster of the picornaviridae basal to the ... | 2018 | 29899109 |
| the influence of visual, vestibular, and hindlimb proprioceptive ablations on landing preparation in cane toads. | coordinated landing from a jump requires preparation, which must include appropriate positioning and configuration of the landing limbs and body to be successful. while well studied in mammals, our lab has been using the cane toad (rhinella marinus) as a model for understanding the biomechanics of controlled landing in anurans, animals that use jumping or bounding as their dominant mode of locomotion. in this article, we report new results from experiments designed to explore how different modes ... | 2018 | 29897446 |
| short-duration respirometry underestimates metabolic rate for discontinuous breathers. | metabolic rate is commonly estimated from rates of gas exchange. an underappreciated factor that can influence estimates is patterns of pulmonary respiration. amphibians display discontinuous respiratory patterns, often including long apnoeas, in addition to cutaneous gas exchange. the contribution of cutaneous exchange increases at low temperatures when metabolic rate is low. because of the relatively low permeability of skin, measurements that disproportionately capture cutaneous exchange can ... | 2018 | 29880638 |
| testing for short- and long-term thermal plasticity in corticosterone responses of an ectothermic vertebrate. | phenotypic plasticity, broadly defined as the capacity of one genotype to produce more than one phenotype, is a key mechanism for how animals adapt to environmental (including thermal) variation. vertebrate glucocorticoid hormones exert broad-scale regulation of physiological, behavioral, and morphological traits that influence fitness under many life-history or environmental contexts. yet the capacity for vertebrates to demonstrate different types of thermal plasticity, including rapid compensa ... | 2018 | 29863953 |
| revealing of endogenous marinobufagin by an ultra-specific and sensitive uhplc-ms/ms assay in pregnant women. | marinobufagenin (mbg) is a bufadienolide cardiac inotrope implicated in volume expansion-mediated hypertensive states including essential hypertension and preeclampsia (pe). endogenous mbg is an inhibitor of the α1-isoform of na+,k+-atpase with vasoconstrictive and cardiotonic properties, causing hypertension and natriuresis. elevated endogenous mbg-like material levels have been described by immunoassays in salt-sensitive pregnant and preeclamptic rats as well as in preeclamptic human patients. ... | 2018 | 29853035 |
| detection of rickettsia spp. in ticks parasitizing toads (rhinella marina) in the northern brazilian amazon. | this study evaluated rickettsial infection in ticks collected on toads from the northern brazilian amazon (amapá state), where to our knowledge there are neither records of ticks from amphibians nor rickettsial infections in ticks. during 2016-2017, a total of 22 free-living toads were captured and identified as rhinella marina. overall, 12 (54.5%) toads were parasitized by a total of 97 ticks (6 males, 39 females, 31 nymphs, 21 larvae), giving a mean intensity of 8.1 ticks per infested toad. tw ... | 2018 | 29846852 |
| behavioural divergence during biological invasions: a study of cane toads (rhinella marina) from contrasting environments in hawai'i. | invasive species must deal with novel challenges, both from the alien environment and from pressures arising from range expansion per se (e.g. spatial sorting). those conditions can create geographical variation in behaviour across the invaded range, as has been documented across regions of australia invaded by cane toads; range-edge toads are more exploratory and willing to take risks than are conspecifics from the range-core. that behavioural divergence might be a response to range expansion a ... | 2018 | 29765696 |
| survival of the feces: does a nematode lungworm adaptively manipulate the behavior of its cane toad host? | parasites can enhance their fitness by modifying the behavior of their hosts in ways that increase rates of production and transmission of parasite larvae. we used an antihelminthic drug to experimentally alter infections of lungworms (rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala) in cane toads (rhinella marina). we then compared subsequent behaviors of dewormed toads versus toads that retained infections. both in the laboratory and in the field, the presence of parasites induced hosts to select higher body te ... | 2018 | 29760901 |
| the thermal dependency of locomotor performance evolves rapidly within an invasive species. | biological invasions can stimulate rapid shifts in organismal performance, via both plasticity and adaptation. we can distinguish between these two proximate mechanisms by rearing offspring from populations under identical conditions and measuring their locomotor abilities in standardized trials. we collected adult cane toads (rhinella marina) from invasive populations that inhabit regions of australia with different climatic conditions. we bred those toads and raised their offspring under commo ... | 2018 | 29760882 |
| effects of rearing environment and population origin on responses to repeated behavioural trials in cane toads (rhinella marina). | behavioural responses to repeated trials in captivity can be driven by many factors including rearing environment, population of origin, habituation to captivity/trial conditions and an individual's behavioural type (e.g., bold versus shy). we tested the effect of rearing environment (captive raised common-garden versus wild-caught) and population origin (range-edge versus range-front) on the responses of invasive cane toads (rhinella marina) to repeated exploration and risk-taking assays in cap ... | 2018 | 29729410 |
| on the taxonomic status of bufo brasiliensis laurenti, 1768. | the name bufo brasiliensis was proposed by laurenti (1768) and, for a long time, has been associated with the widely distributed marine toad - rhinella marina (linnaeus, 1758). however, we found several inconsistences in this taxonomic proposal and disagree with it. we argue that the specimen illustrated does not correspond to any bufonid form (even less the neotropical genus rhinella) based on the following argumentation presented below. laurenti (1768) used seba's (1734) illustration in plate ... | 2018 | 29690401 |
| new weapons in the toad toolkit: a review of methods to control and mitigate the biodiversity impacts of invasive cane toads (rhinella marina). | our best hope of developing innovative methods to combat invasive species is likely to come from the study of high-profile invaders that have attracted intensive research not only into control, but also basic biology. here we illustrate that point by reviewing current thinking about novel ways to control one of the world’s most well-studied invasions: that of the cane toad in australia. recently developed methods for population suppression include more effective traps based on the toad’s acousti ... | 2017 | 29562120 |
| physiological plasticity in a successful invader: rapid acclimation to cold occurs only in cool-climate populations of cane toads (rhinella marina). | physiological plasticity may facilitate invasion of novel habitats; but is such plasticity present in all populations of the invader or is it elicited only by specific climatic challenges? in cold-climate areas of australia, invasive cane toads (rhinella marina) can rapidly acclimate to cool conditions. to investigate whether this physiological plasticity is found in all invasive cane toads or is only seen in cool climates, we measured the acclimation ability of toads from across australia and t ... | 2018 | 29399360 |
| invasion history alters the behavioural consequences of immune system activation in cane toads. | acute activation of the immune system often initiates a suite of behavioural changes. these "sickness behaviours"-involving lethargy and decreased activity-may be particularly costly on invasion fronts, where evolutionary pressures on dispersal favour individuals that move large distances. we used a combination of field and laboratory studies to compare sickness behaviours of cane toads from populations differing in invasion history. to do this we stimulated immune system activation by injecting ... | 2018 | 29380363 |
| characterization of the skin microbiota of the cane toad rhinella cf. marina in puerto rico and costa rica. | rhinella marina is a toad native to south america that has been introduced in the antilles, likely carrying high loads of microorganisms, potentially impacting local community diversity. the amphibian skin is involved in pathogen defense and its microbiota has been relatively well studied, however, research focusing on the cane toad microbiota is lacking. we hypothesize that the skin microbial communities will differ between toads inhabiting different geographical regions in central america and ... | 2017 | 29354109 |
| the things they carried: the pathogenic effects of old and new parasites following the intercontinental invasion of the australian cane toad (rhinella marina). | brought to australia in 1935 to control agricultural pests (from french guiana, via martinique, barbados, jamaica, puerto rico and hawai'i), repeated stepwise translocations of small numbers of founders enabled the cane toad (rhinella marina) to escape many parasites and pathogens from its native range. however, the infective organisms that survived the journey continue to affect the dynamics of the toad in its new environment. in australia, the native-range lungworm rhabdias pseudosphaerocephal ... | 2017 | 30951567 |
| study on hemoparasites of bufo marinus l. from venezuela. 1. hemogregarinas. 2. a new species of toxoplasma. | | 1956 | 13386954 |