Comments on: To control cannibal toads, you just need the right bait http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/13/to-control-cannibal-toads-you-just-need-the-right-bait/ Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:00:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Bill Adlam http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/13/to-control-cannibal-toads-you-just-need-the-right-bait/#comment-15305 Bill Adlam Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:47:15 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=7079#comment-15305 Presumably non-cannibalism can evolve very quickly: it only requires a loss of function in the bufadienolide receptor. Once that spreads through the population, and cane toad eggs are no longer depredated, they may reach higher population densities than they originally did. Of course, you can undo this by stopping the trapping programme, at which point cannibalism becomes advantageous again. Presumably non-cannibalism can evolve very quickly: it only requires a loss of function in the bufadienolide receptor. Once that spreads through the population, and cane toad eggs are no longer depredated, they may reach higher population densities than they originally did.

Of course, you can undo this by stopping the trapping programme, at which point cannibalism becomes advantageous again.

]]> By: Susan Durham http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/13/to-control-cannibal-toads-you-just-need-the-right-bait/#comment-15304 Susan Durham Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:25:16 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=7079#comment-15304 Once a cannibal, always a cannibal! Once a cannibal, always a cannibal!

]]> By: Brian Schmidt http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/13/to-control-cannibal-toads-you-just-need-the-right-bait/#comment-15303 Brian Schmidt Thu, 14 Jun 2012 03:01:11 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=7079#comment-15303 Good trick. Will be interesting to see how many years before the cane toads tadpoles evolve to stop being cannibalistic. Good trick. Will be interesting to see how many years before the cane toads tadpoles evolve to stop being cannibalistic.

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