{"id":29660,"date":"2025-11-11T09:06:41","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T01:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?post_type=media-release&#038;p=29660"},"modified":"2025-11-11T10:14:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T02:14:21","slug":"new-study-reveals-devastating-impact-of-cane-toads-approaching-the-pilbara","status":"publish","type":"media-release","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/media-release\/new-study-reveals-devastating-impact-of-cane-toads-approaching-the-pilbara\/","title":{"rendered":"New study reveals devastating impact of cane toads approaching the Pilbara"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>New Curtin University research has found invasive cane toads are on track to reach Western Australia\u2019s Pilbara region within the next 10 to 20 years, threatening to cause widespread losses among native species and significant cultural and economic harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study, published in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/srep\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/srep\/\">Scientific Reports<\/a>, predicts that without containment efforts, the toxic amphibians will colonise up to 75 per cent of the Pilbara within three decades, putting 25 native species at risk of serious population declines. These include several species of native marsupial predators like northern quolls, ghost bat and kaluta, as well as frog-eating snakes, blue-tongue skinks and goannas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"New study reveals devastating impact of cane toads approaching the Pilbara\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5kFZmRA3V7c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Of these, nine native mammals and reptiles are expected to become newly listed as threatened species and push the already vulnerable ghost bat to a higher threat category if the toads are not properly managed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lead author <a href=\"https:\/\/staffportal.curtin.edu.au\/staff\/profile\/view\/judy-dunlop-34765254\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/staffportal.curtin.edu.au\/staff\/profile\/view\/judy-dunlop-34765254\/\">Dr Judy Dunlop<\/a>, from Curtin\u2019s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said there were simple steps that could prevent the invasive pest from using dams as stepping stones into the Pilbara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Pilbara region\u2019s permanent water sources make it an ideal habitat for the invasive species, which have already devastated native wildlife like quolls, goannas, and snakes across Australia&#8217;s iconic Kimberley region,\u201d Dr Dunlop said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cToads are approaching a naturally dry part of the country south of Broome where the Great Sandy Desert meets the ocean. Here, the only water accessible to them is cattle watering points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf these points are dams, toads will access and use them as stepping stones to make their way through the desert zone but simple upgrades to concrete tanks and troughs will make them inaccessible to toads.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Co-author Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/staffportal.curtin.edu.au\/staff\/profile\/view\/ben-phillips-ae738ff4\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/staffportal.curtin.edu.au\/staff\/profile\/view\/ben-phillips-ae738ff4\/\">Ben Phillips<\/a>, also from Curtin\u2019s School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said the findings highlighted the urgent need to establish a \u201ctoad containment zone\u201d to stop their southward march.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBy establishing a 150km long \u2018toad containment zone\u2019 which limits toad access to artificial waterpoints, we may be able to prevent the invasion and push the species back to the top of the barrier \u2013 much like how firebreaks are used to halt the spread of bushfires by removing fuel and creating controlled boundaries,\u201d Professor Phillips said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere is no doubt that the arrival of toads will cause catastrophic declines in culturally important species, which will be felt by the Traditional Custodians of the Pilbara. The animals most at risk &#8211; such as the goanna and bluetongue skink &#8211; are culturally important to traditional owners for food, storytelling and bushtucker practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Professor Phillips said the findings may also have implications for WA\u2019s mining sector, which may face increased financial costs and new conservation requirements due to the changing status of local fauna if the toads invade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur study shows that implementing a model to control the invasion of cane toads could deliver significant environmental, cultural and economic benefits for Western Australia\u2019s Pilbara region and beyond,\u201d Professor Phillips said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The work was supported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bhp.com\/sustainability\/approach\/social-investment\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.bhp.com\/sustainability\/approach\/social-investment\">BHP Social Investments<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The full paper is titled, \u2018Quantifying the potential impact of the cane toad (Rhinella marina) on biodiversity in Australia\u2019s Pilbara region\u2019 and can be found online <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-025-24017-4\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-025-24017-4\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Curtin University research has found invasive cane toads are on track to reach Western [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4490,"featured_media":29661,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"6080,4669,5223,7076,8294,8569","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":41,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,277],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-29660","media-release","type-media-release","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-science-and-environment"],"acf":{"experts":false,"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"","content":"","image":{"ID":29661,"id":29661,"title":"Cane toad image by Dr Judy Dunlop","filename":"Cane-toad-image-by-Dr-Judy-Dunlop-scaled.jpg","filesize":432649,"url":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Cane-toad-image-by-Dr-Judy-Dunlop-scaled.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/media-release\/new-study-reveals-devastating-impact-of-cane-toads-approaching-the-pilbara\/cane-toad-image-by-dr-judy-dunlop\/","alt":"","author":"4490","description":"","caption":"Credit: Dr Judy Dunlop","name":"cane-toad-image-by-dr-judy-dunlop","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":29660,"date":"2025-11-11 01:05:53","modified":"2025-11-11 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