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Taste aversion training can educate free-ranging crocodiles against toxic invaders
Georgia Ward-Fear1, Miles Bruny2, The Bunuba Rangers3
1School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia.
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|August 13, 2024
Summary
Conservation of apex predators like freshwater crocodiles is vital. A new study shows that using toad baits successfully reduced crocodile deaths from toxic cane toads in Australia.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Conservation Biology
- Wildlife Management
Background:
- Apex predators, such as freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus johnstoni), are crucial for ecosystem health.
- Invasive cane toads (Rhinella marina) pose a significant threat to Australian freshwater crocodile populations, causing mortality rates over 70% due to toxic ingestion.
- Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) has been identified in laboratory settings as a potential method to deter toads consumption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the landscape-scale effectiveness of conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in mitigating cane toad toxicity impacts on freshwater crocodiles.
- To translate laboratory findings on CTA into a practical, field-based conservation strategy for apex predators.
Main Methods:
- Deployed 2,395 baits, consisting of toad carcasses treated with a nausea-inducing chemical, across four gorge systems in north-western Australia.
- Monitored bait consumption using remote cameras and quantified crocodile abundance through surveys.
- Compared crocodile mortality rates at baited (treatment) sites versus unbaited (control) sites following cane toad invasion.
Main Results:
- Free-ranging crocodiles demonstrated rapid learning, avoiding toad baits while continuing to consume control baits (chicken).
- Sites with toad invasion showed high crocodile mortality at the control site, but significantly lower mortality at treatment sites.
- Repeated, successive years of baiting in connected water systems showed sustained positive effects on crocodile survival.
Conclusions:
- Landscape-scale baiting effectively reduced the lethal impact of invasive cane toads on freshwater crocodiles.
- This CTA-based management strategy offers a viable method for buffering apex predator populations against invasive species threats.
- The study successfully demonstrated a practical conservation intervention for a vulnerable apex predator facing an ecological crisis.
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