#toad

#toad

“Toadzilla” Discovered By Australian RangersIt’s not gonna go out to cities to destroy them though, so don’t worry!Rangers stationed at a national park in Queensland were shocked to discover an enormous toad, to the point that they claimed that it probably was the largest in history. The amphibian was given the nickname “Toadzilla,” to honor its massive size. The toad was found near Airlie Beach in Conway National Park, according to the Queensland Government's Department of Environment and Science. Park ranger Kylee Gray did not notice the amphibian at first, instead stopping because she saw a snake across the path. This Toadzilla is a cane toad, one of the worst invasive species in the world. They were released in Queensland in 1935 to control cane beetle populations. However, they also spread quickly in the region as there are no natural predators in the area that can hunt them down. These amphibians can lay between 8,000 and 30,000 eggs. That’s a lot. The toad will be able to break the previous record held by another cane toad named Prinsen, who lived in Sweden. Unfortunately, Toadzilla will not be able to celebrate if they do manage to break the Guinness World Record, as they had to be euthanized due to the damage they can cause to the environment. Image credit: Queensland Department of Environment and Science#invasivespecies #animals #amphibians #toad #canetoad #Austrialia #Queensland

Image Competition Winners Show the Diversity of Ecological ScienceThe image above by Kristen Brown shows a school of jackfish swimming in a spiral at the Great Barrier Reef. It was the overall winner in the 2021 photo competition from the scientific journal BMC Ecology and Evolution. The picture also won in the category Conservation Biology. The competition attracted entries from researchers all around the world eager to use their creativity to highlight their work and capture the diversity of the planet's flora and fauna. BMC Ecology and Evolution invited anyone affiliated with a research institution to submit to one of the following six categories: ‘Conservation Biology', 'Evolutionary Developmental Biology and Biodiversity', 'Behavioural Ecology', 'Human Evolution and Ecology', ‘Population Ecology' and 'Ecological Developmental Biology'.Our Senior Editorial Board Members lent their expertise to judge the entrants to the competition, selecting the overall winner, runner up and best image from each category. The board members considered the scientific story behind the photos submitted in addition to their artistic judgement (Fig. 1).#jackfish #fish #biology #photography #photocompetition