Ecology and Evolution (2018) 8, 4403-4408

Georgia K. Kosmala, Gregory P. Brown, Keith A. Christian, Cameron M. Hudson and Richard Shine (2018)
The thermal dependency of locomotor performance evolves rapidly within an invasive species
Ecology and Evolution 8 (9), 4403-4408
Abstract: 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 common-garden conditions before testing their locomotor performance. At high (but not low) temperatures, offspring of individuals from a hotter location (northwestern Australia) outperformed offspring of conspecifics from a cooler location (northeastern Australia). This disparity indicates that, within less than 100 years, thermal performance in cane toads has adapted to the novel abiotic challenges that cane toads have encountered during their invasion of tropical Australia.
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Database assignments for author(s): Richard Shine

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Rhinella marina		Australia (NT+QLD)
	Rhinella marina		Australia (Western)