Nov 25 2024 27 mins 4
The cane toads are coming. Can a simple, but clever plan stop them from fully invading Western Australia and causing catastrophic damage?
Join our host David as he talks with Professor Ben Phillips about the project he's leading, the Toad Containment Zone (TCZ). A collaborative effort between community, rangers and scientists, the TCZ is the last line of defence against the cane toad invasion of Western Australia. If not stopped, the cane toad will have devastating wildlife and cultural impacts.
- How cane toads came to Australia (01:15)
- Ecological fallout of toads (06:38)
- “Put them in the freezer”: efforts to control toads (12:11)
- The Toad Containment Zone (TCZ): what it is and how it will work (14:14)
- Charismatic species set to disappear (23:08)
- How soon can we gauge success? (26:11)
Learn more
- The Toad Containment Zone
- Hope for Pilbara: Containment zone offers chance against cane toads in WA
- The $12m ‘waterless barrier’ plan stops cane toads marching into the Pilbara
- Toad-ally awesome project to halt cane toad invasion of the Pilbara
Connect with our guests
Professor Ben Phillips is a population biologist and a Premier Science Fellow at Curtin University, where he conducts biosecurity research in the School of Molecular and Life Sciences. He has worked extensively across the Northern Territory and Western Australia on cane toad biology, ecology and evolution, and on how to control and reduce the impacts of cane toads on vulnerable native species, including northern quolls.
Ben’s modelling work has identified where the Toad Containment Zone should be placed and how large it should be to stop the toad invasion to the Pilbara.
You can find Ben on:
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