Practise explaining why invasive species are controlled by tracing competition, predation, disease or habitat change through food webs to native biodiversity loss.
The Asian common toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus, arrived accidentally in eastern Madagascar in 2010 on a ship.
Fig. 9.1 shows an Asian common toad.
Fig. 9.1
The Asian common toad is now regarded as an invasive alien species because:
- it breeds fast in the warm, wet conditions of eastern Madagascar
- it can travel up to 2.5 km per year
- its skin contains poison, which is highly toxic to humans and predators.
Suggest ways in which the Asian common toad may affect the ecosystem of eastern Madagascar.