Invasion front: In 2007, biologists found the cane toad's range had expanded to 1.2 million square kilometres in a swathe across Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Credit: iStockphoto
"However, bringing in a predator from overseas might have catastrophic consequences, like those that occurred when cane toads were brought in."
Shine says there is a nice twist here, because the advantages that the toad had when coming to Australia can be used against it.
He calls it an "evolutionary trap" because the creature can be made to face challenges that it has not evolved to deal with.
In 2007, biologists found the cane toad's range had expanded to 1.2 million square kilometres in a swathe across Queensland and the Northern Territory, and predicted it could eventually spread around three-quarters of the country's coastline.
