CANBERRA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Australia's biodiversity is under threat from an invasive carnivorous frog species, a study has found.
The study, published by the University of South Australia on Thursday, found that the size of an alien population of the spotted-thigh frog that has migrated from Western Australia to Southern Australia has grown to more than 1,000.
Christine Taylor, the co-author of the study, said that the potential of the frog, which has a destructive diet, spreading to the rest of Australia was concerning.
"This frog is an indiscriminate eating machine that will devour just about anything it can fit into its mouth," she said in a media release.
"We're talking about a relatively large, predatory tree frog that, as a species is alien to South Australia, and it could have devastating impact on invaded habitats."
"As it eats away at local species, it's impacting the natural ecosystem, which can displace or destroy local food webs, outcompete native birds, reptiles and mammals for resources, and potentially change natural biodiversity," she said.
The study was the first of its kind to analyze the spotted-thigh frog's diet, with researchers examining the stomach contents of 76 frogs from artificial wetlands, urban settings and bushland.
They found that each frog had at least six prey items in its stomach including 200 different species.
"The spotted-thighed frog is obviously very mobile. Already it's managed to travel more than 2,000 kilometres and set up a colony," co-author Gunnar Keppel said.
"But its considerable tolerance of salinity and potential ability to withstand high temperatures could lead to further geographic spread, and if not controlled, it could extend further eastward.
"It's vital that we continue to protect Australia's biodiversity. Preventing further dispersal of the spotted-thighed frog is a high conservation priority." Enditem
