Evidence for predation on terrestrial Cane Toads Bufo marinus by the Sooty Grunter Hephaestus fuliginosus in northern Australia

Abstract

Expansion of the Cane Toad Bufo marinus across Australia has been implicated in the population declines of a range of indigenous terrestrial and semi-aquatic vertebrate fauna. Stomach content analysis of a number of Sooty Grunter Hephaestus fuliginosus recently collected in the Northern Territory has highlighted occasional consumption of the terrestrial life history stages of Cane Toads by this widespread northern Australian freshwater fish, with minimal apparent effect. The impacts of Cane Toad invasion on freshwater fish communities remains one of the many information gaps surrounding the ecosystem effects of toad colonisation in Australia.