Helping the EU with an identification guide

Today the EU published an identification guide to Xenopus laevis in the European Union. I was asked to help create the text for this guide and to provide consistent differences for identification of Xenopus laevis in comparison with other anurans that occur there. An artist was asked to provide the images. 

This was a challenging task. Although many people have previously described these frogs, imagining oneself either in the field or in a customs building, coming across these frogs for the first time, I had to ask: what are the easiest and most simple means to identification? I think that the results are good and comprehensive. 

But don't take my word for it, download the identification guide (here) and judge for yourself. 

American Bullfrogs, Lithobates catesbeiana for sale in supermarkets

I have long been fascinated by the behaviour of American bullfrogs, Lithobates catesbeiana, sold in supermarkets in China. Anyone familiar with these species in their native North America will know that they are easily spooked and quickly disappear at the first sign of movement by jumping into nearby water. Individuals in invasive populations are no different and this causes a lot of issues for those who attempt to control their numbers, as I found out when I was hunting them in San Diego (see here).

Even invasive populations in China act just the same and are very flighty. But the animals that you see in the supermarket are completely sedate, not jumping at all. Usually, these animals are sold in plastic string bags, and they seem to sit very quietly. Nothing like what I’d imagine if I put wild-caught animals into a bag.

But in a supermarket in Kunming, I came across bullfrogs in a wide-open container with a very low wall that all of them were capable of jumping out of. They were not restricted in any way, yet they just sat and I did not see any individuals moving.

What other behaviours have changed for these farmed animals? Are there many other traits of domestication? Are these same domestication traits shared by the turtles in the adjacent tank?

There are some great questions to investigate with these frogs, especially as there are many local invasive populations to sample nearby.

Contributing to the IPBES Invasive Alien Species Assessment

Global agreements and initiatives on biological invasions are extremely important for setting goals and standards to international communities. Although many people are frustrated by the slow pace of change, they do represent solid advancements to global thinking and actions on invasive species and other aspects of our society. As such, I feel that these achievements should be celebrated. 

The publication toady of Bacher et al. (2023) is one such advancement in our global thinking towards reducing the impacts of invasive species globally. I am proud to be listed as a contributing author on this report. 

Bacher, S., Galil, B. S., Nuñez, M. A., Ansong, M., Cassey, P., Dehnen-Schmutz, K., Fayvush, G., Hiremath, A. J., Ikegami, M., Martinou, A. F., McDermott, S. M., Preda, C., Vilà, M., Weyl, O. L. F., Fernandez, R. D., and Ryan-Colton, E. (2023). Chapter 4: Impacts of invasive alien species on nature, nature's contributions to people, and good quality of life. In: Thematic Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Roy, H. E., Pauchard, A., Stoett, P., and Renard Truong, T. (eds.). IPBES secretariat, Bonn, Germany. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7430731 

A talk for the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University

As I was already in Australia and had to fly back via Sydney, I decided that I’d take a stopover on the way back and visit colleagues at the Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University. There are a number of notable researchers there including Martin Whiting (previously of Wits University in South Africa), Georgia Ward-Fear (with whom I had written a book chapter but never met) and Rick Shine (he of the snake and cane toad fame).

There is another important connection. Martin was the former PhD supervisor of James Baxter-Gilbert, who went on to become my post-doc in Stellenbosch University. http://john.measey.com/People/Measey-Lab-Alumni

I was very fortunate to be hosted by Martin at his home and to get to know his family and their adventures. Martin very kindly took me frogging on a wild and windy night and I got to see a few of the region’s amphibians (Adelaide was way too dry).

As well as having a great time catching up with new and old friends at Macquarie, I was able to give a talk for the School:

Measey, J. (2024) What can biological invasions teach us about rapid evolutionary change? 20 February 2024 School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University

A month in the Cassey lat at the University of Adelaide

In January 2020, Phill Cassey invited me, Reid Tingley (Monash University) and Julie Lockwood (Rutgers University) to participate in an ARC Discovery grant application that he was submitting. The aim of the grant was to study the reptile trade in Australia and using past data make predictions on future trends. A large part of the data was set to acquire global data for traded reptiles to determine the demand for global species so that Australian taxa could be placed into context.

Looking back, January 2020 was just before the global pandemic, and none of us knew what was going to unfold over the coming two years. Happily, in November 2020 (despite the pandemic) the Discovery grant was funded and this included funding for a trip to Australia for me to dedicate some time to the project.

In November 2023, Phill reached out to me and reminded me that the project was soon to end and that I should either commit to visiting Australia or lose the opportunity. Happily, I was able to plan a trip in January 2024 that coincided with New Year holidays in China. And so it was that I spent a month working in the Cassey lab at the University of Adelaide.

First, I should say a big thank you to Phill Cassey and members of his lab for hosting me. It was a great experience (1) to spend some time in Australia (my first trip) and (2) to hang out with Phill’s dedicated team of reptile (and other) fundis. Special mention must go to Sebastian Chekunow, Adam Toomes, Jacob Maher and Jasmin Broadbridge - thank you for all your kindness.

In addition to lots of time spent in the office working hard on catching up with the reptile trade work that had already been done, I was able to find some time at weekends for getting out into the field seeing some native Australian reptiles. Especially important for me was the one pygopod that we managed to see.

I was especially pleased to have the opportunity to meet Emma Sherratt and talk caecilians with her.

Before I left, I gave a talk on my own research to the department in a departmental seminar.

Measey, J. (2024) What can biological invasions teach us about rapid evolutionary change? 9 February 2024 School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide