Efficacy of acoustic traps for cane toad (Rhinella marina) management in Florida

The cane toad (Rhinella marina) is a vocalizing anuran that is invasive in tropical areas worldwide, including southern Florida. Management of this species could be enhanced with acoustic traps that produce artificially manipulated advertisement vocalizations. A commercially available cane toad trap that uses a single advertisement vocalization as a lure to attract toads is successful in Australia. To test and potentially increase trap efficacy in Florida, we identified the vocalization, or series of vocalizations, that is most attractive to toads. We also examined the effect of weather variables on trap success. We compared the attractiveness of call treatments that used a single cane toad call to call treatments that used a range of different vocalizations, played either sequentially or in chorus. We also quantified the effect of weather variables on trap success. Overall, a call treatment that played a single call and a call treatment that played a chorus were more attractive to toads than call treatments that played calls sequentially. Additionally, we trapped more toads on warm, moist nights. Rigging traps with acoustic lures that attract cane toads may be a feasible method to remove adult toads if traps are deployed during appropriate weather conditions and are equipped with appropriate vocalizations.