The leg length and endurance of the endangered native frog Amami Hanasaki frog inhabiting Amami Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, rapidly developed in just a few decades after the invasion of the exotic species, small Indian mongoose, and its changes exterminate mangoose. According to a survey by Hirotaka Komine, a specially appointed assistant professor at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology's Global Innovation Research Institute (currently a research fellow at the Forestry Research Institute at the time of research), it did not return.
According to Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, the research group caught Amami Hanasaki frogs in different areas of Amami Oshima from 2015 to 2016, measured the length of their legs with calipers, and investigated how many jumps they would make in their nets. rice field.
As a result, the Amami heap frog in the area where mongoose was abundant had relatively long legs and jumped many times.Mongoose was introduced in 1979 as a countermeasure against venomous snakes, and although it did not expand the habitat of the entire island, it drastically reduced many native species in some areas.For this reason, it was exterminated by the Ministry of the Environment and was almost invisible at the time of the investigation.
Mongooses track and prey on prey, unlike snakes that prey on ambush.The research group suspects that the Amami Hanasaki frog has been forced into a situation where it cannot survive unless it continues to escape for a long time, making its legs longer and increasing its endurance.
Paper information:[Biological Invasions] Rapid responses in morphology and performance of native frogs induced by predation pressure from invasive mongooses
