Cuban Invaders

There are non-native species all over this world. We have managed to destroy whole habitats by introducing predators to islands and dumping ballast water into new waterways has caused major ecological and economical problems. Over 400 nonnative fish and wildlife species and 1180 exotic plant species have been documented in the state of Florida alone. So it comes to no surprise that something like a frog could totally sneak in under the radar and become established. If you live in South Florida then you definitely know the frog above because it's our largest treefrog, the Cuban Treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis).

Unfortunately Cuban Treefrogs prey upon smaller native treefrogs, such as the Squirrel (Hyla squirella) and Green (H. cinerea) Treefrogs. And don't think it stops at the treefrogs, it has also been recorded eating southern toads (Bufo terrestris) and southern leopard frogs (Rana sphenocephala). In addition to eating native species they secrete noxious skin secretions that make it unpalatable to many predaceous birds and snakes. This formable predator has made its mark in Florida and the population is expanding into new counties and states. We should all do our part and learn about non-natives in our local areas and find out what we can do to help. If you live in Florida then you should check out the Fish and Wildlife non-native website.