toad hopping

toad hopping
Originally uploaded by wandering lizard.

The last couple of weeks have been spent working on cane toad physiology. We've been measuring a whole battery of physiological measures - oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, endurance on a treadmill, hematocrit, blood cell count, lactate levels, muscle enzyme activity, blood cell volume, hemoglobin levels, etc.). This is Keith running a toad on the treadmill until he was exhausted (the toad, not Keith). The bloody things run forever. This guy was the champion. He hopped for over 2 hours before tiring out. And he recovered after 15 min. No wonder these things are taking over northern Australia, and expanding their range at a rate of 80 km per year.