Rapid acclimation to cold allows the cane toad to invade montane areas within its Australian range

1.The cane toad (Rhinella marina) invasion of Australia has now reached areas much colder than most of its native range in tropical America. Understanding the toad\u27s ability to function in such conditions can clarify its potential for further spread. 2.In northeastern New South Wales, cane toads have been recorded up to 1100 m above sea level (asl). Our monitoring over summer 2012 -2013 confirmed that ground temperatures were lower at three high-elevation (750 to 1010 m asl) sites than at two nearby lower (100 to 210 m asl) sites (by day, 18 vs 25°C; at night, 17 to 18 °C vs 20 to 25°C respectively). 3.Critical thermal minima (CTmins) of field-collected toads (loss of the righting reflex) were lower for high-elevation than low-elevation toads (5.5 vs 7.5°C), but laboratory acclimation abolished this difference. A toad\u27s CTmin was not affected by site of collection, nor by one month\u27s exposure to warm (24°C) or cool (12°C) conditions; instead, a toad\u27s CTmin was determined by its thermal exposure over the previous 12 h. Locomotor ability was affected by test temperature, by elevation, and by acclimation. Toads from high elevations exhibited equal endurance at cold and warm test temperatures after month-long acclimation to cold conditions, whereas toads from low elevations performed better at high temperatures regardless of previous temperature treatments. 4.Cane toads at the southern edge of their expanding Australian range can function under cool conditions by adjusting their thermal tolerance within a few hours of encountering low temperatures. 5.The toads’ ability for rapid thermal acclimation suggests that current models underestimate the potential range of abiotic conditions accessible to this invading species

Approaches to modelling land erodibility by wind

Land susceptibility to wind erosion is governed by complex multiscale interactions between soil erodibility and non-erodible roughness elements populating the land surface. Numerous wind erosion modelling systems have been developed to quantify soil loss and dust emissions at the field, regional and global scales. All of these models require some component that defines the susceptibility of the land surface to erosion, ie, land erodibility. The approaches taken to characterizing land erodibility have advanced through time, following developments in empirical and process-based research into erosion mechanics, and the growing availability of moderate to high-resolution spatial data that can be used as model inputs. Most importantly, the performance of individual models is highly dependent on the means by which soil erodibility and surface roughness effects are represented in their land erodibility characterizations. This paper presents a systematic review of a selection of wind erosion models developed over the last 50 years. The review evaluates how land erodibility has been modelled at different spatial and temporal scales, and in doing this the paper identifies concepts behind parameterizations of land erodibility, trends in model development, and recent progress in the representation of soil, vegetation and land management effects on the susceptibility of landscapes to wind erosion. The paper provides a synthesis of the capabilities of the models in assessing dynamic patterns of land erodibility change, and concludes by identifying key areas that require research attention to enhance our capacity to achieve this task