Hey folks, I recall someone telling us their geckos sometimes lick
coffee. Well it turns out that pure caffeine is being considered as an
agent to help control an invasive population of frogs in Hawaii. The
article does not mention dosages that are lethal, but it does cause
cardiac arrest in these little herps, and it may cause it in geckos.
Just something I came across that I thought might prove interesting.
Yuri Huta
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Chirping frogs have Hawaii residents groaning
Thursday, December 28, 2000
By Associated Press
Larry Stevens lives in a secluded rain forest on the east side of the
Big Island, a quiet spot where he once enjoyed the peaceful, gentle
sounds of nature.
But Stevens hasn't had a good night's sleep in months. Noisy tree frogs
have invaded the Hawaiian Islands, and have spread so quickly that state
and federal officials say there's little they can do.
"You'd never believe so much noise could come from a creature that
small," said Stevens, a 51-year-old social worker.
The cute green frogs, the size of a dime to a quarter, arrived in
shipments of agricultural goods, possibly in potted plants, researchers
say.
Instead of croaking, they chirp � loud and often. Individual males have
piercing chirps that reach as high as 90 to 100 decibels from a foot and
a half away. That's comparable to a lawn mower, table saw or helicopter,
according to the University of Hawaii's Speech Pathology and Audiology
department.
The frogs were first noticed in the mid-1980s in rural Curtistown on the
Big Island, but have since spread to parts of Oahu, Maui and Kauai.
>From a dozen population sites early last year, the frogs have spread to
150 places on the Big Island, and the state has set up a hot line where
residents can call to report their appearance.
Mindy Clark, an orchid farmer in Curtistown, said she has to close her
windows since the frogs "infiltrated" her neighborhood.
"Soon as it gets 5:30 (p.m.) they'll start chirping," Clark said. "And
they'll go real strong till midnight."
They don't create a major problem in their native Caribbean, where
natural predators control their population. But with an exponential
reproduction rate and no enemies other than angry humans, the frog
population in Hawaii has exploded.
In some areas, there are more than 8,000 frogs per acre.
"The sheer number here is the big difference," said Earl Campbell, of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Wildlife Research Center.
Besides being a nuisance, the frogs compete for food with native birds
and wildlife, he said. The frogs can consume as many as 46,000 insects
per acre every night.
"There is a grave concern this could be a big problem," Campbell said.
Fred Kraus, the alien species coordinator for the state land department,
said the frogs may threaten the isle economy by bothering tourists at
hotels, lowering property values and inhibiting the export of tropical
produce and flowers.
"People are annoyed as hell," Kraus said. "We got a lot of complaints
from
residents. Some threatened to leave the state."
One woman has reported that her health has failed because the frogs keep
her up at night. Other residents said they can't move because they can't
sell their home.
Campbell, who heads a field research station in Hilo, has been working
with the state to experiment with a pure caffeine spray to control the
frog population.
It is presumed the pure caffeine causes the frogs to go into cardiac
failure. It is not believed to be harmful to humans, native plants and
wildlife, but the effects are still being studied.
Researchers said the trials look promising, but must be approved by the
federal Food and Drug Administration, and that could take many months
while the frog population and noise grows and spreads.
Residents have tried neighborhood roundups, but "they're not making a
major dent," Campbell said.
Stevens said he and neighbors went out three nights a week armed with a
ladder, flashlights and plastic bags to catch frogs.
"We were elated, we got them all and had them eradicated in our
neighborhood, but within four months we had an explosion," he said. "We
mobilized more of the neighborhood, but by that time it was hopeless.
There was just too many. The eggs hatched. Now they're out of control."
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