Data from: Big-hearted invaders- the impacts of range expansion and parasite infection on heart mass in cane toads
Data files
Apr 10, 2026 version files 39.46 KB
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Crane_et._al._Big-hearted_invaders_data.xlsx
37.69 KB
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README.md
1.77 KB
Abstract
The invasion of cane toads (Rhinella marina) across tropical Australia has resulted in the rapid evolution of traits that enable higher rates of dispersal and that enable toads to adapt to hot, dry climates. In anurans, a larger heart facilitates both locomotor activity and desiccation tolerance. Heart size is also often affected, either directly or indirectly, by parasite infections. To test the effects of invasion history and parasite exposure on heart size, we studied common-garden-reared toads whose parents were sourced from diverse locations, and experimentally exposed them to larvae of a nematode lungworm (Rhabdias pseudosphaerocephala). Offspring of invasion-front parents had larger hearts than did conspecifics from long-established populations. Exposure to infective lungworm larvae decreased heart mass in toads from all populations, possibly reflecting parasite-driven manipulation of host activity rather than a pathological effect. Our study suggests that cardiovascular function, like other traits, has evolved rapidly during the toad invasion, and that lungworm parasites can modify the cardiovascular function and hence the aerobic capacity of their host.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z612jm6kg
The dataset contains individual details and body size, heart, and parasite infection measures for common-garden reared cane toads used in an experiment to assess the effects of lungworm infection and invasion history on heart size.
Description of the data and file structure
The Excel spreadsheet called Crane_et._al._Big-hearted_invaders_data.xlsx contains the following columns:
- ID - individual toad identity code
- Clutch - family identifier code
- Toad site - capture site of parental toads used to generate each clutch
- Toad state - Australian state, each toad capture site was located in
- TRT A - Treatment identifier code indicating no exposure to lungworm larvae (Cont) or exposed to lungworm larvae from a particular state (WA, NT, Qld)
- Exposed - Treatment identifier code indicating Exposed to lungworm larvae, Yes or No
- sex - sex of each toad
- SVL1 - Body size (snout-vent length in mm) of each toad at the beginning of the experiment. An empty cell H68 represents data not available.
- SVL2 - Body size (snout-vent length) of each toad at the end of the experiment, approximately four months later.
- mass2 - Body mass (g) of each toad at the end of the experiment
- heart - heart mass of each toad at the end of the experiment
- Total Rhabdias - number of adult Rhabdias lungworms in the lungs of each toad at the end of the experiment
- Residual Log(heart) - relative heart size of each toad corrected for snout-vent length via regression of log heart mass on log SVL2
- heart mass % - heart mass expressed as a percentage of body mass
This was an experimental cross-infection study where common-garden reared cane toads from across their invaded range in Australia were infected with Rhabdias lungworm parasites from across the range. The dataset contains information on the origins of host and parasite, as well as body size and heart mass measures.