Wildlife at the Watering Hole - April 2026 - Steph Deering

The role of behavioural flexibility and social learning in overcoming invasive species impacts: insights from Torresian crows and invasive cane toads

Steph Deering

Invasive species can severely impact native fauna, often leading to population declines and, in extreme cases, extinctions. Recovery is rare when the invader persists, yet species capable of rapid behavioural adaptation may be better equipped to survive. In Australia, the toxic cane toad (Rhinella marina) has caused dramatic declines in native predators that attempt to consume them, due to the absence of native toads in Australia and therefore a lack of evolutionary exposure to their toxins. However, predators such as Torresian crows (Corvus orru) have been anecdotally observed consuming cane toads by avoiding toxic glands and targeting non-toxic organs, suggesting a potential rapid behavioural adaptation. My PhD research investigated the emergence, underlying mechanisms, and spread of this behaviour as well as its implications for crow populations over time. By examining individual learning, social transmission, and population-level responses, this work provides insight into how behavioural flexibility may buffer native species against the impacts of invasive threats.

Meet our speaker:

Steph is a PhD candidate in the Centre for Conservation Ecology and Genomics at the University of Canberra under the supervision of Associate Professor Simon Clulow, Professor Richard Duncan and Professor Martin Whiting (Macquarie University). She completed her Bachelor of Science (Zoology)/ Bachelor of Natural Science (Animal Science) at Western Sydney University, undertaking research in freshwater turtles for her final year thesis. She then continued on to complete a Masters of Research at Macquarie University, study social behaviours in Magnificent Tree frogs. Her PhD brought her to the University of Canberra where she works on the predator-prey dynamics of crows and cane toads in Northern Australia. Her interests are primarily in behavioural ecology the role of sociality in how animals adapt to changing conditions in the environment.