| OT - a couple python articles in the Southeast - invasive exotics
Posted by Phil in Atlanta  on 11/3/2009, 3:32 pm
192.193.171.214
Spotted a couple reptile articles in the AJC today...
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/python-hunters-bag-37-184503.html
Python hunters bag 37 in Florida hunting season
The Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Expert snake hunters snared 37 pythons in South Florida during a trial hunting season to eradicate the invasive species.
State wildlife officials granted 15 permits in July to snake experts. The program ended on Halloween but officials hope to start it again next year.
Meanwhile, hunters are still allowed to kill the snakes in designated areas.
The number of pythons in South Florida has exploded in the past decade to potentially tens of thousands. Scientists believe pet owners freed their snakes into the wild.
They also think some Burmese pythons may have escaped in 1992 from pet shops battered by Hurricane Andrew and have been reproducing ever since.
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November 03, 2009 11:56 AM EST
Copyright 2009, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.ajc.com/news/non-native-snakes-getting-181512.html?cxntlid=daylf_artr
Non-native snakes getting grip on Southeast
By Rob Pavey
The Augusta Chronicle
First it was the Burmese python. Now scientists believe as many as nine non-native snakes representing five species could become established in portions of the United States.
The outcome of such an ecological invasion could include unforeseen impacts on native reptiles and threaten birds and other species, according to a study released last week by the U.S. Geological Survey, whose earlier conclusions on the Burmese python are being tested at Savannah River Ecology Laboratory in Aiken County.
"This new report has some differences from the earlier paper, which was just on Burmese pythons," said post-doctoral research scientist J.D. Willson, who is studying Burmese pythons in a specially designed enclosure within Savannah River Site. "The new document basically does the same thing for the other giant constrictors."
In June, following predictions that climates throughout most of the Southeast could support populations of Burmese pythons, Savannah River Ecology Lab launched a yearlong study to gauge their ability to survive during colder weather.
"They are all still alive at this point," said Dr. Willson.
Colleagues and Dr. Willson are monitoring 10 pythons captured in south Florida, where the exotic snakes have already created a breeding population numbering in the tens of thousands. The test snakes at SREL range up to 11 feet in length, although the giant constrictors can reach 20 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds.
According to the new report, high-risk species — Burmese pythons, northern and southern African pythons, boa constrictors and yellow anacondas — all put larger portions of the U.S. mainland at risk than previously thought. Medium-risk species — reticulated python, Deschauensee's anaconda, green anaconda and Beni anaconda — constitute lesser threats.
"This report clearly reveals that these giant snakes threaten to destabilize some of our most precious ecosystems and parks, primarily through predation on vulnerable native species," said Dr. Robert Reed, co-author of the report and a USGS invasive species scientist and herpetologist.
Although the new list of potential exotic invaders includes more snakes than the Burmese python, most of them would remain confined to the warmer climates, the report said. "Based on climate alone, many of the species would be limited to the warmest areas of the United States, including parts of Florida, extreme south Texas, Hawaii, and America's tropical islands, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and other Pacific islands," the authors concluded.
The Burmese python remains one of the most adaptable of the giant constrictors, as evidenced by its ability to establish itself in south Florida, where it continues to spread. Scientists determined they can travel 40 kilometers in a month and documented a clutch of 107 eggs.
Although they rarely kill or attack humans, they do pose a "small potential for contribution to traffic accidents," the USGS authors wrote, because they can occasionally block roads and contribute to "bystander accumulation."
The project at SREL is a joint effort that also involves the National Park Service, University of Florida and Davidson College. UGA professor emeritus Whit Gibbons and Davidson College professor Mike Dorcas are also involved in the studies.
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/report-5-foreign-snake-161783.html
Report: 5 foreign snake species threaten US
By TAMARA LUSH
The Associated Press
MIAMI — Watch out, animals of South Florida: It's a wild world out there. There are five species of foreign snakes just waiting to eat you.
More troublingly, according to a U.S. Geological Survey report released Tuesday, nonnative snakes like the Burmese python could slither their way north from the warm, humid conditions of South Florida.
The big snakes threaten native species and ecosystems because they mature and reproduce quickly, travel long distances and can eat almost anything in fur, feathers or scales, experts say.
The 302-page report could be a step toward a ban on importing constrictor-like snakes into the U.S., said Ken Warren, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's South Florida office. The FWC will now evaluate the report and seek public comment before recommending such a ban.
"In many aspects, the report confirms what we already knew: that these snakes are a problem and that they do pose some risk," Warren said.
The report analyzed nine kinds of snakes. Five — Burmese pythons, northern and southern African pythons, boa constrictors and yellow anacondas — are of "high risk" to the ecosystems of the U.S., especially in Florida.
Four others — the reticulated python, Deschauensee's anaconda, green anaconda and Beni anaconda — are considered medium risk to ecosystems.
Scientists are already studying where Burmese pythons can survive in the U.S. Seven are being studied in a natural enclosure in South Carolina to see if the tropical natives can live through colder winters.
The number of invasive pythons in South Florida and throughout Everglades National Park has exploded in the past decade to potentially tens of thousands, though wildlife officials aren't sure exactly how many are out there.
Scientists believe pet owners have freed their snakes into the wild once they became too big to keep. They also think some Burmese pythons may have escaped in 1992 from pet shops battered by Hurricane Andrew and have been reproducing ever since.
Officials say the constrictors can produce up to 100 eggs at a time. Dr. Robert Reed, a research biologist with the U.S. geological survey, said everything from small wood storks, alligators and bobcats have been found in the stomachs of dead pythons.
Reed said the native animals of Florida aren't used to living near super-predatory snakes, and in time, entire wildlife populations could be wiped out.
"The fear is that something will happen akin to the situation with brown tree snakes on Guam," said Reed. "There, within 40 years of arrival, the snakes wiped out 10 of 12 bird species on island."
Reed was quick to point out that these free-range snakes pose a "minuscule" threat to people.
"All of the known fatalities involving giant snakes are from pet snakes, and usually to the owners," he said.
In July, an 8-foot pet python strangled a toddler in Central Florida.
Officials have tried to crack down on the invasive species; this summer, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced that the state would allow a few permitted snake experts to begin hunting, trapping and killing the nonnative pythons in an effort to eradicate them. Hunting the snakes is not allowed in Everglades National Park.
Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 5, some 270 Burmese pythons have been removed from the park.
"It's just very difficult to eradicate them," said Linda Friar, a park spokeswoman. "The snakes are very difficult to locate."
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U.S. Geological Survey report: http://www.fort.usgs.gov/Products/Publications/pub(underscore)abstract.asp?PubID=22691
(This version CORRECTS Corrects to survey, sted service in Dr. Robert Reed title.)
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October 13, 2009 10:16 PM EDT
Copyright 2009, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Atlanta, Georgia
January 52F/34F, July 89F/71F
Hardiness z8a
Annual: Rain = 50 inches, GDD's = 5300
Winter low last 6 years: 12F, 15F, 18F, 24F, 16F, 18F
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