Burmese Pythons in the Everglades
Lucy Dobson
Dr. Amy Amendt-Raduege
English 102
2/5/11
Python Molurus Bivatlus
One misty morning in 2003, deep under the cover of the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, a group of tourists set out for a day of exploration in the Everglades. They hoped to see some of the diverse and unique species that the Everglades are famous for, and maybe snap a few cool pictures to show their friends. They could never have anticipated what they would actually discover. A short way into their trek, the party was drawn to a noisy struggle nearby. They followed their ears to a duel between an alligator and a huge Burmese Python. The alligator clamped his jaws around the snake. The snake wrapped its body around the alligator. The tourists wasted no time in whipping out their camera phones or video cameras, and within days the video was viral. Millions were enthralled by the odd match-up, but to scientists, it was a sign of what could be a very serious problem.
The fight between an American alligator and a Burmese Python is unusual, and pretty intriguing, because the Burmese Python is not native to Florida. In fact, people barely noticed they were there until the early 1990s. The accidental introduction of an invasive species to an ecosystem can be absolutely devastating. They can wipe out other species, destroy habitats, and throw the whole system out of whack. We’ve seen it before. The introduction of the Brown treesnake to Guam, for example, caused major ecological and socioeconomic problems since its introduction to Guam shortly after World War II. The tree snakes clearly thrived in the environment of Guam over that of Australia; Specimens from Guam were significantly larger, Dobson 2 and reproduced year round, as compared to those found living in Australia, which reproduce seasonally. As the snakes thrived in a new home, the island could not quite handle them as their native lands could. The brown treesnake caused a severe decline in native forest
Dr. Amy Amendt-Raduege
English 102
2/5/11
Python Molurus Bivatlus
One misty morning in 2003, deep under the cover of the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, a group of tourists set out for a day of exploration in the Everglades. They hoped to see some of the diverse and unique species that the Everglades are famous for, and maybe snap a few cool pictures to show their friends. They could never have anticipated what they would actually discover. A short way into their trek, the party was drawn to a noisy struggle nearby. They followed their ears to a duel between an alligator and a huge Burmese Python. The alligator clamped his jaws around the snake. The snake wrapped its body around the alligator. The tourists wasted no time in whipping out their camera phones or video cameras, and within days the video was viral. Millions were enthralled by the odd match-up, but to scientists, it was a sign of what could be a very serious problem.
The fight between an American alligator and a Burmese Python is unusual, and pretty intriguing, because the Burmese Python is not native to Florida. In fact, people barely noticed they were there until the early 1990s. The accidental introduction of an invasive species to an ecosystem can be absolutely devastating. They can wipe out other species, destroy habitats, and throw the whole system out of whack. We’ve seen it before. The introduction of the Brown treesnake to Guam, for example, caused major ecological and socioeconomic problems since its introduction to Guam shortly after World War II. The tree snakes clearly thrived in the environment of Guam over that of Australia; Specimens from Guam were significantly larger, Dobson 2 and reproduced year round, as compared to those found living in Australia, which reproduce seasonally. As the snakes thrived in a new home, the island could not quite handle them as their native lands could. The brown treesnake caused a severe decline in native forest
Cited: Peter W. J. Baxter, John L. Sabo, Chris Wilcox, Michael A. McCarthy, Hugh P. Possingham, “Cost Effective Suppression and Eradication of Invasive Predators.”, Conservation Biology, Feb2008, Vol. 22 Issue 1, p89-98, 10p, CHILDS, ARCYNTA ALI. "Attack Of The Giant Pythons." Smithsonian 42.1 (2011): 27. Academic Committee on Independent Scientific Review of Everglades REestoration Pregress (CISRERP) National Research Council, “Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades : The First Biennial Review, 2006”, National Academies Press, 2007, p1, p50-55 "In Brief." Alternatives Journal 35.6 (2009): 4-6. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. Marquis, Amy Leinbach. "A Snake In The Grass: Burmese Pythons Are Putting A Squeeze On The Everglades." National Parks 84.3 (2010): 1-4. Academic Search Premier. Tennesen, Michael. "Python Boom." Scientific American 302.2 (2010): 16-18. Academic Search Premier.