Everglades snakes: view from the cheap seats.

[OldWiseGuy]

"According to Fox News", 99 percent of the native (animal) species in the Everglades have been wiped out by the invasion of snakes, mainly the Burmese python.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/wond...around-the-everglades/vi-BBMv5eY?ocid=u218dhp

If true this means that when the final 1 percent is gone scientists can have the big party they have been waiting for, celebrating the 'return' of the Everglades to 'nature'. Of course when all other prey is gone the snakes will eat each other, resulting in fewer but much larger snakes; an eventuality that scientists are also looking forward to with great anticipation.

In my city scientists are 'saving' our lakes by allowing them to return to 'nature' as well. At the time of this posting you can 'walk across' one on the invasive weed growth. What science means by 'save' is to save the lakes from human enjoyment and return them to the natural process of transitioning back to grasslands and forests.

 

[tampasteve]

"According to Fox News", 99 percent of the native (animal) species in the Everglades have been wiped out by the invasion of snakes, mainly the Burmese python.

That is not quite right, if that were so the everglades would be 99% invasive snakes.....and that is just not the case. The actual quote is ""In some areas we have recorded a 99 percent reduction of fur-bearing animals." Bolding mine for emphasis on type of animals and that it is not the whole of the area affected yet.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

That is not quite right, if that were so the everglades would be 99% invasive snakes.....and that is just not the case. The actual quote is ""In some areas we have recorded a 99 percent reduction of fur-bearing animals." Bolding mine for emphasis on type of animals and that it is not the whole of the area affected yet.

The celebration will have to wait a little while then.

 

[Basil the Great]

One would think that the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes could kill some of the pythons, especially the younger ones?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

One would think that the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes could kill some of the pythons, especially the younger ones?

Diamondback Rattlesnake
"Diamondbacks are another type of venomous pit viper commonly found in the Southeastern United States. They are the largest type of rattlesnake in North America and the biggest of all venomous snakes, though only in mass, not in length, though they can reach over eight feet long. Diamondback rattlesnakes can be found near water at times and are excellent swimmers, but prefer forests, woodlands, and areas of wet prairie during dry periods. They have also been known to live underground at times, utilizing former burrows of gophers and gopher tortoises. Although diamondbacks can deliver fatal bites, they are not typically aggressive and will usually warn anyone who comes too close to them by rattling their anteriors."

 

[Desk trauma]

"According to Fox News", 99 percent of the native (animal) species in the Everglades have been wiped out by the invasion of snakes, mainly the Burmese python.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/wond...around-the-everglades/vi-BBMv5eY?ocid=u218dhp

If true this means that when the final 1 percent is gone scientists can have the big party they have been waiting for, celebrating the 'return' of the Everglades to 'nature'.

You have very odd ideas about biologists.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

You have very odd ideas about biologists.

I calls 'em the way I sees 'em.

 

[Desk trauma]

I calls 'em the way I sees 'em.

May want to visit an optometrist.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

May want to visit an optometrist.

Naw, what I see couldn't be clearer.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Naw, what I see couldn't be clearer.

Or more wrong.

 

[JCFantasy23]

One would think that the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes could kill some of the pythons, especially the younger ones?

Florida has pretty much all the US Rattlesnakes here including the Western Diamondback and Pigmy. It's my understanding this influx of the non-native snakes are mainly large water snakes and while rattlesnakes are actually excellent swimmers, it's not their preferred longterm habitat. The venomous Moccasins would be the biggest enemy of this snake, but hopefully the large snakes are brought under control and wiped out before their interrupt the ecosystem too much. We are having the same trouble with imported large frogs in Florida that aren't supposed to be here; they are killing off our native frogs

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Or more wrong.

I have the proof.

 

[AirPo]

I have the proof.

I'm sure that's just as clear.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I'm sure that's just as clear.

You don't understand where I'm coming from, yet like others you have something negative to say. Curious.

To the topic. I bounced my idea off a coworker yesterday and was immediately met with the same mindless objections I meet here. However after I explained further he agreed with me and agreed that I was probably right; that my idea would solve the problem of invasive snakes in the Everglades.

 

[AirPo]

You don't understand where I'm coming from, yet like others you have something negative to say. Curious.

To the topic. I bounced my idea off a coworker yesterday and was immediately met with the same mindless objections I meet here. However after I explained further he agreed with me and agreed that I was probably right; that my idea would solve the problem of invasive snakes in the Everglades.

Yet it was your idea about biologists that was being questioned.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Yet it was your idea about biologists that was being questioned.

Biologists (University Science Depts) given large sums of money to clean up 'dirty' lakes.

Biologists say more study (and more money) is needed.

Lakes get worse.

Evidence suggests that invasive snakes in the Everglades is a huge problem.

Biologists are silent on the issue.

I rest my case.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Biologists (University Science Depts) given large sums of money to clean up 'dirty' lakes.

Biologists say more study (and more money) is needed.

Lakes get worse.

Evidence suggests that invasive snakes in the Everglades is a huge problem.

Biologists are silent on the issue.

I rest my case.

Biologists aren't "silent on the issue" of invasive snakes. You're just ignorant of what they're doing and apparently haven't even bothered with a google search.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?...ake+paper&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart

I suspect I would find similar ignorance regarding your opinions on your region's lake cleanup. Where do you live?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Biologists aren't "silent on the issue" of invasive snakes. You're just ignorant of what they're doing and apparently haven't even bothered with a google search.

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?...ake+paper&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart

All they are doing is studying the problem. Nothing meaningful is being done.

I suspect I would find similar ignorance regarding your opinions on your region's lake cleanup. Where do you live?

I'm referring to the Yahara chain of lakes in southern Wisconsin. Do some research and you'll likely agree with me.

 

[iluvatar5150]

All they are doing is studying the problem. Nothing meaningful is being done.

Again, your ignorance is not indicative of inaction on their part.

This was on the first page of results in the previous link
http://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/wr10202

I found this with a few seconds on google:
https://www.popsci.com/florida-invasive-pythons

This is a fairly recent problem in Florida and it takes a while to figure out what works. Running around hunting them isn't likely to make much of a dent.

I'm referring to the Yahara chain of lakes in southern Wisconsin. Do some research and you'll likely agree with me.

I looked a little bit and don't see anything about letting the lakes return to some sort of natural state (got any links?). What I do see are myriad cleanup efforts, and weed and algae blooms caused by a variety of pollutants, with the primary one being excess phosphorus from agricultural runoff.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Again, your ignorance is not indicative of inaction on their part.

This was on the first page of results in the previous link
http://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/wr10202

I found this with a few seconds on google:
https://www.popsci.com/florida-invasive-pythons

This is a fairly recent problem in Florida and it takes a while to figure out what works. Running around hunting them isn't likely to make much of a dent.



I looked a little bit and don't see anything about letting the lakes return to some sort of natural state (got any links?). What I do see are myriad cleanup efforts, and weed and algae blooms caused by a variety of pollutants, with the primary one being excess phosphorus from agricultural runoff.

What you see are a myriad of organizations formed to 'clean up' the lakes (the number grows every year), but upon close review you'll find that they are trying to clean up the watershed, and using the lake as the barometer of their success. However, if they clean out/up the lake itself it screws up the barometer effect. And their best efforts of improving water quality by controlling watershed runoff will fail as a large amounts of pollutants enter the lake from groundwater infiltration. They have been losing this battle for decades. There is another problem as well. The largest lake, Lake Mendota, is being 'managed' by the UW Science Departments and the DNR as a "Trophy Northern Pike Fishery", which means a weedy, eutrophic lake. Mendota is also one of the most 'studied' lakes in the world. Why would scientists want to screw up their 'petri dish' by cleaning it up?