Can invasive Burmese pythons inhabit temperate regions of the southeastern United States?

Dorcas, Michael E.; Willson, John D.; Gibbons, J. Whitfield

doi:10.1007/s10530-010-9869-6

Cited by 32 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Third, raccoons, opossums, bobcats, deer, and rabbits have been documented in the diet of pythons in ENP (14,15); these animals represent several diverse taxonomic and trophic groups (i.e., Carnivora, Didelphimorpha, Artiodactyla, Lagomorpha), arguing against a single disease as the agent of decline. Fourth, raccoons and opossums often forage near the water's edge, a microhabitat frequented by ambushing pythons (22). Fifth, in addition to frequenting habitats used by foraging pythons, mammals such as raccoons, opossums, deer, and bobcats may be naive to predation by large snakes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park

Dorcas

Willson²,

Reed³

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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267

192

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Invasive species represent a significant threat to global biodiversity and a substantial economic burden. Burmese pythons, giant constricting snakes native to Asia, now are found throughout much of southern Florida, including all of Everglades National Park (ENP). Pythons have increased dramatically in both abundance and geographic range since 2000 and consume a wide variety of mammals and birds. Here we report severe apparent declines in mammal populations that coincide temporally and spatially with the proliferation of pythons in ENP. Before 2000, mammals were encountered frequently during nocturnal road surveys within ENP. In contrast, road surveys totaling 56,971 km from 2003-2011 documented a 99.3% decrease in the frequency of raccoon observations, decreases of 98.9% and 87.5% for opossum and bobcat observations, respectively, and failed to detect rabbits. Road surveys also revealed that these species are more common in areas where pythons have been discovered only recently and are most abundant outside the python's current introduced range. These findings suggest that predation by pythons has resulted in dramatic declines in mammals within ENP and that introduced apex predators, such as giant constrictors, can exert significant top-down pressure on prey populations. Severe declines in easily observed and/or common mammals, such as raccoons and bobcats, bode poorly for species of conservation concern, which often are more difficult to sample and occur at lower densities.invasion biology | population declines | top-down regulation | reptiles

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park

Dorcas

Willson²,

Reed³

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

267

192

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…However, the origin of most of the introduced populations is still unclear. Though, tracing the origin of the introduced populations and identifying the pathways of their translocations constitute the baseline to forecast the colonization patterns, as well as to prevent new introductions (Pyron et al 2008;Rodda et al 2008;Dorcas et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic data reveal a multiple origin for the populations of the Italian wall lizardPodarcis sicula(Squamata: Lacertidae) introduced in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic islands

Silva-Rocha

Salvi

Carretero

2012

Italian Journal of Zoology

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Biological invasions have become a major cause of biodiversity loss. Tracing the origin of the populations of alien species is essential to infer the dispersal pathway and finally to set conservation policies aimed at preventing new introductions. The Italian wall lizard, Podarcis sicula, is one of the reptile species most widely introduced, with allochthonous populations occurring from the United States to Turkey. For some of them, instances of geographic expansion and competition/hybridization with autochthonous Podarcis sp. have been indicated. In the Iberian Peninsula, five introduced populations are known: Lisbon (W Portugal), Noja, Cantabria (N Spain), La Rioja (N Spain) and Almería (S Spain) and Sant Celoni, Barcelona (NE Spain) while the species now widely ranges Menorca Island in the Balearics. Here we assess the origin of four populations (Barcelona population will not be included) by comparing in a phylogenetic framework the cytochrome b gene sequences of specimens from the introduced and native populations. The results from this study provide evidence for distinct sources, pathways, and timing of introduction in Iberian Peninsula and Balearics by P. sicula from Tuscany, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardinia. This finding underpins the fact that P. sicula holds considerable potential invasiveness and advises for conservation strategies based on a global and preventive plan for avoiding new introductions as well as on eradication and control measures when prevention fails.

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“…In recent years, the exotic population of this python in southern Florida (US) has become the focus of biological invasion research (Engeman et al 2011). Current debates are evaluating the potential for pythons to spread further northward into the southern US (Pyron et al 2008;Rodda et al 2009;Avery et al 2010;Barker and Barker 2010;Dorcas et al 2011;Rodda et al 2011). Some of the arguments have originated due to difficulties with the accuracy of large-scale ecological niche modeling because there have been few physiological and ecological studies on pythons in their native geographical ranges.…”

Section: Research Conservation and Threats To The Pythonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Return of the pythons: first formal records, with a special note on recovery of the Burmese python in the demilitarized Kinmen islands

et al. 2013

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Background: We report the first formal records and population recovery of wild Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) in the Kinmen islands, which are located 2.1 km from the Chinese coastline and are under military control of the Taiwanese government. During the Cold War period, bombardments by China destroyed most of the buildings and vegetation on the island, possibly extirpating the python population. In recent years, political tensions have subsided, and 95% of the military forces have been withdrawn from the islands, allowing pythons and other wildlife populations to recover 40 years after being extirpated. Increased python predation on small livestock has recently become a nuisance to farmers, villagers, and aboriginal people, who are unaware of old python records from the island and therefore regard them as invasive pests. Results: In order to clarify the origin of this python population, mitochondrial cytochrome b and COI genes were sequenced from 33 pythons from Kinmen, Fuzhou Zoo (China) and pet traders (Vietnam). Molecular phylogeny and haplotype networks showed a close relationship between Kinmen and Chinese populations, rejecting the speculation from local people that pythons were introduced from Southeast Asia. Population expansion of the python in recent years might be relevant to the retreat of the army, illustrating a novel case of demilitarized zone protecting wildlife. Conclusions: Since Kinmen Island has a similar latitude and climatic factors as the Everglades National Park in southern Florida (USA), where the Burmese python has become established, ecological and physiological research on the Kinmen population has potential value for comparative studies of habitat selection and niche modeling. Research on this new population could facilitate development of management plans for the Kinmen Island population and possibly help with managing the invasive population in the Florida Everglades.

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Can invasive Burmese pythons inhabit temperate regions of the southeastern United States?

Cited by 32 publications

References 18 publications

Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park

Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park

Genetic data reveal a multiple origin for the populations of the Italian wall lizardPodarcis sicula(Squamata: Lacertidae) introduced in the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic islands

Return of the pythons: first formal records, with a special note on recovery of the Burmese python in the demilitarized Kinmen islands

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