Hi, As a starter look at the wikipedia entry. It paints with a broad brush but is good for an overview.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_invasive_species_in_the_Everglades There is also a lot of at times over the top coverage of a recent snake hunt, but here is a second hand account of something more sobering. Michael Dorcas at Davidson did an interesting study of the possible impact of the big snakes. I don't have it with me but to quote a press account: "The researchers studied records of mammal deaths on roads from 1993 to 1999, before the pythons were commonly found in the Everglades. In addition, over 51 nights in 1996 and 1997, they drove along National Park roads and tallied live and dead mammals along the road. [See photos of the invading pythons<http://www.livescience.com/18191-invasive-pythons-everglades-album.html> ] They compared these results with animal numbers tallied from 2003 through 2011, the time after which pythons became common. These numbers were also gleaned from more than 35,000 miles of road surveys. In areas where pythons had been present the longest, between 2003 and 2011, populations of raccoons dropped 99.3 percent, opossums 98.9 percent and bobcats 87.5 percent. Marsh and cottontail rabbits, as well as foxes, though common before the pythons were seen in the area, were not seen at all in these surveys. In areas where pythons had recently taken root, the mammal decreases were smaller; in areas where pythons hadn't been spotted mammal numbers were similar to those in the Everglades' pre-python years." http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2012/0130/Huge-pythons-annihilating-Everglades-wildlife-report-scientists-video In other words we have a novel ecosystem where the top predators such as bobcats and cougars have been removed (and big snakes also attack alligators), the snakes have taken out the mesopredators such as foxes and raccoons. Monitor lizards attack ground nesting species. Various alien invasive plant species have also 'terraformed' the Everglades, creating alien monocultures and increasing diversity primarily of ruderal, non native species. You missed the point that others, not I, regard all species as equal (although they may in actuality find some species more equal than others, cf. G. Orwell 1945). By this logic, terraforming earth to allow a few species to dominate is perfectly acceptable or at least inevitable. Similarly, the replacement of cougar and bobcat by pythons is not a big deal: all top predators fulfill the same role. After the first child is killed by a feral python in a South Florida backyard, I suspect this line of reasoning will retreat into ivory towers covered with invasive ivy. The truth is that we have moved so many species around on this planet that few ecosystems are intact (and we are working on those). Most such species are harmless, useful or here to stay (grasses, cattle, wheat, honey bees, etc), so invasion biologists and the public don't fret about them. For others, we do. Yes this is a value judgement but in most cases in society where science is relevant, it is not decisive but rather informative for decisions. In other words, scientists don't make decisions, the public does. We help with the information we have, but they make it. Some ecologists think the whole invasive species thing is overblown or an insidious byproduct of biases. Telling the public there is not a problem, especially to the guy with the dead dog in his backyard, well it just doesn't work. Finally, I find invasion biology oddly similar to climate change science. The science is imperfect. It makes mistakes, it can't generalize down to the fine scale. The public or at least the press is now concluding everything is climate change, when sometimes it's just weather; but there remain those to whom the whole thing is hooey. I can only ask them "how long can you tread water?" (W. Cosby 1963). Cheers, David Duffy On Mon, Sep 16, 2013 at 5:40 AM, Diana Guzmán Colón <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi- > > I am not familiar with Southern Florida's biota. Can you explain what are > the new combinations of species or processes that makes this area a novel > (or emerging) system? What wildlife are disappearing and what might be the > cause?, is it because of new species coming-in or habitat extirpation by us > humans? > > And then why you suggest all species are equal now? since when? > > Thanks, > > -Diana > > > On Fri, Sep 13, 2013 at 11:04 PM, David Duffy <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Southern Florida is now a novel ecosystem. Wildlife are disappearing and >> now this. >> >> >> http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2013/09/13/pkg-10ft-python-kills-siberian-husky.wplg.html >> >> So if all species are now equal, why should we value Siberian huskies and >> small children over large snakes? To quote Winston Churchill "I decline >> utterly to be impartial between the fire brigade and the fire.” >> >> David Duffy >> -- >> >> Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit >> Botany >> University of Hawaii >> 3190 Maile Way >> Honolulu Hawaii 96822 USA >> 1-808-956-8218 >> > > -- Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit Botany University of Hawaii 3190 Maile Way Honolulu Hawaii 96822 USA 1-808-956-8218
