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Python invasion has been particularly extensive, notably across [[South Florida]], where a large number of pythons can now be found in the Florida [[Everglades]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 10 Invasive Species |date=2010 |magazine=Time |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1958657_1958656_1958659,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206203125/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1958657_1958656_1958659,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 6, 2010 |access-date=27 April 2010}}</ref>{{r|invspinfo}} Between 1996 and 2006, the Burmese python gained popularity in the pet trade, with more than 90,000 snakes imported into the U.S.<ref name=":1" /> The current number of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades may have reached a [[minimum viable population]] and become an [[invasive species]]. [[Hurricane Andrew]] in 1992 was deemed responsible for the destruction of a python-breeding facility and zoo, and these escaped snakes spread and populated areas into the Everglades.<ref>{{cite web |title=Democrats Hold Hearing on Administration's Plan to Constrict Snakes in the Everglades - House Committee on Natural Resources |date=2010|url=http://naturalresources.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=177795 |publisher=Naturalresources.house.gov |access-date=9 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916202100/http://naturalresources.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=177795 |archive-date=16 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> More than 1,330 have been captured in the Everglades.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/ever/naturescience/burmesepython.htm|title=(US National Park Service website - December 31, 2009)|website=nps.gov|access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref> A genetic study in 2017 revealed that the python population is composed of hybrids between the Burmese python and Indian python. The species also displays [[cytonuclear discordance]] which has made phylogenetic studies of its origin more complicated.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hunter|first1=M.E. |last2=Johnson|first2=N.A. |last3=Smith |first3=B.J. |last4=Davis|first4=M.C. |last5=Butterfield|first5=John S.S. |last6=Snow|first6=R.W. |last7=Hart|first7=K.M. |date=2017 |title=Cytonuclear discordance in the Florida Everglades invasive Burmese python (''Python bivittatus'') population reveals possible hybridization with the Indian python (''P. molurus'') |journal=Ecology and Evolution |volume=8 |issue=17 |pages=9034–9047 |doi=10.1002/ece3.4423 |pmid=30271564 |pmc=6157680}}</ref>
By 2007, the Burmese python was found in northern Florida and in the coastal areas of the [[Florida Panhandle]]. The importation of Burmese pythons was banned in the United States in January 2012 by the [[U.S. Department of the Interior]].<ref name="U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2012">{{cite press release |title=Salazar Announces Ban on Importation and Interstate Transportation of Four Giant Snakes that Threaten Everglades |url=https://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Announces-Ban-on-Importation-and-Interstate-Transportation-of-Four-Giant-Snakes-that-Threaten-Everglades |website=doi.gov |access-date=April 26, 2022 |date=
For example, Burmese pythons also compete with the native [[American alligator]], and numerous instances of alligators and pythons attacking—and in some cases, preying on—each other have been reported and recorded.
By 2011, researchers identified up to 25 species of birds from nine avian orders in the digestive tract remains of 85 Burmese pythons found in Everglades National Park.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |vauthors=Dove CJ, Snow RW, Rochford MR, Mazzotti FJ |date=2011 |title=Birds Consumed by the Invasive Burmese Python (''Python molurus bivittatus'') in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA |journal=The Wilson Journal of Ornithology |volume=123 |issue=1 |pages=126–131 |doi=10.1676/10-092.1|jstor=23033493|s2cid=55495469
Numerous efforts have been made to eliminate the Burmese python population in the last decade.{{when|reason=the phrase "in the last decade" is meaningless without reference to a specific date or range of dates|date=February 2020}} Understanding the preferred habitat of the species is needed to narrow down the python hunt. Burmese pythons have been found to select broad-leafed and low-flooded habitats. Broad-leafed habitats comprise cypress, overstory, and coniferous forest. Though aquatic marsh environments would be a great source for prey, the pythons seem to prioritize environments allowing for morphological and behavioral camouflage to be protected from predators.{{clarify|date=October 2020}} Also, the Burmese pythons in Florida have been found to prefer elevated habitats, since this provides the optimal conditions for nesting. In addition to elevated habitats, edge habitats are common places where Burmese pythons are found for thermoregulation, nesting, and hunting purposes.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |vauthors=Walters TM, Mazzotti FJ, Fitz HC |date=2016 |title=Habitat selection by the invasive species Burmese python in Southern Florida |journal=Journal of Herpetology |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=50–56|doi=10.1670/14-098 |s2cid=86327588
One of the Burmese python eradication movements with the biggest influence was the 2013 [[Florida Python Challenge|Python Challenge]] in Florida. This was a month-long contest wherein a total of 68 pythons were removed. The contest offered incentives such as prizes for longest and greatest number of captured pythons. The purpose of the challenge was to raise awareness about the invasive species, increase participation from the public and agency cooperation, and to remove as many pythons as possible from the Florida Everglades.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Mazzotti FJ, Rochford M, Vinci J, Jeffery BM, Eckles JK, Dove C, Sommers KP |date=2016 |title=Implications of the 2013 Python Challenge® for Ecology and Management of ''Python molorus bivittatus'' (Burmese python) in Florida |journal=Southeastern Naturalist |volume=15 |issue=sp8 |pages=63–74|jstor=26454670|doi=10.1656/058.015.sp807|s2cid=90352897
A study from 2017 introduced a new method for identifying the presence of Burmese pythons in southern Florida; this method involves the screening of mosquito blood. Since the introduction of the Burmese python in Florida, mosquito communities use the pythons as hosts even though they are recently introduced.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Reeves LE, Krysko KL, Avery ML, Gillett-Kaufman JL, Kawahara AY, Connelly CR, Kaufman PE |title=Interactions between the invasive Burmese python, ''Python bivittatus'' Kuhl, and the local mosquito community in Florida, USA |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=e0190633 |date=2018-01-17 |pmid=29342169 |pmc=5771569 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0190633 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1390633R |veditors=Paul R |doi-access=free}}</ref>
Invasive Burmese pythons also face certain physiological changes. Unlike their native South Asian counterparts who spend long periods fasting due to seasonal variation in prey availability, pythons in Florida feed year-round due to the constant availability of food. They are also vulnerable to cold stress, with winter freezes resulting in mortality rates of up to 90%. Genomic data suggests natural selection on these populations favors increased thermal tolerance as a result of these high-mortality freezes.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Card DC, Perry BW, Adams RH, Schield DR, Young AS, Andrew AL, Jezkova T, Pasquesi GI, Hales NR, Walsh MR, Rochford MR, Mazzotti FJ, Hart KM, Hunter ME, Castoe TA
They have carried ''Raillietiella orientalis'',
In April 2019, researchers captured and killed a large Burmese python in Florida's [[Big Cypress National Preserve]]. It was more than {{cvt|17|ft|m|order=flip}} long, weighed {{cvt|140|lb}}, and contained 73 developing eggs.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Mettler, K |title=A 17-foot, 140-pound python was captured in a Florida park. Officials say it's a record. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/04/07/foot-lb-python-was-captured-fla-state-park-officials-say-its-record/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref>▼
▲In April 2019, researchers captured and killed a large Burmese python in Florida's [[Big Cypress National Preserve]]. It was more than {{cvt|17|ft|m|order=flip}} long, weighed {{cvt|140|lb|order=flip}}, and contained 73 developing eggs.<ref>{{cite news |
In December 2021, a Burmese python was captured in Florida that weighed {{cvt|215|lbs|kg|order=flip}} and had a length of {{cvt|18|ft|m|order=flip}}; it contained a record 122 developing eggs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=A. B. |title=Caught! Record-breaking 18-foot Burmese python pulled from Collier County wilderness |url=https://www.news-press.com/story/tech/science/environment/2022/06/22/record-breaking-18-foot-burmese-python-caught-florida-everglades/7694354001/ |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=The News-Press}}</ref>
In July 2023, local hunters captured and killed a {{cvt|19|ft|m|order=flip}} long Burmese python that weighed {{cvt|125|lbs|kg|order=flip}} in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve.<ref name="Jones"/>▼
▲In July 2023, local hunters captured and killed a {{cvt|19|ft|m}} long Burmese python that weighed {{cvt|125|lbs|kg}} in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve.<ref name="Jones"/>
==Behavior==
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