(Sept.24, 2012)
Researchers have found that the total number of spiders in Guam has increased 40 times after the brown tree snake wiped out the native bird of the island. Even though the snake was accidentally introduced to the island in 1940, it decimated the island’s native bird. By the 1980 10 out of 12 birds had been wiped out. The loss of birds lead to an increase of the spider population since many of the birds consumed the spiders, competed with the spiders for insect prey, and also utilized the spider webs in their nests. Since Guam is a U.S. territory, the U.S. spends $1 million a year searching planes and cargo to prevent brown tree snakes from spreading to other islands. My solution for the loss of birds would be to get rid of most of the brown tree snakes to try to restore the bird populations that are left and to lower the spider population. The problem with this solution is the brown tree snakes are very hard to find because they blend in so well. Even the snake hunters have a very difficult time locating them. Also, since the bird population was so devastated, it would be hard to restore the number of birds that once existed.
Increasing the search for the snakes is the only way to solve this problem. Protecting the remaining bird population is also important.
ReplyDeleteTrying to protect the birds on the island is pretty much almost impossible. Trying to find all of the brown tree snakes is to, but its more reasonable. They are both very important things to do because no one wants an island to be taken over by spiders.
ReplyDeleteI agree, how exactly can we locate these brown tree snakes since they do so well at blending in. It is also important to protect the bird population before they get close to extinction. It's unfortunate that the spider population is increasing, that is a problem as well.
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