The snakehead species is a group of predatory freshwater fishes belonging to the family Channidae. Within this family, there are two genuses of fish, Parachanna from the African continent and Channa from the Asian continent. Together they comprise the 28 known species of snakeheads. Five of the 28 species are considered large fish, six are considered dwarf species, and the other seventeen are considered medium sized fish. All of the three species discussed in this paper are in the genus Channa with two in the large category while the remaining one is in the medium sized category. All members of the Channidae family have elongated bodies with rows of sharp teeth and exhibit mostly dark coloration. They all share the trait of becoming the …show more content…
Before their discovery in the wild in 2002, juveniles were readily available as an aquarium fish popular for their appearance and feisty temperament. Eventually aquarium enthusiasts found the snakeheads rapid growth rate and voracious appetite made them too difficult to house and expensive to feed, resulting in the “pets” being released into nearby bodies of water. Also during that time, they were popular in the live fish food market for in ethnic communities. It has been determined that fish imported for this later purpose were likely released intentionally because they could no longer be cared for or in hopes that they would establish themselves and become a naturally occurring food source.
After being discovered and identified in ponds, streams, lakes and rivers in the United States (US) by both biologists and fishermen, the entire Channidae family came under scrutiny. It was determined that if additional snakehead species were accidentally or intentionally released into US waters, 131 taxa of threatened and endangered species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and aquatic vegetation could be subjected to harm. Based upon the aggressive and predatory behavior of these species and the difficulty in differentiating between the species, all 28 species of snakeheads were banned from live importation into the US.
A group of researchers collected data to support the theory that the overpopulation of snakes is killing off the mammal population. Ashley Townsend, National Geographic writes, “the python population has continued to grow at a remarkable rate and has caused great distress to the park 's ecosystem.” For this study, the researchers at the South Florida Water Management District recorded the rates of live and dead mammals during a nocturnal road survey and compared it to the 1996-1997 road surveys. Scientists for the South Florida Management District, stated, “Researchers noted that the animals in the park were dying at a greater rate since the python population has gotten so enormous.”
Thought to have been first introduced into the wild via pet owners (Dorcas & Wilson, 20011) have caused significant declines in mammal populations. An observational study conducted by Dorcas et al (2012), found a 90% reduction in encounter rates of a number of species including racoon, opossums, bob cats and white tailed deer over the period 2003-2011 in which Burmese python populations have increased. The introduction of the Burmese python has also caused a significant decline in bird species. A study conducted by Dove et al (2011) found remains of 25 different species of birds in the digestive tracts of 85 Burmese pythons collected from 2003-2008, 4 of which are of special concern in Florida and 1 the ‘Wood Stork’ is listed as endangered. Preying on native wildlife and competing with native predators has impacted the food web and trophic level dynamics of the ecological
The song “Black Snakes” by A Tribe called Red and Prolific the Rappers explains to the world that the citizens need to stand up and protest to protect the water between North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois. Prolific the Rappers tell the audience that enough is enough with the companies trying to make a pipeline to collect oil. Prolific the Rappers stated in his line, “A black snake with some black tanks (ugh), how much money do these companies need to make? They could drive their product, but they want to save a buck. Already extracted billions when is enough’s enough.”. He raps this lyric to send a message about the Dakota Access pipeline is only letting the company get rich from the oil and they do not care about what the effect will happen
Their venom is a potent Hemotoxin, the venom kills red blood cells and impales muscle tissue. The venom is highly potent and lethal to humans, but antivenin is ubiquitous and deaths are very uncommon. The snake is easily recognizable by its large head and bulky body The ground color of its body is olive brown and has large diamonds with brown centers and cream borders. The tail is brownish grey (banded with dark rings). Newborns have a button at the end of their tail, and adults and juveniles have a rattle. Young and old have a cat eye with a vertical pupil. While baby snakes are 15 inches long, they can grow up to eight feet because of its complementing 20 year livelihood The Diamondback Rattler can also strike 2/3 of its body length so a six foot snake can strike four
Burmese pythons are an invading species that are causing problems to the local animal population, the local ecosystems, and the people in the area of Florida’s Everglades. These snakes are one of the biggest snakes in the world and grow up to be twenty three feet long and weigh up to two hundred pounds. They are able to hunt in the dark due to the chemical receptors on their tongues and heat sensors all over their jaw. This is bad for humans, as we cannot see very well in the dark. This can cause the snake to see us, but us not be able to see them. Without natural predators, these animals are lean, mean killing machines that can destroy many populations of animals and stand as a threat to humans.
The python’s intestines thicken, their insulin levels shoot up, liver and kidneys double in size, they have a 6-degree temp increase, their metabolism jumps 8-fold, and their pulse quickens as they digest.
There are many different species of snakes that inhabit Arizona, but the Sonoran Coral Snake, the Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake, the Milk Snake, and the Sonoran Shovel-Nosed Snake are particularly interesting because despite being different species they all look like one another. The red, black, and yellow stripes they share can be attributed to evolution and environment. The four species of snakes have different diets, habitats, and distribution, but they do share one environmental element: primary predators. All four snakes have raptors, long tailed weasels, and badgers as predators. These snakes have evolved to have stripes because raptors, long tailed weasels, and badgers are less likely to eat snakes with red, black, and yellow stripes
A female Burmese Python will lay up to 207 eggs at once. Inside her nest, she will coil her body around the eggs to maintain a temperature of about ninety degrees Fahrenheit. Incubation takes around two months. The python has only just recently been observed engaging in shivering thermo genesis for the first time outside of captivity. This is the production of body heat through muscle contractions. The mother snake does this to raise the temperature of her nest and eggs- the warmer the incubation, the quicker they will hatch, and slither free throughout the forest, carrying on its destructive path. With this sort of reproduction, it’s no wonder they’re so easily taking over the Everglades.
The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is one of the largest snakes in the world, measuring up to 5.74 meters long and weighing up to 182.8 kilograms. The species is native to southeast Asia and in its native habitat, consumes a wide array of prey including many different mammal, amphibian, lizard, snake, bird, and fish species (Snow et al. 2007). In southern Florida, pythons have established themselves across thousands of square kilometers including all of Everglades National Park (Boback et al. 2016). Research points to multiple instances of pet release to be the cause of their introduction to the Everglades as a foreign species (Snow et al. 2007). Python populations have significantly increased in both abundance and geographic range in the Everglades since their introduction, preying on a wide variety of native mammals and birds, posing a serious problem as an invasive species and apex predator (Dorcas et al. 2012).
Now days times have changed. You can no longer enjoy the things you once could. It has become dangerous to waterski or to even enjoy a boat ride down the river due to the Asian carp. These fish are startled easily by boats, and small watercraft. They can jump ten to twelve feet out of the water causing damage to boats and injuring humans. I have heard of people getting cuts from the fins, black eyes, concussions, broken noses and jaws, and even knocked unconscious from this species of fish. Not only are these Asian Carp causing physical damage, they are wreaking havoc on the ecological system. The main concern from the Asian Carp is the dangerous effects that it is bringing to our ecosystem. As an avid fisherman, this is of great concern to me. This will not only affect me as a fisherman, but also possibly hunters, bird watchers, boaters, even jet skiers and water skiers are
Burmese pythons are negatively affecting Florida’s Everglades. These pythons are originally from Southeast Asia. Source four tells us that we should do a better job of educating people about their careless actions. Source four also tells us that keeping these malicious snakes as pets is injudicious. There are about tens of thousands of Burmese pythons estimated living in the Everglades. The main reason why these snakes are in the Everglades is because people thought that they could handle them as pets, but as soon as they kept them, they turned them loose into the Everglades. This information tells you why these pythons are a burden and a threat to these precious animals and the
During their vacation, a family traveled to the Everglades to enjoy and relax in nature, but their trip was interrupted by a 20 feet long snake. It sounds very frightening, as well as uncommon. However, any person that visits the Florida Everglades has a very good change of encountering a snake like that one, called Burmese pythons. Their population in this natural area has increased tremendously because humans adopt them as pets when they’re young and later release them into the Everglades. The presence of the Burmese pythons is having a large effect on the Everglades because they are killing local animals, endangering its ecosystem, and outing people in danger.
Firstly, the Burmese Python can digest a multitude of different animals, shown by the article, Florida’s Python Hunt when it says,“ With no natural predators, these eating machines appear to be wiping out huge numbers of opossums, raccoons, and bobcats, as well as many bird species.” These serpents are slowly making these animals become extinct, and society is not doing much better.
The New Caledonian Crested Gecko is one of the most sought out reptiles in the herptoculture hobby today. This medium-sized gecko has all the qualities of what to expect of a pet lizard. They combine their sheer beauty and low maintenance and docile tempers, making it an all around great pet to own (Rhacodactylus, p. 16). In the herpetological society, the crested gecko’s popularity has grown above hobbyist, into the hands of many first time pet owners, giving a first time experience made easy. According to Fester, (2007) “the rare Crested Gecko thought to be extinct but rediscovered in New Caledonia in 1994” (fester’ at Ireland
Many breeds of fish are being captured at a faster rate than they can reproduce. Some species such as orange roughy fishing became popular in New Zealand in the 1970’s. Over time, it spread to many countries around the world. In the last 20 years, there has been a decline in catch up to 75%. It is no longer common to see in grocery stores as well as restaurants. The amounts of fish that are captured and distributed around the world are alarming opposed to the rate the fish can multiply.