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A brown tree snake near a snake trap hanging from a fence on Guam. Believed to be a stowaway on a U.S. military transport after the end of World War II, the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) was accidentally introduced to Guam, which previously had no native species of snake. It nearly eliminated the native bird population.
The endemic birds of Guam, the southernmost Mariana island, were severely affected by the introduction of the brown tree snake after World War II. It has been reported that 11 of Guam's 14 terrestrial birds have become extinct or extirpated from Guam. [15]
The brown tree snake is a nocturnal and arboreal species that uses both visual and chemical cues when hunting, either in the rainforest canopy or on the ground. [3] It is a member of the subfamily Colubrinae, genus Boiga, which is a group of roughly twenty-five species that are referred to as "cat-eyed" snakes for their vertical pupils. [4]
This area is the only designated critical habitat in Guam because it was home to some of the last confirmed populations of the Mariana fruit bat, Guam kingfisher, Mariana common moorhen and Mariana crow. [6] The accidental introduction of the brown tree snake is considered the primary cause for the decline of native Guam bird species. [7]
On 5 November 2020, the US Department of the Interior and the US Geological Survey announced that the brown tree snake had been found on Cocos Island. [3] The brown tree snake is an invasive species responsible for the eradication of many species of wildlife native to Guam, including birds and lizards.
Guam has experienced severe effects of invasive species upon the natural biodiversity of the island. These include the local extinction of endemic bird species after the introduction of the brown tree snake, an infestation of the coconut rhinoceros beetle destroying coconut palms, and the effect of introduced feral mammals and amphibians.
Other areas, such as Guam, have also been hit hard; Guam has lost over 60% of its native bird taxa in the last 30 years, many of them due to the introduced brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis). [4] Currently there are approximately 10,000 living species of birds, with over 1,480 at risk of extinction and 223 critically endangered. [5]
Hawaii is also aggressively fighting to prevent the invasion of the brown tree snake. [13] The snake has caused major economic and ecological problems in Guam. The snake has destroyed bird, bat, and lizard populations and caused several human disruptions including large numbers of snake bites and power outages from climbing electrical wires. [14]