Summary: Boa Constrictors were introduced into Aruba in an illegal manner, and since that time they have been multiplying in exponential numbers. This foreign invasive species is making a big impact on this generally secluded islands' bird species. The birds that are feeling the impact of this foreign species the most are the mockingbird, oriole, and owl. These birds are being eaten in incredible numbers this is not too large of an issue at the moment, but in the future it has a potential of greatly impacting Aruba's environment.
Reaction: I think that we all have heard how vicious boa constrictors are so the thought of them becoming predators is not very difficult to wrap your mind around, but at the same time the rate that they are eating the bird population is astounding. They seem to be wiping out the bird population and there is nothing being done to stop this before it makes a real impact. I feel like when we here about environmental issues its always after they've made an impact and is too late. Boa Constrictors are turning into a very dominant species in this area and this can only turn out negative.
Questions:
1. How do you think you could stop this species from becoming a large issue now?
2. What could the birds do to become able to get away from these snakes?
3. How much concern do you think Aruba should put towards this environmental issue?
Boa Constrictors have struck me as violent and dangerous creatures. Now that their population is increasing and certain types of birds are decreasing, it makes them even more of a problem. Since birds are always in the sky and boas are on the ground, it makes me wonder how they are even able to eat these birds. So it would make sense for the birds to stay in the sky as much as possible to avoid getting eaten by the snakes.
ReplyDeleteI always knew boa constrictors were a dangerous species but I never knew that soon they will be capable of wiping out an entire species. It's also surprising that the species they are killing is birds even though birds are mostly flying all the time. People should really start to look at how much the boa constrictor is killing so they can start trying to stop the boa from eating so many birds. Aruba should start to put a very high concern on this environmental issue because if they don't start to be concerned about this sooner or later a species of bird may become endangered and then extinct.
ReplyDeleteI always knew that boa constricters were dangerous and capable of a lot of damage. What I did not realize is how big of and an impact that they could actually make. It is frightening to think that these boas could take out an entire species, and effect Aruba's environment. I think that Aruba should put more concern into preventing the boas from taking out the species completely. I feel that this issue is something that us humans deal with daily. For example, when someone new comes to work and everyone loves them and start taking your best friends. They then win employee of the month and take your spot. Now this is a little bit of a stretch but it is similar to how the boa comes and starts taking away all of the birds. Overall, I think this is scary topic and will be tough to deal with, but I think it is possible. Here is a link I found dealing with this topic. It talks directly about how the boas are affecting the bird population.
ReplyDeletehttp://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/island-birds-invading-boa-trouble-in-paradise/?partner=rss&emc=rss
I never knew how much of a problem an introduced species could be until we learned about it in class, but this is a great example of how much a new species can impact an environment. In response to the second question, I don't even understand how the boa constrictors can even get to the birds in the first place. I mean snakes have no way of climbing trees, which is where birds generally are unless they're flying. So I don't really see many adaptions birds could make to try to avoid the snakes. I think Aruba should be very concerned about this issue because I'm sure exotic bird species are part of what attracts tourists to their island. Also, birds are food for a wide array of different predators, so this problem could cause a complete collapse of Aruba's ecosystem.
ReplyDelete