Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
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Abstract
Invasive species represent a significant threat to global biodiversity and a substantial economic burden. Burmese pythons, giant constricting snakes native to Asia, now are found throughout much of southern Florida, including all of Everglades National Park (ENP). Pythons have increased dramatically in both abundance and geographic range since 2000 and consume a wide variety of mammals and birds. Here we report severe apparent declines in mammal populations that coincide temporally and spatially with the proliferation of pythons in ENP. Before 2000, mammals were encountered frequently during nocturnal road surveys within ENP. In contrast, road surveys totaling 56,971 km from 2003–2011 documented a 99.3% decrease in the frequency of raccoon observations, decreases of 98.9% and 87.5% for opossum and bobcat observations, respectively, and failed to detect rabbits. Road surveys also revealed that these species are more common in areas where pythons have been discovered only recently and are most abundant outside the python's current introduced range. These findings suggest that predation by pythons has resulted in dramatic declines in mammals within ENP and that introduced apex predators, such as giant constrictors, can exert significant top-down pressure on prey populations. Severe declines in easily observed and/or common mammals, such as raccoons and bobcats, bode poorly for species of conservation concern, which often are more difficult to sample and occur at lower densities.
Suggested Citation
Dorcas, M.E., Wilson, J.D., Reed, R., Snow, R.W., Rochford, M., Miller, M.A., Meshaka, W.E., Andreadis, P.T., Mazzotti, F., Romagosa, C., Hart, K.M., 2012, Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, v. 109, no. 7, p. 2418-2422, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1115226109.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park |
| Series title | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| DOI | 10.1073/pnas.1115226109 |
| Volume | 109 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Publication Date | January 30, 2012 |
| Year Published | 2012 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| Publisher location | Washington, D.C. |
| Contributing office(s) | Fort Collins Science Center |
| Description | 5 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
| First page | 2418 |
| Last page | 2422 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| Other Geospatial | Everglades National Park |