Brown tree snake wiped out Guam’s bird species

[XemaSab]

Brown tree snakes which caused the extinction of nearly every native bird on the Pacific island of Guam could be inflicting even more severe consequences indirectly, according to a new study. The invasive species might have even changed tree distribution and reduced native tree populations, harming the already damaged ecosystem even further, according to Washington University (WU) biologists.

“The brown tree snake has often been used as a textbook example of the negative impacts of invasive species, but after the loss of birds no one has looked at the snake’s indirect effects,” said Haldre Rogers, a WU doctoral student.

“It has been 25 years since the birds disappeared. It seems to me the consequences are going to keep reverberating throughout the community if birds are fundamental components of the forest,” she said.

Birds typically make up a small part of the life of a forest, but they are important for pollination, spreading seeds around the forest and controlling insects that feed on plants.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/brown-tree-snake-wiped-out-guams-bird-species_10081302.html