Now its not just Honey Bees, Bats Frogs, other amphibians dying worldwide now add snakes to the list

Now its not just Honey Bees, Bats Frogs and other amphibians dying, and crashing worldwide you can add snakes to the list. World Snake Population Mysteriously Declining. Studies Show Many Species of Snake Are Dramatically Shrinking in Numbers
According to the BBC News many of the species of snake in the world are in decreasing in number and have been doing so since about 1998.

The findings are based on the research of 17 different snake populations around the world, and for some reason the numbers of most of these shrank dramatically around 1998, which researchers say is alarming. Many of
these populations are also not showing any signs of recovery, which leaves them vunerable to any new condition that causes a further decrease in numbers.

Of these 17 populations being studied, only one increased in number, but some shrank to dangerous levels.

There are no obvious reasons why this has happened, but with studies being undertaken in Australia, France, Italy and Nigeria, it is obvious that this is happening on a global scale, and it is more than just a coincidence.

The only clues so far as to why this should have begun in 1998 is that it was the warmest year on record in recent years, due to strong El Nino conditions.

Scientists so far do not know what other factors might be causing the population change, but some species suffered a loss even though they were living in protected areas, so this cannot be attributed to loss of habitat.

One of the biggest problems faced with this study is the lack of data. Many studies require the tagging of snakes with micro-chips so that they can be tracked, but this type of study often takes years to complete.

Scientists are concerned that because some of these species of snakes are the main predators in ecosystems such as rice fields. As a result, the population decreases could have serious worldwide impacts, especially if this were to result in increased damage to rice crops.

Foraging snakes seem to be the most vunerable, in particular those species that lie in wait for their prey to come within range. Any changes to the patterns of their prey have a direct impact on their survival.

According to The Guardian in the UK, these are the results for those species that have been part of the studies:

Declines
Smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) in the UK
Asp viper (Vipera aspis) in France and Italy
Orsini's viper (Vipera ursinii) in Italy
Gaboon viper (Bitis gabonica) in Nigeria
Rhinoceros viper (Bitis nasicornis) in Nigeria

Royal or ball python (Python regius) in Nigeria
Western whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) in France
Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus) in France

Stable

Grass snake (Natrix natrix) in the UK and France
Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus) in France
Jameson's mamba (Dendroaspis jamesoni) in Nigeria
Eastern tiger snake (Notechis scutatus) in Australia

Slight increase

Western whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) in France

Sources:

BBC News

ABC News Australia

The Guardian
www.associatedcontent.com... just Honey Bees, Bats Frogs other amphibians dying, but that species are crashing worldwide

[edit on 21-6-2010 by ddarkangle2bad]

reply to post by ddarkangle2bad


It seems that we are in the midst of a mass extinction event, probalby caused by (if not helped along by) humans.

The scale is tipping and the clock is ticking... We must change or suffer the same fate as the Dinosuars!

S+F

Almost everyone I know will kill a large snake they see even if it is not a rattle snake. I see snakes ran over on the roads all the time, and again, they are not rattlers. I know these other snakes are beneficial to the eco system and I wonder why people feel the need to kill all snakes. I am no fan of snakes, I am terrified of rattle snakes, but please do not kill snakes for no reason (minus rattlers)
I wonder if the cell phone usage has anything to do with this- like i heard it had to do with the bees dying. It seems 1998 was about the time lots of people started having cell phones.

Is it just me or is anyone else starting to notice that most of these declines started taking place right about the same time we started making technologies like cell phones, satellite tv, digital radio, and the likes cheap and affordable for all? I think that it is our technology interfering with the fragile receptors that most of these animals possess. Just my .02.

reply to post by ddarkangle2bad


When the scientists work only for the money and manipulate the data to please the big government, then nothing works. Because dedication is not there. And those that are dedicated no one (in Government) wants to listen to them. I am retired, but when I was a kid, we used to walk in streets in summer evening time and catch Scorpions. During early sixties when I our Government introduced pesticides, in just few years not only scorpions were gone but also the populations of flies, mosquito, yellow jackets and similarly other things were gone. We also heard less incidents of snake bites etc. etc. We were happy that the dangers were gone but our scientists never cared. It should have been their job to be concerned with. Today when I think about it, it really hurts. It is the responsibility of the Government and its agents to educate its citizen and teach them how to deal with their fear. The ecology is there for us to benefit from it. Dangerous snakes like Cobra and venomous scorpions used to be in City outskirts. After dark we used to be scared to go out. We could fish in small ponds, after sixties you couldn't find fish in big rivers because there were none. I hope I gave enough clues for those of you that are scientists and have the authority to scream at the right place, please U2 me if you have any question. I am willing to help any way possible.

If you think this is bad. Please ?

Take a look at my thread called :The Shocking Reality of Modern Day Extinction.

Nice thread
Compliments for your presentation.

The BBC is really late if this only now mentioned.
I've posted this in the breaking news section 12 days ago.

This is sooo sad
I read a similar article about a week ago, I have my own snakes (ball python's -they're on that list) and it kills me to know that they are dying out. They are the sweeeeetest snakes out there and it kills me to think one day that the only snakes that are still alive are the ones bred in captivity.

I live in upstate NY and a few years back I heard about the bat population dropping along with the bees. This year I heard the bats have some kind of fungus.
en.wikipedia.org...

I really hope humans, as a whole, can figure out how to live in harmony with nature. All these poor animals are suffering from carelessness.

S&F!!


[edit on 6/21/2010 by chyeaaitskristyn]

Originally posted by toolstarr
Almost everyone I know will kill a large snake they see even if it is not a rattle snake. I see snakes ran over on the roads all the time, and again, they are not rattlers. I know these other snakes are beneficial to the eco system and I wonder why people feel the need to kill all snakes. I am no fan of snakes, I am terrified of rattle snakes, but please do not kill snakes for no reason (minus rattlers)
I wonder if the cell phone usage has anything to do with this- like i heard it had to do with the bees dying. It seems 1998 was about the time lots of people started having cell phones.

while I agree that people kill snakes for no reason..

the ones in the road, I doubt were killed on purpose.. just like any other roadkill.. an accident.

You say don't kill snakes for no reason, minus rattlers. Do you not realize that rattle snakes play just as an important role as other snakes?

I was fishing up in a slew with my grandfather.. I was maybe 10 at the time. A moccasin fell in our boat with us. I picked up a paddle to kill it.. my grandfather stopped me, calmly and carefully picked the snake up and placed it in the water. He told me, "Bo, we are in his home.. show some respect".. that was the beginning of my realization that I now have.

I have killed three snakes since then.. one was ran over and suffering, about to die.. the other two were in my home and poisonous.

Originally posted by SpaDe_
Is it just me or is anyone else starting to notice that most of these declines started taking place right about the same time we started making technologies like cell phones, satellite tv, digital radio, and the likes cheap and affordable for all? I think that it is our technology interfering with the fragile receptors that most of these animals possess. Just my .02.

I think your right on the money, and its only going to get worse

reply to post by SpaDe_


That and GM crops.

And don't forget the birds and fish dying off in droves all over the world.