# Florida Everglades



## Charmander (May 13, 2010)

I am a junior in highschool and I am doing a research paper on invasive species in the Florida Everglades, I am having some trouble finding sources 

If anyone knows of anything that could be a help it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
-Charlie


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## fireimp141 (May 13, 2010)

In the "Feds make a move to ban boas" or whatever thread there is a link talking about how gu's among others are invasive species, cuban tree frogs and other stuff. Might be worth checking out.


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## Blue Crab of PAIN!!! (May 13, 2010)

I actually did a 6-page research project about the exotic pet trade and invasive species, but it was all a bunch of bull(poop) that I pulled out of my (fanny) in a single night. The most noteworthy thing I remember about it is that the big 7ft Nile Monitors are wiping out feral cats and dogs wherever they spread, which I suppose is a plus.

As far as Tegus are concerned apparently there are some small, isolated populations of feral columbian, argentinian, and red tegus all roaming about out there. They'll probably get wiped out by monitors and boas though. 

I personally like tegus a lot more than monitors but... there's not much a tegu can do when a giant monitor has its eyes on it.


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## chelvis (May 14, 2010)

Try the Florida fish and wild life services homepage. I pretty sure that's where i got my information on invasive speices. In the everglades there are a whole laundry list of non-native animals: Nibian Pouch rats, almost all speices of caiman have been found, the pleco sucker fish (actully very distructive), Nile monitors, nubians (sorry spelling might be off), tegus, different species of monkies and parrots and of course most famously is the python populations. These are the ones they know of, worked down there for a summer and trust me you can find anything out there, chansed a snake thinking it was a cotton mouth next thing i know it hits solid ground lifts half it's body off the ground a spreads a hood.


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## carcharios (May 14, 2010)

People make a huge deal about exotics and understandably. But at the same time, while everyone is so worried about pythons, monitors, tegus, etc. you have to remember that many of the native species in Florida are going to pick off the juveniles of these exotics as well. For example, the herons and egrets are experts at consuming juvenile lizards and snakes, as are the alligator and crocodiles. Many of the juveniles of these species will go on to serve as food sources for our native species. So while everyone is very concerned about thes exotics, I believe that an equilibrium will be reached over time. Truth be told, the most dangerous exotic species is not the tegu or pythons; its humans.


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## chelvis (May 14, 2010)

All though its true native animals can pick off younger ones, the scary part comes when exotics start to out compete native speices and that is why intorduced exotic animals that do this are called invasive, they upset the whole natural balance. Take the Talapia in brazil. A farmer had a talpia farm that got flooded now the surronding water ways are inindated with them and they have out competed the native fish for food and space. Yes the animals that eat fish still will be there but the native fish population is now pretty much extinct. Same can be seen with the Asian Carp in quite a few water ways in the eastern US. Plecos in florida have carved large caves and tunnels in berms and dicks that it has some state officals worried about flooding. Feral pigs are another biggy, they are not native these were at one point domestice swine used for pork but were released and what not the up root the banks of alligator ponds causes them to dry out, lots of local turtles rely on these ponds of the dry season. Needless to say, yes a small population might not be a big deal and thats when its just called an exotic specise, however when its a problem it moved from this to invasive speices. 

I have to agree that humans are the most invassive speices ever. We go places life is not suppose to and inpact far beyound where we live.


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## Two Bananas Marinade (May 14, 2010)

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/invasion-of-the-giant-pythons/video-full-episode/5565/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes ... sode/5565/</a><!-- m -->


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