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Title: Snakes declining at alarming rate, say scientists (first bees, then bats, now snakes)
Source:
Guardian
URL Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environme ... jun/09/scientists-alarm-snakes
Published: Jun 9, 2010
Author: Snakes declining at alarming rate, say s
Post Date: 2010-06-09 16:07:10 by abraxas
Keywords: None
Views: 265
Comments: 23
Snakes declining at alarming rate, say scientists Study suspects sharp reduction in snake numbers in a variety of habitats in five countries is caused by habitat loss and prey. The widespread disappearance of snakes will be one impact of climate change that some people may find it hard to regret. But as vital predators in sensitive habitats such as rice fields, their decline will have wider ecological consequence, say scientists. The first major study of the problem, published today, will also be seen as another powerful sign of the worldwide destruction of the natural world, which is causing growing concern about the loss of vital services from rainfall to medicines. Scientists in five countries across three continents report they found "alarming" declines in snake numbers after monitoring 17 populations in a variety of habitats – something they believe could be part of a global phenomenon. The paper reports 11 of the population groups "declined sharply", while five remained stable, and one showed a very weak sign of increase. Many of the researchers in the UK, France, Italy, Nigeria and Australia also found evidence of "population crashes" – a sudden decline followed by no sign of recovery – a trend which would make the survivors more vulnerable to being wiped out by further pressures. "All the declines occurred during the same relatively short period of time and over a wide geographical area that included temperate, Mediterranean and tropical climates," write the authors. "We suggest that, for these reasons alone, there is likely to be a common cause at the root of the declines and that this indicates a more widespread phenomenon." Although the paper stresses there is no proof of the cause of the losses, the researchers say they "suspect" loss or deterioration of habitats and declining prey are among the main problems faced by snake populations. They believe that all the immediate threats have climate change as a common cause. "The main importance of these findings is that snakes are top predator within the habitats they are found in and as such play a potentially important role in the functioning of many ecosystems," said Chris Reading of the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, who led the research. "For example they play an important role in pest control – small rodents [like] rats and mice - in areas such as paddies and sugar cane plantations." The snake study, published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, is the latest in growing number of research papers warning of widespread biodiversity loss in the UK and around the world. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has said that one third of amphibians and fish, one fifth of mammals and more than one in ten birds is threatened with extinction, and described the rate of loss as one of the great extinctions – the last being the events that wiped out dinosaurs 65m years ago. Natural England, the government's countryside agency, reported in March that on average more than two species are becoming extinct in England every year. The IUCN said it had not done an analysis of snakes, but based on assessments of nearly one in five reptile species it estimates that 28% are threatened. This figure could reduce in future as vulnerable species are often assessed as a priority. Researchers tracked the snake populations between 1987 and 2009 by carrying out regular surveys, a method not designed to measure absolute population sizes but relative abundance. The surveys varied in method between sites – from daily reports over several months of the year to monitoring roadkill – but were always the same in each location. Herpetologists have "suspected" for some time that global populations were in decline, but the paper was the first reliable evidence of the problem, said Reading. "The problem is that snakes are very difficult to work on and there are very few long-term individual based population studies of them," he added. "If, as a result of our paper we can get herpetologists around the world to analyse their data again then we may start to build a clearer picture of what may be happening to snakes and what the causes of any declines may be. The hope is that through better understanding we might then be able to reverse any declines." The authors note that six of the eight species showing which "crashed" had small home ranges, sedentary habits and relied on ambushing prey rather than actively seeking it out. "These patterns fit the prediction that 'sit-and-wait foragers may be vulnerable because they rely on sites with specific types of ground cover, and anthropogenic activities disrupt these habitat features, and ambush foraging is associated with a suite of life-history traits that involve low rates of feeding, growth and reproduction'," they add.
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#1. To: abraxas (#0)
Snakes eat rats, don't they?
Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile.
YOU only count when it's census or TAX time" ... don't you find it ironic that the census bureau says they rely upon the Constitution for their authority and pays their help in UNCONSTITUTIONAL FRNs ... bend over and lick the hand that beats you !
Yes, they are very useful animals. Nothing beats a bull snake for eating rodents. I had a huge one at the house I used to live at. He was a good six foot long. He'd come out on the sidewalk and sun himself. Visitors would freak out over it, but I never did see a rodent as long as I lived there. : ) Never kill a black snake. They eat other poisonous snakes.
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ... We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of." Edward Bernays, Father of Public Relations
No proof but it MUST be climate change. If I were lining up suspects, Monsanto would be the first one in for questioning. GM crops, herbicides, pesticides would be a more natural suspect due to the problems faced in particular areas as these are equally common cuases and also have been proven to be destructive to animals in prior experiments.
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ... We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of." Edward Bernays, Father of Public Relations
And, rats eat GM grain or "Frankenfoods". It could also be chemtrails that are poisoning the rodents and/or the snakes. In any case we've been warned.
I am glad you brought chemtrails up. I have ensured 4um's leading expert (wudidiz) can address this vast previously explored topic to support your thesis.
"we ought to lay off the criticism" -- Pinguinite, circa 2010-05-26 22:17:22 ET
And, rats eat GM grain or "Frankenfoods". It could also be chemtrails that are poisoning the rodents and/or the snakes. In any case we've been warned. While I can't rule it out, in the studies I'm aware of the test animals won't eat the Frankenfuud. They seem to be able to detect the difference and won't touch it. In some studies they have had to force feed it to the animals to get them to eat it. Chemtrails is an interesting thought. The warning signs are accumulating: Bees Bats And now Snakes. One could also throw in the CJD/Mad Cow in the Deer and Elk populations. We now have so many toxins in the environment that species are beginning to die off. I won't state the obvious, but it is a matter of concern.
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
Don't forget the frogs. I love frogs. : ) And, alas, Abraxas was the lord of toads and frogs according to Stuart Holroyd's, The Elements of Gnosticism.
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ... We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of." Edward Bernays, Father of Public Relations
Thank you. Yes, that was actually the first one noticed - frogs. I think there has been something about Salamanders too.
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
ACID RAIN from coal electric production plants have been traced DIRECTLY to the decimation of the frog population throughout the US.
U.S. Constitution - Article IV, Section 4: NO BORDERS + NO LAWS = NO COUNTRY
I call bull-malarkey. Humans weren't around 65m years ago. There's no possible way then that a mass extinction could have taken place. Hey, question. When people build homes, factories, grain silos, all that, does that mean that there are no longer rats/mice? Do they disappear? Seems strange that mouse traps are still being sold doesn't it? The study stresses that they see no cause as of yet, ergo, that one sentence invalidates the rest of the article which tries to pin it, as usual, on humans.
"The more artificial taboos and restrictions there are in the world, the more the people are impoverished.... The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the more thieves and robbers there will be." - Lao Tzu, 6th century BC
Now that one, I can believe. The skin of amphibians absorbs an awful lot out of its environment. As I understand it, they're unbelievably susceptible to chemicals of any kind, natural or human produced. Doesn't seem a particularly good survival trait really, it's not like humans invented foul chemicals, surely you'd think they would have developed some kind of counter to this over the hundreds of millions of years of being exposed to natural chemicals. Evolution is a strange, strange thing. Bees, I don't get. They're everywhere where I live. Though to be fair I live in a highly agricultural state.
"The more artificial taboos and restrictions there are in the world, the more the people are impoverished.... The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the more thieves and robbers there will be." - Lao Tzu, 6th century BC
I don't believe in evolution, but I do believe man is destroying his environment faster than it can naturally regenerate itself.
U.S. Constitution - Article IV, Section 4: NO BORDERS + NO LAWS = NO COUNTRY
LOL. What environment? Which one? There are countless environments across the globe. As it stands, we're in a cooling phase apparently and for the most part the earth does what it will climatically regardless of whether we're here or not. CO2 goes up and down throughout history, to much higher extremes on both ends, without human involvement. So do temps,a nd strangely, many times the rise in temp has nothing to do with CO2 (meaning, high levels of CO2 and yet a cooling trend, or a warming trend without higher CO2 concentrations). The earth is in such a mild phase now that things like the normal extremes it has reached countless times throughout history seem to most like "OMGWTF! We're doing it!". A calmer approach with a studied respect for historical ups and downs is required, and it is precisely this kind of study that is excluded (intentionally) by the eco-religionists and their faux scientists, as we learned from the silliness that went on in east Anglia. In matters of extinction, we can (or not) have a hand in events to be certain. Frogs (and Dodo's) I think can be a decent case of humans doing something that is directly related to their decline (though I suspect more study is needed to make the case conclusive in the cases of frogs). Other animal decreases need a bit more evidence I think. That's not denying involvement, we just need more evidence on a case by case basis.
"The more artificial taboos and restrictions there are in the world, the more the people are impoverished.... The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the more thieves and robbers there will be." - Lao Tzu, 6th century BC
================================== Yeah, but its ONE GLOBE and ONE INTERCONNECTED environment. PROOF: GULF OIL SPILL Gotta go! H2
U.S. Constitution - Article IV, Section 4: NO BORDERS + NO LAWS = NO COUNTRY
No, that's incorrect. Environments are local. The environment of Saudi Arabia is not the environment of Antarctica. If "everywhere" is changing, then entire global measurements would remain constant within the context of the respective environments. So, for example, if the average temp of Antarctica goes up 1 degree, then the average temp of Saudi Arabia goes up 1 degree. This however, is clearly not the case. No, sorry, the planet is quite resilient. The extremes its reached even in the last 200 million years are beyond our comprehension from an life right now type of perspective. The Gulf oil spill is affecting a very small area on the globe. People in England are not seeing their fish dying because of it.
"The more artificial taboos and restrictions there are in the world, the more the people are impoverished.... The more that laws and regulations are given prominence, the more thieves and robbers there will be." - Lao Tzu, 6th century BC
Where I live there are rattlers all over the place. I petted a ribbon snake one time that was sunning itself in my front yard.
For it is not the wolf or any of the other beasts that would join the contest in any noble danger, but rather a good man. — Aristotle, Politics, Book IIX
Good eatin' for turtles...... Spicy Rattlesnake Pasta 1/4 cup olive oil 3 large garlic cloves, minced 1 28 oz can Italian tomatoes 1 dried hot red chilies, minced 1 tbsp. oregano 2 tsp. dried basil 2 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. salt juice from 1/2 lemon 1/2 lb. rattlesnake meat 1 lb penne or pasta of choice Simmer rattlesnake in water and lemon juice for 1 hour, remove and separate meat from bones. Combine de-boned meat with the rest of the ingredients (except pasta) in large saucepan and simmer for 1/2 hour. Cook pasta as normal and serve over cooked pasta.
"The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. ... We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of." Edward Bernays, Father of Public Relations
Chemtrails is an interesting thought. The warning signs are accumulating: Bees Bats And now Snakes. One could also throw in the CJD/Mad Cow in the Deer and Elk populations. We now have so many toxins in the environment that species are beginning to die off. I won't state the obvious, but it is a matter of concern. I wasn't aware of any studies showing that test animals avoid alimento de monstruo. I briefly considered the possibility (however unlikely) that electronic pollution is a factor in the "snakeocide". (I'm leaning toward this to explain the extinction of our friends the honeybees.) Once the chief avian pollinators are memorialized (hanging next to The Spirit Of St. Louis) and the first few links in the food chain (diatoms and plankton) are oiled into Valhalla those of us that remain will have to eat things that only Stephen King can imagine.... I believe your last point, toxins in the environment is the best place to start any serious investigation. Of course any such inquiry would focus on otherwise legally patented and EPA-FDA-approved compounds. And we all know that once a poison is approved for specific applications, i.e. human consumption it's all but impossible to have it pulled from the market. Once ROUNDUP was approved as a weed and plant killer the whole of North America was painted with it. (my state uses helicopter and radiarc spraying to beat back woody growth and keep wildlife areas accessible) Studies now show that the stuff is building up in river silt and does not biodegrade into "chocolate milk and Twinkies" as advertised. The shocking announcement failed to follow through to the logical conclusion that it if it doesn't break down it must leach into the aquifers and therefore people's well water. And, if the news doesn't connect the dots for people then, "What? Me Worry?" (Alfred E. Neuman) And in case you haven't noticed, the whisper campaign to reverse the ban on DDT is well underway. Corporate sharks are feigning concern that millions of Africans have died from mosquito-borne diseases. I know that those folks don't care about raptors, and I find it disingenuous for them to cry crocodile tears for black Africans. Raptors are slow in reproducing. Africans aren't. And, effective mosquito control didn't cease with the ban on DDT. (And, wouldn't any industrial scale mosquito abatement as well as rogue drug trials put Nile crocs at risk after gobbling down future UN delegates? And if avian predator populations collapse wouldn't grain eating and disease vectoring rodents give humans the finger?) Rachel Carson's ashes must be spinning in their urn. Being the true believer in wild-eyed conspiracies that I am, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that affirmative steps were taken by "beautiful people" to preempt their hanging by reducing the angry populace, and this ecological attack on all fronts (White-Nose Syndrome-bats munch thousands of skeeters every duty shift) is supposed to keep us wringing our hands, worrying about our survival instead of celebrating "Guillotine Fridays" or some such spiritually uplifting event.
The old saying is that a rattlesnake will feed two people who don't know what they're eating, and ten who do.
Nice post. I particularly like the thought of Guillotine Fridays - and Mondays, Tuesdays, ... Mostly, I suspect, because they have been buried in the deepest hole Monsatan could find. The one I recall the most was the GMO tomatoes. The Rats simply would not touch them. Thankfully that one did not get introduced and the deadly Bt Potato has been withdrawn. I am concerned about the GMO Sugar Beet as despite not receiving approval for it Monsatan is arguing in court that, that little obstacle should not prevent them from selling it as it causes them economic damage (what about the people who unknowingly eat the filth?). There is a big fight going on here over the GMO Sugar Beet as organic growers, rightfully, are protesting that pollen releases would contaminate their crop and deprive them of their Oganic Certification. Not to mention that the health affects are an unknown. I refuse to buy, knowingly, any product made by Monsanto and would encourage others to do likewise. Monsanto is one of those companies that really concerns me as they are literally trying to establish a deathgrip, and I do mean death as mass population kill, on food production via seed control. Lately they have been buying up more and more small seed companies and then running the shell without bothering to inform the buying public. So, it is not always easy to tell which are Monsatan products but the information is becoming increasingly available. Monsanto's agenda appears to be driven by the "usual suspects" i.e., the Eugenics, our ancestors stole enough to keep us rich and that makes us superior, elitist monsters. Yes, I have noticed. As you point out there are other, much less toxic to the environment, ways to control mosquitoes. I suspect, and wish there was no evidence to support it, that the elites are intentionally trying to degrade the environment, the food supply, etc., ... in order to speed up and maximize the kill rate on the "useless eaters" i.e., you, me, your kids, the guy next door and his kids, etc., in short anyone not part of their cabal of "we're superior because we're rich psychotics". If you are not aware Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, et. al., have established the Arctic Seed Bank in order to preserve genetically pure strains of plants - particularly agricultural crops. Given all of the related circumstantial evidence I suspect that they may be intending to create a very toxic environment, retreat into their below ground retreats (documented by Dr. Richard Sauder as to their actual existence), and wait for us all to die off to a "suitable" level. There is plenty of indirect evidence to validate the existence of these retreats, and interestingly you might recall last year that one of the major producers of freeze dried foods had their entire output for a year bought up by, you guessed it, the Feral Government. The planet is resilient, as is lower order life, and they can kill off a large amount of the biosphere, and it will, in time, rebound, and then they can use their slaves to begin replanting and reforesting - with them setting on top as "Lords and Ladies of Creation". They could even remain in their retreats for centuries - who cares if the slaves all die at 30 from the toxins on the surface? And I really do think they are nuts enough to do that.
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
In the end it all tastes like "Chicken".
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
"Your Honor, these rats will eat their young. They'll even eat the ass out of a dead skunk but they won't eat these genetically monsterized vegetables. The plaintiff moves for summary judgment." "Motion granted". _____________________ Ahh, if only life was really like that.....
#2. To: abraxas (#0)
#3. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#1)
Snakes eat rats, don't they?
#4. To: All (#0)
Although the paper stresses there is no proof of the cause of the losses, the researchers say they "suspect" loss or deterioration of habitats and declining prey are among the main problems faced by snake populations. They believe that all the immediate threats have climate change as a common cause.
#5. To: Prefrontal Vortex, christine, James_Deffenbach, Original_Intent, abraxas (#1)
Snakes eat rats, don't they?
#6. To: HOUNDDAWG, wudidiz, James_Deffenbach, Original_Intent (#5)
It could also be chemtrails that are poisoning the rodents and/or the snakes.
#7. To: HOUNDDAWG, Prefrontal Vortex, christine, James_Deffenbach, abraxas (#5)
Snakes eat rats, don't they?
#8. To: Original_Intent (#7)
#9. To: abraxas (#8)
#10. To: abraxas (#4)
#11. To: abraxas (#0)
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has said that one third of amphibians and fish, one fifth of mammals and more than one in ten birds is threatened with extinction, and described the rate of loss as one of the great extinctions – the last being the events that wiped out dinosaurs 65m years ago.
#12. To: HAPPY2BME-4UM (#10)
ACID RAIN from coal electric production plants have been traced DIRECTLY to the decimation of the frog population throughout the US.
#13. To: SonOfLiberty (#12)
#14. To: HAPPY2BME-4UM (#13)
but I do believe man is destroying his environment faster than it can naturally regenerate itself.
#15. To: SonOfLiberty (#14)
There are countless environments across the globe.
#16. To: HAPPY2BME-4UM (#15)
(Edited)
Yeah, but its ONE GLOBE and ONE INTERCONNECTED environment.
#17. To: abraxas (#0)
#18. To: Turtle (#17)
Where I live there are rattlers all over the place.
#19. To: Original_Intent, buckeroo, wudidiz (#7)
(Edited)
While I can't rule it out, in the studies I'm aware of the test animals won't eat the Frankenfuud. They seem to be able to detect the difference and won't touch it. In some studies they have had to force feed it to the animals to get them to eat it.
#20. To: abraxas, FormerLurker, Original_Intent, buckeroo, wudidiz, christine, Jethro_Tull, SonOfLiberty (#18)
#21. To: HOUNDDAWG (#19)
I wasn't aware of any studies showing that test animals avoid alimento de monstruo.
Once ROUNDUP was approved as a weed and plant killer the whole of North America was painted with it. (my state uses helicopter and radiarc spraying to beat back woody growth and keep wildlife areas accessible) Studies now show that the stuff is building up in river silt and does not biodegrade into "chocolate milk and Twinkies" as advertised. The shocking announcement failed to follow through to the logical conclusion that it if it doesn't break down it must leach into the aquifers and therefore people's well water. And, if the news doesn't connect the dots for people then, "What? Me Worry?" (Alfred E. Neuman)
And in case you haven't noticed, the whisper campaign to reverse the ban on DDT is well underway. ...
Being the true believer in wild-eyed conspiracies that I am, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that affirmative steps were taken by "beautiful people" to preempt their hanging by reducing the angry populace, and this ecological attack on all fronts (White-Nose Syndrome-bats munch thousands of skeeters every duty shift) is supposed to keep us wringing our hands, worrying about our survival instead of celebrating "Guillotine Fridays" or some such spiritually uplifting event.
#22. To: HOUNDDAWG, abraxas, FormerLurker, Original_Intent, buckeroo, wudidiz, christine, Jethro_Tull, SonOfLiberty (#20)
The old saying is that a rattlesnake will feed two people who don't know what they're eating, and ten who do.
#23. To: Original_Intent, Jethro_Tull, christine, James Deffenbach (#21)
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