Serious threat of brown tree snakes to the birds of Guam

Brown tree snakes, an invasive and dangerous species, have caused irreparable damage to Guam’s ecosystem over the past decades. These predatory reptiles have brought the population of many native birds of this island to the brink of extinction with their ruthless and widespread hunting.

In a study published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, researchers report that brown tree snakes kill more than twice as many Micronesian starlings as they eat. This unusual and cruel behavior is very rare among snakes. “These results are very surprising,” says Zavya Glaudas, a reptile expert from the University of São Paulo, referring to these findings. It seems that aggressive snakes, even if they cannot swallow and digest their prey completely, continue to hunt them due to intense competition for food.

The brown tree snake was accidentally introduced to Guam after World War II. This invasive species multiplied rapidly and upset the balance of the island’s ecosystem by preying on birds, rodents and other native animals. Previous studies focused mainly on larger snakes, and younger snakes were thought to pose less of a threat to birds. But new research shows that even small snakes will attack and kill birds due to lack of food.

To investigate this, the researchers followed Micronesian starling chicks using radio trackers. The results showed that many of these chicks were killed by snakes, and in some cases, the snakes abandoned the bird after killing it. These findings suggest that to save Guam’s native bird population, more serious measures must be taken to control the brown tree snake population. The researchers suggest that to combat this threat, all brown tree snakes, regardless of size, should be removed from the environment. Brown tree snakes are a serious threat to Guam’s biodiversity. These snakes even attack birds that are much larger than themselves. The reason for this behavior is the intense competition for food in the environment.