Florida Frost taking care of invasive exotics problem?

[coura]

The countless stray cats around here have eaten them but that was when they were fresh now all are gone maybe cats,turtles,birds ate them.
The vultures esp hit the jackpot.

I went fishing yesterday saw 2 of them eating. The one's that survived would be ideal to breed for pet industry as they are cold tolerant compared to most.

I think its still a bit early to say "Florida is developing a new kind of ice age igs" but step by step maybe its that direction they are heading If I had to make a prediction I would say they would get smaller (so that they can go underground to escape cold and heat themselfes quiker), their tails would decrease because they are now more of a ground dwellers then in their native homelands, their coloration would go darker so they can heat temselfes quicker and possibly they would develop a more wide food preference like becoming more omnivors because meat is more energetic and needs less processing then plant material. Or ho knows they could specialize in some food, like pine leafs eating iguanas

 

[lukester825]

haha frozen iguanas!

 

[megalops///]

It's not a pleasure seeing all the dead invasive extoic species around these parts, but i'm sure glad it happend. Anyone releasing invasive species into the wild should be arrested by FWCC and prosecuted by the state. Thats my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Have a good day guys.

 

[Louie]

It's not a pleasure seeing all the dead invasive extoic species around these parts, but i'm sure glad it happend. Anyone releasing invasive species into the wild should be arrested by FWCC and prosecuted by the state. Thats my opinion and I'm sticking to it. Have a good day guys.

Lots of natives died also . ALL the green anoles in my area died and found few GTF dead behind window storm guards .Destroyer who lives in Orlando found dead coral snakes .

Fish got hit the worse.
http://www.snookfoundation.org/inde...iew=news_special_detail&refno=1461&curlid=153

Many of the non natives werent released keep in mind Miami is a huge port with ships/flights shipments coming from all over the world.
House geckos ,brown anoles,CTF, knight anoles,etc etc could have easily come in that way. I would think they did as they are native only miles away.

From what I understand house geckos have been here for as long as any of the local elderly remember.

Granted pythons released or hurricane "released" but many of the exotics will come back because the port the shipments move so fast and so many that no stopping it.

Where I once saw dozens of house geckos (side of my garage at night) I now see 3 .
I love Geckos lol.
They will return but it will take awhile.

I don't think any of the exotics were wiped out and again if so wait for the next shipment of fruit,etc .

 

[Louie]

I think its still a bit early to say "Florida is developing a new kind of ice age igs" but step by step maybe its that direction they are heading If I had to make a prediction I would say they would get smaller (so that they can go underground to escape cold and heat themselfes quiker), their tails would decrease because they are now more of a ground dwellers then in their native homelands, their coloration would go darker so they can heat temselfes quicker and possibly they would develop a more wide food preference like becoming more omnivors because meat is more energetic and needs less processing then plant material. Or ho knows they could specialize in some food, like pine leafs eating iguanas

The iguana loss was high but enough lived. I am off from work today and heading out to Glades fishing in a bit hope to see some.

I mentioned this in the other post but am surprised that every Green anole in my yard died . "Frozen" to branches,etc but the browns who went to the ground esp under objects all lived.

Thery didn't kill the green anoles in my area but the cold did.

Your iguana theory of "more of a ground dwellers then in their native homelands, their coloration would go darker" makes perfect sense and just described how the green arboreal natives took a massive die off AND why the ground dwelling non native brown anole and curly tails lived.

 

[armac]

All the invasives are not in the canals, and I guess the cold would not hurt them either.

http://www.news-press.com/article/2...mous-lionfish-spreads-throughout-Florida-Keys-


February 8, 2010



[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Venomous lionfish spreads throughout Florida Keys[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]
associated press [/FONT]KEY LARGO — The lionfish, a beautiful but venomous invasive species, has slowly begun spreading throughout the Florida Keys, wreaking havoc to the marine environment.

The Miami Herald reports that more than 80 of the intruders have been documented over the last year. They were found from Key Largo to the Dry Tortugas, and so far, all have been juveniles.

The lionfish has no known predators and is a voracious eater. They are believed to have come from aquariums and were spotted off the coast in Miami more than two decades ago.
The species has since spread throughout the Caribbean and the eastern seaboard.

Scientists worry the fish will devastate area reefs off the Florida Keys.

 

[krichardson]

I've read before about the lionfish invasion.It's almost like the problem they are having with the Crown of Thorns starfish in the Australian waters.

 

[Creature]

Hello:
Wow!!! What a great thread. "EXOTICS IN FLORIDA: THE INVASION!!!" Great title for a movie. The press sure has everybody going nuts about it. I don't even know where to begin (I've written about this subject on a couple different occasions. First off, there are nowhere near the number of "wild pythons" in the state of Florida that people are led to believe. I think the "official" hunt produced 37 animals. That's a far cry from "over a hundred thousand!" I don't even think there are that many Red Rat Snakes in the state...and they're native. I have hunted S. Florida for years and have never run across a single animal (I did catch a Ball Python in Central florida once but that was maybe fifteen years ago). I could go on and on but it's kind of like beating dead horses (they usually don't change and start moving around).
It's easy to blame Hurricane andrew for all this mess though I find it interesting that I don't recall any breeder i know from the region complaining about losing their animals to the storm. Also, since most collections have multiple species involved, why aren't their reports of huge colonies of Bull Snakes, Exotic kingsnakes, gfreen tree Pythons, Asian Ratsnakes, ETC... breeding like wildfire down there. Not as impressive a story or...they're just not there. Nuff Said.
Onnto the cold. the extreme cold has affected both native and non-native wildlife populations but I would expect anyone visiting the state will still be able to find what they're looking for.
Finally, Crocodiles. I talked to a couple different people last year and it turns out the croc population in Florida is doing very well with (I think) a little over twenty active nests last year. So, they are making a comeback. Besides, they are found all over the Caribbean and even into Northern S. America so the American crocodile should be okay.
Have a Great Day!!!
The "Creature"

 

[CTU2fan]

I think its still a bit early to say "Florida is developing a new kind of ice age igs" but step by step maybe its that direction they are heading If I had to make a prediction I would say they would get smaller (so that they can go underground to escape cold and heat themselfes quiker), their tails would decrease because they are now more of a ground dwellers then in their native homelands, their coloration would go darker so they can heat temselfes quicker and possibly they would develop a more wide food preference like becoming more omnivors because meat is more energetic and needs less processing then plant material. Or ho knows they could specialize in some food, like pine leafs eating iguanas

Sounds rather like the likely evolution of the Galapagos land iguana, from the arboreal mainland green igs to the terrestrial cactus pad munching land igs.

 

[Creature]

Hello:
There are actually both Green Iguanas and terrestrial Spiny-Tail Iguanas (Ctenosaurids) in S. Florida. At one time I was told that Rhino Iguanas (genus Cyclura) also inhabited the area but on several trips I took to the same beaches I only saw very large Spiny-Tails roaming the beaches and nearby forests. To the untrained eye a large Spiny-Tail might appear like a Rhino Iguana.
Even Green Iguanas come to the ground to lay eggs. The Ctenosaurs have elaborate tunnels in the ground, almost like Gopher Tortoise (genus Gopherus) burrows. The tunnels I have seen are usually in the sides of raised dune areas. Most are not very deep. The Spiny-Tails probably dealt with the cold better than the Green Iguanas.
Have a Great Day!!!
The "Creature"