Have You guys Actually read this thing?

Please excuse my ignorance here...but at this point can even the President overturn or veto this thing?

I scanned it before but reading through it now... (makes me shake my fist in the air)

On the very same page (11) they state evolution will allow the snakes to thrive "If thermoregulatory behavior or tolerance to cold is genetically based, we would expect large constrictor snake populations to persist, rebound, and possibly increase their genetic fitness and temperature tolerance as a result of natural selection pressures"

then in the next paragraph "Pythons can seek such refugia as underground burrows, deep water in canals, or similar microhabitats to escape the cold temperatures. Those snakes that survived in Florida were apparently able to maintain body temperatures using microhabitat features of the landscape"

...meaning they were not adapting to the cold but finding a way around it.

Plus the entire point that there are populations of boids in Mexico that have been there for decades and have not 'evolved' to survive the temps and migrate north into the US.

ugh.
ok... well back I go to reading and getting incensed

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

I scanned it before but reading through it now... (makes me shake my fist in the air)

On the very same page (11) they state evolution will allow the snakes to thrive "If thermoregulatory behavior or tolerance to cold is genetically based, we would expect large constrictor snake populations to persist, rebound, and possibly increase their genetic fitness and temperature tolerance as a result of natural selection pressures"

then in the next paragraph "Pythons can seek such refugia as underground burrows, deep water in canals, or similar microhabitats to escape the cold temperatures. Those snakes that survived in Florida were apparently able to maintain body temperatures using microhabitat features of the landscape"

...meaning they were not adapting to the cold but finding a way around it.

Plus the entire point that there are populations of boids in Mexico that have been there for decades and have not 'evolved' to survive the temps and migrate north into the US.

ugh.
ok... well back I go to reading and getting incensed

Hmm, so I guess we can expect opossums to evolve enough to be able to survive being run over by automobiles sometime soon as well?

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

On the very same page (11) they state evolution will allow the snakes to thrive "If thermoregulatory behavior or tolerance to cold is genetically based, we would expect large constrictor snake populations to persist, rebound, and possibly increase their genetic fitness and temperature tolerance as a result of natural selection pressures"

then in the next paragraph "Pythons can seek such refugia as underground burrows, deep water in canals, or similar microhabitats to escape the cold temperatures. Those snakes that survived in Florida were apparently able to maintain body temperatures using microhabitat features of the landscape"

...meaning they were not adapting to the cold but finding a way around it.

As one who has written scientific papers before in wildlife ecology, I understand the meaning behind what the authors said here so please let me clarify. They are essentially saying that animals that do not seek refuge or change their thermoregulatory behavior will die under extreme conditions. That means that only the ones who have that particular behavior will survive to reproduce, which, over time, will increase the cold tolerance of those snakes through ingrained shelter-seeking behaviors.

Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

I scanned it before but reading through it now... (makes me shake my fist in the air)

On the very same page (11) they state evolution will allow the snakes to thrive "If thermoregulatory behavior or tolerance to cold is genetically based, we would expect large constrictor snake populations to persist, rebound, and possibly increase their genetic fitness and temperature tolerance as a result of natural selection pressures"

Plus the entire point that there are populations of boids in Mexico that have been there for decades and have not 'evolved' to survive the temps and migrate north into the US.

Hmmmmmm...are snakes not prehistoric...haven't they had 67 MILLION YEARS to evolve to increase their genetic fitness...what they are going to do it now...within the next decade or two...wouldn't they choose legs first instead of the ability to adapt to cold ...really.
Travis
Lair of Dragons

I don't see these snakes expanding the geographic range in Asia. This science is absurd. They already inhabit the areas in which they can survive. Many died during the last Florida cold snap, so even Florida isn't a good habitat for them.

Lets talk evolution....if you were a snake and wanted to evolve wouldn't you choose maybe a second totally functional lung or a diaphragm so when you get sick you could cough up mucus...how are the scientist that predicted the the possibility of:
"large constrictor snake populations to persist, rebound, and possibly increase their genetic fitness and temperature tolerance as a result of natural selection pressures"
Really want to know.
Travis
Lair of Dragons

I didn't say I agreed with the conclusion. That would obviously take place over such extended periods of time as to make any kind of management recommendation virtually meaningless. I was just trying to translate the thought behind it. My name isn't on that paper. ;-)

I know you didn't write it but I just wanted to know who did....
Travis

Originally Posted by Lair of Dragons

I know you didn't write it but I just wanted to know who did....
Travis

Quite likely a "researcher" getting sizeable grants from HSUS to massage their "research" to reach a predefined conclusion, and upon which the grant money was contingent upon, if I had to venture a guess..........