Saturday, April 21, 2012

What adaptations have the burmese pythons had to make to live in florida

What adaptations have the burmese pythons had to make to live in florida?
Its for a project and i would really appreciate a good answer. Thanks.
Zoology - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
If you mean genetic adaptation, they haven't been in Florida nearly long enough for any meaningful adaptation to occur. I don't see what they would have to adapt. They have been able to live there because the climate and environment are similar to that of the places they came from.
2 :
I think that they're still getting used to crossing roads...and eating different kinds of small mammals like the oppossum, but there isn't much that's different in florida for them. That's why they're spreading so fast.
3 :
As the previous answer stated, it takes generations (of the snakes, not our generations) for true adaptations to manifest. However, there may be evolutionary pressure. As Florida is just a touch cooler than their natural range in South Asia, the State-side pythons have developed cases of a respiratory disorder (at least biologists think it is from the colder climate). Provided the weather doesn't become significantly colder and kill off all the snakes, and provided there is a large enough population with adequate genetic diversity, it can be expected that there exists some snakes with a random mutation that protects them from this respiratory condition and allows them to tolerate a less tropical (colder) environment. As any python that has a greater chance of surviving through the Floridian winters will produce more offspring then other, non-mutant pythons, the cold-resistant python's offspring will out number those of other pythons. Some of these offspring will carry the mutation of the parent and it can be passed down and further selected for by the environmental conditions. This is speculative as the snakes haven;t been there all that long. One bad cold snap throughout the region could kill them all off and then, no chance for adaptation. Of course, I did once see a Burmie wearing an Ugg. Could have just been for style (though I think the mukluk things look silly) but it looked mighty cozy. If snakes start wearing footwear, despite their lack of feet, they may stay warm enough to survive.
4 :
All above answers are great. http://zoocrewkids.blogspot.com/
5 :
NONE!!!!!!!!!!! The climate & terrain are FINE.