Brown Tree Snake
Brown Tree Snake
Boiga irregularis
The brown tree snake was introduced to the tropical island of Guam during World War II. It has since devastated the local animal species, especially birds, extirpating some species and driving others to extinction. They are difficult to control because they are nocturnal and arboreal, so they are not often seen by people. We are trying to learn how to control their population. One idea that we are currently working on is to use their reproductive pheromones to devise traps for them. For more information on this, see Dr. Mason's Research Interests.