Ep. 79 - The Brown Tree Snake on Guam: Using Genetics to Unlock the Secrets of an Invasive Species

The Brown Tree Snake (Boiga irregularis) has wreaked ecological havoc on Guam since its accidental release in the years following WWII, playing a major role in the extinction of endemic bird species and causing trophic cascades that have rewired how the island’s forests function. But how did a population of millions come from just a handful of snakes? And how does this species continue to thrive after eliminating so much of its prey base? A soon-to-be-released study looked into the genome of this invasive species and uncovered some intriguing possibilities. In this episode, the guys welcome their special guest, Dr. Christopher Osborne, to discuss his study and its implications for species management.This episode was recorded on March 15, 2026 at Rollin T. Grant Gulf Wilderness Park in Lockport, NY, a place Bill has (jokingly) called “the armpit of WNY” despite its deep history and the fact that he’ll absolutely encourage you to check it out.Episode Notes and LinksIn the beginning of the episode, Steve said we would definitely, 100%, without doubt, cover something called Lewontin’s paradox. Well, we skipped it! The main idea behind the paradox is that genetic variation varies little among species, but population size varies massively. We would expect large populations to have a lot of genetic diversity, but we often find that they don’t. Population size doesn’t always scale with genetic diversity. Sponsors and Ways to Support UsThank you to Always Wandering Art (Website and Etsy Shop) for providing the artwork for many of our episodes.Support us on Patreon.Works CitedA single preprint!Osborne, C.A., Foote, B.M., Fleck, S.J., Waterman, H.M., Chang, S.L., Nafus, M.G., Bellinger, M.R., Gray, L.N. and Krabbenhoft, T.J., 2026. Genomic Structural Variation Rescues a Classic Biological Invader from a Population Bottleneck. bioRxiv, pp.2026-01.https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2026/02/02/2026.01.30.702330.full.pdfPhoto CreditBrown tree snake, USDA/APHIS, Public Domain, https://www.fws.gov/media/brown-tree-snake