Eric,

Thanks...Downloaded my own copy. From page 5 (Chapter 1)

>>The giant constrictors differ in a number of ways important to management or control efforts. For example, the anacondas are found almost exclusively in water, complicating their control in wetlands such as the Everglades, but limiting their spread in dry upland areas. At the other extreme is the Boa Constrictor, a species that may use water but is found primarily in terrestrial environments, including arboreal habitat. The pythons appear to be completely at home in aquatic and terrestrial environments, rendering it problematic to curtail their spread.

>>Another important difference among the giant constrictors is their size and temperament. Although the largest individuals of all of the species covered in this work are probably capable of killing an adult human, most seem disinclined to do so. Unprovoked attacks on humans are largely limited to Reticulated Pythons, and only the larger Burmese/Indian and Northern/Southern African pythons have killed adult humans.

>>One very important difference among the species is the degree to which they naturally inhabit areas that freeze. The Indian or Burmese Python is exceptional in its ability to tolerate cold weather through hibernation; most of the other species are likely limited to areas where below-freezing weather is short-term and can be avoided by submergence in shallow burrows or water.

This is intriguing...Especially the last paragraph as the study that they are doing at the SREL site in South Carolina is NOT yet complete...But it will soon be winter there...

Looks like a set up for their future news stories, "expert" testimony(s) before Congressional committees/subcommittees and "scientific" paper(s) are already in the works...

I guess it will be a "consensus" of science...

Later,
Jim.

PS: Not surprising actually, the science must support the agenda and since the "invasive species" issue is part of the conservation of biodiversity...A giant snake is easy to demonize and scare the parents of the neighborhood children and thus, an excellent propaganda banner...

This USGS "giant snakes" PDF paper is out of their Fort Collins Science Center and recently they've announced a new partner...NASA (along with the USDA, several universities (tax payer grant money funded) and THE NATURE CONSERVANCY! In 2005, they became one of 83 other partners of the "consortium" of the Federation of Earth Science information Partners (ESIP)...


Source (USGS Website): http://invasivespecies.gsfc.nasa.gov/news_nisc.html

NASA Joins the National Invasive Species Council

February 2, 2005 - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has become the 13th Cabinet agency to join the National Invasive Species Council. NASA’s current work on maintaining the biological integrity of Earth and other solar system bodies along with work with remote sensing of Earth’s biotic and abiotic environment from space will make it an invaluable addition to the council.

“Invasive species are one of the greatest threats to our environment and wildlife,” said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. “NASA brings enormous technical expertise and experience to the partnership of federal agencies combating both the introduction and the spread of invasives. With NASA on board, the council will be able to attack this ecological crisis with new technologies and tools.”

“We at NISC are excited to have NASA join us in our efforts to coordinate federal activities on invasive species,” said Lori Williams, NISC executive director. “They bring a great deal of technological experience and some outstanding tools to help further work on mapping and monitoring invasive species, among other activities.”


Source (USGS Website): http://invasivespecies.gsfc.nasa.gov/news_cluster.html

Apple G5 XServe Clusters Arrive

August 23, 2004 - The ISFS project received its primary, high performance computer systems late June. These two state-of-the-art, Apple G5 XServe clusters will enable high performance parallel processing of statistical models for invasive species forecasting. RIO (formerly referred to as 'FireAnt') is a 10 dual processor cluster and ROCKY a 5 dual processor cluster.

These two systems were installed over the summer, RIO at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and ROCKY at the USGS Fort Collins Science Center (FORT). These systems will support ongoing research, development and production of the Invasive Species Forecasting System (ISFS). that NASA, USGS and their partners are developing. The Invasive Species Analysis & Modeling Service (ISAMS), a component of the ISFS, has been installed on both ROCKY & RIO and is in-production at both sites. With ROCKY installed at FORT and integrated with ISAMS, the time to process models and produce predictive maps has been vastly reduced, thus improving overall productivity for USGS scientists, engineers & managers.

Background

February 23, 2004 - The ISFS project purchased these systems to enable high performance parallel processing of statistical models for invasive species forecasting.

Each cluster will be made up of a server node and cluster nodes. Each individual computer has a processing speed of 2 Giga-Hertz (GHz), with 2 Giga-bytes of memory for the server nodes (1 GB for the cluster nodes), and 80 Giga-bytes of internal disk storage. The server node will be equipped with an additional 500 Gigabytes of disk storage, and the cluster is connected to a 3.0 Terrabyte Xserve Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) system via high-speed fibre-channel cable, bringing the total disk capacity of the 10-node cluster at Goddard to 4.3 Terra-bytes! The entire cluster is connected together via high-speed gigabit Ethernet. The computer system at Ft. Collins is nearly identical, and consists of five dual processor Apple G5s and a 1.5 Terra-byte RAID. The systems are expected to go online in time for the May Science Team Meeting.


United States Geological Survey (USGS)

In this project, NASA is working directly with the National Institute of Invasive Species Science in Fort Collins, Colorado. The Institute is administratively housed in the Invasive Species Science Program of the USGS Fort Collins Science Center, one of 17 science centers within the USGS Biological Resources Discipline (BRD). The major public interface to the data and capabilities of the Invasive Species Forecasting System will be through the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII), developed and maintained by the USGS Center for Biological Informatics.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

NASA and USDA recently signed a MOU identifying invasive species as one of five critical areas for interagency collaboration. This new partnership will ultimately broaden the reach of invasive species predictive capabilities to agricultural applications. USDA's Agricultural Research Service is taking the lead in these activities.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA's Office of Earth Science is participating in these joint efforts through both the Research Division and the Applications Division. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is the home institution for many people working directly on the project. NASA team members have a diverse, interdisciplinary background and come from Goddard's Earth and Space Data Computing Division and the Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics.


The Growing Extended Family of Invasive Species Partners

University of Alabama at Huntsville, Mississippi State University, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Florida Caribbean Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center, Integrated Taxonomic Information System, US Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Refuges, Biota of North America Program, National Park Service, US Forest Service Forest Health Monitoring Program, Colorado State University, Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory, University of California at Davis, Long Term Ecological Research, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, The Nature Conservancy, State of Colorado.

Source (USGS Website): http://invasivespecies.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/2005_09_01_News_Release_New_Members_final.pdf
ESIP Federation Elects 6 New Partners

September 1, 2005—The Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (“Federation”) has elected six new partners for full membership. The following projects and company represent the latest class of Federation members:

The Invasive Species Data Service: Towards Operational Use of Earth Science Data in
the USGS Invasive Species Decision Support System, John Schnase, NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland


“The Federation’s growth during the past few years has been phenomenal,” says Dr. Thomas Yunck, Federation President. “Together, Federation partners leverage expertise across science, technology and education to create new products and services for people who care about exploring and protecting Earth. Broadly speaking, the Federation seeks to promote a deeper understanding of Earth’s behavior which will result in informed decisions about our planet.” The Federation now numbers 83 partners representing a wide range of Earth science data interests. Federation partners include science data centers, environmental research groups, innovators in the application of environmental data, educators and technologists. Across these diverse interests, public, private and non-profit organizations are represented.

The Federation is a consortium of Earth science data centers, researchers, scientists, technologists, educators, and applications developers. The Federation promotes increased accessibility, interoperability and usability for Earth science data and derivative products. Initiated by NASA in 1997, the Federation provides data, products and services to decision makers and researchers in public and private settings. The Foundation for Earth Science provides administrative and staff support to the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners.

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CSRAJim

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