Invasive bullfrog and snake species cost $16 billion, study finds

• Brown-and-green lithobates catesbeianus frog had the largest influence in Europe.
• Brown tree snake has spread wildly on Pacific islands including Guam and the Mariana Islands.
• American bullfrog and brown tree snake caused crop damage and power outages, a report said.

American bullfrog and brown tree snake caused crop damage and power outages, according to a report published Thursday.

The brown-and-green lithobates catesbeianus frog had the most impact in Europe, according to a study published in Scientific Reports.

The brown tree snake (boiga irregularis), which was brought to Guam and the Mariana Islands by US troops during World War II, has spread all over these islands.

He also said that snakes have shut down power lines by slithering on them.

The American bullfrog and the brown tree snake have cost the world economy $16 billion, by causing problems ranging from crop damage to power outages https://t.co/cSvnZAjkIj pic.twitter.com/x1jmkzaGc8

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— Reuters (@Reuters) July 29, 2022

Soto, a PhD student at the University of South Bohemia in the Czech Republic, said that this shows how important it is to invest in regulating the travel of invasive species around the world so that we don’t have to pay to fix problems after they happen.

Soto told the media source, “Nowadays, the pet trade is the main pathway for these species, especially now that everyone wants to get the most exotic snake.”

Added, “We propose continuously updating the black list of forbidden species for trade.”

The values were made by putting together the costs of invasive species from peer-reviewed literature or high-quality research. Most of the values were estimates and extrapolations, not direct observations.

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