Bird-slaying snakes ravage island forests too: study

A non-native snake species that has already wiped out most of Guam's tree-dwelling birds is also decimating the Pacific island's forests, researchers said Wednesday.Growth of new trees on the US island territory may have dropped by as much as 92 percent due to the snake's presence, they reported in the journal Nature Communications.The findings show that the devastation wrought worldwide on island wildlife by invasive species -- especially snakes, rodents and mosquitoes -- may be far greater tha