There are more than a million brown tree snakes in Guam, and their numbers appear to be having drastic affects on Guam's forests. Research suggests that the growth of new trees may have fallen by more than 90%, according to a report from Future Earth - an international research platform.

Guam Department of Agriculture wildlife supervisor Diane Vice told KUAM News, "The brown tree snake has affected Guam's environment in a big way." This led to the loss of ten of Guam's twelve native bird populations, as Rice continued by introducing a Guam rail bird, saying, "This Guam rail's name is Buenas and he's been trained to be calm with people, and we take him to schools so that this generation can see the native birds of Guam. Right now we probably have two generations who have never seen native birds in the wild on Guam."

"In an effort to preserve Guam's native birds including the Micronesian kingfisher and the Guam rail, two of some of the most endangered birds in the world, the Guam department of agriculture has captive breeding facilities like this one in Mangilao which breeds these birds in an effort to release them into the wild," she added.

But more than just birds, Guam's forests might also be at risk. "The forest was impacted because the birds spread the seeds, and some seeds of the native trees have to pass through the gut of the birds in order to germinate," she said. So with fewer birds comes fewer trees.

So with fewer birds comes fewer trees. Research suggests that the absence of birds has reduced the abundance of seeds for at least two tree species in Guam by 61% and 92%. "I don't think that Guam's native species will go extinct because there are efforts to maintain those, just like we have efforts with the Guam rail," she said. "However, the limestone forest as a habitat type itself, is highly endangered."

Vice hopes efforts - including a new mice drop capability - aim to reduce, control, and prevent the spread of the snake to other vulnerable islands.