What will happen if all the snakes disappear from the earth?

If snakes became extinct, the prey population that snakes feed on would grow, and the predators that feed on snakes may die out. These effects would ripple through the ecosystem and cause considerable damage. Also, some people rely on the economic value of snakes so they would lose their jobs.

Do we need snakes on earth?

Snakes Maintain Balance in the Food Web. Snakes play an integral role in maintaining balance in the ecosystem. In most systems, snakes can be both predator and prey. When a large prey population attracts and sustains a large snake population, those snakes become prey for birds, mammals and even other snakes!

What period Did snakes evolve?

Snakes are thought to have evolved from either burrowing or aquatic lizards, perhaps during the Jurassic period, with the earliest known fossils dating to between 143 and 167 Ma ago.

What would happen if all snakes disappeared?

If all the snakes disappeared, then a number of species will be affected. The population of mice and rabbits would grow uncontrollably. Any predators of the snakes would die out unless they adapt and find another source of food. In turn, possibly the whole animal food chain could crumble.

Why did they kill all the snakes during the plague?

Because many believed that cats and dogs — which also prey on rats and mice — were spreading the Black Death, many were killed, causing the rodent population to grow. Driving out all the snakes could contribute to a similar problem, especially considering that the bubonic plague was never completely eradicated.

What would happen if a snake broke the food chain?

In the next link of our food chain, snakes are also prey for some animals we generally like having around, such as all species of cats, coyotes, mongooses and even other snakes. A big snake-sized break in the food chain could negatively impact a variety of other animals [source: Smith ].

What happens to a snake when its predators stop hunting it?

Furthermore, the animals which once preyed on snakes must now focus on other animals to survive, driving down the populations of once stable prey. If they prey populations is driven down too much, or if the predator of the snake is unable to hunt enough to survive, it too will collapse.