Ecology and Control of Invasive Reptiles in Florida
This project involves development of tools for the detection and control of invasive reptiles in Florida, with an emphasis on pythons and tegu lizards. The goals are to reduce the risk of reptile invasions, investigate early detection methods, maintain rapid response capacity, and understand invasive reptile population biology and ecology to inform management options.
Florida’s Greater Everglades Ecosystem encompass vast subtropical habitats within and around Everglades National Park, which is the only place in the United States designated as a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Significance. Billions of dollars have been committed to the long-term restoration of this ecosystem, but burgeoning populations of introduced and invasive reptiles threaten prospects for restoration.
USGS FORT Invasive Species Scientists are conducting research on a range of detection and control tools for invasive reptiles in Florida, including environmental DNA sampling methods for terrestrial systems, reproductive research to identify critical biological vulnerabilities, and vital rate fieldwork. Scientists are also conducting basic ecological research to better understand impacts of these invasive predators and inform development of control tools.
Python Problem
The invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is established across South Florida and is implicated in the negative impacts of myriad native fauna. It is the most widely known of these invaders, and this giant snake appears to have contributed to drastic declines among several species of midsized mammals in the Everglades. For more than a decade, scientists and managers have investigated python ecology in the area to understand its habits and develop targeted removal and control tools. However, due to their incredible crypsis, pythons have proven extremely difficult to assess, and no tractable abundance estimates have yet been made.
Troublesome Tegus
Black and white tegus (Salvator merianae; tegu) are large terrestrial lizards from South America that are newly established in Everglades National Park, presenting a significant conservation issue. Tegus are dietary generalists with a predilection for eating eggs of ground-nesting animals, putting several threatened or endangered species and species that are indicators for Everglades Restoration at risk (for example, American crocodiles, black rails, and American alligators) within the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.
This project involves development of tools for the detection and control of invasive reptiles in Florida, with an emphasis on pythons and tegu lizards. The goals are to reduce the risk of reptile invasions, investigate early detection methods, maintain rapid response capacity, and understand invasive reptile population biology and ecology to inform management options.
Florida’s Greater Everglades Ecosystem encompass vast subtropical habitats within and around Everglades National Park, which is the only place in the United States designated as a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Significance. Billions of dollars have been committed to the long-term restoration of this ecosystem, but burgeoning populations of introduced and invasive reptiles threaten prospects for restoration.
USGS FORT Invasive Species Scientists are conducting research on a range of detection and control tools for invasive reptiles in Florida, including environmental DNA sampling methods for terrestrial systems, reproductive research to identify critical biological vulnerabilities, and vital rate fieldwork. Scientists are also conducting basic ecological research to better understand impacts of these invasive predators and inform development of control tools.
Python Problem
The invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is established across South Florida and is implicated in the negative impacts of myriad native fauna. It is the most widely known of these invaders, and this giant snake appears to have contributed to drastic declines among several species of midsized mammals in the Everglades. For more than a decade, scientists and managers have investigated python ecology in the area to understand its habits and develop targeted removal and control tools. However, due to their incredible crypsis, pythons have proven extremely difficult to assess, and no tractable abundance estimates have yet been made.
Troublesome Tegus
Black and white tegus (Salvator merianae; tegu) are large terrestrial lizards from South America that are newly established in Everglades National Park, presenting a significant conservation issue. Tegus are dietary generalists with a predilection for eating eggs of ground-nesting animals, putting several threatened or endangered species and species that are indicators for Everglades Restoration at risk (for example, American crocodiles, black rails, and American alligators) within the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.