Invasive Burmese Pythons in Southern Florida
Invasive species represent a significant threat to global biodiversity and a substantial economic burden to surrounding communities. In the last 40 years, the Burmese python (Python bivittatus) has invaded southern Florida, including Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and other protected lands.
Native to Africa, Asia, and Australia, many python species have found their way to the United States thanks to their popularity in the pet trade. However, by way of an intentional or accidental release, one such popular pet snake species, the Burmese python, was introduced in southern Florida. They have since established a breeding population and are now considered to be one of the most concerning invasive species in Everglades National Park and other protected lands. These ambush predators compete with other native predators for prey, which ranges from mammals to birds to even other reptiles. In fact, severe mammal declines in Everglades National Park have been linked to the Burmese pythons. WARC researchers are engaged in a number of projects aimed to understand invasive python biology and ecology to help inform environmental managers tasked with control and eradication efforts.
What does a Burmese python look like?
The Burmese python is a nonvenomous, constricting snake with brown blotches bordered by black down the back. In the wild, Burmese pythons often grow to approximately 16 feet but the largest one recorded in Florida was a female that measured approximately 19 feet.
How did a giant constrictor snake species, such as the Burmese python, end up in Florida?
For many decades, Burmese pythons were imported to the United States for the pet trade. The initial wild population is believed to have originated from a small number of escaped, or released, pet pythons at the southern end of Everglades National Park in the early 1980s.
Why was the Burmese python able to establish a population in the Everglades?
In their native range, Burmese pythons prefer subtropical and tropical climates. Southern Florida offers a similar environment; the vast wilderness provides ample habitats where pythons can hide, such as shallow water, wetlands and brush, and physical structures, including gopher tortoise burrows. The Everglades is also largely isolated from human activity, which compounds detection and removal of a species that is known for its cryptic and secretive nature.
How many invasive Burmese pythons are in Florida?
The python population in Florida is expected to be on the scale of tens of thousands of snakes and appears to be growing. On average, Burmese pythons lay 49 eggs in one nest, with an estimated 28.6% of hatchlings surviving to the juvenile stage. However, the clutch size of Burmese pythons increases with body size. Large snakes have been reported to contain as many as 79 to 95 eggs.
Are pythons spreading north of the Everglades?
Burmese pythons have been found north of the Everglades through visual sightings and captures; however, due to the cryptic nature of the species, it is challenging to comprehensively delimit their range with these methods. A new technology called environmental DNA (or eDNA) is being used to track the DNA that is shed by the snakes through sloughed scales, saliva, and excrement. Environmental DNA methods have detected pythons in the northern Everglades in Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and even beyond Lake Okeechobee.
How have invasive Burmese pythons impacted native species populations in the Greater Everglades?
Burmese pythons consume various mammal and bird species, directly influencing and altering food webs throughout southern Florida. Research has shown that pythons are responsible for diminishing populations of mammals in the Everglades, such as raccoons, opossums, bobcats, rabbits, gray foxes, and white-tailed deer, which have declined by 85 to 100%. Other concerns include the spread of python pathogens and parasites to native species.
What methods have been used to help manage the spread of the Burmese pythons in southern Florida?
What alternative methods might be considered to help control the spread of Burmese pythons?
Invasive species represent a significant threat to global biodiversity and a substantial economic burden to surrounding communities. In the last 40 years, the Burmese python (Python bivittatus) has invaded southern Florida, including Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, and other protected lands.
Native to Africa, Asia, and Australia, many python species have found their way to the United States thanks to their popularity in the pet trade. However, by way of an intentional or accidental release, one such popular pet snake species, the Burmese python, was introduced in southern Florida. They have since established a breeding population and are now considered to be one of the most concerning invasive species in Everglades National Park and other protected lands. These ambush predators compete with other native predators for prey, which ranges from mammals to birds to even other reptiles. In fact, severe mammal declines in Everglades National Park have been linked to the Burmese pythons. WARC researchers are engaged in a number of projects aimed to understand invasive python biology and ecology to help inform environmental managers tasked with control and eradication efforts.
What does a Burmese python look like?
The Burmese python is a nonvenomous, constricting snake with brown blotches bordered by black down the back. In the wild, Burmese pythons often grow to approximately 16 feet but the largest one recorded in Florida was a female that measured approximately 19 feet.
How did a giant constrictor snake species, such as the Burmese python, end up in Florida?
For many decades, Burmese pythons were imported to the United States for the pet trade. The initial wild population is believed to have originated from a small number of escaped, or released, pet pythons at the southern end of Everglades National Park in the early 1980s.
Why was the Burmese python able to establish a population in the Everglades?
In their native range, Burmese pythons prefer subtropical and tropical climates. Southern Florida offers a similar environment; the vast wilderness provides ample habitats where pythons can hide, such as shallow water, wetlands and brush, and physical structures, including gopher tortoise burrows. The Everglades is also largely isolated from human activity, which compounds detection and removal of a species that is known for its cryptic and secretive nature.
How many invasive Burmese pythons are in Florida?
The python population in Florida is expected to be on the scale of tens of thousands of snakes and appears to be growing. On average, Burmese pythons lay 49 eggs in one nest, with an estimated 28.6% of hatchlings surviving to the juvenile stage. However, the clutch size of Burmese pythons increases with body size. Large snakes have been reported to contain as many as 79 to 95 eggs.
Are pythons spreading north of the Everglades?
Burmese pythons have been found north of the Everglades through visual sightings and captures; however, due to the cryptic nature of the species, it is challenging to comprehensively delimit their range with these methods. A new technology called environmental DNA (or eDNA) is being used to track the DNA that is shed by the snakes through sloughed scales, saliva, and excrement. Environmental DNA methods have detected pythons in the northern Everglades in Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and even beyond Lake Okeechobee.
How have invasive Burmese pythons impacted native species populations in the Greater Everglades?
Burmese pythons consume various mammal and bird species, directly influencing and altering food webs throughout southern Florida. Research has shown that pythons are responsible for diminishing populations of mammals in the Everglades, such as raccoons, opossums, bobcats, rabbits, gray foxes, and white-tailed deer, which have declined by 85 to 100%. Other concerns include the spread of python pathogens and parasites to native species.
What methods have been used to help manage the spread of the Burmese pythons in southern Florida?
What alternative methods might be considered to help control the spread of Burmese pythons?