Invasive Species

Fish Slam events link research institutions such as museums and universities with federal, state, and local government agencies that possess expertise and field equipment to collect nonnative fishes, providing unique access to specimens for these institutions.

Join USGS in helping to prevent the spread of the invasive purple loosestrife in Louisiana.

Fifty-seven fish biologists from 12 organizations participated in a three-day Fish Chat and Slam event in South Florida.

Researchers from USGS-FORT and WARC and University of Florida are collaborating on a long-term Burmese python research program in southern Florida to address management needs of partners and stakeholders throughout the Greater Everglades.

USGS researchers are working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to optimize autonomous, robotic samplers for detection of DNA fragments shed by biological threats (BT; invasive species, parasites, pathogens) in our nation’s waters. Finding DNA fragments (a method known as environmental DNA sampling) produced by an emerging BT in water is akin to finding a needle in a haystack—many...

Forty-two fish biologists from seven organizations participated in a two-day Spring Fish Slam event in southwest Florida. Fourteen species of non-native fishes were collected or observed.

Wetland and Aquatic Research Center and Fort Collins Science Center are coordinating a long-term, landscape-scale Burmese python research strategy for South Florida.

In March 2021, USGS researchers and partners conducted the first-ever Virtual Fish Slam. The bi-annual Fish Slam event helps monitor new introductions and document range expansion of known non-native freshwater fishes.

Using temperature, species occurrence, field-based freeze damage data, and regression analyses for 84 invasive species, researchers at WARC are quantifying the species-specific relationships between minimum temperature and plant presence.

USGS WARC works with partners on early detection and rapid response (ED/RR) efforts, rapidly removing newly introduced non-native marine fishes from Florida’s coastal waters to prevent invasions.

WARC scientists work with local partners to verify and document sightings of non-native marine fishes.

WARC researchers are performing visual encounter surveys and passively capturing Cuban treefrogs to remove as many of the invasive anurans as possible.