Reptiles

USGS scientists have developed and optimized python-specific eDNA markers to detect Burmese pythons from water samples taken from the Florida Everglades. This development may aid in the identification of possible waterways used as corridors for northward expansion of this invasive species.

While islands are some of the most biodiverse places on earth, they are also among the most threatened. Researchers from WARC and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are assessing the vulnerability of Florida’s coastal islands to inundation from sea-level rise and estimating potential loss of the terrestrial biodiversity on Florida’s islands.

USGS is partnering with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to digitize 20 years of historic sea turtle relocation trawling reports from over 50 sites across nine states.

USGS researchers will track juvenile Burmese python within Big Cypress National Preserve (BICY) and collect data on snake growth, habitat use, and causes of mortality. Known-fate models will be used to estimate survival and better understand factors that influence survival.

In response to declining populations, researchers at WARC are collecting data on demographics, movement patterns and habitat use, ecological niche and foraging ecology, and nesting ecology of diamondback terrapins.

Researchers are investigating beach compaction, the incubation environment for turtle nests, and shorebird nest abundance at beaches throughout the southeastern United States to better understand the impacts of beach compaction to nesting turtles and foraging seabirds.

USGS scientists are working to determine the baseline population numbers of the Razor-backed Musk Turtle.

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

WARC Researchers are using a variety of methods to assess mammal communities across the Greater Everglades.

WARC researchers used visual encounter surveys to determine prevalence rates of snake fungal disease in south-central Louisiana.

WARC researchers are investigating individual movement, growth, and population dynamics of alligator snapping turtles in a southwest Louisiana creek.

Researchers are developing acceleration data logger pop-off packages that can be affixed to sea turtles to collect behavioral patterns of diving, surfacing, and general activity levels.