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Andrea Currylow, M.Sc., Ph.D. (Former Employee)

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Staff Profile Photo of Austin Fitzgerald

Python Vital Rates

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.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Python Vital Rates

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.
Learn More
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An approximately 14 foot female invasive Burmese python in the Everglades.

State Partnerships in South Florida

USGS-FORT in partnership with the University of Florida and two state agencies (South Florida Water Management District and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) have initiated a scout snake program to increase the ability to detect and remove Burmese pythons from the interior of the landscape.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center
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State Partnerships in South Florida

USGS-FORT in partnership with the University of Florida and two state agencies (South Florida Water Management District and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) have initiated a scout snake program to increase the ability to detect and remove Burmese pythons from the interior of the landscape.
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A Burmese python coiled in the grass in the Everglades.

Biology, Impacts and Control of Invasive Reptiles in the Everglades

Invasive species are considered to be second only to habitat degradation in terms of negative impacts on the Earth’s ecosystems, and our scientists make up a significant proportion of the global expertise in the rapidly-growing problem of invasive reptiles.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center
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Biology, Impacts and Control of Invasive Reptiles in the Everglades

Invasive species are considered to be second only to habitat degradation in terms of negative impacts on the Earth’s ecosystems, and our scientists make up a significant proportion of the global expertise in the rapidly-growing problem of invasive reptiles.
Learn More
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Student Intern Alejandro Grajal-Puche holds an Argentine black and white tegu lizard.

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.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center
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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.
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Everglades National Park

USGS Everglades Research Office - Florida

The Daniel Beard Center in Everglades National Park provides the base for most of the field work done on the control of invasive reptiles by USGS Fort Collins Science Center staff. The team works in Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and other parts of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem focusing on, among other species of concern...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center
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USGS Everglades Research Office - Florida

The Daniel Beard Center in Everglades National Park provides the base for most of the field work done on the control of invasive reptiles by USGS Fort Collins Science Center staff. The team works in Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and other parts of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem focusing on, among other species of concern...
Learn More
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Biologist Michelle Collier with a Burmese python.

Giant Constrictor Snakes in Florida: A Sizeable Research Challenge

Since the mid-1990s, several species of non-native, giant constrictor snakes, such as Burmese pythons and boa constrictors, have surfaced in localities throughout southern Florida. Several are known or suspected to be breeding and appear to be spreading northward. Increasingly, media and other reports of sightings or encounters with these animals have emphasized the dangers they could impose on...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center
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Giant Constrictor Snakes in Florida: A Sizeable Research Challenge

Since the mid-1990s, several species of non-native, giant constrictor snakes, such as Burmese pythons and boa constrictors, have surfaced in localities throughout southern Florida. Several are known or suspected to be breeding and appear to be spreading northward. Increasingly, media and other reports of sightings or encounters with these animals have emphasized the dangers they could impose on...
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Diet of invasive Burmese Pythons (Python molorus bivittatus) in southern Florida, 1995-2020

Digestive tract contents were identified to provide an account of Burmese python diet. Diet contents came from 1716 pythons collected by cooperators during 1995-2020 from public and private lands across southern Florida, primarily within the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Burmese pythons consumed 76 species of fauna across three taxonomic classes (Aves, Mammalia, and Reptilia). 
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Fort Collins Science Center

Size distribution and reproductive data of the invasive Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida, USA, 1995-2021

This dataset contains morphometric information from Burmese pythons collected from an invasive population in southern Florida between 1995-2021. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service curated this dataset as a repository for records of Burmese pythons found on or nearby federal lands in southern Florida, including Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Pre
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Fort Collins Science Center

Photo-documented sequences from 01 Jun 2021 - 30 Aug 2021 showing novel interactions between intraguild predators in southern Florida, USA, bobcat and Burmese python

Entire photo-documented sequence from 01 June 2021-09 September 2021, including novel interactions between intraguild predators in southern Florida - the native bobcat (Lynx rufus) and the invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus). A bobcat depredated an unguarded Burmese python nest and subsequently the python exhibited nest defense behavior following the return of both animals to the nest. Fir
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Fort Collins Science Center

Hatchling Growth Experiment Dataset from Invasive Burmese Pythons Captured in 2015 in Southern Florida

This dataset contains information about 58 hatchling Burmese pythons collected in 2015 from an invasive population in southern Florida. These hatchlings were used in an experiment that assessed the effects of food availability, clutch, and sex on their growth in captivity. The hatchlings were collected as eggs from the nests of two wild pythons, assigned to High or Low feeding treatments, and thei
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Fort Collins Science Center

Dataset from 2015-2016 thermal and behavior monitoring of Argentine giant tegus in Everglades, Florida

Thermal data collected from iButton temperature loggers implanted into research animals (Argentine giant tegus) and in their surrounding environment. Tegus undergo winter dormancy (hibernation) to cope with colder temperatures, and we studied the thermal habits of wild tegus within their invaded range in southern Florida, USA. We used radiotelemetry and trail cameras to verify dates of above-groun
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Fort Collins Science Center
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Florida Kingsnake (Lampropeltis floridana) consumes a juvenile Burmese Python (Python molurus bivitattus) in southern Florida

The Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) is an invasive constrictor established across southern Florida. These snakes are dietary generalists with large home ranges and broad habitat requirements and their introduction has had severe impacts on native species and ecosystems in the region. We describe the first observation of a Florida kingsnake (Lampropeltis floridana) that consumed a hatchl
Authors
Peter F. Crawford, Jose A. Torres, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Andrea Faye Currylow, Lisa Marie McBride, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Matthew F. McCollister, Christina M. Romagosa, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Kristen Hart
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Testicular abnormalities in the invasive Argentine Black-and-White Tegu lizard (Salvator merianae) in the Florida Everglades

No abstract available.
Authors
Kyra Woytek, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Kevin Donmoyer, Frank Ridgley, Christina Romagosa, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Andrea Faye Currylow
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Maximum clutch size of an invasive Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) in Florida, USA

Native to southeastern Asia, the Burmese Python (Python bivittatus Kuhl 1820) is an invasive species established in southern Florida (Snow et al. 2007; Krysko et al. 2016; Krysko et al. 2019). Pythons are documented as having negative effects on the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and they have proven to be a complex problem for managers trying to control populations (Guzy et al. 2023). This species
Authors
Andrea Faye Currylow, Teah Evers, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Lisa Marie McBride, Matthew McCollister, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Christina Romagosa, Kristen Hart, Amy A. Yackel Adams
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Natives bite back: Depredation and mortality of invasive juvenile Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem

Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus Kuhl, 1820) are one of the world’s largest snake species, making them a highly successful and biologically damaging invasive predator in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida, USA. Though we have knowledge of python diet within this system, we understand very little of other interactions with native species. Effects native species have on invasive pythons, es
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Andrea Faye Currylow, Austin Lee Fitzgerald, Matthew T.H. Goetz, Jared L. Draxler, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Matthew McCollister, Christina Romagosa, Amy A. Yackel Adams
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Burmese pythons in Florida: A synthesis of biology, impacts, and management tools

Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are native to southeastern Asia, however, there is an established invasive population inhabiting much of southern Florida throughout the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Pythons have severely impacted native species and ecosystems in Florida and represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe. The difficulty stems f
Authors
Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Bryan G. Falk, Brian J. Smith, John David Willson, Robert Reed, Nicholas Aumen, Michael L. Avery, Ian A. Bartoszek, Earl Campbell, Michael Cherkiss, Natalie M. Claunch, Andrea Faye Currylow, Tylan Dean, Jeremy Dixon, Richard M. Engeman, Sarah Funck, Rebekah Gibble, Kodiak C. Hengstebeck, John S. Humphrey, Margaret Hunter, Jillian Josimovich, Jennifer Ketterlin Eckles, Michael Kirkland, Frank J. Mazzotti, Robert A. McCleery, Melissa A. Miller, Matthew F. McCollister, M. Rockwell Parker, Shannon E. Pittman, Michael R. Rochford, Christina Romagosa, Art Roybal, Ray W. Snow, McKayla M. Spencer, Hardin Waddle, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Kristen Hart
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Natives bite back! Are Burmese pythons beginning to encounter the resilience of the Everglades Ecosystem?

Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) is a large, invasive reptile known in Florida for its devastating impacts on native species in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Several organizations and individuals are taking action to research and/or remove the snakes, including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Since 2018, scientists from USGS’s Fort Collins Science Center have been working closely with th
Authors
Andrea Faye Currylow
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Size distribution and reproductive phenology of the invasive Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida, USA

The design of successful invasive species control programs is often hindered by the absence of basic demographic data on the targeted population. Establishment of invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida USA has led to local precipitous declines (> 90%) of mesomammal populations and is also a major threat to native populations of reptiles an
Authors
Andrea Faye Currylow, Bryan Falk, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Christina M. Romagosa, Jillian Josimovich, Michael R. Rochford, Michael Cherkiss, Melia Gail Nafus, Kristen Hart, Frank J. Mazzotti, Ray W. Snow, Robert Reed
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Egg retention in wild-caught Python bivittatus in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida, USA

Retention of eggs in oviducts beyond the normal oviposition period is a common problem for captive reptiles, but the occurrence of egg retention in wild populations is largely unknown. The Burmese python (Python [molurus] bivittatus; Kühl 1820) is an oviparous snake native to south-eastern Asia that is now established in southern Florida. From 2011–2019, invasive Burmese pythons were opportunistic
Authors
Gretchen Erika Anderson, Frank N. Ridgley, Jillian Maureen Josimovich, Robert Reed, Bryan G. Falk, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Andrea Faye Currylow
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

Face-off: Novel depredation and nest defense behaviors between an invasive and a native predator in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida, USA

We describe several photo-documented novel interactions between intraguild predators in southern Florida—the native bobcat (Lynx rufus) and the invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus). Over several days we documented a bobcat's depredation of an unguarded python nest and subsequent python nest defense behavior following the return of both animals to the nest. This is the first documentation of
Authors
Andrea Faye Currylow, Matthew F. McCollister, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Jillian Maureen Josimovich, Austin Lee Fitzgerald, Christina M. Romagosa, Amy A. Yackel Adams
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

Agkistrodon conanti (Florida Cottonmouth) and Python bivittatus (Burmese Python). Diet and Predation

Python bivittatus is established in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem in southern Florida, USA. Documented predators on pythons in Florida include Alligator mississippiensis (American Alligator; Snow et al. 2006. Herpetol. Rev. 37:81–81), Drymarchon couperi (Gulf Coast Indigo Snake; Andreadis et al. 2018. Herpetol. Rev. 49:341–342), Lynx rufus (Bobcat; McCollister et al. 2021. Southeast. Nat. 20:N5
Authors
Ian A. Bartoszek, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Ian Easterling, Jillian Maureen Josimovich, Alex Furst, Frank N. Ridgley, Austin Lee Fitzgerald, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Andrea Faye Currylow
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

Clutch may predict growth of hatchling Burmese pythons better than food availability or sex

Identifying which environmental and genetic factors affect growth pattern phenotypes can help biologists predict how organisms distribute finite energy resources in response to varying environmental conditions and physiological states. This information may be useful for monitoring and managing populations of cryptic, endangered, and invasive species. Consequently, we assessed the effects of food a
Authors
Jillian Maureen Josimovich, Bryan G. Falk, Alejandro Grajal-Puche, Emma B. Hanslowe, Ian A. Bartoszek, Robert Reed, Andrea Faye Currylow
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center

Identifying negative sentiment polarity in the Judas technique

In the context of conservation science and management, the Judas technique refers to outfitting an animal (a Judas animal) with a radio transmitter or other identifier so that its movements can be tracked to locate conspecifics. Although this term is commonly used, some consider it offensive due to historical associations of the word Judas with anti-Semitic sentiments. Thus, the term has a negativ
Authors
Austin Lee Fitzgerald, Jillian Maureen Josimovich, Charlotte J. Robinson, Robert Reed, Andrea Faye Currylow
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center
Fort Collins Science Center Ecologists Share Expertise on Invasive Species

Fort Collins Science Center Ecologists Share Expertise on Invasive Species

Research Ecologists Amy Yackel Adams and Andrea Currylow present “Invasive Reptiles: Lizards, Treesnakes, and Burmese Pythons, Oh My!” lecture

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