Falk, B.G., Glor, R.E., Perkins, S.L., 2015, Clonal reproduction shapes evolution in the lizard malaria parasite Plasmodium floridense, Evolution 69(6): 1584-1596. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/evo.12683
Bryan Falk, Ph.D. (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Date published: December 4, 2016
Status: Active 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.
Date published: December 2, 2016
Status: Active USGS Everglades Research Offices - 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,...
Date published: July 7, 2016
Status: Active Ecology and Control of Invasive Reptiles in Florida
This project involves ongoing development of tools for the detection and capture of invasive reptiles in Florida, with an emphasis on Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) and Black and white tegu lizards (Salvator merianae). The goals are to reduce the risk of reptile invasions in high-value resources such as Everglades National Park and the Florida Keys, to access early detection methods of...
Date published: July 5, 2016
Status: Active Cruising to Improve the Detection of Burmese Pythons in Everglades National Park
It is not uncommon to see researchers cruising around Everglades National Park (ENP) on what has been a routine basis for the past ten months. Every evening, interns pack into a Chevy Volt for their shift assisting the U.S. Geological Survey in conducting Burmese Python (Python molurus bivittatus) nighttime surveillance through observational surveys. This effort to detect non-native snakes,...
Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Date published: July 3, 2016
Status: Active 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...
Contacts: Amy Yackel Adams, Ph.D., Bryan Falk, Ph.D.
Attribution: Invasive Species Program, Fort Collins Science Center
Date published: June 25, 2016
Status: Active Invasive Species in the Everglades – An Opportunity to Engage Youth in Science
Invasive reptiles like the Burmese python (Python bivittatus) and Black-and-White Tegu Lizard (Tupinambis merianae) are exerting tremendous harm on Everglades ecosystems, but these problematic species present an excellent opportunity to engage the next generation in science. Since entering into an agreement with Everglades National Park in late 2013, the Invasive Species Science Branch of the...
Attribution: Invasive Species Program, Fort Collins Science Center
Date published: October 4, 2017
Sex, length, total mass, fat mass, and specimen condition data for 248 Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) collected in the Florida Everglade
These data were collected from Burmese pythons removed from the Florida everglades as part of invasive-species management. These data were used to validate several body condition indices in Burmese pythons.
Year Published: 2018
Modeling the distributions of tegu lizards in native and potential invasive ranges
Invasive reptilian predators can have substantial impacts on native species and ecosystems. Tegu lizards are widely distributed in South America east of the Andes, and are popular in the international live animal trade. Two species are established in Florida (U.S.A.) - Salvator merianae (Argentine black and white tegu) and Tupinambis teguixin...
Jarnevich, Catherine S.; Hayes, Mark; Fitzgerald, Lee A.; Yackel, Amy; Falk, Bryan; Collier, Michelle; Bonewell, Lea; Klug, Page; Naretto, Sergio; Reed, RobertAttribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Jarnevich, C. S., M. A. Hayes, L. A. Fitzgerald, A. A. Yackel Adams, B. G. Falk, M. A. M. Collier, L. R. Bonewell, P. E. Klug, S. Naretto, and R. N. Reed. 2018. Modeling the distributions of tegu lizards in native and potential invasive ranges. Scientific Reports 8:10193.
Year Published: 2017
Salvator merianae (Argentine Tegu). Attempted Predation.
No abstract available.
Hanslowe, Emma; Calafiore, Charles V.; Sykes, Kathryn N.; Van Ee, Noah; Falk, Bryan; Yackel, Amy; Reed, RobertAttribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Hanslowe, E.B., C.V. Calafiore, K.N. Sykes, N. Van Ee, B.G. Falk, A.A. Yackel Adams, and R.N. Reed. 2017 Salvator merianae (Argentine Tegu). Attempted Predation. Herpetological Review 48 (3): 659 - 660.
Year Published: 2017
A validation of 11 body-condition indices in a giant snake species that exhibits positive allometry
Body condition is a gauge of the energy stores of an animal, and though it has important implications for fitness, survival, competition, and disease, it is difficult to measure directly. Instead, body condition is frequently estimated as a body condition index (BCI) using length and mass measurements. A desirable BCI should accurately reflect...
Falk, Bryan; Snow, Ray W.; Reed, Robert N.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Falk BG, Snow RW, Reed RN (2017) A validation of 11 body-condition indices in a giant snake species that exhibits positive allometry. PLoS ONE 12(7): e0180791. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0180791
Year Published: 2016
Prospects and limitations of citizen science in invasive species management: A case study with Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park
Citizen-science programs have the potential to contribute to the management of invasive species, including Python molurus bivittatus (Burmese Python) in Florida. We characterized citizen-science–generated Burmese Python information from Everglades National Park (ENP) to explore how citizen science may be useful in this effort. As an initial step,...
Falk, Bryan; Snow, Raymond W.; Reed, RobertAttribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Falk BG, Snow RW, Reed RN. 2016. Prospects and limitations of citizen science in invasive species management: A case study with Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park. Southeastern Naturalist 15(sp8): 89-102.
Year Published: 2016
Thamnophis marcianus (Checkered Gartersnake). USA: Arizona: Yuma and La Paz Counties: Colorado River
No abstract available.
Munes, Ryan; Reed, Robert; Falk, Bryan; Lauren Hall, Ashley; Holycross, AndrewAttribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Munes R, Reed RN, Falk BG, Hall AL, Holycross AT. 2016. Thamnophis marcianus (Checkered Gartersnake). USA: Arizona: Yuma and La Paz Counties: Colorado River. Herpetological Review 47(4): 631-632.
Year Published: 2016
First record of invasive Burmese Python oviposition and brooding inside an anthropogenic structure
We discovered an adult female Python bivittatus (Burmese Python) coiled around a clutch of 25 eggs in a cement culvert in Flamingo, FL, in Everglades National Park. To our knowledge, this is the first record of an invasive Burmese Python laying eggs and brooding inside an anthropogenic structure in Florida. A 92% hatch-success rate suggests that...
Hanslowe, Emma; Falk, Bryan; Collier, Michelle A. M.; Josimovich, Jillian; Rahill, Thomas; Reed, RobertAttribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2016
Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti (Florida cottonmouth) Diet
Agkistrodon piscivorus is a generalist predator that feeds on a variety of prey, including snakes (Gloyd and Conant 1990. Snakes of the Agkistrodon Complex: A Monographic Review. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Oxford, Ohio. 614 pp.; Lillywhite et al. 2002. Herpetol. Rev. 33:259–260; Hill and Beaupre 2008. Copeia 2008:105...
Grajal-Puche, Alejandro; Josimovich, Jillian; Falk, Bryan; Reed, RobertAttribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Grajal-Puche, A., J. Josimovich, B. Falk, R.N. Reed. 2016. Agkistrodon piscivorus conati (Florida cottonmouth) Diet. Herpetological Review 47(2): 307
Year Published: 2016
Integrating early detection with DNA barcoding: species identification of a non-native monitor lizard (Squamata: Varanidae) carcass in Mississippi, U.S.A.
Early detection of invasive species is critical to increasing the probability of successful management. At the primary stage of an invasion, invasive species are easier to control as the population is likely represented by just a few individuals. Detection of these first few individuals can be challenging, particularly if they are cryptic or...
Reed, Robert N.; Hopken, Matthew W.; Steen, David A.; Falk, Bryan G.; Piaggio, Antoinette J.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2015
Challenges to a molecular approach to prey identification in the Burmese python, Python molurus bivittatus
Molecular approaches to prey identification are increasingly useful in elucidating predator–prey relationships, and we aimed to investigate the feasibility of these methods to document the species identities of prey consumed by invasive Burmese pythons in Florida. We were particularly interested in the diet of young snakes, because visual...
Falk, Bryan; Reed, Robert N.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Falk BG, Reed RN. (2015) Challenges to a molecular approach to prey identification in the Burmese python, Python molurus bivittatus. doi: 10.7717/peerj.1445
Year Published: 2015
Observations of two non-native snake species in the same remote area of southern Florida
No abstract available.
Hanslowe, Emma B.; Falk, Bryan G.; McEachern, Michelle A.; Reed, Robert N.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Hanslowe, E.B., B.G. Falk, M.A. McEachern, and R.N. Reed. 2015. Observations of two non-native snake species in the same remote area of southern Florida. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians. 22(2): 90–92.
Pre-USGS Publications
Falk, B.G., Perkins S.L., 2015. Parasite diversification in Caribbean Anolis lizards. In: Parasite Diversity and Diversification - Evolutionary Ecology Meets Phylogenetics, (eds. Morand S, Krasnov B, Littlewood T), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139794749.021
Falk, B.G., Perkins, S.L., 2013, Host specificity shapes population structure of pinworm parasites in Caribbean reptiles, Molecular Ecology 22(17): 4576-4590. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.12410
Florio, A.M., Falk, B.G., Raxworthy, C.J., 2013, Development of ten polymorphic microsatellite loci for three closely related chameleons in Madagascar: Furcifer lateralis, Furcifer major, and Furcifer viridis, Conservation Genetics Resources 5(2): 343-345. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12686-012-9799-y
Falk, B.G., Mahler, D.L., Perkins, S.L., 2011, Tree-based delimitation of morphologically ambiguous taxa: A study of the lizard malaria parasites of Hispaniola, International Journal for Parasitology 41(9): 967-980. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2011.05.004
Perkins, S.L., Martinsen, E.S., Falk, B.G., 2011, Do molecules matter more than morphology? Promises and pitfalls in parasites, Parasitology 138 (13): 1664-1674. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0031182011000679
Date published: September 22, 2016
Burmese Python Hatchlings Seen on Key Largo
Burmese pythons have been found on Key Largo.