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State Partnerships in South Florida

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By Fort Collins Science Center February 11, 2023

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.

The project is aimed at understanding how pythons use landscapes that primarily consist of sawgrass marsh interspersed with sloughs and tree islands, particularly the frequency of which pythons utilize tree islands within sawgrass marshes and the adjacent levees where State python removal contractors primarily search. Not only will the resulting data provide critical information on movements, behaviors, and demographic rates (for example, survival and reproduction), but also allow researchers to evaluate the utility of advanced telemetry technologies (for example, drones) and estimate baseline abundance to assess control efforts. This research is a multifaceted study that, for the first time, integrates field techniques and advanced modelling approaches to both better understand spatial resource use and inform removal program efficacy within flooded habitats. Conducted in tandem, these efforts support a science-based evaluation of removal programs to enhanced removal strategies of this invasive snake.

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.

The project is aimed at understanding how pythons use landscapes that primarily consist of sawgrass marsh interspersed with sloughs and tree islands, particularly the frequency of which pythons utilize tree islands within sawgrass marshes and the adjacent levees where State python removal contractors primarily search. Not only will the resulting data provide critical information on movements, behaviors, and demographic rates (for example, survival and reproduction), but also allow researchers to evaluate the utility of advanced telemetry technologies (for example, drones) and estimate baseline abundance to assess control efforts. This research is a multifaceted study that, for the first time, integrates field techniques and advanced modelling approaches to both better understand spatial resource use and inform removal program efficacy within flooded habitats. Conducted in tandem, these efforts support a science-based evaluation of removal programs to enhanced removal strategies of this invasive snake.