Species of Management Concern

Telemetry tracking of captured pythons reveals movement patterns of the invasive Burmese python in the Greater Everglades, information that managers can use to prioritize python control efforts.

WARC is collaborating with USGS scientists from the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center and other scientists outside USGS to better understand the role of Hurricane Hole as a refuge from changing climate and ocean acidification.

Climate change may reduce the suitability of nesting and foraging habitat used by federally threatened and endangered species, like the Loggerhead sea turtle.

USGS researchers tag and track endangered and threatened sea turtles to inform adaptive management strategies in marine protected areas.

Satellite/GPS tags help USGS researchers understand the movements of American Alligators and American Crocodiles in the Greater Everglades.

USGS researchers evaluate the impact of a pesticide on two imperiled butterfly species in the Florida Keys.

USGS scientists investigate adaptive habitat conservation for Flatwoods salamanders.

Pathogens and infectious disease play a role in some recent species extinctions and are likely to impact biodiversity in the future. Environmental DNA - eDNA - is coupled with traditional amphibian sampling methods to determine the distribution and prevalence of the amphibian chytrid fungus, also known as Bd, in the southeastern US.

Habitat alteration and climate, when combined, are serious threats to amphibians and other wildlife. Habitat suitability models are being used to predict the responses of an amphibian community to hydrological and habitat restoration in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.

Climate change and invasive species are two key drivers of biodiversity loss. Knowing how amphibians respond to climate change and invasive species can greatly improve predictions of species' persistence in the face of these factors and can help guide resource managers and conservation biologists in developing strategies to manage for these encroaching disturbances.

The decline of freshwater animals has resulted in an increase in the number of imperiled species and extinctions. USGS scientists use genetics to determine if these species truly are gone forever.