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Invasive Burmese Pythons Are Good Navigators and Can Find Their Way Home

By Guest PostMarch 25, 2014Natureburmese pythons, everglades national park, james coxworth, james oconnell, kristen hart, peter kim, south florida, usgs

Everglades National Park, Fla.— Invasive Burmese pythons in South Florida are able to find their way home even when moved far away from their capture locations, a finding that has implications for the spread of the species.

A multi-organizational team of scientists found that when six Burmese pythons were relocated 13-22 miles from their capture locations, the snakes headed straight back home, navigating to within 3 miles of their original capture locations in Everglades National Park. (more…)

PTSD Consortium

By Guest PostNovember 1, 2012Healthadult, afghanistan, americans, bad experience, behavior, behavioral epigenetic, brain, brain imaging, cambridge, car accident, cardiovascular disease, chemical change, combat troops, david diamond, delaware, diagnose, disorder, DNA, dna methylation, draper laboratory, gene, hormone level, Iraq, military, molecular change, molecular modification, objective biomarker, panic attack, posttraumatic, ptsd, rate, rodent model, south florida, stress, stress disorder, tania roth, trauma, university, victim, violent crime, war

Researchers seek better ways to diagnose, treat disorder

Tania Roth studies what happens to the brain when stress occurs early in life, seeking to pinpoint how those kinds of bad experiences can cause molecular changes to DNA.

Now, by participating in a national consortium of researchers, the assistant professor of psychology at the University of Delaware is hoping to use her expertise to contribute to a better understanding of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (more…)

UF Scientists Find State Record 87 Eggs In Largest Python From Everglades

By Guest PostAugust 18, 2012Environment, Naturealligator, anatomy, burmese python, claudia grant, egg, everglades, exotic snake, female snake, florida, kenneth krysko, leroy nunez, nicholas coutu, ornithologist, predator, reproductive capability, skip snow, snake, south florida, southeast asia, university of florida, wildlife management

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers curating a 17-foot-7-inch Burmese python, the largest found in Florida, discovered 87 eggs in the snake, also a state record.

Scientists at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus examined the internal anatomy of the 164.5-pound snake Friday. The animal was brought to the Florida Museum from Everglades National Park as part of a long-term project with the U.S. Department of the Interior to research methods for managing the state’s invasive Burmese python problem. Following scientific investigation, the snake will be mounted for exhibition at the museum for about five years, and then returned for exhibition at Everglades National Park. (more…)

Ancient Trash Heaps Gave Rise To Everglades Tree Islands

By Guest PostMarch 24, 2011Environmentalligators, birds, carbonate, charcoal, chmura, ecological richness, Environment, everglades, florida everglades tree islands, gail chmura, garbage mounds, human artifacts, margo schwadron, maria theresia, marshes, nesting site, panthers, perched carbonate layer, prehistoric humans, shark river slough, south florida, tree island, water control systems, wildlife

SANTA FE, N.M.— Garbage mounds left by prehistoric humans might have driven the formation of many of the Florida Everglades’ tree islands, distinctive havens of exceptional ecological richness in the sprawling marsh that are today threatened by human development.

Tree islands are patches of relatively high and dry ground that dot the marshes of the Everglades. Typically a meter (3.3 feet) or so high, many of them are elevated enough to allow trees to grow. They provide a nesting site for alligators and a refuge for birds, panthers, and other wildlife. (more…)

Tag Archives: south florida

Invasive Burmese Pythons Are Good Navigators and Can Find Their Way Home

PTSD Consortium

UF Scientists Find State Record 87 Eggs In Largest Python From Everglades

Ancient Trash Heaps Gave Rise To Everglades Tree Islands