Research
Image courtesy of National Parks Service
Research plays an integral role in managing invasive species by providing knowledge about a species' biology and its potential impacts in new environments. Research is also needed to effectively develop and refine tools for control and monitoring. Primary objectives of current research efforts are focused on increasing python detection and removal, evaluating the efficacy of existing management and control efforts, investigating new removal tools, understanding direct and indirect impacts of pythons on natural resources and ecosystems, and furthering our understanding of the ecology and life history parameters of pythons in Florida.
The Florida Python Control Plan (FPCP) and the most recent FPCP Implementation Plan identify research goals and strategic topics to focus control efforts over the next few years.
In January 2023, 37 authors from more than 10 different research and management organizations, led by the US Geological Survey, published a comprehensive synthesis of the science to managing pythons (Guzy et al. 2023).
Image courtesy of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida
Live Transport and/or Possession of Pythons for Research:
Burmese pythons are regulated as Prohibited species in Florida (Chapter 68-5, F.A.C.) and listed as an Injurious Species under the federal Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. 42). See the FWC Nonnative Permits page for more information.