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This page provides links to full text sources related to invasive species science topics covered in the Invader Updater. If you have suggestions for a science story that should be covered, please email monicaem@ufl.edu.

CANE TOAD INVASION TRADEOFFS - Summer 2015

Hudson et al. 2015. Virgins in the vanguard: low reproductive frequency in invasion-front cane toads. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

CANE TOADS SHIFT PREDATOR-PREY BALANCE - Summer 2015

Cane Toad Doody et al. In Press. Invasive Toads Shift Predator-prey Densities in Animal Communities by Removing Top Predators. Ecology.

Cane toad has surprise effect on Australian ecosystem - New Scientist

NEW GENETIC CLUES TO LIONFISH INVASION - Summer 2015

map showing lionfish haplotype distribution Butterfield et al. 2015. Wide-ranging phylogeographic structure of invasive red lionfish in the Western Atlantic and Greater Caribbean. Marine Biology.

Genetics Provides New Clues about Lionfish Invasion - USGS Newsroom


HURRICANES SPREAD LIONFISH - Spring 2015

Map showing hurricane aided dispersal of lionfish Researchers discover hurricanes helped accelerate spread of lionfish - PhysOrg

Johnston MW, Purkis SJ. 2015. Hurricanes accelerated the Florida–Bahamas lionfish invasion. Global Change Biology. doi: 10.1111/gcb.12874


eDNA METHODS REVISITED - Spring 2015

figure showing how standard eDNA methods capture less carp DNA than revised methods Current tools for Asian Carp eDNA monitoring fall short, study shows - Science Daily

Turner et al. 2014. Improved Methods for Capture, Extraction, and Quantitative Assay of Environmental DNA from Asian Bigheaded Carp (Hypophthalmichthys spp.).PLoS ONE 9(12): e114329.


LIONFISH PREY TYPE - Spring 2015

Lionfish analysis reveals most vulnerable prey as invasion continues - Science Daily

Green SJ, Côté IM. 2014. Trait-based diet selection: prey behaviour and morphology predict vulnerability to predation in reef fish communities. Journal of Animal Ecology, 83: 1451–1460. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12250


OVER-INVASION - Fall/Winter 2014

Over-Invasion of Invasive Species - National Geographic

James C. Russell, Nurul S. Sataruddin, and Allison D. Heard. 2014. Over-invasion by functionally equivalent invasive species. Ecology 95:2268–2276.


MODERN ISLAND BIOGEOGRAPHY - Fall/Winter 2014

Photo: Anole lizard variation Overseas Trade Alters a Lizard's Stocks - New York Times

Matthew R. Helmus, D. Luke Mahler & Jonathan B. Losos. 2014. Island biogeography of the Anthropocene. Nature 513, 543–546.


LIONFISH TERMINATORS - Fall/Winter 2014

Lionfish characteristics make them more 'terminator' than predator - Science Daily

EVOLUTIONARY IMBALANCE HYPOTHESIS - Fall/Winter 2014

On invasive species, Darwin had it right all along, study shows - EurekAlert!

BULLFROGS IN YELLOWSTONE - Fall/Winter 2014

Photo: description Bullfrog Invasion of the Yellowstone River - USGS Newsroom



TEGU LIZARD IMPACTS - Summer 2014

Photo: Tegu Lizard Invasive lizards a potential threat to Florida’s nesting reptiles, UF/IFAS researchers find - UF News

Mazzotti et al. 2014. Tupinambis merianae as nest predators of crocodilians and turtles in Florida, USA. Biological Invasions, 10.1007/s10530-014-0730-1


CLIMATE CHANGE AND FISH HYBRIDIZATION - Summer 2014

Photo: Rainbow Trout - Eric Engbretson, USFWS Climate Change Accelerates Hybridization between Native and Invasive Species of Trout - USGS News

Muhlfeld et al. 2014. Invasive hybridization in a threatened species is accelerated by climate change.Nature Climate Change, doi:10.1038/nclimate2252

Onchorhynchus mykiss - Global Invasive Species Database

WAR ON LIONFISH SHOWS PROMISE - Spring 2014

Photo: Hunting Lionfish - Oregon State University Photo Green, et al. 2014. Linking removal targets to the ecological effects of invaders: a predictive model and field test. Ecological Applications.

War on lionfish shows first promise of success - Science Daily

INVASIVE SPECIES: COMMONLY RARE, RARELY COMMON - Spring 2014

Figure 4 from Hansen et al 2013: Frequency distribution for native versus invasive abundance Hansen, et al. 2013. Commonly Rare and Rarely Common: Comparing Population Abundance of Invasive and Native Aquatic Species. PLoS ONE 8(10): e77415. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0077415

Study shows invasive species not as abundant as some assume - Great Lakes Echo, 10 Jan 2014

INVASIVE CARP SAFE TO EAT - Spring 2014

Levengood, et al. 2013. Elements of concern in fillets of bighead and silver carp from the Illinois River, Illinois. Chemosphere, December 2013.

Arsenic, mercury, selenium in Asian carp not a health concern to most, research shows - Science Daily

EVALUATING CARP PREVENTION OPTIONS - Spring 2014

Wittmann, et al. 2014. Using Structured Expert Judgment to Assess Invasive Species Prevention: Asian Carp and the Mississippi—Great Lakes Hydrologic Connection. Environmental Science & Technology; 140130134816009 DOI: 10.1021/es4043098

Study measures how well Asian carp prevention effort will work - Science Daily

Study measures how well Asian carp prevention effort will work - Notre Dame News

Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS)

INVASIVE SPECIES DISPERSAL PATTERNS (ALLEE EFFECT) - Spring 2014

Smith, et al. 2014. Programmed Allee effect in bacteria causes a tradeoff between population spread and survival. PNAS, January 2014.

Dispersal patterns key to invasive species' success - Science Daily

SALINITY TOLERANCE OF INVASIVE FROGS - Winter 2013-2014

Photo: Cuban treefrog tadpole photo by USGS Brown & Walls. 2013. Variation in Salinity Tolerance among Larval Anurans: Implications for Community Composition and the Spread of an Invasive, Non-native Species. Copeia 2013(3):543-551.

THE DUNG VECTOR - Winter 2013-2014

Photo: horses Noxious weeds germinating in horse dung the world over - Nature World News

Ansong & Pickering. 2013. A global review of weeds that can germinate from horse dung. Ecological Management & Restoration 14(3): 216-223.


INVASIVE SPARROW IMMUNITY - Winter 2013-2014

Photo: invasive house sparrow Martin et al. 2013. Surveillance for microbes and range expansion in house sparrows. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281: 20132690.

Invasive sparrows immune cells sharpen as they spread - Science Daily


MODEL TRACKS CARP EGGS - Fall 2013

Photo: FluEgg model tracks a clutch of eggs Model developed to track eggs of Asian carp, an invasive species - PhysOrg

Asian carp spawning areas wider than expected - PhysOrg



TRUE DISPERSION POTENTIAL OF INVADERS - Fall 2013

Photo: Cane Toad in Australia Lindström et al. (2013) Rapid shifts in dispersal behavior on an expanding range edge. PNAS 2013 1303157110v1-201303157.





ACOUSTIC INVASION - Summer 2013

Photo: Cuban treefrog by Steve Johnson Both & Grant (2013) Acoustic invasion: How invasive species can impact native species acoustic niche? Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, 133(5): 3535.

Croaking chorus of Cuban frogs make noisy new neighbors - Science Daily



INVASIVE FROGS BROUGHT DEADLY CHYTRID FUNGUS - Summer 2013

Photo: Xenopus laevis by Michael Linnenbach Vredenburg et al. (2013) Prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Xenopus collected in Africa (1871-2000) and in California (2001-2010) PLoS ONE, 2013, 8(5):e63791 DOIL 10.1371/journal.pone.0063791

Frog once imported for pregnancy testing brought deadly amphibian disease to U.S. - Science Daily

Chytrid Fungus - Amphibian Ark: Keeping threatened amphibian species afloat

Xenopus laevis profile - Global Invasive Species Database

REEVALUATING 'AWAY-FIELD ADVANTAGE' - Summer 2013

Parker et al. (2013) Do invasive species perform better in their new ranges? Ecology, 94: 985-994.

Invasive species: 'Away-field advantage weaker than ecologists thought - Science Daily

KILLER KITTIES - Spring 2013

Photo: kitten eating rabbit Loss et al. (2013) The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States. Nature Communications 4, Article number: 1396.

Killer kitties? Cats kill billions of creatures every year - NPR

That cuddly kitty is deadlier than you think - The New York Times

ARGENTINE TEGU NESTING CONFIRMED IN FLORIDA - Spring 2013

Pernas et al. (2012) First observations of nesting by the Argentine black and white tegu,Tupinambis merianae, in South Florida. Southeastern Naturalist 11(4):765-770.

GUAM'S DEAD MOUSE DROP - Spring 2013

brown tree snakeDead Mice Are Going To Be Dropped On Guam From Helicopters (Really) - The Two-Way, NPR

Brown Treesnake Research at NWRC: Fumigants and Toxicants - National Wildlife Research Center, USDA-APHIS

Clark et al. (2012) Efficacy, effort, and cost comparisons of trapping and acetaminophen-baiting for control of brown treesnakes on Guam - Human–Wildlife Interactions 6(2):222–236

Global assessment of establishment success for amphibian and reptile invaders. Wildlife Research 39(7) 637-640.

INVADERS DRIVING EVOLUTION - Fall 2012

Shine (2012) Invasive species as drivers of evolutionary change: cane toads in tropical Australia. Evolutionary Applications 5(2):107-116.

EGG-EATING BURMESE PYTHONS - Summer 2012

Dove CJ, Reed RN, Snow RW (2012) Consumption of bird eggs by invasive Burmese pythons in Florida. (pdf) IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 19(1): 64-66

New threat to birds posed by invasive pythons in Florida - Science Daily

FLORIDA "HERP" INVASIONS - Summer 2012

Krysko et al. (2011) Verified non-indigenous amphibians and reptiles in Florida from 1863 through 2010: Outlining the invasion process and identifying invasion pathways and stages. (pdf) Zootaxa 3028: 1-64

INTRODUCED BIRD COMPETITORS - Summer 2012

Freed L, Cann R (2012) Increase of an introduced bird competitor in old-growth forest associated with restoration. NeoBiota 13: 43-60

An introduced bird competitor tips the balance against Hawaiian species - Science Daily

EVERGLADES MAMMAL DECLINES - Spring 2012

graph: drastic decline in sightings of live or road-killed mammals on roads in Everlgades National Park in the 2000s as compared to 1990s Severe Declines in Everglades Mammals Linked to Invasive Pythons, Researchers Find - Science Daily

Dorcas et al. (2012) Severe mammal declines coincide with proliferation of invasive Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Severe Declines in Everglades Mammals Linked to Pythons - USGS News Release

Pythons linked to Florida Everglades mammal decline - BBC News

PYTHON SALT TOLERANCE - Spring 2012

photo: python seen swimming in Florida Bay Hart et al. (2012)Experimentally derived salinity tolerance of hatchling Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) from the Everglades, Florida (USA). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 413:56-59

Salt Water Alone Unlikely to Halt Burmese Python Invasion - USGS News Release

Florida Python Invasion Could Spread - Discovery News

INVADER PERSONALITY - Winter 2011

Personality predicts success of invasive species - Live Science

Chapple DG, Simmonds SM, Wong BBM (2011) Can behavioral and personality traits influence the success of unintentional species introductions?. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, In Press.

Chapple DG, Simmonds SM, Wong BBM (2011) Know when to run, know when to hide: can behavioral differences explain the divergent invasion success of two sympatric lizards?. Ecology & Evolution 1(3):278-289.

BARRIER IMPACTS - Winter 2011

Vélez-Espino LA, McLaughlin RL, Jones ML, Pratt TC (2011) Demographic analysis of trade-offs with deliberate fragmentation of streams: Control of invasive species versus protection of native species. Biological Conservation 144(3):1068-1080.

LIONFISH MANAGEMENT - Fall 2011

Mumby PJ, Harborne AR, Brumbaugh DR (2011) Grouper as a natural biocontrol of invasive lionfish. PLoS One 6(6): e21510. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021510

Barbour AB, Allen MS, Frazer, TK, Sherman, KD (2011) Evaluating the potential efficacy of invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) removals. PLoS One 6(5): e19666. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019666

LAMPREY REPELLENT - Fall 2011

photo: invasive lampreys attached to native fishWagner CM, Stroud EM, Meckley TD (2011) A deathly odor suggests a new sustainable tool for controlling a costly invasive species. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 68(7) 1157-1160, 10.1139/f2011-072


BIG-BRAINED INVADERS SUCCESSFUL - Summer 2011

Amiel JJ, Tingley R, Shine R (2011) Smart moves: effects of relative brain size on establishment success of invasive amphibians and reptiles. PLoS
ONE 6(4): e18277. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0018277

Malaklov AA, Immler S, Gonzalez-Voyer A, Ronn J, Kolm N (2011) Brains and the city: big-brained passerine birds succeed in urban environments (258KB pdf). Biology Letters, published online in advance of print.

Sol D, Bacher S, Reader SM, Lefebvre L (2008) Brain size predicts the success of mammal species introduced into novel environments (184KB pdf). American Naturalist 172: S63-S71.

Sol D, Duncan RP, Blackburn TM, Cassey P, Lefebvre L (2005) Big brains, enhanced cognition, and response of birds to novel environments (332KB pdf). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102:5460-5465

WILD DOGS AND WILDLIFE - Summer 2011

Young JK, Olson KA, Reading RP, Amgalanbaatar S, Berger J (2011) Is wildlife going to the dogs? Impacts of feral and free-roaming dogs on wildlife populations. BioScience 61: 125–132.

Going to the Dogs: USU Ecologist Studies Feral Dog Effects on Wildlife - Utah State Today, 3Feb11

NON_NATIVE FROG ORIGINS - Spring 2011

greenhouse frog origins map

Heinicke MP, Diaz LM, Hedges SB (2011) Origins of invasive Florida frogs traced to Cuba (325KB pdf). Biology Letters. Published online in advance of print. 

Python cold tolerance - Winter 2010

Avery ML, Engeman RM, Keacher KL, Humphrey JS, Bruce WE, Mathies TC, Mauldin RE (2010) Cold weather and the potential range of invasive Burmese pythons (131 KB pdf). Biological Invasions 12:3649-3652.

Mazzotti FJ, Cherkiss MS, Hart KM, Snow RW, Rochford MR, Dorcas ME, Reed RN (2010) Cold-induced mortality of invasive Burmese pythons in south Florida (429 KB pdf). Biological Invasions Online First.

Dorcas ME, Willson JD, Gibbons JW (2010) Can invasive Burmese pythons inhabit temperate regions of the southeastern United States? (420 KB pdf) Biological Invasions Online First.

SEE ALSO: Burmese Python Range Expansion in the U.S.

STERILIZATION FOR ERADICATION - Fall 2010

da Silva AG, Kolokotronis S-O, Wharton D (2010) Modeling the eradication of invasive mammals using the sterile male technique (360KB pdf). Biological Invasions 12:751–759.

Tilapia / Sunfish Interactions - Summer 2010

Brooks WR, Jordan RC (2010) Enhanced interspecific territoriality and the invasion success of the spotted tilapia (Tilapia mariae) in South Florida. Biological Invasions 12:865–874.

INVASIVE TADPOLE TIMING - Spring 2010

Knight CM,  Parris MJ, and WHN Gutzke (2009) Influence of priority effects and pond location on invaded larval amphibian communities [Full text pdf] Biological Invasions 11: 1033-1044.

Smith KG (2005) Effects of nonindigenous tadpoles on native tadpoles in Florida: evidence of competition [Full text pdf] Biological Conservation 123: 433-441.

Burmese Python Range Expansion in the U.S. - Winter 2009

Rodda GH, Jarnevich CS, Reed RN (2011) Challenges in identifying sites climatically matched to the native ranges of animal invaders. PLOS One. 6(2): pp. 1-18. NEW PAPER!

Python Potential RangeRodda GH, CS Jarnevich, and RN Reed (2009) What parts of the US mainland are climatically suitable for invasive alien pythons spreading from Everglades National Park? [Full text pdf] Biological Invasions 11(2): 1387-3547.

 

Python Potential RangePyron RA, FT Burbrink, and TJ Guiher (2008) Claims of potential expansion throughout the U.S. by invasive python species are contradicted by ecological niche models. [Full text html] PLoS ONE 3(8): e2931. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002931  

 

Additional reading:

Barker DG, and TM Barker (2008) The distribution of the Burmese python, Python molurus bivittatus [Full text pdf] Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 43(3): 33-38.