{"id":17229,"date":"2025-12-17T11:40:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/?p=17229"},"modified":"2025-12-17T11:44:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T16:44:26","slug":"new-research-highlights-an-unexpected-role-for-invasive-burmese-pythons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/new-research-highlights-an-unexpected-role-for-invasive-burmese-pythons\/","title":{"rendered":"New research highlights an unexpected role for invasive Burmese pythons\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A newly published scientific study reveals that invasive Burmese pythons do more than threaten native wildlife in South Florida; they may also be altering how plants spread across the landscape.\u00a0Biologists Ian Bartoszek and Ian Easterling on the\u00a0Conservancy of Southwest Florida\u2019s python team\u00a0are\u00a0pleased\u00a0to have contributed field data to\u00a0\u201cDouble agents: invasive Burmese pythons and Argentine black and white\u00a0tegus as potential seed dispersers in South Florida,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0published in the\u00a0Journal of Zoology<\/em>\u00a0in 2025.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Led by researcher Adrian Figueroa and\u00a0additional\u00a0collaborators from the University of Florida and the U.S. Geological Survey, the study investigated seed dispersal caused by the two invasive reptiles.\u00a0For years, the Conservancy team has collected stomach and digestive-tract contents from\u00a0Burmese\u00a0pythons,\u00a0removed through ongoing management efforts in the Greater\u00a0Western\u00a0Everglades. Those samples helped document 25 different seed types inside pythons, including native Everglades species such as cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto<\/em>) and creeping cucumber (Melothria\u00a0pendula<\/em>).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings suggest these large predators may act as unintentional \u201csecondary seed dispersers.\u201d When pythons eat mammals and birds that previously consumed fruit, some seeds can survive digestion and later be deposited in new areas. While only germination trials can confirm dispersal success, a Conservancy-supported test of Sabal palmetto<\/em> seeds showed nearly 40% germination after passage through a python\u2019s gut, indicating dispersal is likely occurring, according to the research.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pythons have already driven severe declines in many native mammals that help disperse seeds. Now, their own movements may also be moving seeds across the landscape, including invasive plants that can take hold in sensitive habitats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As this research shows, invasive species reshape ecosystems in ways that are not always obvious. By contributing critical field data, the Conservancy is helping scientists understand these impacts, informing management strategies to better protect the wildlife and fragile habitats of Southwest Florida. If you want to see other scientific papers the Conservancy has contributed to regarding invasive species, please click here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A newly published scientific study reveals that invasive Burmese pythons do more than threaten native wildlife in South Florida; they may also be altering how plants spread across the landscape.\u00a0Biologists…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":16226,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17229"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17231,"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17229\/revisions\/17231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conservancy.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}