Science Features

Science Features are a great way to find out about the science activities conducted at the FORT both in the past and today. Written in plain English, science features highlight the exciting work conducted everyday by FORT Scientists.

Snakes in the Wrong Places: Gordon Rodda’s Career in Invasive Species Research

When USGS research zoologist Gordon G. Rodda was a graduate student at Cornell University studying behavioral biology of alligators —or later, completing a post-doc at the Smithsonian Institute studying the social behavior of green iguanas in Venezuela or following that, as a statistics and sociobiology instructor at the University of Tennessee—he did not foresee that his professional future was in snakes. Lots of snakes, and in places they don’t belong.

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Giant Constrictor Snakes in Florida: A Sizable Research Challenge

USGS research scientists Robert Reed and Gordon Rodda are investigating the ecology and control of giant constrictors in Florida. These snakes constitute an exceptional threat to the integrity of native ecosystems in Florida and similar U.S. environments in which they could thrive. This Web feature describes the problems associated with non-native, giant constrictor snakes (anacondas, pythons, and the boa constrictor) and research being conducted by the to help address the issue.

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