Category: UF/IFAS

Palm trees. Español. Palmeras debajo de un cielo despejado.

Nov. 5: UF’s palm tree team brings science, solutions to South Florida at Palm Short Course in Davie and online

by Lourdes Mederos
May 4, 2026

Florida’s palm trees don’t just define the Sunshine State’s skylines. They are a cornerstone of the state’s environment and economy. Yet, pests, diseases and nutrient issues can make it tough to keep the many varieties healthy. To ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, Conservation, Crops, EVENTS, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Arborists, Conservation, Entomology And Nematology, Environmental Horticulture, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Growers, Horticultural Sciences, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Mica McMillan, News, Nutrients, Palm, Palm Disease, Palm Tree Short Course, Property Managers, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, University Of Florida
An asian swamp eel close up. Photo by USGS.

Be an invader detector: UF scientists call on public to help track elusive Asian Swamp Eels

by Lourdes Mederos
April 21, 2026

University of Florida researchers are urging South Floridians to help stop the spread of an invasive fish now secretly moving through canals, marshes and wetlands across the region’s most vulnerable environments. Visitors, residents, ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , Conservation, Invasive Species, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: 1-888-IVEGOT1, Archive, Asian Swamp Eel, Canals, Citizen Science Month, Conservation, CROC Docs, Fish, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Frank J. Mazzotti, Frank Mazzotti, Invasive Species, IVEGOT1 Mobile App, South Florida, Southeast Asia, UF/IFAS Wildlife Ecology And Conservation, USGS, Wetlands
Corey Callaghan during a bioblitz showing a toothpick grasshopper as other participants capture it for recording. UF/IFAS photo by Brittany Mason.

Intensity and innovation earn UF/IFAS scientist Early Career Fellow honor by Ecological Society of America

by Lourdes Mederos
April 21, 2026

Whether he’s submitting daily bird sightings on a citizen science website without missing a beat or racing the clock during a 24-hour biodiversity blitz, University of Florida scientist Corey Callaghan brings a distinct intensity to both ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, Conservation, Natural Resources, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife, Work & Life
Tags: Apps, Archive, BioBlitz, Biology, Citizen Science, Corey Callaghan, Crowdsource, Datasets, DeLuca Preserve, Early Career Fellow, EBird, Ecological Society Of America (ESA), Ecology, Extension, Global Change, Human-dominated Landscapes, Human-driven Environmental Change, INaturalist, Informatics, Observe Biodiversity, Peer-reviewed Publications, Policy, Quantitative Ecology, Research, Spatial Scales, Theory
Sendero peatonal del parque Welleby con árboles y bancas a lo largo de un estanque en el condado de Broward.

Study uses AI, citizen science to show perceptions of access to Broward County parks

by Lourdes Mederos
April 15, 2026

A new study from the University of Florida paired artificial intelligence and citizen science to measure whether parks in Broward County provide access and the same experiences across communities. Rather than focusing solely on where ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , Conservation, Health & Nutrition, Natural Resources, Recreation, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, , Water, Wildlife
Tags: #AI, Artificial Intelligence, Broward County Parks And Recreation, Citiizen Science, Dog Parks, Dog-friendly Parks, Green Space, Haojie Cao, Homogeneous Neighborhoods, Jiangxiao Qiu, Kid-friendly, Lakefront Park, Make America Beaur, Make America Beautiful Again Commission’s Mission, Parks, Playgrounds, Pool, Recreational, Reviews, Splash Pads, Urban Green Space, Urban Parks, Walking Paths
Demonstration of targeted application using Ecorobotix ARA Research Unit. Courtesy UF/IFAS Pawel Petelewicz

March 26: UF/IFAS 37th South Florida Turfgrass – Landscape Research and Expo Field Day set

by Lourdes Mederos
March 6, 2026

  Turf professionals will get a first look at the future of weed control and sustainable turf when the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) unveils new research and pioneering technologies at the ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, Conservation, Crops, EVENTS, Lawn, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agronomy, Archive, Artificial Intelligence, Athletic Field Managers, CEU, Commercial Applicators, Field Day, Golf, Golf Course Superintendents, Integrated Weed Management, Landscape Professionals, Lawns, Marco Schiavon, Pawel Petelewicz, Pest Control Operators, Sod Producers, Truf, Turf, Turfgrass, Turfgrass Managers, UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research Education Center, Weed Control, Weed Science, Weeds
Primer plano de varias anguilas de pantano asiáticas húmedas y viscosas entrelazadas sobre una superficie blanca. Sus cuerpos son largos, lisos y cilíndricos, con tonalidades marrones, amarillas y verde oscuro. La cabeza de una anguila es claramente visible cerca del centro.

Researchers create DNA detection tool to stop spread of invasive Asian swamp eels, bullseye snakeheads

by Lourdes Mederos
March 2, 2026

Highlights University of Florida researchers have developed a DNA-based test that detects invasive species using only the genetic traces left behind in water. The newly published breakthrough gives wildlife conservationists a powerful ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, , Invasive Species, Natural Resources, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Amphibian Decline, Aquatic Invasives, Archive, Asian Swamp Eel, Bahder Vector Ecology Lab, Brian Bahder, Bullseye Snakehead, Croc Docs Wildlife Research Lab, Crustacean Decline, DNA, Ecological Threat, EddMaps, EDNA, Environmental DNA, Everglades Restoration, Grant, Invasion Ecology, Invasive Species, IveGot1, Melissa Miller, National Invasive Species Awareness Week, SEEDIT, SEEDIT Grant, Sergio Balaguera-Reina, South Florida Water Management District, Support For Emerging Enterprise Development Integration Teams, U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers, UF IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Wildlife Conservationists
photo collage of six female scientists who belong to the UF Croc Docs - a wildlife conservation lab.

Meet the UF Croc Docs: Women leading wildlife conservation in the Everglades

by Lourdes Mederos
February 19, 2026

Highlights Women make up less than 30% of all scientists globally, a reminder of how persistent gender gaps remain in STEM fields, according to UNESCO. At the University of Florida’s Croc Docs Wildlife Research Lab , women represent ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , Conservation, Invasive Species, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: American Crocodile, Burmese Python, Crocodile, Drones, Everglades National Park, Florida Everglades, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Frank Mazzotti, GPS, Hawk, Innovation Tools, Innovative Solutions, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasive Species, Jen Brueggen, Melissa Miller, News, Radio Tracking, Snakes, Surveys, Tegu, Telemetry, UF Croc Docs, UF/IFAS, University Of Florida, University Of Florida's Croc Docs Wildlife Research Lab, Venetia Briggs-Gonzalez, Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Ecology And Conservation
Nine-armed Sea Star exhibiting clinical signs of SSWS during Lake Worth Cove outbreak. Credit by Alex Romar

Nine-armed Sea Stars dying in Atlantic waters: UF/IFAS scientists document first case of disease in Florida

by Lourdes Mederos
January 11, 2026

A disturbing scene met snorkelers in Palm Beach County’s coastal waters – sea stars (also known as starfish) with missing limbs, open wounds and bodies falling apart on the ocean floor. The condition known as Sea Star Wasting Disease ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Alexander Romer, Atlantic Waters, Curling Limbs, Densovirus, Eric Suarez, Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Frank Mazzotti, INaturalist, Lake Worth Cove, Lourdes Mederos, Marine, Melissa Miller, Nine-armed Sea Stars, Palm Beach County, Sea Star Wasting Disease, Southeaster Naturalist, Splitlure Frogfish, SSWS, Starfish, Starfish Wasting Disease, University Of Florida, Wildlife
This photo is a specimen shot of Cryptotermes mobydicki - a new termite species that is wood dwelling found in the rainforests of French Guiana.

New Moby Dick-like termite species discovered

by Lourdes Mederos
December 5, 2025

In the canopies of a South American rainforest, a tiny soldier termite has stunned a team of international scientists with its whale-like features. Cryptotermes mobydicki, the name given to the termite by the international research team ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Colombia, Cryptotermes, Cryptotermes Mobydicki, Department Of Entomology And Nematology, Discovery, Dominican Republic, Entomology, Evolutionary Story, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, French Guiana, Genus, Herman Melville, International Entomologists, Moby Dick, Neotropical, New Termite Species, News, Rainforest, Rudolf Scheffrahn, Soldier, Soldier Termite, South American Rainforest, Species, Sperm Whale, Termites, Trinidad, UF/IFAS, ZooKeys
Here Braham Dhillon is demonstrating a new web app called Robigus. He is a molecular plant pathologist at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center and a specialist in fungal pathogens of palms, woody plants and agricultural crops. His research program combines basic and applied science to better understand how these pathogens infect and spread. the app can help detect crop threats globally with the tap of a screen or keyboard.

Can Robigus be the new crop guardian? This app tracks plant diseases globally

by Lourdes Mederos
September 8, 2025

Named after the Roman god who once guarded wheat fields from blight, Robigus is the newest tech ally in the fight against plant diseases. Developed by a scientist at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Blog Community, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agriculture, App, Braham Dhillon, Cavendish Bananas, Crops, Disease Outbreaks, Farms, Fields, First Reports, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Fruit, Fungal Pathogen, Gardeners, Global, HiPerGator, Homeowners, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Molecular Plant Pathologist, News, Nursery, Palms, Plant Disease, Plant Pathology, Plants, Robigus, Roman God, Scientists, Tropical Race 4 Of Fusarium, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, University Of Florida, University Of Florida Supercomputer, Vegetable

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