Category: SFYL Hot Topic

Invasive apple snail eggs grow a few inches above the water. The LSU AgCenter Mississippi River Invasive Species Consortium will be a regional hub for research and outreach on detecting, identifying and managing invasive and non-native pest species like the apple snail. LSU AgCenter file photo

Academic invasion science innovations protect ecosystems, agriculture in U.S. South

by Lourdes Mederos
September 30, 2026

From flesh-eating screwworm flies threatening livestock and wildlife to spotted lanternflies swarming cities, mealybugs damaging crops, invasive plants choking waterways and Burmese pythons disrupting native ecosystems, invasive species are ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Invasive Species, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Apple Sails, Asian Longhorned Tick, Invasion Science Institute, Invasive Species, New World Screwworm, Pasture Mealybug, Rice Stink Bug, Top News, Yellow-legged Hornet
Primer plano de una pitón sostenida, con la lengua fuera.

Un estudio de la UF combina información demográfica con aprendizaje automático para localizar pitones birmanas

by Luz Bahder
September 30, 2026

Creado por Lourdes Mederos, gerente de relaciones públicas en español para el Departamento de Comunicaciones de UF/IFAS. A la hora de remover pitones birmanas, no todas las serpientes son iguales. Un nuevo estudio llevado a cabo por ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Invasive Species, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Alex Romer, CROC Docs, Espanol, Melissa Miller, Pitones Birmanas, Remocion De Pitones, Sergio Balaguera-Reina, Spanish
A close-up view of a female Burmese python displaying defensively while guarding her clutch of eggs at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center in Davie, Florida. · Photo Credit: Photo by Alex Romer

UF study combines demographic information with machine learning to find the Burmese pythons that matter most

by Lourdes Mederos
September 28, 2026

When it comes to removing Burmese pythons, one snake does not equal another. A new study by researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) offers agencies a tool to identify pythons with ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Invasive Species, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Burmese Python, Croc Docs Wildlife Research Lab, Everglades, Invasive Species, Python Elimination Program, South Florida Water Management District, UF/IFAS Wildlife Ecology And Conservation
Prescribed fire at the West Florida Research and Education Center forest, with a cogongrass patch embedded within a matrix of native habitat. Photo Credit – Photo by Alan Ivory UF/IFAS

What is helping some Florida wildfires burn hotter, spread faster?

by Lourdes Mederos
September 23, 2026

What is helping some Florida wildfires burn hotter and spread farther? A University of Florida study suggests cogongrass, an invasive grass that has spread across much of Florida and the Southeast United States, is adding more fuel to the ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Climate, Cogongrass, Florida Wildlifes, Invasive Species, News, Prescribed Fires, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatic Sciences, Wildfires
Invasive daisy fleabane (Erigeron annuus) growing out of cracks in the pavement in a highly urbanized area of Zagreb, Croatia. Photo by S. Luke Flory.

Cities worldwide may be the ultimate training grounds for invasive species

by Lourdes Mederos
September 21, 2026

With city growth and urban sprawl, could these changing landscapes be giving invasive species a competitive edge? Scientists at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) say the answer may be yes, ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Home Landscapes, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Climate Change, Environment, Invasive Species, Luke Flory, Top News, UF/IFAS, University Of Florida Invasion Science Institute, Urban Sprawl
Close up cart in super market department store shopping. Adobe photo credit by Jenwit.

Does a chronic disease diagnosis change what you put in your grocery cart?

by Lourdes Mederos
September 17, 2026

When someone is diagnosed with a chronic illness such as diabetes or heart disease, one of the recommendations is to often change what they eat. Changing what they add to their grocery cart will be a critical part of managing their health, ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Home Management, Money Matters, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Chronic Illness, Diabetes, Dietary Change, Food And Resource Economics, Food Is Medicine, Food Prices, News, UF/IFAS, Usda
Dr. Jorge E. Pena, professor of entomology and nematology and PhD. student Daniel Carrillo, UF's Tropical Research and Education Center, Homestead, FL evaluating infestations of the red palm mite. 2010 Annual Research Report Photo.

UF launches initiative to support rapid-response research when invasive pests threaten Florida agriculture

by Lourdes Mederos
September 14, 2026

When a new invasive pest or plant disease appears, scientists have a small window of opportunity to address the threat before it spreads and becomes a much larger problem, potentially devastating Florida's agriculture, nursery industries, natural ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, Crops, Events, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS
Tags: Agriculture, Challenge 250, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Nursery, One Night In The Tropics, Rapid-response, Safeguard Ecosystems, Top News, UF/IFAS Tropical Research And Education Center
Gloved hands labeling petri dishes. UF/IFAS photo by Tyler Jones

Are food recalls becoming more common? UF food expert puts recalls into perspective

by Lourdes Mederos
September 10, 2026

Recent recalls involving eggs and salmonella-linked jalapeños, along with investigations into cyclospora and other produce-related illnesses have fueled concerns by consumers that food recalls are becoming more frequent. While the steady ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, Food Safety, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Cyclospora, Featured, Food Recalls, Food Safety, Food Supply, Foodborne Pathogens, Keith Schneider, News, Outbreak, Salmonella
11. The margined calligrapher (Toxomerus marginatus) did not shift its activity timing in relation to human modification. 12. Photo Credit – Corey T. Callaghan

Pollinators keep a later calendar in human-modified landscapes — A UF study explains the phenomenon

by Lourdes Mederos
September 9, 2026

Human development may be changing more than where pollinators live — it may also be changing when they are active. University of Florida researchers at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) found that pollinator ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, , Community Volunteers, Conservation, Forests, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Citizen Science, Conservation, Ecology, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Human Development, INaturalist, Nature, Pollinators, Special Topics, UF/IFAS
Dr. Lawrence Reeves, inspecting a bag of mosquitoes collected with an aspirator (essentially a vacuum for mosquitoes) from boulders at Cochise Stronghold, Dragoon Mountains, Cochise Co., Arizona. 15. Photo Credit: Photo: Dan Killingsworth

Mosquito species known only from Mexico recorded in U.S. for first time

by Lourdes Mederos
September 8, 2026

While most people may associate mosquitoes with Florida’s swamps, Arizona’s deserts and mountains are also home to a surprising variety of mosquito species. A University of Florida mosquito scientist has documented one of those species ... READ MORE

Category: Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Florida, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, Invasive Species, Lawrence Reeves, Mosquito, Mosquito Diversity, Mosquito-borne Disease, Public Health, Top News

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