FLORIDA – Researchers at the University of Florida have successfully developed a new outreach strategy to enable more accurate reporting of invasive species across the state.
The outreach strategy was created to address the growing threat and elusive nature of reptiles such as the Nile monitors and Argentine black-and-white-tegus in Palm Beach County.
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According to UF, its analysts recently deployed a “focused outreach initiative” in Palm Beach County, which led to an increase in reports of invasive species in Florida, including 55 reported sightings of Nile monitors and Argentine black-and-white tegus in Palm Beach County and the surrounding area, with 32 of the reports directly attributed to UF/IFAS’ outreach.
“When species are rare and hard to find, it helps to get a lot of eyes looking for them. Targeted outreach does that,” said Frank Mazzotti, professor of wildlife ecology and lead author of the study. “Community involvement not only proves to help us find invasive species but provides opportunities to increase awareness as well.”
From 2018 to 2020, the project’s targeted outreach efforts reached over 112,000 people and households through various methods including in-person, online and virtually.
“We learned valuable lessons regarding the effectiveness of different targeted outreach methods for detection of invasive wildlife,” said Mazzotti. “These methods can be replicated in other locations with different target species, which could lead to an increase in local understanding of the status and range of invasive species in Florida, and ultimately improved management and monitoring programs.”
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Overall, UF said researchers engaged 53,657 people on social media, presented webinars to 229 individuals, sent email newsletters to 34,350 recipients, conducted an online survey with 520 participants, and potentially reached up to 20,000 people through print media. Data gathered by the project showed that newspapers brought in the most reports.
The findings are documented in the Scientific Reports.
