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The spread of invasive species is a global problem of major ecological and economic concern. Landscape level assessment of invasive spread is critical, but remote sensing ( RS) analyses are often complicated by the spectral similarity of species and the need to balance spatial resolution with data storage and analysis complexity. One example is the ridge and slough landscape ( RSL) of the Florida Everglades, where inflowing nutrients have facilitated large-scale cattail invasions. Hand delineation of aerial imagery has been successful in mapping cattail spread, but this technique requires considerable time and effort. Computerized classification of medium-resolution imagery would increase the ability of scientists to provide up-to-date data for water management decisions. Advances in RS technologies have created opportunities that were not previously available in landscapes such as the RSL-to automatically classify sawgrass and cattail communities with medium-resolution satellite imagery using knowledge of the invasion ecology of cattail and landscape context. We developed a computer-classification technique that provided measure of cattail expansion that matched ground-truthed data and show an increase in cattail area (similar to previous estimates), but a reduction in the rate of expansion over time. Although this technique can miss small patches of plants that might indicated new invasions, its rapid mapping can improve tracking of invasion fronts in the Everglades and other landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Camera traps have increased our knowledge of animal distribution, activity, and behavior, but they are rarely used for small mammal research. This is likely because there are few techniques to that allow for species identification, reduce disturbance of bait from non-target animals (e.g., raccoon [ Procyon lotor]), and that can be used in all environments. In this paper we present a small mammal camera-trapping methodology, the Hunt trap, which was designed to 1) work in tidal environments, 2) eliminate capture myopathy, 3) allow for successful identification of small mammal species, and 4) allow for continued trapping after disturbance by non-target species. We tested the Hunt trap in the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, USA, during February 2012 to February 2013. Live traps are still the best option when individuals must be physically captured for marking, radiotagging, demographic studies, or physiological assessments. However, if such data are not required, the Hunt trap design is an excellent technique to monitor species diversity, community composition, habitat selection, and distribution with efficiency and minimal effort. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study for the evaluation of body condition indices for the American alligator. Topics discussed include effects of landscape and changes in hydrology on alligators; understanding the biological significance of the ANOVA results; and difference in the water management units for the condition of alligators.

Defining success targets in restoration and how social values affect them are two commonly discussed issues in restoration today. We believe that how success is commonly defined—with vague terms such as “healthy ecosystem” or cited as a return to a previous, historic state—needs to be reevaluated. With the increasing number of novel ecosystems, there is an increasing conflict between the ecosystem concept, social values, and restoration. This arises from the fact that ecosystems are defined by the values of the scientists describing them, necessarily constraining the ecosystem to a generally static concept. It is not directly the concept, but how it is perceived through our filter of social values that represses the creativity and innovation needed in restoration today. Within restoration, we feel that the ecosystem concept does a disservice by ignoring the increasing number of novel systems, and that hinders real progress in a time when hesitation can be costly. To best illustrate this, we offer the example of restoration of the Florida Everglades and how it has become a novel system in pattern and process. We suggest renaming the Everglades “The Semiglades” in hopes of opening a dialog to expose social/ecosystem biases and include novel landscapes in management and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]