Research Grant Funded in the Biological Sciences Department

United States Geological Survey (USGS) Cooperative Agreement Award

Noonburg Poster Dr. Erik Noonburg was awarded a cooperative agreement totaling $34,989 from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for his project entitled "Assessment of Small Mammal Demographics in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem." This mark-recapture ecological study will examine native rodent populations in the Everglades. The three focal species (Marsh rice rats, Hispid cotton rats, and Cotton mice) are common prey for invasive Burmese pythons. However, unlike other Everglades mammals, the rodent populations don’t appear to be collapsing in response to the invasion. The goal of the project is to estimate demographic parameters and habitat associations that will permit rodent population projections as the pythons spread.