ANNUAL REPORT JANUARY – DECEMBER 2017 THE 2017 ANNUAL REPORT IS DEDICATED TO Nick Wiley As former Executive Director of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Nick Wiley has been a long-term supporter and friend of the Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Nick and former Florida Coop Unit Leader Franklin Percival met when Nick was in graduate school. It had to do with a Brittany spaniel, the bloodline of which Nick still maintains. There must be a story there (ask both of them, then compare notes…). Later Nick played a role in the formative years of the Florida Alligator Research Team (F.A.R.T), which included the Coop Unit. He was a constant colleague, cooperator, and supporter of both the Florida and national Unit program. His personal engagement in a variety of Unit and FWC collaborative projects was profound: he helped better the alligator, Objective Based Vegetative Management, bobwhite quail, and snail kite projects. Nick excitedly and productively involved himself in Percival's graduate course on administrative techniques. He was instrumental in making our annual meeting’s poster sessions successful by competing for beverage tickets against Jack Payne, and together they always made the students very comfortable interacting with top administrators. The students and our cooperators were lucky. The Unit will miss his leadership and commitment as FWC Executive Director, member of our Coordinating Committee, and friend. Our Unit caps are tipped to you, Nick, in your new leadership position in Ducks Unlimited. i COOPERATING AGENCIES FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE ii RESEARCH MISSION STATEMENT 2017 Photo Contest Winner, Sarah Dudek, MS student, “Trust Your Parents” The mission of the Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is to conduct detailed investigations of wetlands and their component fish and wildlife resources, emphasizing the linkages with both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. This charge will include research at a range of levels including populations, community, and ecosystems, and will emphasize the interaction of biological populations with features of their habitat, both natural and those impacted by human activities. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS THE 2017 ANNUAL REPORT IS DEDICATED TO ...................................................................................... i COOPERATING AGENCIES ................................................................................................................... ii RESEARCH MISSION STATEMENT .......................................................................................................iii RESEARCH UNIT INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 3 UNIT COORDINATING COMMITTEE .................................................................................................... 4 BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILES OF UNIT SCIENTISTS ................................................................................... 4 COOPERATIVE UNIT PERSONNEL ........................................................................................................ 4 COOPERATORS .................................................................................................................................. 5 RESEARCH PERSONNEL ...................................................................................................................... 6 CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS .......................................................................................................... 8 Productivity of American Oystercatchers Nesting on Spoil Islands ................................................................ 8 Impacts of Translocation on a Cooperatively Breeding Bird in the Ocala National Forest ............................... 8 Demographic, Movement and Habitat of the Endangered Snail Kite in Response to Operational Plans in Water Conservation Area 3A ....................................................................................................................... 9 Survival, Habitat Use, and Distribution of Two Federally-listed Shorebird Species in Florida ....................... 10 Green Turtle Spatial Distribution, Abundance and Habitat Models on Florida’s Nature Coast ...................... 10 Population Ecology of the Diamondback Terrapin in the Big Bend Region of Florida ................................... 11 A Nutritional Ecology Study of Dermatemys mawii, a Critically Endangered Species of Freshwater Turtle Endemic to Central America ...................................................................................................................... 11 The Path Most Travelled: Leatherback and Cheloniid Sea Turtle Migration Movements and Foraging Areas 12 Major Advisor: Ray Carthy ........................................................................................................................ 12 The Long-term Spatiotemporal Patterns, Nesting Success and Hatching Success of Marine Turtles on an Undeveloped Beach in Northeast Florida ................................................................................................... 13 Effects of Coastal Dynamics and Climate on Loggerhead Turtle Nest Success and Management: An Assessment of Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches in St. John’s County Florida ...................................................... 14 Foraging Ecology and Diet of the Florida Bonneted Bat .............................................................................. 14 Integration, Validation, and Fusion of Small Unmanned Aircraft System Multimodal Sensor Data in Support of USGS .................................................................................................................................................... 15 Burmese Pythons in the Greater Everglades: Movement, Habitat Use, Impacts and Control Tools .............. 16 Experiential Learning Through Wildlife research and Management of Invasive Reptiles .............................. 16 Integrating Science and Management for Optimal Prevention and Control of Aquatic Invasive species in the Everglades ................................................................................................................................................ 17 Assessing Impact of Invasive Pythons on gopher tortoises in Florida .......................................................... 17 Changes in Mammal Communities Across the Greater Everglades .............................................................. 18 Evaluating Effectiveness of Using an Integrated Outreach and Trapping Program to Remove Invasive Wildlife in South Florida ........................................................................................................................................ 18 1 Using Models to Assess Gulf Sturgeon Population Viability ........................................................................ 19 Ecology, Physiology & Control of Invasive Reptiles in Florida ...................................................................... 19 Doris Duke Scholars Program .................................................................................................................... 20 PUBLICATIONS ..................................................................................................................................21 Peer-Reviewed Publications ...................................................................................................................... 21 Theses/Dissertations ................................................................................................................................ 22 PRESENTATIONS ...............................................................................................................................22 HONORS AND AWARDS ....................................................................................................................24 COMPLETED PROJECTS......................................................................................................................24 2 FLORIDA COOPERATIVE FISH AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH UNIT INTRODUCTION The Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit was established in 1979 as one of the first combined units. The purpose of the Florida Unit is to provide for active cooperation in the advancement, organization, and conduct of scholarly research and training in the field of fish and wildlife sciences, principally through graduate education and research at the University of Florida. The Florida Unit has the mission to study wetland ecosystems within the state. Florida is a low relief, sub-tropical peninsula that is ecologically fragile. Though abundant, Florida’s water resources are under increasing pressure from a burgeoning human population. Domestic, recreational, and development needs threaten Florida’s water / wetland resources. In following its program directive, the Florida Unit has developed a research program that addresses management issues with approaches spanning species to ecosystem perspectives. Specifically, this Unit conducts detailed investigations of aquatic-terrestrial ecosystem interfaces and their component fish and wildlife resources. Between 1979 and 2017, over 358 projects totaling more than $57 million were funded through the Unit. These projects covered a wide variety of fish, wildlife, and ecosystem subjects and have involved over 50 line, affiliate,