Burmese Python Research & Removal | Ian Bartoszek

Ian Bartoszek is a Wildlife Biologist and the Science Project Manager within the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s Environmental Science Department where he has worked for the past 20 years. He has extensive field experience within the Greater Everglades ecosystem and has conducted biological monitoring research for the Picayune Strand Restoration Project under the comprehensive Everglades restoration plan since 2001. Bartoszek served as the invasive animal lead for the Southwest Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area. He is currently the project manager on a long-term collaborative radio-telemetry research project tracking Burmese pythons. His team has captured and removed over 20,000 pounds of python from southwestern Florida. First observed in Everglades National Park in 1979, Burmese pythons have become an established apex predator across the Greater Everglades ecosystem. They are thought to be responsible for a 90% decline in native mammal populations across portions of their established range. Read more about our Burmese python work: https://www.conservancy.org/our-work/science/ ----- Other Burmese python videos: Pythons in Paradise: A President's perspective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pyPn8Uq_l4 Necropsy of Burmese python: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFtri02DH5E ----- Python Project Collaborators Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve https://rookerybay.org/ Collier Seminole State Park https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/collier-seminole-state-park South Florida Water Management District https://www.sfwmd.gov/ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission https://myfwc.com/ United States Geological Survey https://www.usgs.gov/ US Fish and Wildlife Service https://www.fws.gov/ Big Cypress National Preserve https://www.nps.gov/bicy/index.htm University of Florida https://www.ufl.edu/ Florida Gulf Coast University https://www.fgcu.edu/ James Madison University https://www.jmu.edu/ Athens State University https://www.athens.edu/ Southwest Florida Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area https://www.floridainvasives.org/southwest/ Naples Zoo https://www.napleszoo.org/ ----- I've Got 1 App: Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ivegot1/id381326170 Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bugwood.ivegot1&hl=en_US&gl=US ----- Thank you to our Evenings at the Conservancy sponsors - Vi at Bentley Village and Collins Vision. Vi at Bentley Village: https://www.viliving.com/locations/fl/naples-bentley-village Collins Vision: https://collinsvision.com/ ----- CHAPTERS 0:00 - Introduction 0:35 - Basic Information 1:43 - Project History 4:15 - Research Discoveries 6:25 - Removal 7:53 - 2021 Capture Season 11:40 - Impacts on Wildlife 12:35 - Where do We Go From Here? 13:29 - Collaboration 14:45 - What Can You Do?