A 2024 study by Florida scientists revealed a promising new way to detect invasive snakes without having to actually find or capture them. Researchers found that DNA left behind by snakes in water and soil can be collected and analyzed, potentially giving wildlife managers a faster way to identify elusive species such as Burmese pythons.
Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have developed a test that can detect traces of invasive snakes from environmental DNA, or eDNA, collected from water and soil. The method can identify four invasive snake species from a single sample.
