The introduction and proliferation of species outside their historical ranges is recognized as a major threat to biological diversity. The problem of “invasive species” has become well known outside the scientific community, although many people are hard-pressed to identify even the most conspicuous invasive species in their area. For example, most people I talk to [...]

I talk a lot about anoles in this blog, especially the species found in Florida. A few weeks ago I posted some pictures and commentary on the anoles of Puerto Rico, but I haven’t had a chance to show you the impressive diversity of anoles that live in South Florida. There is only one native [...]

Question: If you wanted to see as many North American bird species as possible, and you could visit just one county in the United States to do it, where would you go? Would you choose a county that shares a border with Mexico? These counties contain well-known North American bird “hotspots,” places that birders go [...]

The Biscayne National Park BioBlitz, a 24-hour species inventory run jointly by the National Geographic Society and National Park Service, ran from noon on Friday to noon on Saturday. The BioBlitz occurs at a different national park each year, and this year I just happened to be in the right place at the right time [...]