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Agriculture + Environment

a neighborhood damaged from storm
UF/IFAS supports Florida after Hurricanes Helene and Milton
Tuesday October 29, 2024
in the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton, UF/IFAS faculty and staff from across Florida provide assistance and support to their communities' farmers and residents 
A tegu lizard
Researchers’ new outreach strategy succeeds, sets blueprint for detecting invasive species in Florida
Monday October 28, 2024
University of Florida researchers are showcasing how a focused outreach initiative in Palm Beach County has led to a successful increase in reports of invasive reptiles in Florida. 
People working on a worksheet with shark teeth.
When paleontology meets AI, K-12 students find thrilling new ways to study shark fossils
Monday October 7, 2024
Sharks, on their own, are fascinating enough for Florida students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Add artificial intelligence to the study of these creatures and their fossilized teeth, and you get Shark AI – a program that is blending paleontology and cutting-edge technology in STEM curriculums statewide.  
A bloom on a Key Largo Tree Cactus.
First local extinction in the US due to sea level rise
Monday July 15, 2024
The United States has lost its only stand of the massive Key Largo tree cactus in what researchers believe is the first local extinction of a species caused by sea level rise in the country.
a Florida forest
Rapidly assessing hurricane impact in forests
Tuesday May 7, 2024
UF/IFAS researchers are using remote and AI technology to revolutionize the way we assess hurricane damage in forests.
A wompoo fruit-dove in Queensland, Australia
We’ve had bird evolution all wrong
Monday April 1, 2024
A frozen chunk of genome rewrites our understanding of the bird family tree.
forest managers in a forest with smoke
Wildfires increasing across eastern US, new study reveals
Monday December 18, 2023
An analysis of data spanning more than three decades uncovered a concerning trend
Scientist in field with strawberry crop
Scientists find ethyl vanillin in a UF/IFAS-bred strawberry: A key finding for food and beverage industry
Wednesday November 15, 2023
The aroma compound is synthesized in labs and one of the most widely used artificial flavors for foods, beverages and food supplements.
‘Invisible fence’ keeps cattle on ranch, helps protect environment
Wednesday October 18, 2023
UF/IFAS is helping cattle ranchers create invisible fences to keep cattle in with cell phone towers. This is the first project of its kind in the southeast.
white orchid hanging on tree
UF/IFAS professor emeritus among conservationists invited to show rare Ghost Orchid at prestigious Chelsea Flower Show
Tuesday May 16, 2023
Michael Kane, a world-renown Ghost Orchid conservationist, is part of a team that will show the unique plant at the invitation-only flower show, May 22-27 in England.
a sea urchin on a coral reef in the ocean
UF-led research gets help from NFL player, Air Force veteran to restock sea urchins on coral reef
Thursday March 30, 2023
Called the lawn mowers of the reefs, sea urchins can be very helpful in restoring these ecosystems. A UF-led study shows promise in urchin-restocking strategies.
close up of a mosquito on a person's finger
UF/IFAS study: new mosquito species reported in Florida
Wednesday March 22, 2023
Another new mosquito species has made its way across the tropics into Florida, making a permanent home in at least three counties.
A Burmese python close up with mouth open
Scouting for Burmese pythons in the Everglades
Monday February 20, 2023
  The University of Florida has partnered with several federal and state agencies on a large-scale python-removal project to protect the Everglades.  
damaged citrus trees following hurricane
Ag engineer to use AI to assess crop damage after tropical storms, hurricanes
Wednesday January 18, 2023
University of Florida scientists usher in future for growers by developing model using artificial intelligence technology to count damaged or dead crops following extreme weather events, such as Hurricane Ian.
Image of Cynthia Barnett
The best climate change reporting drives solutions
Thursday September 1, 2022
Environmental journalist Cynthia Barnett was at the forefront of climate reporting and has seen the field grow exponentially in recent years. In this episode, she explains why doomsday reporting is not the answer. Instead, she recommends a balance of wonder and warning, and options for what can be done.
An arctic lake with low water levels
As the climate crisis intensifies, lakes across the Arctic are vanishing
Monday August 29, 2022
A study led by UF environmental scientist Elizabeth Webb shows widespread patterns of loss, upending scientists’ previous projections.
A sea urchin in an aquarium.
UF research shows a step toward restoring sea urchins: ‘The lawnmowers of reefs’
Monday August 15, 2022
Coral reef ecosystems are severely threatened by pollution, disease, overharvesting and other factors. For thousands of years, long-spined sea urchins helped keep reefs intact. They eat seaweed, which can kill or seriously damage coral. Without coral, reefs suffer severe consequences, including diminished ability to support fish. 
A woman and a horse are trotting with lines mapping the movement.
UF/IFAS researchers will use AI to assess livestock mobility
Monday June 20, 2022
UF scientists want to assess livestock mobility faster and more accurately, ultimately helping farm animal health and production. To do so, they’ll use artificial intelligence to analyze high-definition video of the animals as they move.
Trees and tree limbs littered on a dying forest suffering from heat
Global team of scientists determine 'fingerprint' for how much heat, drought is too much for forests
Tuesday April 5, 2022
A new study, "Global field observations of tree die-off reveal hotter-drought fingerprint for Earth's forests," compiled a global database of the published locations of climate-induced forest die-off events, from 1970-2018, across 675 locations.
Yiannis Ampatzidis next to a drone
Scientists and farmers see ways to make AI useful to agriculture
Thursday March 17, 2022
In a groundbreaking, first-of-its kind event, university scientists, engineers, producers, government agencies and industry officials from throughout the South met at Auburn University to brainstorm ways to use artificial intelligence to help farmers.  
Tomatoes in several baskets
How researchers are improving the flavor of tomatoes
Monday March 7, 2022
In a newly published study, scientists showed that several compounds can be bred into modern tomatoes to improve their flavor. 
Several people stand among livestock at a well in an open field in Niger.
Research team to study climate change effects in West Africa
Monday February 28, 2022
The team aims to understand and explain the variations in responses to the effects of climate change in the region.
Scientists check research equipment on the shore
Living shorelines
Thursday February 4, 2021
The University of Florida has research centers on both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida. Living shorelines are just one way UF IFAS Solutions researchers and extension agents protect homes, habitats and livelihoods for the state, nation and world.
a great egret on a nest with chicks
New study on mercury contamination has global implications for wildlife conservation
Monday October 26, 2020
Mercury may make animals less likely to mate, suggesting that mercury and similar contaminants may impact animal reproduction more than previously thought.
monarch butterfly on a flowering plant
Want to help monarchs? Plant more than milkweed, study says
Monday October 19, 2020
A new study suggests that adding other flowering plants to the mix may help monarchs more than milkweed alone.
a coastal salt marsh which is surprisingly beautiful with spring green reeds and a wandering river.
Sea level rise, marsh crabs are reshaping salt marshes
Monday July 13, 2020
A recent study in PNAS found that sea level rise — combined with the activities of a native marsh crab — are causing salt marshes across the U.S. South Atlantic Coast to rapidly fracture and reorganize.
A close-up shot of a rare blue bee.
Florida’s rare blue bee rediscovered at Lake Wales Ridge
Thursday May 7, 2020
This spring, a Florida Museum of Natural History researcher rediscovered the metallic navy insects, a first step to conserving this understudied and imperiled species.
A small, black fish lies in a person's hand.
Fish switch: Identity of mystery invader in Florida waters corrected after 20 years
Wednesday January 8, 2020
Experts have mistaken the chanchita, Cichlasoma dimerus, for a look-alike invasive species, the black acara, in Florida for at least 20 years. Both species belong to the cichlid family, in which species can often be difficult to distinguish from one another.

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