Research Project Example Summaries

Seat turtle

St. Vincent NWR is uniquely suited for wildlife and botanical research as a biodiverse and unpopulated area.  We frequently serve as an outdoor lab for research projects. Some examples below

  • On-going research project in cooperation with NOAA, NERR, and Delaware State University. Study of first landfall of neotropical migratory birds on Gulf barrier islands during spring northward migration from South America.
  • Proposed research on endangered sea turtles in conjunction with Florida State University to complement current work on the Refuge.
  • Research to determine and catalog the extent of invasive plant infestation on the Refuge.
  • Comparative research on venomous snakes to determine if their specific dietary limitations (prey) drive evolutionary response and changes to their venom composition.
  • Gulf Coast Box Turtle Study: Cooperative longitudinal research study of the Gulf Coast box turtle (one of six extant subspecies of the North American box turtle) to establish a baseline for population numbers and better understand the effect of habitat changes and land cover disturbances (such as prescribed burns) on the population.
  • Gulf Coast Lupine: Researchers from Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales FL collected seeds from the Lupinus westianus (Gulf coast lupine) to increase species knowledge and to secure this species into the National Collection for preservation, as it is currently underrepresented.  This collection serves as a buffer against extinction and local population loss.
  • Florida Breeding Bird Atlas: Florida Ornithological Society conducts visual and audio surveys to catalog the breeding species present on the refuge.  The five-year project was completed and published in 2017 as part of the second edition of the Breeding Bird Atlas for the state of Florida.