{"id":223122,"date":"2026-04-08T08:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T08:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223122\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T08:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T08:36:13","slug":"uf-researchers-warn-of-asian-swamp-eels-tallahassee-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/223122\/","title":{"rendered":"UF Researchers Warn of Asian Swamp Eels \u2013 Tallahassee Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                        <img width=\"650\" height=\"257\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/university-florida_1057.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>                                            <\/p>\n<p>By: The News Service of Florida <\/p>\n<p>University of Florida researchers are asking South Florida residents for help against the spread of Asian swamp eels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese fish are difficult to find, and that\u2019s exactly why we need the public\u2019s help,\u201d Frank Mazzotti, a professor of wildlife ecology with the University of Florida\u2019s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences in Fort Lauderdale, said in a release.<\/p>\n<p>The eels, native to East and Southeast Asia, were first observed in the Florida Everglades in 2007, where scientists have raised concerns about their affect on native wildlife. Mazzotti noted evidence suggests the eels are responsible for some declines in crayfish and amphibians.<\/p>\n<p>The institute states the eels adapt well to South Florida\u2019s environment: they can breathe air, survive in low-oxygen conditions, and persist through wet and dry seasons by burrowing into mud.<\/p>\n<p>People who spot an \u201ceel-like fish\u201d in canals, wetlands or marshy areas are encouraged to\u00a0snap a photo and report the sighting to 1-888-IVEGOT1 (483-4681), visit\u00a0www.IVEGOT1.org, or use the IVEGOT1 mobile app.<\/p>\n<p>                        <img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775637373_522_2feb62a33afabb2a91d79ebaef0ef1d0e6240306aa2d5bd82b9d514a59736a98.jpeg\"  class=\"avatar avatar-80 photo\" height=\"80\" width=\"80\" decoding=\"async\"\/>                    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By: The News Service of Florida University of Florida researchers are asking South Florida residents for help against&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37498,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[232,234,233],"class_list":["post-223122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee","tag-tallahassee-headlines","tag-tallahassee-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}