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Who’s hunting the black widow spider? Their brown widow relatives, research shows
Brown widow spiders are seeking out and killing their black widow relatives, a surprising twist in the natural relationship between species of spiders known for their venomous bites, according to a new study by USF researchers.
March 13, 2023Research and Innovation
Marine biology student helps rescue distressed manatee in Bayboro Harbor
Kierstyn Benjamin shares her story of how she noticed a small, distressed manatee in Bayboro Harboro and acted quickly, playing a major part in rescuing the animal right near campus.
January 26, 2023Campus News
Fall graduate stayed on campus to help others evacuate before Hurricane Ian
While pursuing dual degrees in Biology and Health Sciences, producing a podcast on race and equity and working as a resident assistant (RA), Alexia Castellon was also worrying about her family in Fort Myers, who evacuated to a shelter during Hurricane Ian.
December 6, 2022Campus News
Biology professor who made midlife career change gives $1 million estate gift to USF St. Petersburg campus
Deby Cassill credits the USF St. Petersburg campus with giving her the opportunity to explore her passion for science, trading in a nearly 20-year career in health care to become a biology professor. Now she is providing the institution with a $1 million estate gift to aid the next generation of aspiring biologists.
October 12, 2022Campus News, Research and Innovation
USF professor discovers new species while part of team studying impact of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico
Associate Professor Heather Judkins will continue her studies of cephalopods, such as octopus and squid, on July 26 as part of a team of scientists aboard the R/V Point Sur for a 12-day research cruise around the Gulf of Mexico. The group is studying the long-term effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
July 20, 2022Research and Innovation
USF St. Petersburg campus faculty among the top two percent of researchers worldwide
A study by Stanford University placed four faculty members from USF’s St. Petersburg campus among the top 2 percent of scientists in the world.
February 25, 2022Research and Innovation
USF St. Petersburg campus sets record with five National Merit Scholars
For the fall 2021 semester, the University of South Florida enrolled 62 National Merit Scholars, the highest numbers ever for an incoming class.
August 31, 2021Campus News
New book combines current research with classic studies to highlight reptiles secret social lives
The cold-blooded, scaly creatures are often thought of as solitary, uncaring or asocial. In reality, experts believe they communicate extensively with one another and hunt, feed, court, mate, nest and hatch in groups.
August 9, 2021Research and Innovation
New native landscaping brings monarch butterflies to campus
New landscaping featuring native Florida plants lured a host of unique visitors to campus: monarch butterflies. In caterpillar form, nearly 60 individuals of this imperiled species appeared one morning outside of the Peter Rudy Wallace building, attracted by milkweed planted by the groundskeeping crew at USF’s St. Petersburg campus.
April 22, 2021Sustainability
Finding hope for Florida's vanishing bird
In “The Florida Scrub Jay: Field Notes of a Vanishing Bird,” USF St. Petersburg campus Veterinarian and Journalism Professor Mark Walters traveled the state to report on the natural history and historic decline of this once prosperous species, while documenting efforts to stave off extinction.
April 19, 2021Research and Innovation
Not all in one basket: Loggerhead sea turtles lay eggs in multiple locations to improve reproductive success
Although loggerhead sea turtles return to the same beach where they hatched to lay their eggs, a new study by a USF professor finds individual females lay numerous clutches of eggs in locations miles apart from each other to increase the chance that some of their offspring will survive.
January 28, 2021Research and Innovation
Invasive in the U.S., lifesaver Down Under
Sean Doody, assistant professor and graduate director of integrative biology at the USF St. Petersburg campus, discovered that while a related species is considered invasive in the United States, in Australia, small animal communities rely on the monitor lizards’ burrow system, called a warren, using it as a habitat, a place to forage for food and nesting.
January 5, 2021Research and Innovation