"Save Your Logo" Tracking the Movements of Everglades Crocodiles and Alligators
Lacoste, the French clothing company with the crocodile logo, is supporting some of our work in the Everglades via "Save Your Logo," a nonprofit program that coordinates corporate funding for wildlife conservation and research. This project complements our ongoing crocodile and alligator monitoring program which examines, among other things, patterns of movement and habitat use in Everglades National Park estuaries.
We are outfitting crocodiles and alligators with Satellite/VHF or GPS/VHF telemetry units, which provide daily locations and transmit them to the Argos satellite. We download these location data into a geographic information system to create the interactive map below. Over the course of this project we will add environmental information, such as water levels and salinity, so users can track the movements of animals in relation to environmental conditions. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is expected to improve hydrological conditions and salinity to more natural conditions, which will benefit alligators, crocodiles, and their habitats. Over time, this spatial analysis will help us better understand how crocodiles and alligators are responding to Everglades restoration.
Interactive Map
Click a crocodile or alligator icon for more information on the animal including a photo, brief description, and the path it has traveled. Location points are plotted approximately twice a week and color coded by month to illustrate long-term movements. Mouse over location points to show the animal's name and the date it was at that location. Mouse over camera icons for habitat photos that provide a visual description of the area.
Images
Press
NBC Miami: From Paris to the Everglades, Lacoste Protects Logo
AFP: US scientists recruit crocodiles to save wetlands
Videos of the Save Your Logo, Lacoste & University of Florida press conference (YouTube)
