Meet the lizard crews!

Pot-luck dinner with the two lizard crews! Photo credit – Matthew Lattanzio

While I was doing my work on black-chinned hummingbirds, I was fortunate to share the field station with two awesome research crews studying lizards. The first crew, consisting of Anthony Gilbert, a graduate student from Ohio University, and his field assistant Cassie Thompson, who recently finished her undergraduate at OU, are studying ornate tree lizard (below) color polymorphism (when individuals in a single species are colored differently) and climate change. The other crew is lead by Matthew Latanzio and Kortney Jaworski from Christopher Newport University who are studying the evolutionary ecology (how the interactions between animals and their environment shaped their evolutionary history) of ornate tree lizards and Yarrow’s spiny lizards (below).

The lizard crews in the field. Photo credit – Kortney Jaworski

For more information on either crew, check out Matthew’s website (here) and Anthony’s advisor’s website (here). I had a great time hanging out with them while I was doing my fieldwork and look forward to seeing them again in the future!

Here are some pictures of the lizards they are studying that I managed to take.

A slightly washed out picture of an ornate tree lizard displaying its hidden colors.

An example of how the ornate tree lizard can really blend into its surroundings.

Another view of a Yarrow’s spiny lizard

A Yarrow’s spiny lizard showing off its under-neck color.

Summer 2015 Field Season Update #1

The start of this blog also coincides with the start of my current field season. I am studying black-chinned hummingbirds at the Audubon Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch. I first need to say that this ranch is not open to the public, however if you are interested in visiting please contact the ranch staff (link). With that said, this place is amazing! It is a grassland littered with canyons and riparian areas (the land around running or dried up creeks and streams). Here are some pictures of the land and the different habitats I’m exploring.

I’ve been focusing on the canyons and riparian areas to find my hummingbirds. I usually find males perching on a bare tree top, keeping watch on their territories (left). However, many of the trees these males have been choosing are in some tough to reach spots, like along the ridges of long canyons. I’ve only found a few males so far, but as I learn the lay of the land and speak to bird experts in the area, I expect to have much more success. In addition to finding hummingbirds, I’m finding so many other animals, including several species of birds, a plethora of deer, many lizards and snakes, and some interesting insects. I’m very excited to continue to explore this area and do my work here as it is such a beautiful place and full of interesting creatures!