Leapin' Lizards

Stonesoup Students Support USF Herpetology Lab in Lizard Study

For those interested in the nitty gritty:

Florida’s habitat is becoming fragmented due to the population increase.  This is causing endemic species (Florida only) animals to die off in large groups due to lack of housing, as it were.  This fragmentation is posing a threat to the Florida scrub lizard, Sceloporus wood, which is a candidate species for listing by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.  These lizards are specific to the Florida scrub which is characterized by a sand-pine scrub habitat (lots of hot sun and sand in wide open areas next to dense aging woods).  A sister species of lizards, the Fence lizard S. undulatus lives in an area of the forest characterized by a sandhill habitat.  This lizard covers distances from Mexico to North Carolina.  We’ve know this lizard has been hybridizing with our woodi for 30 year.  Now we are going back in to see how much.  A larger study through the University of South Florida’s Herpetology Lab is determining the exact parameters of each species environment and how genetically flexible they are in each other’s environment.  This linked with our study will determine how deeply the Fence lizard has invaded our scrub lizard’s genes and also provide solid evidence for forest management teams to keep biodiversity alive in Florida.  We are a hot spot for diverse species that are dwindling in response to ill-planned construction and deforestation.   Any empirical insight into the recent past of S. woodi, and its interactions with S. u. undulatus is pertinent to conservation biology and applied ecology.

For more information, contact Lorelei Straub at (386) 698-4595 or lorelei@stonesoupschool.org.  She is the brains behind this project and can spot a lizard a mile away!