by Whiting | Nov 4, 2019 | Conservation, Dispatches from the field, Ecology, Lab news, Lizard Lab adventures
Note, this field work formed the basis for Angela’s Masters thesis. By Angela Simms I wasn’t sure what to expect on the first night searching for the Sulawesi Forest Turtle. As little as 30 minutes into the stream walk, our local guide spots a large male perched...
by Whiting | Oct 18, 2018 | Cognition, Conservation, Podarcis, Publications
Check out our new paper on social learning in the Italian wall lizard, Podarcis sicula. This work formed part of Isabel Damas’ PhD thesis, and it was a huge effort! The question of what makes an invasive species successful compared to other species, that may fail to...
by Whiting | Jun 18, 2015 | Cane toads, Conservation
Scientists (including Lizard Lab associate Jonno Webb) have been trying to ameliorate the impact of toxic cane toads on the threatened northern quoll. They have been doing this using taste aversion learning, where quolls are fed nausea-inducing cane toad sausages from...
by Whiting | Jul 9, 2013 | China field work, Conservation, Dispatches from the field, Habitat use, Lizard Lab adventures, Phrynocephalus, Toad-headed agamas
We have just recently finished working on a particularly interesting lizard: the toad-headed agama Phrynocephalus axillaris. We found a population on the gravel plains just west of Ruoqiang, in central Xinjiang Province, while searching for another species, P....
by Whiting | Jan 9, 2013 | Conservation, Publications, Science news
With the exception of perhaps crocodiles and turtles, the attention devoted to the conservation of reptiles has for a long time lagged behind that devoted to birds and mammals. A recent study published in Biological Conservation, to which we contributed a small amount...