by Whiting | Oct 28, 2020 | Behaviour, Ecology, Global warming, Saiphos equalis
By Iván Beltrán Environmental temperature determines many important aspects of an animal’s life. In ectotherms, commonly known as ‘cold-blooded’ animals, the temperature experienced during embryonic development significantly impacts a hatchling’s physiology and...
by Whiting | Aug 29, 2019 | Bluetongue lizard, Bluetongue skink, Cognition
By Birgit Szabo As children we have much to learn after we are born. We learn to walk, to talk, to develop our social skills, and when we start school we learn how to read, write and do maths. Humans, and many other animals, are considered altricial, meaning that...
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 Fonti Kar | Jun 27, 2018 | Behaviour, Cognition, Egernia, Publications, Social intelligence, Sociality, Tree skink project
By: Fonti Kar & Julia Riley “Never study an animal that is smarter than you” – Dr Martin Whiting Animals learn about their environment and use what they have learnt while foraging, to increase mating success, avoid predators, and overall increase their...
by Whiting | Jun 8, 2018 | Anti-predator behaviour, Behaviour, Bluetongue lizard, Bluetongue skink, Colour, Communication, Deimatic display
An enduring question among fans of blue-tongue lizards is why the blue tongue? Why have such an outrageously coloured tongue, given that the vast majority of lizards have a regular old pink tongue? Blueys (bluetongue skinks) are something of an Australian icon. They...
