Here today, gone tomorrow: tail loss in reptiles

While working in the field, I’m often asked by volunteers about the interesting little feat of autotomy; that is, the ability for a lizard to drop its tail and re-grow it… which is a subject that has been of interest to physiologists for some time. Fair enough, I say. I mean, imagine being in the…

Lizard garden research

Hello! Here’s an overview of my PhD research project, entitled: Can habitat enhancement (aka gardening for lizards) improve the resilience of endemic lizard populations in the presence of alien predators? Background Habitat loss is the most severe threat to global biodiversity. While reservation of pristine natural areas and restoration of degraded ecosystems are effective for…

What are all these orange flagging tapes and brown tiles about?

The quick answer is: lizard conservation research! The longer answer is as follows… Hello! You’ve probably arrived here because you came across of my field sites around the Wellington region in New Zealand. Welcome! My name is Sarah Herbert and I’m a PhD student at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW). My thesis topic is: Can…

Know your New Zealand natives: goldstripe gecko

It’s acrobatic grace and golden good looks will steal your heart, and what’s more, there’s only one region on mainland New Zealand that you can find this month’s native animal, the goldstripe gecko (Woodworthia chrysosireticus). There are still quite a few of these little geckos throughout their patch on the western coast of the North…

Know your New Zealand natives: copper skink

If you see a sleek little brown skink slinking around your garden, and you live in the North Island, chances are it’s a copper skink. These guys are more scientifically known as Oligosoma aeneum, and are the second smallest native lizard in New Zealand, not longer than a truly titchy 12 centimetres. While they are…

The confusing evolutionary identity of turtles

The topic I’d like to discuss today represents a major controversy in our understanding of the phylogeny (family tree) of reptiles (and birds, which are just a fancy kind of reptile). Turtles have been in a state of identity crisis for some time as scientists have debated the origins of our shelled friends, and two…

Why do geckos’ eyes shine in torchlight?

Wild geckos are often located by night spotlighting; where researchers use torches to either spot the animals’ body amongst vegetation or to spot “eye shine” – that is, the way that a gecko’s eye will shine (usually pink) when a torch is pointed at it. It looks a bit similar to the type of eye…

Here today, gone tomorrow: the phenomenon of tail loss in reptiles

While working in the field, I’m often asked by volunteers about the interesting little feat of autotomy, that is, the ability for a lizard to drop its tail and re-grow it… which is a huge subject that has been of interest to physiologists for some time. Fair enough, I say. I mean, imagine being in…