After the long day island hopping in the bay of Naoussa, Johannes and I decided to, before we ran out of sunlight, check out one more interesting spot nearby on Paros. Johannes had been to this peninsula about 10 years earlier and it was then, and is still now, only connected to Paros by an ever-shrinking … More Idiokthsia – a “proto-island”
One of the big goals for this summer’s research is to initiate a long-term island-manipulation experiment on small islets near Naxos and Paros. The logistics and permitting for the experiment have been far more difficult than I’d anticipated, but while I am working with collaborators and government officials to finalize the plans, the first priority was determining whether the dozen islands I’d … More Visiting the Paros Islets
Last year, much of my work was focused on surveying lizards on and off of rock walls in Naxos. Assuming that the differences would be subtle, I spent the bulk of my time carefully characterizing two populations on opposite land-use extremes: lizards living in the Moni valley that is heavily walled for agriculture, and lizards living … More Scouting for Field Sites
After enjoying the Kouros and the excitement of the big May day barbecue, we piled back into the Symenoglous’ car and headed off to an extremely small village nearby to celebrate much more quietly with their extended family. These’s no parking in this village, in fact there isn’t even a road, it’s only accessible by … More Happy May day! (part 2)
The first of May is a big holiday in Greece and just about everything (except my trusty café) is closed to celebrate. I was planning on spending today working on protocols, catching up on emails, and doing some bookkeeping. In the middle of the morning though Mrs. Symenoglou called and invited Johannes and I to … More Happy May day! (part 1)
I made it to Naxos, and boy is it good to be back! Johannes and I were heavily loaded with three kayaks between us, and more bags than hands, but we collapsed into a hotel room without incident after a slow walk around the harbor. Very little has changed on Naxos and it feels great to … More Getting settled in Naxos
All my bags are packed and I’m ready to go! I’ll catch a train from New Haven in just a few hours and then, it’s off to Greece! I can hardly believe it has come up so fast. Now that it’s here though, I’m anxious to get through the traveling portion and get out to … More On my way!
There are lots of ways to catch a lizard. The low-tech solution of course is the old ‘lift a rock and smash your hand down on anything that moves’ method. I tend to prefer more delicate techniques though, particularly in deference to the vipers that also make their homes under these rocks. So if it’s … More Fishing for lizards
I recently wrote a short photo essay for Sage Magazine, Yale School of Forestry’s student-run magazine. Check it out here.
Many lizard species are known to bolster their diet with vegetation. The practice is particularly common among species that live on islands, given how scarce food resources often are. It was a bit surprising then that Podarcis erhardii, a lizard found plentifully all through the small aegean islands, hadn’t been observed eating plants. This summer, while … More Lizards eating an orange?!
Colin Donihue 