Another postdoc in the Losos lab, Kristin Winchell, just put together a list of online learning resources about lizards sprinkled all around the internet. I want to spread the word by reposting the link here. If you’re looking for classroom activities (or just some cool lizard info) definitely take a look. In particular, there are … More Online lizard learning activities!
Continuing on with the theme of posting lessons from my Conservation Biology class this January, another lesson that turned out to be really effective in Week 1 was centered on reading and presenting data. One of my learning goals for the course was for the students to be able to collect original data, analyze it … More Visualizing data
Pre-dendum: I’d originally outlined a series of posts talking about each week’s lecture from my course at Colby College on biodiversity conservation. In the last few weeks though, well, everything’s been turned on its head. My heart goes out to my friends, family members, and the many strangers on the front lines of the struggle … More Week 1: What is Biodiversity Conservation
In other exciting news this week, after a thorough re-survey of Redonda the conservation organizations have determined that Redonda is officially rat and goat free. This is terrific news because even a small pocket of rats that were missed in last year’s eradication could quickly explode into a huge population, negating all of the conservation … More Redonda is officially rat free!
After we got off Redonda (and had had a day to scrub up and do some laundry) Geoff and I were asked to give a live TV interview for Antigua and Barbuda Today! The Redonda Restoration Program (like them on FB if you can!) and a Fulbright Fellow named Andrew Maurer working in Antigua this … More We were live on national TV!
Revisiting Redonda one year after the goats were helicoptered off and the vermin e-rat-icated was every bit as exciting and gratifying as I could have hoped last year. I’d guessed we might see some grasses fighting their way up through the dust and rocks, maybe a few extra lizards happy to not have to watch … More Revisiting Redonda
The trip to Redonda was a huge success and even more importantly, the restoration project is going tremendously well! Last year, Redonda was dusty and dry, overrun with goats and rats that were mowing through the vegetation and hurting the islands’ unique mix of plants and animals, including three endemic lizards. This year, the island … More We’re back from Redonda!
I haven’t posted all that many photos from our time in Turks and Caicos, in part because I was worried about my friends on the islands as Hurricanes Irma and then Maria rolled through. Luckily the team stayed safe through both storms. Unfortunately, the damage and time delay from the storms means that the eradication … More A video from Pine Cay, Turks and Caicos
If you’re curious who I’ll be working with in Redonda, check out this video about FFI’s conservation efforts in Antigua. Dr. Jenny Daltry is the leader of the Redonda restoration effort and the one who initially contacted us about the lizard research, so I’ve been working closely with her to coordinate plans. FFI has been working in the … More A great video about FFI conservation in Antigua
I know this is a bit last minute notice but it seems like that’s how this whole project has been. I’m headed to Redonda in a week! Redonda you ask? Never heard of it? Yeah, well, neither had I. Redonda is a little tiny island in the Lesser Antilles and to save you the trouble … More Redonda
Colin Donihue 