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
The crowdfunding campaign on http://www.experiment.com is going great! First and foremost, thank you to all of the backers for your support and generosity. With your help, we hit my $3,385 goal and fulfilled my $15,385 minimum budget to make this experiment happen! I am thrilled at the chance, and so excited to have you all on … More First Crowdfunding Goal Reached!
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?!
Here’s a quick time-lapse video I made of the Blue Star Ferry docking, unloading, and reloading from Paros. Enjoy! It could use some music… let me know if you have any suggestions.
As per normal, the field season in Greece finished at a sprint and I fell (way) behind on keeping up with the stories. Sorry! I’m going to back-date a few posts to get you all up to speed. All in all, the summer was a great success – I collected nearly all the data I … More Greece Wrap-up
Iraklia, one of the islands in the small cyclades just south of Naxos, was my final small island of the summer. Again, the goal was to just grab a bunch of lizards, quick as possible, measure them, release them and get back home asap. Luckily Iraklia is a much shorter ferry ride than Amorgos. We … More Iraklia
One of many these days… These guys were headed for the sprint speed course. More on that next!
The end of field work is always about tying up loose ends, trying to get a few more samples, and wrapping up experiments in hopes that you’ll finish with enough data to keep you occupied for the many months back home. For me it meant grabbing more lizards from a few islands to try to … More Sprinting through Amorgos
Colin Donihue 