WIS 6934—Biology of Lizards

The University of Florida graduate students and advanced undergraduates enrolled in WIS 6934, 'Biology of Lizards', attend once a week lectures in the Florida Museum of Natural History. They also participate in an optional 1-week fieldtrip to the Bahamas led by the instructor Dick Franz. The purpose of the fieldtrip is to learn techniques for surveying reptiles and amphibians in the Bahamas and to understand the diversity of the species in the area, their ecology and distribution.

The fieldtrip began by meeting at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. To get to the airport most of the students piled into the university van, but others decided to drive themselves (lucky for them!). The passengers in the van were subjected to 'torture', as Bubba Owens and K. Krysko insisted on playing long road trip games such as 'name all the Florida counties', 'name all the Florida snakes, all the lizards, and all the turtles (by scientific name)', and repeatedly sang 'Don't go breaking my heart' among many other 1970's favorites.

At the airport, students scavenged around the entire outside area for herps, and found house geckos, Hemidactylus mabouia, brown anoles, Anolis sagrei, green anoles, A. carolinensis, and bark anoles, A. distichus, Cuban treefrogs, Osteopilus septentrionalis, greenhouse frogs, Eleutherodactylus planirostris, giant toads, Bufo marinus, narrow mouth toads, Gastrophryne carolinensis, and a colony of Brahminy blind snakes, Rhamphotyphlops braminus.

A short flight to the island archipelago, and the students were greeted at the 'tiny' Nassau airport by Ivan, who offered, "Cubans [cigars] for sale." After taxi rides to the New Providence docks, the students boarded three sailboats, 'Doskalos', 'De Ja Vu', and the fastest, 'Running Free', and sailed for Allan's Cays.

Allan's Cays rock iguanas, Cyclura cychlura inornata, greeted us on the beach at Leaf Key, in the Allan's Cays. Once landed on the island, students watched these spectacular lizards, and searched for other herps in vegetation and under rocks.

Other herps found on Leaf Key were Exuma curlytail lizards, Leiocephalus carinatus virescens, Great Bahama Bank reef geckos, Sphaerodactylus notatus amaurus, Exuma Cays black-spotted least geckos, S. nigropunctatus gibbus, wall geckos, Tarentola americana warreni, Bahamian brown anoles, Anolis sagrei, and greenhouse frogs, Eleutherodactylus planirostris.

Later in the evening, some students went searching for the Audubon shearwater that nests on the island.

The next day the class went back over to Leaf Key for one last look around, then set sail for Warderick Wells.

At Warderick Wells, students divided into groups; some went over to Alligator Key, while others went ashore on Warderick Wells. Due to rough weather the class spent the next few days here, groups switched between islands in order to gain as much experience as possible. Students caught herps and helped Celeste Shitama start her thesis research by capturing, marking, and releasing Exuma curlytails.

Other herps found here were Exuma Cays black-spotted least geckos, Bahamian brown anoles, Exuma Cays ameiva, Ameiva auberi obsoleta, and Great Bahamas Bank brown runners, Alsophis v. vudii.

On Alligator Key, students helped Chuck Knapp get his thesis project started by capturing specimens of the introduced Allan's Cays rock iguanas, and then marking and releasing them.

Other herps found here were Exuma curlytails, and Exuma Cays black-spotted least geckos.

While plowng through vegetation in search of herps, many students had their first introduction to poison wood, Metopium toxiferum. Yet, despite the resulting rash—and the sunburn—the fieldtrip was so enjoyable that some of the students decided to choose thesis topics that allow them to conduct their research in the Bahamas.

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