Physiological responses to a changing environment: lizards as models in conservation research
French, Susannah S.
Associate Dean for Research and Faculty
College of Science
Professor of Biology
Department of Biology, Ecology Center
Utah State University
Logan, Utah USA
A little lizard can say a lot about the health of the environment. Disturbances in an animal’s environment, including anthropogenic change, can affect how it acquires and uses limited energy resources to respond to stress, reproduce, and fight disease. Humans have significantly impacted wildlife populations in a variety of different ways for many years, including urbanization, landscape modification, climate changes and even tourism. To better understand how human-induced changes affect animals in nature, we are using a variety of methods to track, monitor, and experimentally test relationships in several model lizard species, including side-blotched lizards, marine iguanas, Bahamian rock iguanas, and captive green iguanas. A synthesis of physiological, demographic, and genomic results will be presented from a combination of field and laboratory studies testing both individual and population-level responses to human disturbance. We are working to answer these questions which will help provide a broader picture of how species respond and even adapt to environmental change. Overall, the findings of this research have direct implications for conservation of endangered species and management in the future.