I have collaborated with Tosha Comendant on conservation research on Anacapa Island, which is part of the Channel Islands off of the coast of southern California. Tosha, other colleagues and I have conducted a long term mark-recapture study of side-blotched lizards on Anacapa Island. The data that we collected has been used to test for effects of the removal of invasive black rats from Anacapa Island. In addition, we set up an experiment to test how removing non-native ice plant affects lizard numbers. We are also using our data to understand the life history of the island side-blotched lizards, which is quite different than that of the lizards on the mainland. For example, the island side-blotched lizards have higher survival and larger body sizes than the mainland lizards.
