One summer of chasing lizards wasn't enough for William Caffry '09 (Lyme, N.H.). Caffry spent three weeks in Oregon last summer researching the escape tactics of Uta stansburiana, or side-blotched lizards, and this year he returned to the project, which is run by Lafayette College professor Peter Zani. Caffry spent five weeks during the summer observing a population near Hines, Ore., as well as monitoring two other populations, one in Oregon and one in Utah. His work is supported by Hamilton's Jeffrey Fund Science Internship, supporting full-time off-campus internships in the sciences at any organization that offers unpaid experiential opportunities.
The previous research on the first Uta population showed that when the lizards were approached by a snake, they would run towards a cliff that stretched along the entire length of the research site, which could be used as a refuge. This time around, the project tried to determine what Uta would do when approached by a lizard predator, since the lizards could theoretically chase Uta over the cliff and it would no longer be a useful refuge. If Uta could distinguish between different kinds of predators, they might alter their escape behavior depending on what chased them.
To conduct the study, the team constructed their own "predator" – actually a plastic lizard that they painted to mimic the coloring of a collard lizard (Crotaphytus collaris). They mounted their predator on wire attached to a golf club and used it to chase the Uta population, noting the lizards' direction and time of flight, the distance to the cliff, and other variables like body temperature that might affect Uta's behavior.
In addition to the study of escape behavior, Caffry and a student from Lafayette also helped Professor Zani with an ongoing project to monitor the Uta population at Wrights Point, Ore. The students caught and marked each lizard in the population, observed their home range territories, conducted focal observations, and collected and hatched eggs, as well as working on other smaller projects. They also spent two weekends starting to monitor a population at Railroad Point, Utah, so that they will be able to compare behaviors with the Oregon groups.
The research, which sometimes involved spending 14 or more hours a day at work, could be physically and mentally exhausting ("Trying to maintain concentration in 90 degree weather with full sun and no shade takes a lot of effort," Caffry says), but spending all day outside also had its benefits. The wildlife in the remote observation sites was incredibly varied, including nesting owls, sharp-shinned hawks, cliff swallows, ravens, and many other kinds of birds, as well as rattlesnakes – one of which attacked a lizard Caffry was busy observing.
The project's results are difficult as yet to compare with the previous research. Caffry says that the population at Railroad Point in Utah, which was subject to higher predation by collared lizards and leopard lizards, seemed to head for sagebrush and rock cover more often than the Wrights Point group. However, the difference may prove to be insignificant when the data are quantified.
Within the field of biology, Caffry is specifically interested in ecology and population dynamics, so this project allowed him to explore those interests, spending time outdoors and studying specific populations "while also observing some pretty cool behavior." The project will also contribute to his senior thesis – Caffry will use some of the data as well as tissue samples to study the genetics of the Hines population. He says he may take a year or two after graduation to work, after which he plans to begin graduate work in biology.
-- by Laura Bramley
The previous research on the first Uta population showed that when the lizards were approached by a snake, they would run towards a cliff that stretched along the entire length of the research site, which could be used as a refuge. This time around, the project tried to determine what Uta would do when approached by a lizard predator, since the lizards could theoretically chase Uta over the cliff and it would no longer be a useful refuge. If Uta could distinguish between different kinds of predators, they might alter their escape behavior depending on what chased them.
To conduct the study, the team constructed their own "predator" – actually a plastic lizard that they painted to mimic the coloring of a collard lizard (Crotaphytus collaris). They mounted their predator on wire attached to a golf club and used it to chase the Uta population, noting the lizards' direction and time of flight, the distance to the cliff, and other variables like body temperature that might affect Uta's behavior.
In addition to the study of escape behavior, Caffry and a student from Lafayette also helped Professor Zani with an ongoing project to monitor the Uta population at Wrights Point, Ore. The students caught and marked each lizard in the population, observed their home range territories, conducted focal observations, and collected and hatched eggs, as well as working on other smaller projects. They also spent two weekends starting to monitor a population at Railroad Point, Utah, so that they will be able to compare behaviors with the Oregon groups.
The research, which sometimes involved spending 14 or more hours a day at work, could be physically and mentally exhausting ("Trying to maintain concentration in 90 degree weather with full sun and no shade takes a lot of effort," Caffry says), but spending all day outside also had its benefits. The wildlife in the remote observation sites was incredibly varied, including nesting owls, sharp-shinned hawks, cliff swallows, ravens, and many other kinds of birds, as well as rattlesnakes – one of which attacked a lizard Caffry was busy observing.
The project's results are difficult as yet to compare with the previous research. Caffry says that the population at Railroad Point in Utah, which was subject to higher predation by collared lizards and leopard lizards, seemed to head for sagebrush and rock cover more often than the Wrights Point group. However, the difference may prove to be insignificant when the data are quantified.
Within the field of biology, Caffry is specifically interested in ecology and population dynamics, so this project allowed him to explore those interests, spending time outdoors and studying specific populations "while also observing some pretty cool behavior." The project will also contribute to his senior thesis – Caffry will use some of the data as well as tissue samples to study the genetics of the Hines population. He says he may take a year or two after graduation to work, after which he plans to begin graduate work in biology.
-- by Laura Bramley
