TWS2021: Eating fire ants may protect fence lizards
Eastern fence lizards may be eating their way to immunity from invasive ant venom in the Southeastern United States. Red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) ...
reptiles
TWS2021: Using reptile scat to monitor endangered species
Surveying and monitoring endangered lizards can be difficult. The species tend to be cryptic. Permits are hard to come by. And biologists often try to avoid ...
Special cameras can better detect invasive pythons
Cameras tuned to detect near-infrared wavelengths can help wildlife managers and others hunt down invasive Burmese pythons. A new study published recently in ...
Watch: Cottonmouth snakes battle for dominance
They may not be able to perform a leg lock, but male cottonmouths will still wrestle for their mates. Wildlife manager Matthew Moore with the Georgia Department ...
New wide-eyed boa discovered in Dominican Republic
For the first time in more than a century, researchers have discovered a new boa species in the Dominican Republic. The Hispaniolan vineboa (Chilabothrus ...
Models say this African gecko shouldn’t survive in Florida—so why does it?
Ecologically, Madagascar day geckos aren’t supposed to be in Florida. The species didn’t arrive until the 1990s, when it was introduced to adorn gardens in the ...
A fifth of the world’s skinks face extinction
Agriculture, invasive species, harvesting and pet trade are threatening 20% of the world’s skink species with extinction. According to the first “comprehensive ...
Toxic algal bloom cause mixed reactions in birds, reptiles
Toxic algal blooms could stress out wildlife, and in some cases, cause weaker immune systems in reptiles and birds in the Great Lakes region. Blue-green algae ...
Officials remove hundreds of gators from Disney
Wildlife officials with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and private trappers have removed 250 alligators from Disney properties in central Florida ...
Do journals lead traffickers to newly-described reptiles?
When a newly-identified reptile is described in scientific literature, it’s not just exciting for biologists. It also catches the eyes of wildlife traffickers, ...