There has been much talk lately about the skink, a lizard recently rediscovered on the small island of Tintamare, where they were thought to be extinct. On November 10-15, a team comprising six members of AEVA, an association in Guadeloupe, was financed by the French government to launch a study of the characteristics of this little lizard, which can also be found in La Désirade and the Petite Terre Islands of Guadeloupe. The goal of this group’s first mission is to decide if the skinks in each of these three territories are the same species, whose geographic isolation allowed for their rapid evolution. Thus these small reptiles and their various aspects are being analyzed: their size, eventual signs of disease, their habitat, their predators - they are possible prey for the rats on Tintamare - and their potential difficulty to find the insects on which they feed. All of these parameters will allow for a better understanding of this population, to explain its presence, and identify factors that could be a menace to its existence. The second goal is to capture two complete lizards (including their tails) to serve as models to describe the species at the Museum of Natural History. More recently, from December 14-21, Blair Hodges, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the leading American specialist of this species, visited the skinks of Tintamare. He was joined by a second professor as part of the study launched by AVEA. The two scientists left with a piece of a tail from a skink, in order to compare its DNA to that of two skinks that were captured on Tintamare and have been part of their museum for over 30 years. Will they determine if this is a new species? That is the question.
The Skink, a lizard of national interest
All articles from: Newsletter-22
Better Knowledge About Protected Areas And Protected Species
- 1 : Edito & Best Wishes Newsletter 22
- 2 : End-of-year advisory committee meeting
- 3 : The Skink, a lizard of national interest
- 4 : Lemon sharks: the study continues
- 5 : Flooding strongly possible
- 6 : More land acquired at Babit Point
- 7 : Gonzalo: a surprising underwater Impact
- 8 : Fewer sea turtle eggs in 2014
- 9 : 5 sea turtles washed ashore on the beaches
- 10 : Police Activity
- 11 : Galion: the project comes into focus
- 12 : Adieu to the beautiful filao at Tintamare…
- 13 : Coralita shipwreck finally removed
- 14 : Repairing the trail at Cul-de-Sac
- 15 : Whale observatory to be UV resistant
- 16 : Welcome Olivier!
- 17 : Safe swimming at Pinel
- 18 : Overseas who’s who in Guadeloupe
- 19 : A management council for Agoa
- 20 : Financial cost vs the cost to the environment
- 21 : Saint Martin and Nature reserves in Sydney
- 22 : A forum to better manage protected areas
Réserve Naturelle Nationale de Saint-Martin
Lot 11 et 13 Rue Barbuda, Hope Estate, 97150 Saint Martin
Gestion : +59 0690 889 909
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Reserve.Naturelle.StMartin
Direction :
direction@rnsm.org
Pôle police de la nature et logistique :
06 90 57 95 55 reservenat.franck@yahoo.fr
Pôle scientifique :
06 90 34 77 10 science@rnsm.org
Partenaires techniques et financiers de la Réserve naturelle
Partenaires techniques et financiers de la Réserve naturelle :
Préfecture de Saint-Barthélemy et de Saint-Martin, Direction de l’environnement, de l’aménagement et du logement (DEAL), Collectivité de Saint-Martin, CAR-SPAW, Agence des aires marines protégées, IFRECOR, TE ME UM
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