Island Vertebrates Lab

HARRISON SOLLIS

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    • LUIS ORTIZ-CATEDRAL
    • EMMA FEENSTRA
    • ENZO RODRIGUEZ-REYES
    • HARRISON SOLLIS
    • SERENA SIMMONDS
    • KIRTANA KUMAR
    • MICHAEL SKIRROW
    • ELI CHRISTIAN
    • AMY WALDMANN
    • CHARLES WITTMER NARANJO
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The Galapagos Islands of Ecuador are unique among oceanic islands in that at least 96% of its terrestrial biodiversity remain intact. The minimal human influence makes these islands the best place to study the natural habitat distributions of island wildlife, especially on uninhabited islands that are free of human influence. The Galapagos snakes (Pseudalsophis sp.) are perhaps the least studied terrestrial vertebrate on the islands. There is little knowledge on the Central Galapagos racer of Seymour Norte (Pseudalsophis dorsalis) as the behaviour, colour variation, diet, habitat and population dynamics of live individuals have yet to be described. A standardised method of the most effective monitoring technique, along with a description of their preferred habitat, will provide a reliable estimate of population health and baseline data for future population comparisons. The environment on Seymour Norte is structurally variable in terms of vegetation and substrate. Successful surveys of P. dorsalis were only performed in one flat area with a primarily dirt substrate, other sections of the island that are primarily a large rocky substrate have not been sufficiently surveyed. A difference in the catch rate of these two habitat types may infer a preference for their optimum habitat. Analysis of the diet of the snakes will also help predict population health by identifying their food requirements and understanding the natural predator-prey dynamic. A distinguishing feature of this island population is their colour variation between individuals, studying the diet, sex and age of these individuals may reveal the source of this variation. Seymour Norte is a small island that is susceptible to introduced predator and parasite invasion from nearby islands or tourist boats. P. dorsalis on Seymour Norte are susceptible to a proportionally large loss to this likely small population, and such would cause unnatural effects to the changing gene pool and threatening the population with extinction. A better understanding of this species will allow the population to be managed effectively so that any deleterious effects can be identified and mitigated.
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  • Home
  • OUR TEAM
    • LUIS ORTIZ-CATEDRAL
    • EMMA FEENSTRA
    • ENZO RODRIGUEZ-REYES
    • HARRISON SOLLIS
    • SERENA SIMMONDS
    • KIRTANA KUMAR
    • MICHAEL SKIRROW
    • ELI CHRISTIAN
    • AMY WALDMANN
    • CHARLES WITTMER NARANJO
  • PROJECTS
  • GALLERY
  • PUBLICATIONS