Graduate Research - Lizards!

From January 2021 to January 2024, I was a master’s student in the Department of Biology at Utah State University under the guidance of Dr. Susannah S. French, specializing in the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on reptile behavior, morphology, and physiology. I managed four side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) field sites in St. George, Utah, and conducted behavioral observations of whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis neotesselata) at Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado Springs, research that gained significant media attention from outlets including CNN, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. My work also included field research on Bahamian rock iguanas (Cyclura cychlura) in the Exumas, Bahamas, aboard Shedd Aquarium’s R/V Coral Reef II, led by Dr. Chuck Knapp, VP of Conservation Research at Shedd Aquarium. Beyond fieldwork, I analyzed data using RStudio and ArcGIS, mentored an undergraduate student through field preparation, data collection, and publication, and shared my findings at international academic conferences. This research culminated in publications in peer-reviewed journals, underscoring both its academic and public impact.

At the 2024 Women in Nature + Science event at the Natural History Museum, I was invited to lead a workshop - Think Like a Scientist - about my research for museum patrons. Here, I developed a lizard-catching activity for museum guests in which they had to make their own lizard catching stick, search the room for lizards, and catch them! Also at NHMU, I presented at multiple Science Cafe events, where the public comes to learn about current research being conducted in Utah.

Access publications, here.

Access my thesis, here.

Access media articles on CNN, National Geographic, and the Smithsonian .

Access my Think Like a Scientist workbook, here.

Access my Science Cafe presentation, here.

Conducting an ultrasound on the Colorado checkered whiptail (Aspidoscelis tesselata) 𖡡 Fort Carson Army Base, Colorado Springs, Colroado

Juvenile Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) 𖡡 Roatán, Honduras

Juvenile Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura oedirhina) 𖡡 Roatán, Honduras

Adult Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura oedirhina) 𖡡 Roatán, Honduras

Male side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) 𖡡 St. George, Utah

Juvenile northern Bahamian rock iguana (Cyclura cychlura) 𖡡 Bahamas

Female side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) 𖡡 St. George, Utah

Male side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) 𖡡 St. George, Utah

Research crew on uninhabited islands 𖡡 Bahamas

Juvenile northern Bahamian rock iguana (Cyclura cychlura) 𖡡 Bahamas

A smug-looking male side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana) 𖡡 St. George, Utah

Allison's Anole (Anolis allisoni) 𖡡 Roatán, Honduras

Hi! I’m Layne!