COOL LIZARDS PROJECT
The Effects of Climate Change on Stenocercus populations: A Neglected Montane lizard group inhabiting the Tropical Andes Region
The Tropical Andes region is one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots that is noteworthy for its species richness and endemism (i.e. native to a place). The high biological importance that exists in this region is due to the uplift of geographical barriers, which, being generated over time by the interaction between oceanic and continental plates, have caused diversification and consequently the evolution of particular physiological, ecological and behavioural traits for each species that inhabits it.
One of the groups of lizards with the greatest geographic and ecological extension in the South American continent is the genus Stenocercus. This genus is distributed from the north of Venezuela and Colombia to the center of Argentina, with 68 species.
The ecological singularity of this group of lizards is fascinating, especially if we consider those species that inhabit the tropical Andes region.
Despite the attractiveness of studying tropical Andean lizards, little studies have been done to know about these lizards’ ecology and behaviour, and there is even less knowledge about populations that inhabit high altitudes. Additionally, it's important to mention that the area in which these organisms are distributed is ranked as one of the most severely threatened areas in the tropics due to the juxtaposed action of anthropogenic land degradation and climate change. As these two forces accelerate, so has the urgency to study more about the strategies used by these lizards to deal with the current environmental disturbances.
