Department of Earth and Biological Sciences
Faculty: William K. Hayes
Laboratory of behavioral ecology and conservation
Naomi Balduff (MS, in progress)
"Reproductive behaviors of the endangered Bahamian rock iguana, Cyclura r. rileyi."
Contact
Department of Earth and Biological Sciences
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, CA 92350 USA
Phone: (909) 558-4530 (message)
Fax: (909) 558-0259
Email: balduff317@yahoo.com
Naomi and husband, Jeremy. Standing on the sparkling sand of San Salvador Island, Bahamas, soaking in the sun. That's a lot of s's. Jeremy is a fellow graduate student, working on hermit crabs. Photograph: Ronald L. Carter.
Naomi undertook an ambitious project, studying the sexual behavior of the San Salvador Island Rock Iguana (Cyclura r. rileyi). In May and June, 2002, she and her husband, Jeremy, camped out on Green Cay, a tiny islet off the north coast of the main island. Here, she and Jeremy spent long hours each day atop two wooden observation towers, watching the antics of the little iguanas below them. Altogether, they witnessed 17 copulations and many more copulation attempts-not to mention an awful lot of pushing and shoving about. Her goal was to evaluate the morphological and behavioral correlates of mating success, both for males and for females. She collected a great deal of data and is still wading through it...