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The Lesser Antillean Iguana on St WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSIRCF REPTILES • VOL15, N&O AMPHIBIANS4 • DEC 2008 189 • 20(2):44–52 • JUN 2013 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE ARTICLES The Lesser. Chasing Bullsnakes (AntilleanPituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: Iguana on St. Eustatius: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190 . The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: AA Hypothetical2012 Excursion ............................................................................................................................Population Status UpdateRobert W. Henderson 198 RESEARCH ARTICLESand Causes for Concern . The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida 1 2 3 .............................................AdolpheBrian O. J. Debrot Camposano,, KennethErik B.L. Krysko, Boman Kevin ,M. and Enge, Hannah Ellen M. Donlan, Madden and Michael Granatosky 212 1Institute for Marine Research and Ecosystem Studies (IMARES), Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 57, 1780AB, Den Helder, The Netherlands ([email protected]) CONSERVATION ALERT 2Agriculture Department of St. Eustatius, Oranjestad, St. Eustatius ([email protected]) . World’s3St. Eustatius Mammals Nationalin Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. Parks Foundation, Gallows Bay, St. Eustatius ([email protected]) 220 . More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 . The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225 HUSBANDRY . Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226 Abstract.—To assess the status and current population densities of the endangered Lesser Antillean Iguana (Iguana delicatissima) onPROFILE the island of St. Eustatius, we spent more than 80 h searching for iguanas and covered more than . Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234 63 km of trails and tracks — but found only 22 iguanas, for an overall average of 3.7 h per iguana. Overall popula- tion density wasCOMMENTARY 0.35 iguanas per hectare, which represents 0.5–1.0% of densities documented elsewhere in healthy populations. Population. The Turtles densities Have Been Watching have declinedMe ........................................................................................................................ across all habitats since the last assessment Eric in Gangloff 2004. 238 The lack of nesting sites and high BOOKiguana REVIEWmortalities due to anthropogenic causes were the two core factors limiting recovery of iguanas on St. Eustatius.. OurThreatened principal Amphibians recommendations of the World edited by S.N. are Stuart, to: M. (a) Hoffmann, Train J.S. and Chanson, equip N.A. border Cox, officials to prevent potential entry of mongooses R.and Berridge, Green P. Ramani, Iguanas and B.E. from Young ..............................................................................................................neighboring islands; (b) implement enforcement Robert Powell and 243 upgrade protective legislation; (c) developCONSERVATION and maintain RESEARCH new REPORTS: additional Summaries nesting of Published habitat, Conservation a measure Research Reports that is................................. both easy and 245 inexpensive; and (d) establish a programNATURAL to HISTORY promote RESEARCH “iguana-friendly” REPORTS: Summaries gardens of Published as the Reports main on Natural means History of ................................. reducing cumulative 247 mortality. NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 Finally, we propose EDITORIAL the development INFORMATION of ..................................................................................................................................................... an in situ husbandry and breeding program to help bolster 251 the overall recov- ery program, a moveFOCUS that ON CONSERVATIONalso would benefit: A Project islanders You Can bySupport offering ............................................................................................... a relaxed setting in which they could 252 better learn to appreciate this emblematic island species. Keywords: Lesser Antillean Iguana, Iguana delicatissima, St. Eustatius, conservation, status Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. Back Cover. Michael Kern Totat et velleseque audant mo Totat et velleseque audant mo he Lesser Antillean Iguana, Iguanaestibus delicatissima inveliquo velique (Laurenti rerchil estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus T1768)(Fig. 1), has a very limitedaut dolor distribution apicto invere pe dolum in the aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum Lesser Antilles and is gradually beingfugiatis extirpated maionsequat throughouteumque fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia- its range due to three principal causes:ma derrovitae Invasive voluptam, predators, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as habitat loss, and hybridization withaccullabo. invasive Green Iguanas (I. iguana). Of the six islands of the Dutch Caribbean, the species is today found only on St. Eustatius, where it is the largest native terrestrial animal and a prime emblem of the island’s biodiversity. Populations have been extirpated on Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Les Îles des Saintes, Marie Galante, as well as on St. Martin as recently as 1996 (Breuil 2002). Of the 13 remaining island populations, only two (Dominica and Guadeloupe) exceed the long-term mini- mum viable population (MVP) size of 5,000 individuals, and Fig. 1. The Lesser Antillean Iguana (Iguana delicatissima) is gradually being six are critically endangered. While the species’ precarious sta- extirpated throughout its range. Of the six islands of the Dutch Caribbean, tus would appear to emphasize the need for scientific study, the species is today found only on St. Eustatius, where it is the largest life history information on I. delicatissima remains very lim- native terrestrial animal. Photograph © John S. Parmerlee, Jr. ited (Pasachnik et al. 2006, Knapp 2007). Copyright © 2013. Adolphe O. Debrot. All rights reserved. 44 DEBROT ETAL. IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 20(2):44–52 • JUN 2013 Fig. 2. Map of St. Eustatius showing 91 locations at which one or more iguanas were documented in 2012 during dedicated transect surveys (◊) (N = 14), during opportunistic sightings (∆) (N = 47), from interviews (+) (N = 24) and as recent nest digging locations (°) (N = 6). Map © E. Dijkman. Past population size estimates for St. Eustatius were about Kitts (about 15 km away) and Saba (about 25 km away). It 300 animals in 1992, less than 300 animals in 2000, and lies in the northeastern trade winds and experiences hurri- about 425 (275–650) animals in 2004 (Fogarty et al. 2004). cane conditions once every 4–5 years. Air temperatures on The species is listed by the IUCN as “endangered” (Breuil et St. Eustatius average 26.9 °C, with the hottest temperatures al. 2010). In light of the growing list of declines and threats (28.0 °C) occurring in July, August, and September. The throughout its range, Powell and Henderson (2005) argued annual average rainfall is about 990 mm/yr. The island con- that, if not for scattered surviving populations on multiple sists of three main geomorphological zones: The northwestern islands, the status listing of “critically endangered” would hills, the central plains, and the Quill, a dormant volcano in necessarily apply. The objective of this study was to provide a the southeastern section of the island. The flora comprises new population assessment for this endangered species on St. about 505 species of plants, for which Freitas et al. (2013) Eustatius and provide conservation recommendations. recently described 13 (semi)natural vegetation types that are St. Eustatius forms part of the inner volcanic arc of the distributed in four main and 16 sub-landscape types. All areas Lesser Antilles and has a surface area of about 21 km2. The continue to be heavily impacted by feral livestock. The island capital and only town is Oranjestad with about 4,000 inhab- has three large terrestrial protected areas. Two of these are itants. The island is situated roughly on a line between St. in the northwestern hills (Boven: 3.30 km2 and Signal Hill: 45 DEBROT ETAL. IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 20(2):44–52 • JUN 2013 Fig. 3. A female Iguana delicatissima adapted to the suburban life of St. Eustatius. Photograph © Hannah Madden. 0.44 km2) and one circles the 600-m Quill, down to altitudes Preliminary analyses indicated very low
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