NEWSLETTER Volume 14 • Winter 2014 Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei): See page 9 for an update on the serious threats this species is facing in the Portland Bight Protected Area in Jamaica In This Issue The mission of the IUCN SSC Iguana Specialist Group is to prioritize and facilitate conservation, science, and awareness programs that help ensure the survival of wild iguanas and their habitats. ISG Updates Message from the Co-chairs and Program Officer......................................3 Advances in Systematics, Ecology, and Conservation of Iguanas Monograph..................................................................................................3 Fifty-Year Anniversary of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species..........4 Redesign of International Iguana Foundation (IIF) Website........................4 IIF Social Media ..........................................................................................5 ISG Google Plus Page and Photospheres.....................................................7 2014 ISG Meeting Summary........................................................................8 Iguana News Update on the Threat of a Transshipment Port Development Proposal in Jamaica..................................................................................................9 ISG Newsletter 14 • Winter 2014 Update on the Critical Situation in the Dominican Republic...................11 Smuggled Bahamian Iguanas Found in UK...............................................12 Taxon Reports First Assessment of I. delicatissima Population of La Désirade Island....15 C. cychlura spp. Research Update............................................................18 The Iguanarios of the Dominican Republic (C. cornuta)..........................20 Recent Literature ..............................................................................................................23 ISG Contact Information....................................................................................................24 was made to move forward with this effort, 3 marking the third time iguana researchers have ISG Updates undertaken such a task. The group agreed that an online publication was preferred as it would be more immediately accessible to the rapidly A Message from the Co-chairs increasing number of people worldwide with an and Program Officer interest in iguanas. This collation complements and builds on the previous two volumes, expand- he ISG expanded our group with the inclu- ing our knowledge of iguana systematics, distri- Tsion of five new members in 2014. We wel- bution and habitat, ecology and population biol- come Giuliano Colosimo, Jeffrey Corneil, David ogy, and conservation, and highlighting areas Hedrick, Jill Jollay, and Kimberly Rainwater where further research is needed. An updated for the remainder of the 2013–2016 term. As a taxonomy including 44 living species will be group, we now have 91 members from 25 coun- presented. Ctenosaura, a species-rich genus tries, including Puerto Rico. ISG members have only touched on in the first two volumes, will broad skillsets that can advance iguana conser- be heavily emphasized. New information will be vation. During their four-year terms, members presented that will be critical in guiding future are expected to contribute to the group either conservation management decisions. through (but not limited to) actively participat- With each volume, the number of con- ing at group meetings, contributing to Red List tributions from range country scientists has assessments, organizing task teams, drafting increased, reflecting a growing cadre of inter- group policies, serving on subcommittees, and/ national researchers with an interest in iguana or contributing computer or artistic skills when biology and conservation. Although the number needed. The ISG is such an impactful and suc- of chapters is similar in each volume (20, 23, and cessful working group because of contributions now 19, respectively), the number of contribu- from its members. We thank you and look for- tors has more than doubled in the present vol- ward to continually improving the efficacy of the ume, and authors from 12 countries including ISG as a conservation group and an integral part Puerto Rico are represented. Fourteen authors of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. in the present volume also contributed to one Early in 2014 we officially announced or both of the previous two volumes, reflecting that we would be publishing an iguana mono- their long-term commitment to iguana research. graph entitled: Advances in Systematics, Ecol- For example, Gordon Burghardt and John Iver- ogy, and Conservation of Iguanas. Besides us, son, who contributed to all three volumes, have John Iverson has been serving as a co-editor to dedicated much of their careers to furthering our the monograph. We are extremely grateful for his understanding of iguana behavior and ecology. selfless contributions to the ISG. Finally, we look They have trained a multitude of students, many forward to redoubling our efforts to make Red of whom are authors in the current volume, who List assessments a priority for our group in 2015, continue to expand our collective knowledge and especially given our renewed pledge to be part of bring new perspectives to a thriving field. the IUCN’s effort to more than double the num- Though the threats faced by iguanas are ber of assessments on the Red List by 2020. Con- growing, the papers in this volume will attest tinue reading below for more information about that there is no shortage of passion and com- the iguana monograph and Red List. mitment within the iguana conservation commu- nity in seeking new and innovative ways to com- All our best, bat these challenges. As a group, we could not Chuck, Stesha, and Tandora be more thrilled by increasing our membership and gaining perspective from new collaborators. We look forward to continuing this trend in the future and welcome those interested in iguana Advances in Systematics, conservation and biology to contact us. We expect that the third volume, Advances in Systematics, Ecology, and Conservation of Ecology, and Conservation of Iguanas, will be Iguanas Monograph available in 2015 through the journal Herpeto- logical Conservation and Biology. or several years, the IUCN SSC ISG has been ISG Newsletter 14 • Winter 2014 Fdiscussing publishing an updated compila- tion on the advances in iguana biology. In 2013, at our annual meeting in Jamaica, the decision Fifty-Year Anniversary the species and outline where research is needed or threats that are suspected. 4 of the IUCN Red List The IUCN has set a goal to assess 160,000 of Threatened Species species by the year 2020 to make the Red List a more complete “Barometer of Life” (view and hroughout 2014, the IUCN celebrated the 50th share the IUCN Red List promotional video here Tanniversary of the contribution of the Red and a 50 year highlights page). To date, the Red List in guiding conservation action and policy List contains assessments on 76,000 species. At decisions, by holding special events and fund- our 2009 working meeting in Dominica, we made raising campaigns. ISG officers Stesha Pasachnik a collective commitment to update the informa- and Tandora Grant traveled to the Los Angeles tion for existing, but out-of-date accounts, as area to attend a gala photography exhibition and well as generate new assessments for those not fundraiser highlighting assessed threatened spe- yet listed. Although the work is ongoing and sev- cies. We were delighted to see an interactive iPad eral members have made critical contributions to display among the exhibits, with a rotating view fulfill our goal, we have yet to reach a 50% cur- of threatened iguana species. Another highlight rent assessment mark for species in the subfam- was to meet the (now outgoing) Director Gen- ily Iguaninae. By the end of 2015, our specialist eral Julia Marton-Lefèvre and discuss the recent group aims to submit 15 more species assess- advocacy letters she had signed on behalf of the ments to the IUCN Red List, bringing our total ISG in disapproval of threatened and real habitat species assessed to 32, and leaving only a dozen destruction in Jamaica (home of Cyclura collei) to be finalized in 2016. We’ve pledged to com- and the Dominican Republic (home to Cyclura plete our task – Let’s Do This! cornuta and C. ricordii). Using criteria from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is widely recognized as the most comprehensive and objective approach for Redesign of the International evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. The goal of the Red List is to pro- Iguana Foundation Website vide information and analyses on the status, pop- ulation trends, and threats to species in order to n order to attract donors and generate increased inform and catalyze action for biodiversity con- Iawareness for the International Iguana Founda- servation. The IUCN Species Survival Commis- tion (IIF), Tandora Grant and ISG website devel- sion (SSC) relies on expertise within individual oper Taylor Tay agreed to completely redesign specialist groups to evaluate species for the list. the IIF’s website (http://iguanafoundation.org). As a group, the ISG is mandated to evaluate all 45 Many iguana projects conducted by ISG mem- iguana species (including one extinct species) for bers have directly benefited from funds raised by the IIF. All of us benefit from an increase in the Red List. ISG Newsletter 14 • Winter 2014 Red Lists can be updated as