Italian Wall Lizards

During COVID, we organized a community science-oriented research project on the invasive Podarcis siculus, or Italian Wall Lizard, in Douglas County, KS! 

• we focused on habitat preferences (Friestad et al. 2023)

• we are planning offshoot projects on behavioral syndromes of successful invaders and 

• on the relationship between wall lizards and native skinks

Who are we? 

We are a group of students, mainly undergraduate women, who are passionate about ecology and curious about the world around us! Our sponsors are Doug and Maria Eifler. Learn more about them on the "About" page. 

Tell me more about these lizards! 

Here is a link to learn more about the Italian Wall Lizard and its status as an invasive species. They are especially fascinating because they are so great at adapting to suburban and urban environments! There is a large populations in Topeka and Lawrence, but also in New York City, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles! That's a pretty diverse habitat range for a species that's used to the mild climate of the Italian Peninsula! We want to find out more about the differences that new urban environments have on the lizards physiologically, behaviorally, and otherwise! How have they evolved to be different from their native population? What makes them effective invaders? What are their preferred habitats in Douglas County?

How did they get here? 

 There are many fables about how Italian lizards arrived here in Lawrence but all we know for sure is that it's important that they are not transported anywhere else. That is why it is so important that you do not touch or transport these lizards anywhere. They frequently outcompete native lizards and maintaining high levels of biodiversity is integral to a healthy ecosystem! 

If you have any additional questions please email deifler@erell.ngo

The project was carried out through KU SEEDS Ecology Club and sponosred by Erell Institute.