Archive

Kaera Utsumi's master's thesis research on social networks in lizard populations was published during 2022.

A camping weekend with the Colorado SEEDS chapter took members to Comanche National Grassland, Great Sand Dunes, and TCN Zapata Ranch. The trip was supported by ESA funding and organized by Makenna Orton.

Doug, Maria, and Makenna presented at a seminar organized in partnership with Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies, sharing Erell Institute's research on lizard ecology and conservation in North African desert ecosystems.

New research from the Wall Lizard Task Force explores competition between invasive Italian Wall Lizards and native Five-lined Skinks in the Lawrence, Kansas area. The study investigates how an introduced species establishes itself within an existing ecological community.

Read the full report from Lizard Camp in Tunisia. Read the Zine on Zenodo →

Erell Institute members served as mentors during a SEEDS national field trip to Konza Prairie, Kansas. Students from California, Hawaii, Minnesota, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands participated in field ecology activities and research projects, with Erell members guiding mentorship and inquiry.

Erell facilitated a movement ecology workshop at the Baker University Wetlands Discovery Center focused on collaborative research methods and science communication. The workshop brought together students and educators for hands-on field activities.

Doug and Maria visited the Ecology & Behavior Lab in Toluca, Mexico, attending the ribbon-cutting for a newly renovated lab facility and the Master's defense of Ingrid Morales Méndez, whose thesis examined the effects of temperature on cognitive performance in Aspidoscelis costatus lizards. The visit included seminars

Mia Phillips, a member of the Erell Institute Scientific Advisory Board, successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at Dartmouth College. Her PhD research focused on vibrational communication in beetles — a remarkable contribution to our understanding of animal signaling.

Doug, Maria, and two US students collaborated with Bazartseren Boldgiv of the National University of Mongolia in the Gobi Desert. Over three weeks, the team studied movement patterns in adult male, adult female, and juvenile toad-headed agama lizards (Phrynocephalus versicolor) — comparing behavior across demographics in one of the world&

Erell Institute formed a new regional Ecological Society of America SEEDS chapter, recruiting high school, undergraduate, and graduate students from eastern Kansas and western Missouri. The club provides hands-on outdoor activities and introduces students from underrepresented backgrounds to careers in the ecological sciences.

The latest edition covers the Mongolia research expedition, the new SEEDS ecology club chapter in eastern Kansas, a movement ecology workshop, and collaborations in Mexico. Read the full newsletter (PDF)

Lizard Camp 2025 took place in the Chihuahuan Canyonlands of southwest Texas — a training experience for emerging women in science that combines field research with professional mentorship.