Don't Lizards Like Lopez?

Superficially, the San Juan Islands look pretty much the same flavor of evergreen forests and coastal meadows as mainland western Washington. But the islands have fewer plant and animal species than the mainland. And individual islands also differ in the details. Many animals and plants are restricted to one or two islands and have never been seen on the others. If you think of it, when the glaciers melted 12,000 years ago, the San Juan Islands were just bare rocks in a rising sea. Every plant and animal had to find its way here somehow. Easy for birds, perhaps. But what about the amphibians and freshwater fish; or mammals that cannot swim or fly?

Lizards, for one example. Alligator Lizards are fairly common on Orcas and San Juan Island but they are absent from Lopez. (Hint: It’s not about habitat: Lopez is drier than the other islands, and thus should be more hospitable for reptiles.) Lizards don’t swim; or do they?

Kwiaht director Russel Barsh has been studying the biogeography of the islands for more than 20 years. Come join him for:

"How did everything get here?"

Thursday, December 28, Lopez Center, 5:30 pm