Time for some ge
ographical Jeopardy.
The answer is: The highest point in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The question is: What is Mount Scenery?
At a towering 870m, the active volcano Mt. Scenery on the island of Saba (pronounced say-buh), is the correct response. Saba is an island near St. Kitts and St. Barts in the Lesser Antilles and is the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. At only 5 sq. miles (13 sq. km), it doesn’t have too many people (1,824 in 2001) or terrestrial herps (7). Of those herps, only one is endemic to Saba, and that is, of course, an anole – Anolis sabanus! You can find more information on the rest of the Saban herps at Caribherp.org.
I am interested in whether, how, and why ecology shapes evolution (and evolution shapes ecology) through time, with an emphasis on microevolutionary pattern and process, adaptation, and field experiments. I completed my Ph.D. on Anolis lizards in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. I am currently a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Texas, Austin studying threespine stickleback. They're not anoles, but they're cool too.
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James Lazell
Ah, I remember them well — and Mt. Scenery, too. I have a very dim recollection of that marmoratus on St. Martin….
Hannah
Ah the Saban Anole my favorite! But as it turns out it might not be the only endemic creature on Saba. Recent studies have been done to establish if the Saba Black Iguana is a distinct subspecies of the Green Iguana (Iguana Iguana). You can read more about it on the facebook page of the Saba Conservation Foundation or Sea & Learn.
Here is the link to their Iguana album with more info on the study: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151060101710368.774764.297886725367&type=3
Yoel Stuart
Hi Hannah,
Thanks for the additional information! What cool creatures!
Do you live on Saba?
Hannah
You’re welcome Joel. Yes they are magnificent!
I have been living on Saba for some years now and it is a great place to be, full of nature’s little treasures.
Yoel Stuart
Fantastic. Well, if you ever want to write a post about natural history, behavior, or the ecology of the Saban anoles or any of the other herps, please do!