Study: Most lizards live on islands

SAN DIEGO, May 1 (UPI) -- A U.S. study has confirmed what biologists have long observed -- more lizards live on islands than on the mainland.

The University of California-San Diego study also signals an alarm, suggesting climate change might have devastating consequences for lizards and other animals inhabiting islands since their ecosystems are more sensitive to change than those on the mainland.

"We found island populations are less resistant to biological invasions, which will likely increase dramatically with changing climate," said assistant professor Walter Jetz, the study's co-author.

"Climate change will drive animals to move to new places," added Lauren Buckley, a postdoctoral fellow at the Santa Fe Institute who is a visiting scholar at UCSD and the other co-author of the study. "Our research suggests those animals that move to islands can strongly affect the sensitive animal communities on islands."

Jetz and Buckley gathered 643 estimates of lizard abundance from around the world for their survey -- the first extensive global study of island densities for any animal group. They determined lizards are consistently 10 times or more abundant on islands than on the mainland.

Details of the research are scheduled for the June issue of the journal Ecology Letters.