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Comic: the predator free difference for lizards

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February 20, 2024 Andrew James

This comic comes to you from illustrator Andrew James, explaining this study into the difference predator control has for geckos and skinks inside a sanctuary (PDF, 424 KB).

Schist geckos live amount the tussock of central Otago. Image shows a map pointing to where the gecko live.
Schist gecko are at risk, mainly because of introduced predators. Of our 124 endemic lizard species... only 4 a non-threatened. Image shows 124 mainly black lizards with four that are green.
Researchers discovered that without introduced predators, geckos thrived. Image shows a sanctuary with a barrier fence and graphs showing how gecko numbers increased.
The difference also appeared in tracking tunnels. Image shows graphs showing tracking tunnel data, gecko condition and skink numbers all improving.
Image shows a lizard watching people enjoying the outdoors in the distance.

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