52 pygmy bluetongue lizards have been released on a farm 90km north of Adelaide as part of a $400,000 project to save them from climate change-driven extinction.
These small lizards are unable to move naturally due to limited habitat and dispersal ability and modelling indicates that they would be at high risk of extinction due to the changing climate in 50 years time. They have therefore been artificially moved south to an area where the climate is expected to be better-suited for them.
The lizards are currently being housed in enclosures on a farm to determine how well they survive; if they do well they will be released into the wild.
An article about the project is included here:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-farmers-scientists-pint-sized-pygmies.html
These small lizards are unable to move naturally due to limited habitat and dispersal ability and modelling indicates that they would be at high risk of extinction due to the changing climate in 50 years time. They have therefore been artificially moved south to an area where the climate is expected to be better-suited for them.
The lizards are currently being housed in enclosures on a farm to determine how well they survive; if they do well they will be released into the wild.
An article about the project is included here:
https://phys.org/news/2021-02-farmers-scientists-pint-sized-pygmies.html
