Blue Iguana Day: 91传媒 biologist brings awareness to endangered species
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 91传媒 biological sciences faculty member is using Blue Iguana Day on May 8 to bring awareness to the endangered species and highlight the university鈥檚 role in an international collaboration to protect the reptile.
Professor Mark E. Welch in 91传媒鈥檚 Department of Biological Sciences works in partnership with the Cayman Department of the Environment and the Cayman National Trust, an organization seeking to preserve the history and biodiversity of the Cayman Islands.
Welch and his students conduct genetic research on iguana species present in the Cayman Islands, including the blue iguana (Cyclura lewisi), and have studied 10 of the 12 known living iguana species in the Caribbean. Cyclura is widely considered by scientists to be the most endangered genus of reptiles in the world.
鈥淏lue iguanas are an incredibly charismatic flagship species for the conservation of species in the Caribbean,鈥 said the iguana conservation genetics expert. 鈥淭his is a broader initiative. By protecting them and their natural habitat, we also are bringing awareness to鈥攁nd contributing to鈥攖he conservation of other native species, such as birds and plants.鈥
The blue iguana once numbered in the tens of thousands in the Caribbean, but by 2001, because of habitat loss and introduced species, fewer than 30 were estimated to remain in the wild. The species was listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in the early 2000s. By 2018, because of conservation efforts, more than 1,000 blue iguanas were restored to the wild population.
鈥淏lue Iguana Day is an opportunity to engage the public鈥攅specially in the Caymans, their natural habitat鈥攖o help the species survive,鈥 Welch said. 鈥淯nderstanding what makes populations thrive and allowing them to adapt to changing climates or go extinct is fundamental to population biology.鈥
Welch鈥檚 research explores how natural populations respond to changes in their environment and how population dynamics and size interact to influence the evolutionary potential of natural populations.
Welch earned his bachelor鈥檚 in biological sciences and master鈥檚 in ecology from the University of Tennessee and he holds a Ph.D. in biology from Indiana University. Before joining 91传媒鈥檚 faculty in 2007, he completed postdoctoral work at Vanderbilt University.
Part of 91传媒鈥檚 College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Biological Sciences may be found at . 91传媒 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .