Measure the impact of Irma and Maria on the natural environments of Saint-Martin, and in particular on lizards. This was the mission of Jesse and Zilber, two scientists associated with the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, who came to Saint-Martin in August 2018, in collaboration with the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation.
“Lizards occupy a very important place in the local food chain because of their great abundance, and because they feed on insects and serve as food for many birds. Any increase or decrease in the lizard population will therefore probably be a sign of global ecological imbalance, "explains the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation.
Jesse had already collected biological data on the island in 2015 and 2016. She was therefore able to compare, last August, the current data, to that of before Irma.
Wooded areas have lost up to 90% of their canopy. This greatly increases the temperature of the soil. The vegetation is also lower. The modification of the forest has important consequences for the lizards who live there.
Before, the forests were mainly populated by species sensitive to high temperatures, and the shade provided by the forest cover made it a sanctuary for a species of lizard typical of Saint Martin: Anolis pogus or Anole from the Anguilla Bank. " Although the name suggests the opposite, Saint-Martin is the only island where this species is currently found and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature oscillates its status from vulnerable to endangered ”suggests Sint Maarten Nature Foundation which warns: “The environmental damage caused by Irma has considerably reduced the abundance of A. Pogus in the forests. Climate change and future hurricanes could lead to the extinction of this species, as has happened on other islands ”.
(More details on www.soualigapost.com)
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