Iguana Drive You Crazy!

Since I don't even want to think of my stupid exam today, but I do need to teach (yes need... it's a compulsion) something, we are gonna talk about the pretty little guy (or girl?) that was in my post last time, the green iguana.

Like I previously mentioned, the scientific name is Iguana iguana and these guys are super common in the Caribbean and Central and South America. I am also pleased to announce that this guy holds the current record for being the largest lizard in the US.


Eating Habits:

Now I know these guys are really prehistoric looking and have GIANT CLAWS... but they won't bite you or eat bugs or any other protein (unless you feed it to them). They are herbivorous... you know, made to eat vegetation. They love bananas, old mangoes, and hibiscus flowers. This guy here is going after my papayas (right).

Habitat:

They love hanging out in high branches and soak up some sun. They are exothermic, meaning they can't regulate their own body heat like us so they love to bask. I don't blame them... the sun here is perfect for basking in!

Now this is all the information I am gonna give you because when I get enough footage for my iguana video, I do not want you to be bored! HAHA! That is what you call a free sample! I think I may be a bit manic today....


Iguana Make You Crazy! by Marizela Moya is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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About the Lack of Posts

Hey, everyone! Sorry about the lack of content on Potspoon! as of late. Lots of personal things have come up and have really limited access to my computer. Things are starting to even out a bit so be sure to start checking back. I haven't forgot about all my friends in blogland! To make it up to you, I insert an awesome iguana picture... Happy 4th!

Iguana iguana Green iguana

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grumblings about class

I don't even feel like being grammatically correct or anything... so excuse the following post as a scientist-in-progress moment of venting furiously while pounding on her keyboard. Phew! I have a few qualms about a certain professor and their knack for disclosing faculty information to us, the students. One, we don't care who you do and don't get along with. I will find that out at the bar with my other professor friends, not in class. Different setting. I paid for lecture here! Two, don't tell us on Monday that we have an exam in lab on Wednesday. What? We haven't even technically had lab and I don't remember learning anything and we have a test WEDNESDAY?!?!?! I am so grumbly right now. It would not bother me so much if we had a syllabus! We don't even know what this professor's email is! Somehow, however, the other professors NOT giving them a copy of their syllabi for this class is a race issue. I don't get this. Said professor cannot POSSIBLY accuse the professors here of being racist. I go to a HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY! We are ALL minorities. The professors know this and teach here... in the Caribbean. They are NOT racist. The racist ones don't last a semester. Most of our professors have been here for 10 plus years! Why? Because they love the Caribbean and love teaching here! OMG! I wanted to strangle them. Thank goodness I can vent into cyberspace. Notice how I leave out what class it is this professor teaches and gender. I am hoping they are not one of the people in the VI who reads this thing. If this professor is, maybe they wil see the humor in it. Maybe they won't realize it's them.

To make me feel better, I am enclosing a happy iguana picture. The iguana (Iguana iguana, yes that IS the scientific name) is wild in St. Thomas and throughout the Caribbean. We don't keep them as pets here, but there are tons everywhere and they are so much fun! I mean look at this guy... he knows how to live in the tropics.

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About St. Thomas

In case you haven't figured it out, I live in St. Thomas, VI. We are a part of the United States just located in the Caribbean. The Caribbean (for all us science types) is a tectonic plate all its own and the collision and interaction of this little plate with other larger ones is how the Antilles were formed. Because our islands with the rest of the ones in the Caribbean form a chain that acts as a barrier for the fierce Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea is calm and tranquil pretty much consistently.

View from Annaburg Plantation, St. John. Copyright 2007 M. Moya

Pretty, I know. It's not just the scenery that is nice, or the trade winds that keep the temperature mild. Below the surface is a bunch of really beautiful reef. The reefs in the Caribbean are predominately 70 different species of reef building coral, a ton of sponges, crustaceans (think crab and shrimp), mollusks (think escargot and clams)and various other invertebrates. They are also home to hundreds upon hundreds of species of fish, turtles, and other chordates (more on that some other time).

Reef, Gorgonian, and Bait Fish Highway. Lerkenlund, St. Thomas. Copyright 2006 M. Moya.

On land we have some interesting critters as well. About 2,000 species of bug and insects (that includes really pretty butterflies and amazing rhinoceros beetles) also call St. Thomas home as do numerous other types of animals like wild donkeys, deer, boar (although not so much on St. Thomas as St. John now-a-days), iguana, birds a plenty, bats, mongoose, snakes, chickens (they deserve a separate listing than birds) and lots of other fauna.

Iguana in Papaya Tree. Bonne Resolution, St. Thomas. Copyright 2006 M. Moya.

With all this we are still having our problems. Due to over development (living here seems to be prime real estate), our native plants are disappearing and animal habitat is all but gone in places. The snakes are all but gone, we are having a heck of a time breeding the local butterflies as most of the host plants are being removed, the parrots aren't coming back like they should... the list goes on. With all the beautiful scenery and natural environments, it's a shame we can't focus our tourism around this a bit more. Granted there are lots of dive spots, but what of our mangroves and tropical dry forest? What of the gallery forests in out "guts" (guts are temporary waterfalls where freshwater drains off the bedrock)? I think people would want to see this. Maybe it's just me.

Me and my doggy on the beach at Lerkenlund. Copyright 2006 M. Moya.

I enjoy finding the few place left here that haven't been developed, where the runoff from the building hasn't destroyed the reefs, the parrots still sing, and the mangroves are uninterrupted. I love it here, and I think everyone who comes here on vacation should support eco-tourism and the University, so our local government can see what people really enjoy is the pristine.

All Photos by Marizela Moya are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

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Some Photography

At the gentle nudging of SeaLaura, I am posting some pictures to submit to the weekly "Thematic Photographic" over at Written, Inc.'s blog. This weeks theme is nature so I am pulling out some of my faves...

First up is a lake in the Tetons on the Wyoming side... I can't get over this view. The clouds were amazing that day and really is one of my favorite pictures of that location. This was over 3 years ago.

Next is some of my favorite reef in Lerkenlund. This was an amazing bait fish experience. They were all making highways around this coral head. Blew me away. I know SeaLaura wanted me to post an iguana pict for this, but I have a few more that I want to share with you guys later! I hope you have enjoyed my asides today.



Thematic Photographic: Nature by Marizela Moya is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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