The purpose of the research is to study the throat color polymorphism in Uta stansburiana (side-blotched lizards) and its association with alternative mating strategies. Our methods involve capturing a representative set of color morphs using lizard lassos. Some lizards will be sacrificed for genetic and gene expression analyses, while others will be released if sufficient numbers have already been sampled or if they are not currently expressing their throat coloration. Released lizards at Hastings will be toe-clipped to contribute to ongoing demographic and survival studies which is consistent with the long-term research at other sites and hopefully starting at this Hastings too. Our surveys will be confined to the reserve, and all sampling will occur within walking distance of the field station. Since this is a new survey location for us, the precise sampling sites are still to be determined.

Approved