2016 Conservation Report
Education for conservation of the Endangered Guatemalan Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura palearis) as a key seed disperser in the seasonally dry forests surrounding four rural communities in eastern Guatemala
Report submitted by Daniel Ariano and Johana Gil
We also promoted a drawing contest entitled “The Guatemalan Black Iguana, a friend from my forest”. We received very nice drawings with conservation messages showing the children’s interest and commitment to protect iguanas. Additionally, the students and teachers learned to distinguish them from other species of iguanas that live within the same area (Iguana iguana and Ctenosaura similis). The contest was carried out at each grade level and prizes were given to the best drawing from each grade. The prizes were soccer balls, which were bought thanks to a donation from a group of students from the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.
Starting in September, we took the students to the HNR for a field workshop allowing them to experience the dry forest ecology firsthand. We taught them how camera traps function, the relevance of iguanas to forest conservation, and more about the natural history of iguanas. By the time of this report, four groups of students and their teachers had visited the Reserve from Cabañas, El Arenal, San Vicente, and San Sebastian elementary schools. Eight more student groups will visit the reserve in the next several weeks from El Rosario, a second group from San Vicente, and a second and third group from Cabañas.
During the months of October and November, environmental education workshops were held for the villagers of El Arenal, who are very important to reach since they are in direct contact with the iguana. All the participants said they eat Ctenosaura palearis, but some commented and praised the work being done with their children in schools. They told us that their children have asked them not to eat the iguanas because they are being extinguished. The objectives of this workshop were to show the adults in the community the threats this iguana faces, why it is important to preserve it, learn how to distinguish it from other iguanas, and gradually to also be involved in the conservation of this species. As part of the workshop activities, villagers were shown videos of Ctenosaura palearis taken with camera traps and learned how important these traps are for conservation studies.
Our environmental education program for elementary schools had a very good acceptance among children and their teachers. We documented the great impact or our education program on the students and their teachers through the questionnaire. At the beginning of the program many children stated they killed iguanas just for fun (20%, n=128) and also the vast majority of students told us they ate Ctenosaura palearis meat (70%, n=447). After the workshops had passed, which included showing videos of iguanas in the wild, the drawing contest, receiving conservation awareness t-shirts, and the field trip to the reserve, we completely changed the minds of children and their teachers. They now have an appreciation of the iguanas and changed their consumption to other kinds of meat (such as Ctenosaura similis which is not threatened and very abundant in the area). They now understand their role in forest conservation and many want to get involved in their care and conservation. Less than 1% of the students (n=4) reported they still kill iguanas for fun and only 5% (n=32) said their families still eat Ctenosaura palearis meat. We expect that the students, and especially the teachers, may spread the message of iguana conservation within their families and community.
Because of the great success we had with schools that were initially part of the education program, we have had many requests from school principals in towns that were not encompassed by the project to consider them for 2017. The Local Coordinator of the Education Ministry said that the program has changed the lives of many children in those impoverished rural communities. For us, there is nothing more soul-fulfilling than the smiles of children that gave their best efforts in drawing the iguana friends they learned to protect.
Camera trap monitoring. Beginning in the last week of April, we implemented a camera trapping program to follow shelter activity of four iguanas that were radiotracked in 2015. These iguanas were monitored with eight Stealth Cam camera traps. This video data was shared in the school workshops and allowed the children to learn about iguana behavior in the wild. With the camera traps we also documented that adult Ctenosaura palearis actively search and hunt for ants (Formicidae) and velvet ants (Mutillidae). The daily activity patterns obtained to date show that Ctenosaura palearis usually emerges from their shelters at approximately 9:00 AM and returns to them at 4:00 PM. We now have a better understanding of Ctenosaura palearis wild behavior and ecology by documenting daily activity, shelter use, and behavior. We also documented other species visiting iguana shelters, such as the Southern Spotted Skunk Spilogale angustifrons, Margay Leopardus wiedii, and the Central American Lyre Snake Trimorphodon quadruplex.
Future. In response to requests from school principals in neighboring towns, we intend to expand the conservation education program in 2017. We will next visit the elementary schools in San Luis, Cerco Piedra, Quebrada Honda, and Puente. We also need to continue camera trap monitoring of iguana daily activity patterns and continue microchip marking for long-term population monitoring. We also need research to determine the genetic structure of the population and identify possible evolutionary significant units throughout the valley. Additionally, we intend to assess basic health parameters such as hemogram and parasite testing, and also determine the gut microbiota that may affect germination of gut-passed seeds. Finally, we need to radiotrack iguanas in the dry season (January through June) to get a better understanding of mating behavior and complement our data from the wet season (July–December 2015).
We will seek additional IIF funding to achieve these goals, which will cover lab reagents, transportation costs, education materials, microchips, and an education program coordinator’s salary.