(chains clinking)
(metal squeaking)
(atmospheric music plays)
(woman laughing in background)
- A group of my lab is working in partnership
with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
and the Fresno Chaffee Zoo
on the conservation of federally endangered
blunt-nosed leopard lizards,
especially those in the northern edge of their range
in the San Joaquin Desert,
which is in the Panoche Hills,
west side of Fresno County.
(people chatting happily in background)
- My name is Kathryn Ramirez.
I'm a Fresno State senior.
Research is so multifaceted that it's never boring. (laughs)
Definitely is never boring.
(atmospheric music continues to play)
They show different
um,
like, phenotype.
So, like they look different basically.
So, the females have this like orange blotching
and that's how —
That's one of the ways you can tell the difference.
There's always something to do.
There's always something new to discover,
and I think that's what really draws me to research.
And I think that's why I'm still here
and why I'm doing as much as I'm doing
because I wouldn't be doing anything else.
This is what I love to do.
- So, we're really trying to understand
the various challenges that these animals might be facing
and what's really limiting whether or not
the population can be growing and viable
or whether it's going to decline and go extinct.
- Models are made out of polymer clay,
and they are deployed for a certain timeframe out
in different micro-habitats
on the two different sites.
And we check them as often as we can
to be able to address if they are attacked,
and that's why we use polymer clay
because it'll leave the imprint of the attacker.
The trail cameras,
if we're lucky,
we'll catch the attacker,
and we'll be able to identify that.
And so ultimately that gives us a good picture
of what is predating on these lizards
and if that affects their endangerment,
ultimately.
- Our part of this much broader effort is focused
on the leopard lizards in the hopes that
at least that part won't blink out,
and we can continue to support the other organisms
that live in that community.
- I think this project exists because
we've been negatively affecting the place that we live
and the animals that live here,
and I think that it's kind of our purpose
to help correct that.
The main thing that makes me hopeful
for the future of this project is probably just our team.
I'm obviously not the only one that cares a whole lot
about these lizards and this population.
And we have a lot of support from all of our partners,
and, you know,
I'm just kind of a seed in this
huge
field that this project is gonna turn into,
and I think that that's really reassuring.
- I want to create an environment where students
can push themselves to discover what they're capable of
while making sure that there's this solid safety net
that they can't actually fall too far.
- Being at Fresno State has just helped me so much,
and it has helped me decide the pathway that I want to take.
And I also want to inspire other undergraduate students
just to
reach out to professors
that they are intrigued by their research
because you can open up a door for yourself that
you never even knew was there.
And that's really important for figuring out your future
and figuring out your path in life.
(atmospheric music chimes boldly and fades out)