The blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila) is a state and federal endangered species in part due to the decline of suitable habitat throughout the San Joaquin Valley of California. The San Joaquin Desert has become increasingly fragmented over time, forcing blunt-nosed leopard lizard populations into isolated areas with diminishing or unsuitable resources. Efforts are being made to preserve extant populations and bolster dwindling populations through management and captive breeding, however it is crucial to ensure these resources are being used effectively. To understand how their ecology affects their success on the landscape, we used radio telemetry to track 11 individual adult leopard lizards in 2022, 6 lizards in 2021, and 21 lizards in 2020 during the main active season to determine home range size and land use. Additionally, we collected soil samples, operative temperature estimates, rodent burrow density, percent open space, and landscape data across the Little Panoche Valley region. Understanding how these factors contribute to blunt-nosed leopard lizard population dynamics inform ongoing recovery efforts, including Panoche Plateau repatriation.

Stephanie grew up in the Central Valley of California where she attended grade school and community college at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree from UC Davis in 2017, she decided to move back to the Valley for work. Eventually, motivated by a desire to move ahead in her career, she decided to get her Master’s degree from CSU Fresno with her research focusing on the Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard.