Population genetics of the Critically Endangered Bermuda skink – in Mexico!

I was fortunate enough to secure a Research and Innovation Fund award, which enabled be to attend the Association for Tropical Biology Conservation (ATBC) 2025 conference in Oaxaca, Mexico earlier this year. While Bermuda itself is not tropical, the ATBC team were very welcoming, appreciating the similarities in Bermuda’s climate, as well as the importance of the research I have been conducting.

Coming to the end of my PhD, I was able to communicate what we have discovered about the population genetics of the Bermuda skink during my talk, and what this means for their conservation. In particular, I focused on the structure of the genetic populations, and how this could influence the outcome of moving skinks between sites to reinforce population numbers. My audience asked insightful questions about our work, particularly on the methods we used, which relatively novel and designed to be minimally invasive while producing useful samples.

Owen Greenwood presenting his talk “Genetic Status of the Bermuda skink (Plestiodon longirostris).

Co-authors: Dr. Sarah Griffiths (MMU), Dr. Bradley Cain (MMU), Dr. Leah Williams (Chester Zoo), Prof. Richard Griffiths (DICE, Kent University), Dr. Mark Outerbridge (Government of Bermuda)

Through ATBC2025 I was able to engage with scientific experts from a wide range of fields, as well as ecological practitioners and local communities. As the techniques we used are unusual in tropical ecology, it was a fantastic opportunity to share our insights in to how to do it well, and how it can be applied in other situations. I was particularly successful in talking to other researchers working on reptiles and amphibians about different ways to approach it and even formed collaborative partnerships with labs in America and India. On top of that, I networked with several new research groups and ended up essentially joining the European Society for Tropical Ecology while I was there.

Outside of the conference itself, it was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about Mexico itself. We were based in Oaxaca, which until recently was a relatively unvisited part of Mexico. I soon learnt why it was becoming increasingly talked about. I had the opportunity to explore the hugely diverse cuisine of the area – something Oaxacans take particular pride in – I even learnt how to cook one of their most famous dishes, Mole. The nearby archaeological site of Monte Albán was another highlight, seeing first hand the majesty of an ancient Aztec temple city and learning how to influenced the area throughout history. My favourite discovery however was Hierve el agua (“the water boils” in English), so named for it’s bubbling pools, which over look a ‘frozen waterfall’ of stone. It was here I managed to see the most wildlife, spending a couple of hours hunting for lizards I was unlikely to see again any time soon.

I am very grateful for Manchester Metropolitan University’s Research and Innovation fund for enabling me to attend ATBC2025. It was a fantastic opportunity to engage with researchers from all over the world, as well as promote the excellent research we are carrying out here. I left with a renewed vigour and focus for finishing the final sprint and submitting a thesis which will be framed with a better understanding of the directions of tropical ecology as we continue to move forward.

I came back to research at 33, after over a decade working in various different roles, mostly lab based. My research is focused on the genetic population health of the Bermuda skink, an endemic, Critically Endangered species. We are looking to determine how genetically different the isolated populations of the skinks are across Bermuda, as well as the overall genetic diversity and heterozygosity of the species.