Her scientific instincts overrule her instincts as a disciplined naturalist. That's why she sits passively in the forest, occasionally startling wildlife that happen upon her. Risks accepted, Woodley enjoys the opportunity to study the aggression of female mountain spiny lizards. Woodley prefers the daylight conditions needed to study mountain spiny lizards compared to her last scientific gig, which involved evening studies of salamanders for her master's research. It was spooky to be alone in the dark forest at night, she says.
Salamanders are nocturnal.
Nighttime was study time. For the past three years, Woodley has studied the behavior of five-inch long mountain spiny lizards. She collects blood samples and measures levels of aggressive behavior during annual cycles. Mountain spinys are abundant along the wood-lined creeks of Arizona sky islands like Mt. Graham. They do not fear humans.