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A
s for so many of us with an interest in
iguanas, an early educational experience
sparked Allison Alberts to pursue a career
in science. She grew up in the San

Francisco Bay Area of northern California, an
urban center in close proximity to some of the
most diverse and beautiful landscapes in the
United States. When she entered the University of
California–Berkeley, she was undecided in her
studies, exploring both English and science. Not
until she enrolled in a two-semester course entitled
Natural History of the Vertebrates, which included
once-a-week field trips, did her enthusiasm for a
career in science solidify. After graduating with
high honors in biology, she moved to the
University of California–San Diego to begin a
post-doctoral program. After her first year, she
enrolled in the Tropical Ecology course with the
Organization for Tropical Studies in Costa Rica.
This was the first time Allison had traveled to the
tropics and the experience was very influential in
developing her career interests. Allison’s original
thesis topic had been chemical communication
strategies among Neotropical bats. However, after
a few years (and some crazy adventures in
Mexico), she realized that bat research in the trop-
ics was logistically nightmarish and far too costly
for a graduate student. She switched her thesis to
chemical communication in Desert Iguanas
(Dipsosaurus dorsalis), a project that could be
accomplished in the deserts just east and north of
San Diego. In many ways, Allison is thankful that
she switched her thesis in mid-stride, as she has
indeed fallen in love with lizard ecology!

As a post-doctoral fellow, Allison expanded
upon her graduate work by examining communi-
cation in a species closely related to Dipsosaurus,
but which experienced radically different habitat
parameters. Wanting to return to the tropics, she
began studying Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)
chemical communication. This research was con-
ducted partly in the field at Dagmar Werner’s

iguana ranch in Costa Rica, partly in the laboratory
at Texas A&M University in College Station, and
culminated at the Zoological Society of San
Diego’s Center for Reproduction of Endangered
Species. At CRES, Allison was exposed to a
broader scope of research that included conserva-
tion as well as academic goals. After becoming an
associate scientist at the San Diego Zoo, she began
studying the ecology and reproductive biology of
a relatively stable population of Cuban Iguanas
(Cyclura nubila nubila) at the U.S. Naval Station
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. As a group, the
Caribbean iguanas are the most endangered lizards

P R O F I L E
142 IGUANA Volume 10, Number 4

Allison Alberts: 
A Consumate Conservationist

Tandora Grant
Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species, Zoological Society of San Diego

Allison and Cuban Iguana, “Sunny,” at the San Diego Zoo.



on earth, primarily due to habitat alteration and
predation by introduced domestic and feral mam-
mals. Many populations consist solely of adult
iguanas with virtually no juvenile recruitment. A
large and pioneering part of the Cuban Iguana
research, supported by the National Science
Foundation, included testing the viability of head-
starting as a conservation strategy for depleted
populations of large lizards. To quickly rebuild
such a population, determining if hatchling
iguanas could be raised in captivity until they
obtain a size less vulnerable to predators and suc-
cessfully persist in the wild was essential.

In 1991, the Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei)
was rediscovered in a remnant patch of forest near
Kingston. A year later, the Conservation Breeding
Specialist Group hosted a Conservation
Assessment and Management Plan workshop for
iguanids and varanids, which was soon followed by
a Population Habitat Viability Assessment work-
shop for the Jamaican Iguana. As a participant in
these two workshops, Allison met many key peo-
ple concerned with the conservation of Caribbean
iguanas. Among these new colleagues was Rick
Hudson of the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas, with
whom she began incubating the idea of forming a
specialist group for Caribbean iguanas. Together
they organized the first informal meeting in Miami
in 1996, which was attended by 25 people 

from six countries.
Official sanction from
IUCN (The World
Conservation Union)
in 1997 formally estab-
lished the West Indian
Iguana Specialist
Group. Since that first
meeting, the group has
met every year 
to discuss on-going
research, develop
recovery strategies, and
strengthen collabora-
tions. The partnerships
formed have been
instrumental in the
remarkable population
recovery milestones 
for Caribbean Rock
Iguanas seen in the last
decade. Headstarting
is now being success-

143IGUANADecember 2003

Young iguana conservationists in training: Allison’s children
Jonathan (age 4) and Connor (age 6). Allison was instru-
mental in erecting these iguana-warning signs at the U.S.
Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Allison with Iguana Specialist Group members, Rick Hudson, Fort Worth Zoo, and Miguel
García, Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, leads the 2002 Iguana Specialist
Group meeting in the Dominican Republic.



fully applied to wild populations in Jamaica, Grand
Cayman (Cyclura lewisi), Mona Island (Cyclura
cornuta stejnegeri), and Anegada (Cyclura
pinguis). Dr. Alberts’ team has also been investi-
gating how quickly iguana populations can recover
after severe habitat disturbance in Cuba and using
translocation to restore iguana populations to for-
merly inhabited cays in the Turks and Caicos
Islands.

These days Allison spends less time in the
field than in the past. As Head of the Applied
Conservation Division at the San Diego Zoo,
she oversees a staff of seventeen, with projects
that focus on the reintroduction of ecologically
important species, sustainable use of natural
resources, and Southern California species and
habitat conservation. Conservation of iguanas
remains a principal focus for her and many of the
division’s staff members, but the group also is
actively involved in reintroduction programs for
the California Condor, San Clemente Island
Loggerhead Shrike, and Giant Chacoan
Peccaries in Paraguay. Additionally, because con-
servation nearly always requires modifications of
human behavior, the division’s projects in
Madagascar and Mexico work with indigenous
communities to develop butterfly-based pro-
grams that provide significant income, while at
the same time promoting habitat preservation

and restoration. Finally, because San Diego is
located in one of the world’s biodiversity
hotspots, the division’s research continues to
support conservation of Southern California
ecosystems, through a seed banking effort and
ongoing studies of local birds, mammals, reptiles,
and their habitats. Summaries of some of these
projects can be viewed on the San Diego Zoo’s
website (http://www.sandiegozoo.org/conser-
vation/field_projects_list.html).

Allison is the author of over forty journal arti-
cles, two books, ten book chapters, and scores of
technical reports and popular articles. She has
served on numerous editorial review boards and is
a key contributor to several professional societies.
Today, the West Indian Iguana Specialist Group
has expanded its mandate to become a global
Iguana Specialist Group that includes members
concerned with all iguanids. Allison has been
elected Co-Chair since the group’s inception,
which attests to her skills in diplomacy and com-
munication, and to her science-based approach to
conservation. Outside of work, Allison enjoys
spending time with her husband Mike and two
sons, Connor and Jonathan, as well as swimming,
softball, reading, hiking, gardening, and travel. She
is distinguished among scientists by her strong
conservation ethic and compassion for the animals
she studies.

144 IGUANA Volume 10, Number 4

Allison and iguana friends (Cyclura cychlura inornata) on the Allen Cays, Bahamas.

Allison Alberts and Glenn
Gerber release Turks and
Caicos Iguanas (Cyclura
carinata carinata) on Bay
Cay as part of a long-term
restoration program for
the species.




