Column one | On the trail of San Pedro lizards

Robert Espinoza, herpetologist and professor at Cal State Northridge, searches for a species of lizard in San Pedro.

Robert Espinoza, herpetologist and professor at Cal State Northridge, searches for a species of lizard in San Pedro.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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Enthusiastic novices work with scientists to help them collect a non-native species.

On the trail of San Pedro lizards

Greg Pauly, right, curator of herpetology at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, searches for lizards in San Pedro with students and museum personnel.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

On the trail of San Pedro lizards

Hayden Kirschbaum moves in to catch an Italian wall lizard during a hunt for the non-native species in San Pedro. The lizards are bagged, euthanized and brought to the Natural History Museum for study.   (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

On the trail of San Pedro lizards

Hayden Kirschbaum holds an Italian wall lizard that he caught during a hunt in San Pedro. The high school sophomore got a small grant to work on the wall lizard project.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

On the trail of San Pedro lizards

Greg Pauly holds one of the Italian wall lizards, which were introduced to San Pedro in 1994 and have replaced native lizards over an area of several blocks. “It’s pretty scary that we still don’t have a good idea of the biodiversity of L.A.,” he says.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)