scholarly journals Stress physiology as a predictor of survival in Galapagos marine iguanas

2010 ◽  
Vol 277 (1697) ◽  
pp. 3157-3162 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Michael Romero ◽  
Martin Wikelski
2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin R. Rubenstein ◽  
Martin Wikelski

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tariq Aftab ◽  
Rehman Hakeem

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Sten Anslan ◽  
Denisse Dalgo ◽  
Timm Reinhardt ◽  
Nicolás Peñafiel ◽  
Juan Guayasamin ◽  
...  

Abstract Galápagos marine iguanas are primarily associated with the marine environment and show special nutritional adaptations. They are the only lizards worldwide that forage on marine macroalgae. Until now, consumed algae have been identified by direct observations during their feeding activities and microscopic identification in faeces samples. In this study, we use a novel DNA metabarcoding approach to identify consumed algal species from the faeces of marine iguanas. We developed primers for the ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL) gene and applied a metabarcoding approach to 25 individual faeces samples collected in four representative sites of two subspecies (Amblyrhynchus cristatus mertensi and A. c. godzilla), found in the San Cristóbal Island. We detected 18 consistently occurring macroalgal operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Most of the OTUs were assigned to Rhodophyta (red algae) and only one OTU to Chlorophyta (green algae). Despite the number of consumed algal species did not differ between two subspecies (OTU richness; P = 0.383), diet overlap level between A. c. mertensi and A. c. godzilla was low (Schoener index = 0.345), suggesting that both subspecies consumed different algal species in their natural environment. Further studies are needed to understand whether the difference of consumed algae reflects disparities in the abundance of algal species between sites, or whether iguanas of the two genetically differentiated subspecies prefer distinct algal species.


Author(s):  
William H. Durham

Why is Galápagos so endlessly fascinating, whether to read about, to visit, or both? Reasons include its menagerie of truly unusual organisms (like tree daisies, marine iguanas, and flightless cormorants), its relatively low human impact (most of its endemic biodiversity is still extant), and its unrivalled role in the history of science ever since Charles Darwin. Exuberant Life offers a contemporary synthesis of what is known about the evolution of the curiously wonderful organisms of Galápagos, of how they are faring in the tumultuous world of human-induced change, and how evolution can guide efforts today for their conservation. In eight case-study chapters, the book looks at each organism’s ancestry, at how and when it came to Galápagos, and how and why it changed since its arrival, all with an eye to its conservation today. Such analysis often provides surprises and suggestions not previously considered, like the potential benefits to joint conservation efforts with tree daisies and tree finches, for example, or ways that a new explanation for peculiar behaviors in Nazca and blue-footed boobies can benefit both species today. In each chapter, a social-ecological systems framework is used, because human influence is always present, and because it allows an explicit link to evolution. We see how the evolutionary fitnesses of Galápagos organisms are now a product of both ecological conditions and human impact, including climate change. Historically, Galápagos has played a central role in the understanding of evolution; what it now offers to teach us about conservation may well prove indispensable for the future of the planet.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tariq Aftab ◽  
Khalid Rehman Hakeem

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 997-1009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M. Merwin ◽  
Katherine A. Leppert ◽  
Victoria C. Smith ◽  
Lea R. Dougherty

Nature ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 417 (6889) ◽  
pp. 607-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Wikelski ◽  
Vanessa Wong ◽  
Brett Chevalier ◽  
Niels Rattenborg ◽  
Howard L. Snell
Keyword(s):  

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