Iguana of variable size

2000/03/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia

The iguana of the species Amblyrhynchus marins inhabits the Galapago islands and its diet consists mainly of green and red seaweed.

Researchers have studied for 18 years and these studies have observed changes in measures attributed to errors. However, studies reviews and new measurements indicate that changes in measurements were real. The Galapagos iguana has the ability to reduce its size by 20% when it comes to a hunger, including the skeleton. The periods of degrowth of the iguana took place in the hardest years of the El Niño effect, when the temperature changes of the Pacific waters caused the disappearance of green and red algae.

In the years 1997-98 the iguanas lost almost 7 cm, being the ones that suffered the most the changes the females. Losing an inch increases iguana survival by 10%. But the surprising thing is not the ability to lose size: at the end of hunger the iguanas recover again the initial measure.