Marine iguana

The marine iguana is a Galápagos lizard that dives into the sea to forage, feeding mainly on marine algae.

Marine iguana diving: The underwater foraging behavior in which marine iguanas dive to graze on algae. Dives carry iguanas to submerged algae, but cold and waves constrain how long they forage.
Galápagos Islands: An Ecuadorian archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, known for distinctive volcanic ecosystems and endemic species. Marine iguanas evolved and live only across this archipelago.
Marine iguana conservation: Efforts to monitor and protect marine iguanas and their island habitats. Conservation addresses habitat pressures and population declines affecting some colonies.
Fernandina Island: A western Galápagos island with active volcanoes and extensive marine iguana habitat. Its marine iguanas inhabit a remote, volcanically active island.
Marine iguana thermoregulation: The behaviors marine iguanas use to regulate body temperature, including basking and adjusting dive activity. Basking restores heat lost during cold-water feeding.
Iguanas: A family of mostly herbivorous lizards native to tropical regions of the Americas and nearby islands. Marine iguanas belong to this lizard family.
El Niño: A periodic warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific that alters weather and marine ecosystems. El Niño can reduce algal food and cause severe starvation among marine iguanas.
Santa Cruz Island: A populated central island in the Galápagos archipelago with varied terrestrial and coastal habitats. Its coastal colonies occur near the archipelago's main conservation and research center.
Marine iguana nasal gland: A specialized gland that removes excess salt from a marine iguana's body. The gland expels salt swallowed with seawater and algae.
Amblyrhynchus: A genus of iguanid lizards containing the marine iguana as its only living species. This genus identifies the marine iguana's distinct evolutionary lineage.

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