{"id":24674,"title":"Marine iguanas \u2013 the ocean\u2019s forgotten victims","description":"Overfishing, pollution, and climate change are devastating the once diverse ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands. This unique archipelago is home to some of the highest levels of endemism (species found nowhere else) on the planet, including marine reptiles like the marine iguana. Once considered to be one of the most abundant creatures on earth, marine iguanas are seeing their numbers rapidly decline.","content":"

By\u00a0Sarah Eager<\/a><\/p>

Overfishing, pollution, and climate change are devastating the once diverse ecosystem of the Galapagos Islands. This unique archipelago is home to some of the highest levels of endemism (species found nowhere else) on the planet, including marine reptiles like the marine iguana. Once considered to be one of the most abundant creatures on earth, marine iguanas are seeing their numbers rapidly decline.\"wttzreji3ppwnkc16x8jrkjyhzex8zoktlmcnkyft14gazi9.png\"Plastic in paradise: the battle for the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands\u2019 future<\/a><\/p>

\u201cNowhere on Earth are the combined impacts of climate change and overfishing more clearly defined than in the Galapagos Islands.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/h6>
\u00a0\u2013<\/span>\u00a0Sylvia Earle.
<\/span><\/h6>

Globally, there aren\u2019t many marine reptile species. Of around 12,000 known reptile species, fewer than 100 are classed as marine reptiles. Marine reptiles were prolific in the Cretaceous and Palaeozoic periods and, in 2015, scientists attributed the mass extinction of prehistoric marine reptiles, including mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs, 94 million years ago in part to global warming. Today, the living species of marine reptiles are sea turtles, sea snakes, saltwater crocodiles, and marine iguanas.<\/p>

Marine iguanas are classified into 11 subspecies, including the Godzilla marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus Godzilla) who\u2019s named after everyone\u2019s favourite fictional lizard.<\/span><\/p>

Looks can be deceiving. When he visited the Galapagos Islands in 1835, Charles Darwin made some unforgiving assessments of marine iguanas. He described them as \u201chideous looking creatures\u201d, \u201cstupid and sluggish\u201d, \u201cimps of darkness\u201d, and \u201cdisgusting, clumsy lizards\u201d. He couldn\u2019t be more wrong. They\u2019re simply misunderstood.<\/span><\/p>

Despite their fierce appearance, marine iguanas are gentle, curious herbivores who flock to greet visitors to the Islands\u2019. Not at all like their bigger fictional cousin.<\/span><\/p>

They\u2019re gregarious, living in large colonies and huddling together in groups at night for warmth. By day they bask in the sun to absorb heat until they have enough energy and body heat to head out to sea to forage. Upon entering the water, they swim agilely and gracefully, and slow their heartbeat to half its normal pace to conserve energy and feed for longer.<\/span><\/p>

In fact, marine iguanas are so good at slowing their heartbeat that they can stop their hearts for up to an hour to avoid sharks, their main ocean predator, who can hear a heartbeat from up to 13 feet. On land, that\u2019s not so effective; cats and dogs introduced to the Islands\u2019 prey on the iguanas. Darwin was the last person to officially record a sighting of marine iguanas on Santiago Island. They were decimated by invasive species introduced by mariners and early settlers to Galapagos\u2019 largest island.<\/span><\/p>

Marine Iguanas are the capybara of the marine world. They\u2019re friendly, docile creatures who nonchalantly go about their lives unfazed by humans. But maybe they should be concerned about us. After all, the human impact is having destructive effects on the Galapagos Islands and marine reptile populations. From pollution to climate change, invasive species to habitat loss through land development, we\u2019re the biggest threat to the marine iguana.<\/p>

Pollution<\/strong><\/p>

The unspoiled perception of the Galapagos Islands gives the impression that the islands are exempt from plastic pollution. The Galapagos Marine Reserve, at 133,000 square kilometres, is one of the largest marine protected areas in the world. So, it must be working, right? Here\u2019s the thing about plastic \u2013 it trespasses. Despite our idyllic mental image, marine reptiles, including the marine iguana, are at risk of severe injury or death from plastic ingestion and entanglement.<\/span><\/p>

Primarily algae eaters who spend much of their time at the sea surface, marine iguanas are greatly impacted by floating plastic. Like sea turtles, they\u2019ll often mistake plastic for food.<\/p>

A study<\/a> by the University of Exeter, the Galapagos Conservation Trust, and the Galapagos Science Center found up to 800 microplastics per square meter, with an average of 449, around Galapagos coastlines. Each year, over 8 tonnes of plastic is removed from Galapagos beaches.\"7q7zmk0xtu4mpckpucrmzti9vjyuwpuhbg1fm5dhkfozib7j.jpg\"Only 2% of the plastic found in Galapagos comes from the Islands\u2019. Most plastic pollution arrives on ocean currents. East-facing beaches have been hit hardest by plastic pollution. These beaches are exposed to debris carried from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), the world\u2019s largest offshore plastic accumulation zone. The GPGP is three times the size of France.<\/p>

In a 2019 <\/span>study<\/a>, researchers worked to determine if:<\/span><\/p>