Abstract
This chapter examines the environmental determinants of body size in Galápagos marine iguanas. It presents a mechanistic model to describe the feeding performance of male iguanas in Santa Fé and Genovesa and three other island populations. It examines the variations in average temperatures and algae pasture height to predict maximum body mass. Three predictions can be drawn from the analysis: small animals can survive over a larger range of environmental conditions than large animals; algae pasture height is the only model parameter that affected maximum permissible body size in marine iguanas; and the digestion of large iguanas is much more constrained than that of small iguanas.
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