Abstract
The swimming and diving performance of hatchling, juvenile and adult marine iguanas, and the effects of these activities on blood lactate in juveniles were studied under field conditions at Academy Bay, on Isla Santa Cruz, in the Galapagos Islands. By appropriate selection of microclimate, all size classes of marine iguanas maintain body temperatures between 35 and 37 C during the hours of daylight. Despite strong sexual dimorphism no pronounced allometry in body proportions occurs during growth. Newly hatched young are effective swimmers but do not voluntarily enter the water. They feed on algae exposed in the intertidal. Juvenile animals confine their aquatic activity to shallow water and feed mostly in the intertidal zone. Adults also feed in the intertidal but do much of their feeding underwater in subtidal areas.
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