Keith Winsten From Florida Today

How much can you learn from a lizard? A lot, it turns out.

Next year the International Iguana Foundation (IIF) turns 20 — and I’ve been associated with the group for the last seven years. What we do is save endangered species of iguanas from all over the world.

Most of us only know about the big green iguanas found throughout Central America and South America. The ones that have taken over the gardens of South Florida and fall out of trees during cold spells. The ones that can undermine canal banks with their tunnels and eat through new planted shrubs in an afternoon.

Why we would want to save those? Well, we don’t. That species of iguana is doing fine. In fact, in some countries, green iguanas are raised for food — like we raise cattle.

We save the other species of iguanas. The ones you haven’t heard of. And there are 43 other species mostly found in three hotspots for iguana diversity – the Caribbean islands, the Fijian islands and Central American.

The island species are often the largest native land animals found in those places. Many of them have evolved to play very specific roles in the unique dry forests they call home. And most are struggling to survive. These island species face a very specific threat.

They evolved in habitats without predators. Nothing ate them. So when mankind introduced creatures such as rats, cats, and mongooses, they were unprepared to deal with the new threat.

Many species of these Caribbean rock iguanas were down to a few dozen or fewer animals before the IIF got involved.

Working with local organizations in places like Jamaica and the British Virgin Islands, we began “headstart” programs where baby iguanas are collected from the wild, grown in rearing facilities, and then released into the wild when they are big enough to fend off the invasive predators. Its worked, and quite a few species are on the road to recovery.

For examples, the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana is doing so well, that the people of Grand Cayman no longer need our help. And this species has become a source of national pride on Grand Cayman.

They even have a cocktail named after them. We also hold them at Brevard Zoo — we have two pairs and hope to breed them in the future when they get a little older. But right now, the boys and girls don’t get along to well. Just like young humans.

So we’ve learned a lot about how to study iguanas, headstart their young and work with local people to engage them in saving their native iguanas. But to most people, these skills seem pretty esoteric (unless you love iguanas).

So let me paint a broader picture. Each year we review proposals from iguana researchers and conservationists looking for funding for their work. Three of this year’s proposals demonstrate how big answers can come from relatively little creatures.

One proposal was designed to study a species of spiny tail iguana in Mexico that distributes the seeds of a cactus species. Why is that important – because the cactus is harvested by people and plays a significant role in the local economy. So the project would actually put a dollar value on the “ecosystem” service provided by the iguana.

This a major question we are all trying to answer – what is the cost of losing species? Another proposal looked at two similar populations of marine iguanas. The difference is that one is subjected to a relatively high level of ecotourism (tourist love to visit and even sometimes feed iguanas).

The researcher was trying to quantify how the health of these iguanas is affected by regular contact with humans. That is also an important question whereever ecotourism potentially impacts animals — like whale watches. And finally in Fiji, they rediscovered some iguanas on islands where they thought the animals had disappeared.

It turns out they were living high in trees to avoid the introduced predators living on the ground. Even more remarkable, the researchers think they have learned to lay their eggs in the trees – to avoid predation. So this is evolution in the making – with selection favoring iguanas that avoid ground levels for all phases of the life history.

Pretty cool stuff just from a iguana. And stuff that inform conservation efforts all over the world. So make sure you thank a lizard today.

Keith Winsten is executive director of Brevard Zoo in Viera.

(Photo: FLORIDA TODAY FILE)

For more on this story go to: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/environment/brevard-naturally/2014/11/07/keith-winsten-iguanas-need-help-many-locales/18667471/