The simple ecologies of islands like the Galapagos are particularly vulnerable to catastrophic invasions of new species. A focus of Galapagos wildlife managers has been the control of invasive rats, cats and dogs which prey on the endemic Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). The Marine Iguana is associated with many organisms in its coastal environment. I observed Lava Lizards (Tropidurus spp.), Sally Lightfoot Crabs (Grapsus grapsus), mockingbirds, Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia) and finches crawling and/or hopping over them looking for flies, bits of skin and parasites from the surface of their hides. The iguanas appear oblivious to all this activity . . . they either lay prostrate or in an elevated basking position as pictured here. Of the seven Marine Iguana populations, six are categorized as Vulnerable under the IUCN Red List. One subspecies on San Cristobal and Santiago is classified as Endangered due to a 2000 oil spill that caused extensive habitat contamination.
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