Save the marine iguana
Save the marine iguana
The Issue
Jordan Guevara
Science/P.8/Mr.Shultz
5/21/18
Save the Marine Iguana.
The Marine Iguana is a very unique animal. It is the only kind of animal like it. These animals only live off the coast of the galapagos islands. They feed on seaweed and other plant matter. They are part of the reptile family. Their scientific name is Amblyrhynchus cristatus. They are pretty big lizard, growing 4-5 ft in length.
They are important to science because they are the only semi aquatic sea lizard. Another unique thing about them is the fact that they evolved off the main land. This causes a different evolutionary path than similar animals on the mainland. A quick example of this is the green iguana and the marine iguana. They have a similar body structure to any other iguana. They also have a similar anatomy they have scales, claws, and both are reptiles. They are also different in many ways. Green iguanas are omnivores. and eat plants and insects. While there sea going cousins are completely vegetarian. They eat seaweed and other plants.
Their downfall was caused by immigration of other species from europe and other places. 1 of these animals are rats. Rats will search for nests and eat the eggs, this will severely decrease the population of the iguanas. Another animal that may be surprising to you are dogs. They kill and eat marine iguanas.Since these are unnatural to their native habitat they do not know what to do when they appeared. Normally prey and predators have a very balanced yin and yang style of balance. When multiple new predators are introduced to any habitat it can screw the whole ecosystem over.
The rapidly changing earth is also having an effect on them. Since they lay their eggs on the shore the rising sea levels would force an ancient tradition of laying the eggs down by the shore. This would put a lot of pressure on the animals. This would cause rapid evolution in behavior or appearance or both. Since they are also cold blooded animals they regulate their body heat from the air and sun. With the rise in global temperature it will be harder for them to be out in the sun for long periods without overheating. This will affect how long they can forage for food.
In conclusion, these are just some reasons to protect the marine iguana. And the dangers that these creatures lives are only growing. So with your help we can save these one of a kind creatures from entering the already long list of extinct animals by human hands. So please sign this petition to save these animals.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/m/marine-iguana/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/marine-iguana
The Issue
Jordan Guevara
Science/P.8/Mr.Shultz
5/21/18
Save the Marine Iguana.
The Marine Iguana is a very unique animal. It is the only kind of animal like it. These animals only live off the coast of the galapagos islands. They feed on seaweed and other plant matter. They are part of the reptile family. Their scientific name is Amblyrhynchus cristatus. They are pretty big lizard, growing 4-5 ft in length.
They are important to science because they are the only semi aquatic sea lizard. Another unique thing about them is the fact that they evolved off the main land. This causes a different evolutionary path than similar animals on the mainland. A quick example of this is the green iguana and the marine iguana. They have a similar body structure to any other iguana. They also have a similar anatomy they have scales, claws, and both are reptiles. They are also different in many ways. Green iguanas are omnivores. and eat plants and insects. While there sea going cousins are completely vegetarian. They eat seaweed and other plants.
Their downfall was caused by immigration of other species from europe and other places. 1 of these animals are rats. Rats will search for nests and eat the eggs, this will severely decrease the population of the iguanas. Another animal that may be surprising to you are dogs. They kill and eat marine iguanas.Since these are unnatural to their native habitat they do not know what to do when they appeared. Normally prey and predators have a very balanced yin and yang style of balance. When multiple new predators are introduced to any habitat it can screw the whole ecosystem over.
The rapidly changing earth is also having an effect on them. Since they lay their eggs on the shore the rising sea levels would force an ancient tradition of laying the eggs down by the shore. This would put a lot of pressure on the animals. This would cause rapid evolution in behavior or appearance or both. Since they are also cold blooded animals they regulate their body heat from the air and sun. With the rise in global temperature it will be harder for them to be out in the sun for long periods without overheating. This will affect how long they can forage for food.
In conclusion, these are just some reasons to protect the marine iguana. And the dangers that these creatures lives are only growing. So with your help we can save these one of a kind creatures from entering the already long list of extinct animals by human hands. So please sign this petition to save these animals.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/m/marine-iguana/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/marine-iguana
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Petition created on May 21, 2018