Marine iguanas have lower metabolic rates during El Ninõ

The Galápagos marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus), the world’s only marine lizard, feeds predominantly on algae. Owing to warming waters and reduced upwelling, algal abundance is reduced during El Niño events, causing high iguana mortality. During such periods, adult iguanas may shrink in size, a compelling phenomenon that has been suggested as an adaptation to reduce energetic needs. However, shifts in energy consumption have never been tested directly. We measured the body condition and metabolic rates of marine iguanas during an El Ninõ year and the subsequent neutral year. During El Ninõ, body mass relative to length was 17% lower, girth relative to length was 12% lower, and resting metabolic rates were 20% lower. This supports the hypothesis that marine iguanas partly offset the adverse effect of El Ninõ by an active response aimed at reducing their energy consumption, complementary to the energy-saving effect of body size reduction. Future ocean warming could force this endemic species to resort to such strategies increasingly often, and will likely exacerbate the already-high mortality rates caused by these events.