Ancient DNA gives green light to Galápagos Land Iguana repatriation

Land Iguanas, Conolophus subcristatus,were extirpated from Isla Baltra, GalápagosArchipelago in the 1940s. Historical recordsindicate that some Baltra iguanas weretranslocated to nearby Isla Seymour Norte inthe 1930s. Plans to repatriate iguanas toBaltra were suspended when evidence suggestedthat ig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conservation genetics 2003-01, Vol.4 (1), p.105-108
Main Authors: Hofkin, Bruce V, Wright, April, Altenbach, Jennifer, Rassmann, Kornelia, Snell, Heidi M, Miller, Robert D, Stone, Anne C, Snell, Howard L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conservation biology
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Endangered & extinct species
Environmental restoration
Reptiles & amphibians
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Summary:Land Iguanas, Conolophus subcristatus,were extirpated from Isla Baltra, GalápagosArchipelago in the 1940s. Historical recordsindicate that some Baltra iguanas weretranslocated to nearby Isla Seymour Norte inthe 1930s. Plans to repatriate iguanas toBaltra were suspended when evidence suggestedthat iguanas on Seymour Norte may not beentirely of Baltra origin. Comparison of DNAfrom century-old museum specimens with extantiguanas has identified those individuals ofunambiguous Baltra origin on Seymour Norte. These results provide scientific criteria forthe ecological restoration of these endangeredreptiles.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1566-0621
1572-9737
DOI:10.1023/A:1021843305792