Abstract

In January 2002, 158 adult Turks and Caicos iguanas were translocated from islands where they are threatened to islands without existing iguana populations. To study the stress of translocation on the iguanas, we measured the body mass and baseline blood chemistry, hematology, and corticosterone of iguanas at the time of translocation and then re-sampled translocated (experimental) and source (control) populations at one, five, and 12 months post-translocation. Most of the animals that were moved decreased in mass 1 month after translocation but subsequently rebounded and exhibited increased growth rates at five and 12 months post-translocation. None of the eighteen blood chemistry parameters monitored exhibited a significant change as a result of translocation at 1, 5, or 12 months. For standard CBCs, the number of azurophils seen increased significantly after translocation and remained elevated throughout the study period, whereas all other measures did not change significantly. Corticosterone levels of experimental animals were highest 1 month after translocation and subsequently decreased but remained significantly higher than controls throughout the study period. Despite this, successful reproduction occurred on all translocation islands during the study period. Our studies indicate that translocation can cause measurable and protracted stress on Turks and Caicos iguanas but also suggest that this stress does not significantly impede growth or reproduction.