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Influence of morphological, chemical and physical leaf traits on food selection of a herbivorous iguana from The Bahamas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 November 2015

Charles R. Knapp  and
Silvia Alvarez-Clare
Charles R. Knapp*
Affiliation:
Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, 1200 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago IL 60605, USA
Silvia Alvarez-Clare
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, North Central College, 30 North Brainard St., Naperville IL 60540, USA
*
1Corrsponding author. Email: cknapp@sheddaquarium.org
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Abstract:

Herbivores are predicted to forage on a variety of plants in order to obtain a nutritionally sufficient diet. Most herbivores, however, forage non-randomly and may be influenced by morphological, chemical and physical traits in their food. We examined the influence of several leaf traits on food selection for the Exuma rock iguana (Cyclura cychlura figginsi). We expected the iguana to prefer leaves with higher nutrient concentration and lower physical defences, such as reflected by high N, P, Ca, K, Mg concentrations and low leaf density and per cent concentrations of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, respectively. We quantified selection by examining 30 faecal samples and analysing traits of leaves from the 10 most common plants on the island. Our results showed substantial variability in all measured traits among species but food preference only for less-dense leaves, a good indicator of low leaf toughness. Our results are the first to demonstrate that physical leaf traits can influence food selection in a true herbivorous lizard and offer a basis for future testing.

Keywords

Cyclura cychluraherbivoryIguanidaeislandleaf densitylizard
Type
Short Communication
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 75 - 78
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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