The electroretinographic technique essentially consists in using light to stimulate the retina in a particular set of environmental conditions. Then, a record is kept of the retina response to the luminous stimulus.The following goals were set for the present research: (i) to develop a protocol for electroretinographic exam in healthy green iguanas in order to elicit normal electroretinograms; (ii) to determine which types of photoreceptors exist in the retina; (iii) to assess the influence which the weight and the snout-vent length exert on the electroretinographic parameters. In the literature references consulted, there are few studies on electroretinography in the green iguana. Besides, none of such studies has resorted to any standard and widely accepted protocol for ophthalmologic exam in either human or veterinary medicine. The results obtained in the quantitative analysis were consistent with the simplex, pure cone retina. This suggests that the electroretinographic exam in the green iguana can abide by a protocol based mainly on photopic evaluation.

Thesis--University of Florida. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 353-378).

Activity patterns of Iguana iguana from two locations within Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Fort Lauderdale, Florida were documented and examined. Between May 1, 2006 to April 20, 2007, I. iguana were observed on a routine basis and activities were documented as one of six major activity categories (basking, locomotion, foraging, resting, visual signaling, and other). Data was analyzed to determine differences between activity patterns of I. iguana relative to sites, seasons, and size category within the park. Iguana iguana spent more time basking at Site 1 than Site 2. Size 4 animals which consisted of dominant adult males, spent more time basking than other males and adult females. Size 4 animals also spent less time foraging than hatchlings, juveniles, and other adults. These results complement the existing research on behavior of I. iguana and may be useful in determining invasive control efforts of I. iguana in Florida. / by Stacey R. Sekscienski. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

The purpose of this study is to apply Kenneth Burke's dramatistic method' of analysis to Tennessee Williams' play The Night of the Iguana.

L-Lactate dehydrogenases (LDH) are ¡§house keeping¡¨ enzymes. The LDH isozymes are known to be a very stable, slow-evolving and suitable to be a model to elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among various species. The cDNA sequences of LDH-A4 (muscle) and LDH-B4 (heart) from green iguana (Iguana iguana) were determined. The results of isozyme electrophoresis demonstrated that there are two isoforms of Iguana iguana LDH-B isozyme and called LDH-B and LDH-b. The protein structures of LDH-B and LDH-b monomer were constructed, and these two proteins have the same structure except the 5 different amino acids. The phylogenetic relationships between green iguana and other vertebrates, whose LDH cDNA sequences published previously, were analyzed by phylogenetic tree construction methods Mega2 program as well as Phylip program. These results on the relationships among lizards indicate that Iguana iguana is closer to Sceloporus woodi than to Sceloporus undulates. The divergent times between Iguana iguana and Sceloporus woodi, Iguana iguana and Sceloporus undulatus were estimated about 98 and 188 million years, respectively. The sequences of mitochondrial DNA(12S, 16S and ND1) among these three lizards were also analyzed, and the results were consistent with the traditional phylogenetics that species in the same genus were closer. The unexpected relationship that different genus of Iguana iguana and Sceloporus woodi is closer than that within same genus of Sceloporus woodi and Sceloporus undulates by analyzing among vertebrates LDH isozymes remained to be further confirmed.

In this study, we used ostensibly neutral microsatellite markers to study genetic variance and heterozygosity of endangered Cyclura lewisi during captive management in the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme. We assessed the variation present in the founding population and how genetic diversity changed throughout the past 20 years of management. We also studied how heterozygosity may correlate with fitness through morphometric measures and success of recruitment after release into the wild. While we found a reduction in effective population size, standardized heterozygosity, and fixation indices did not significantly change from the founders to later generations. We found no evidence for inbreeding depression in the captive population but a significant difference in heterozygosity of animals released to the Salina Reserve. Lastly, we found little evidence to support heterozygosityitness correlations using morphometric measures.

O uso de répteis como modelos experimentais é limitado, principalmente devido às particularidades fisiológicas da classe, como as oscilações diárias e sazonais em seu comportamento. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a atividade locomotora e nociceptiva de teiús (Salvator merianae) e iguanas-verdes (Iguana iguana) submetidos a testes comportamentais, ao longo do dia e do ano. Foram utilizados seis exemplares de cada espécie, mantidos em sala com temperatura ambiental (24 a 30°C) e fotoperíodo (12h:12h) controlados. Esses foram avaliados ao longo do dia (0:00h, 6:00h, 12:00h, 18:00h) e ao longo do ano (análise mensal). A análise locomotora foi realizada através do teste de campo aberto (teiús e iguanas), no qual o animal foi colocado no centro de uma arena circular por 15 minutos, e recebeu um ponto por cada ultrapassagem pelas subdivisões da mesma; e pelo teste de natação forçada (iguanas), no qual o tempo de atividade foi mensurado em piscina sem saída por 2 minutos. A resposta nociceptiva foi avaliada por meio de mensuração do período de latência do membro em resposta a estímulo nocivo térmico (25 segundos; 245 ± 7 mW/cm2) na superfície plantar do membro do animal. Não foram detectadas oscilações ao longo do ano no teste de campo aberto em nenhuma das espécies. Ao longo do dia, oscilações foram detectadas de Fevereiro a Dezembro em teiús; e em Abril, Maio, Junho e Outubro em iguanas. O tempo de atividade das iguanas foi menor em Janeiro e às 0:00h. Maiores latências de retirada do membro foram observadas nos meses de Maio e Agosto e às 6:00h em ambas espécies. Conclue-se que teiús e iguanas-verdes em ambiente controlado apresentam oscilações significativas em comportamento observado em teste de campo aberto, teste de natação forçada (somente iguanas) e teste plantar, que aparentemente não seguem padrões anuais claros, sendo provavelmente influenciado por fatores múltiplos ainda não compreendidos para as espécies. / The use of reptiles as experimental models is limited due to their physiological particularities, such as daily and annual fluctuations in behavior. The aim of this study was to evaluate locomotor and nociceptive activities of tegus (Salvator merianae) and green iguanas (Iguana iguana) throughout the day and the year, when undergoing behavioral tests. Six animals from each species, kept under controlled room temperature (24 to 30°C) and photoperiod (12h:12h), were used. They were evaluated throughout the day (0:00h, 6:00h, 12:00h and 18:00) and the year (monthly). Locomotor activity was measured by the open field test, in which the animal was placed in the center of a round arena for 15 minutes and the number of crossings through the subdivisions of the arena was counted, and by the forced swim test (iguanas), in which the activity period was timed after animals were placed in a pool with no scape for 2 minutes. Nociceptive activity was measured as the latency to limb withdrawal reflex in response to a noxious thermal stimulus (25 seconds, 245 ± 7 mW/cm2) in the plantar surface of the animal\'s limb. No differences were detected in locomotor activity in the open field test throughout the year in both species. Throughout the day, fluctuations were detected from February to December in tegus, and in April, May, June and October in iguanas. Activity period in iguanas were shorter in January and at 0:00h. Longer latencies to withdrawal reflex were detected in May and August and at 6:00h in both species. In conclusion, tegus and green iguanas kept in controlled environment have fluctuations in behavior presented in the open field test, the forced swim (only iguanas) test and the plantar test, which apparently do not follow a clear seasonal pattern and are probably influenced by multiple factors that are still unknown for both species.

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, 2015. / Submitted by Tania Milca Carvalho Malheiros (tania@bce.unb.br) on 2015-10-27T16:49:52Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_FabianoCamposLima.pdf: 10026832 bytes, checksum: 060dc880948b94b36b18fa3be7d7ab13 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Viana(raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2015-10-28T17:27:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_FabianoCamposLima.pdf: 10026832 bytes, checksum: 060dc880948b94b36b18fa3be7d7ab13 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-28T17:27:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_FabianoCamposLima.pdf: 10026832 bytes, checksum: 060dc880948b94b36b18fa3be7d7ab13 (MD5) / Investigações que abordam a ontogenia dos vertebrados objetivam padronizar a descrição de uma sequência de desenvolvimento, subsidiando as discussões acerca da evolução dos animais. Objetivando esclarecer o padrão da ontogenia de Iguana iguanaiguana, embriões incubados artificialmente à temperatura constante de 30ºC (± 0,1º C) foram coletados diariamente (dia 1-10) eem intervalos de dois dias (dia 10 até a eclosão), fixados em solução de formol 10% e depois mantidos em álcool 70%, totalizando 142 espécimes. A amostra foi avaliada para a determinação das características morfológicas e posteriormente clareada com KOH e corada com vermelho de Alizarina e azul de Alcian. Alguns espécimes foram submetidos a microscopia eletrônica de varredura e outros a protocolo usual de histologia. Confeccionamos uma tabela de desenvolvimento normal para embriões de I. iguana iguana. Relatamos 17 estágios (28 a 44, haja vista que o desenvolvimento inicial - estágios 1 a 27 - ocorre antes da oviposição) com base em características de desenvolvimento externo como arcos faríngeos, vesículas encefálicas, arcabouço crânio-facial, membros, escamas, pigmentação, dentre outros. Para a descrição do esqueleto do animal adulto, utilizamos dois espécimes que vieram a óbito por causas naturais. O esqueleto foi preparado seguindo métodos usuais e posteriormente descrito. Crânio, ossículos da esclera, aparelho hióide, vértebras e membros apresentam estrutura similar a dos demais lagartos, embora com sutis variações. Adicionalmente averiguamos a condrogênese e a ossificação dos membros torácicos e pelvinos. A condensação dos elementos proximais dos membros seguiu o padrão descrito para Tetrapoda, com a formação do eixo primário fêmur/úmero, rádio/fíbula e ulna/tíbia e, a partir do rádio/fíbula surge o radial/fibular e, posteriormente o elemento distal IV, o dígito/artelho IV, continuando no sentido pré-pós axial e formando o arco digital. No membro torácico a formação dos elementos distais foi observada para todos os cinco dígitos. O dcI permaneceu fundido ao mcI. I. iguana iguana possui um elemento central e outro intermédio no carpo adulto. Estes se formaram por meio de uma condensação independente do arco digital e se ossificaram no período pós eclosão. A condrogênese do membro pelvino foi similar aos relatos para outros lagartos. A presença de dois elementos distais do tarso é compartilhada pela maioria dos répteis. Não foi possível averiguar com clareza a origem do astragalus. Observamos uma intensa área de condensação na região central do tarso que originou o referido elemento, porém a presença de estruturas individualizadas não foi confirmada. Astragalus e fibular se fundiram para formar o proximal do tarso que iniciou sua ossificação no período embrionário (estágio 42) por meio de dois centros de ossificação distintos. Os elementos distais III e IV foram os únicos a se segmentar, os demais permaneceram fundidos a cartilagem do metatarso. O dígito V apresentou desenvolvimento tardio em todos os embriões. A ossificação dos membros e vértebras ocorreu como descrito para os demais répteis. O gradiente de ossificação nas vértebras foi crânio-caudal com a formação de centros de ossificação independentes para o centro vertebral, arco vertebral e costelas. No cíngulo torácico a escápula se ossificou primeiro seguido pelo coracóide. O ilíaco foi a primeira estrutura a se ossificar na pelve, seguido pelo púbis e ísquio. O período de incubação foi de aproximadamente dois meses em ambiente controlado. Com o uso de metodologia similar foi possível aproximar os resultados aos dados obtidos para outros lagartos, averiguando muitas similaridades, o que confirma a característica conservativa do desenvolvimento embrionário do grupo. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT / Investigations addressing the ontogeny of vertebrates aim to standardize the description of a developmental sequence, supporting discussions about the animals evolution. Aiming to clarify the pattern of the ontogeny of Iguana iguanaiguana, embryos artificially incubated at a constant temperature of 30°C (± 0.1°C) were collected daily (days 1-10) and at intervals of two days (day 10 to hatching), fixed in formal in solution 10% and then kept in alcohol 70% totaling 142 specimens. The sample was evaluated to determinate morphological features and was cleared with KOH and stained with Alizarinred and Alcian blue. Some specimens were subjected to scanning electron microscopy and the other sthrough usual histology protocol. A normal development table was made with 17 stages (28 to 44, the initial development - stages 1 to 27 - occurs prior too viposition), based on external characteristics such pharyngealarchs, brain vesicles, craniofacial features, limbs, scales, pigmentation, among others. For the description of the adult skeleton, we used two specimens that died of natural causes. The skeleton was prepared following standard methods and subsequently described. Skull, scleralossicles, hyoid, vertebrae and limbshave similar structure to that of other lizards, albeit with subtlevariations. Additionally we as curtained the chondrogenesis and the ossification off or elimbandhindlimb. The condensation of the proximal elements of these followed the described pattern of Tetrapoda: formation of the primary axis femur/humerus, radius/ulna andfibula/tíbia, from the radius/fibula comes the radiale/fibulare, later the distal element IV, the digit/toe IV, continuing the pre-post axial direction and forming the digital arc. In the fore limb the formation of the distal elements was observed for all five digits. The dcI remainedf used to the mcI. I. iguana iguanahasone central and intermedium element of carpus. These were formed by an independent condensing apart from digital arch and its ossification occurs in post hatching. The chondrogenesisofhindlimbwas similar tothosereported for otherlizards. The presenceoftwo distal elements of the tarsus is shared with mostreptiles. It was not possibleto as certain clearly the astragalus origin. We observed a clouded condensation area in the central region of the tarsus that originated this element, bu the presence of individual structures was not confirmed. Astragalus and fibular merged to form the proximal tarsal, which started to ossificate in the embryonic period (stage 42) by two individual ossification centers. The distal elements III and IV were the only ones differentiated, the others remained fused with metatarsal cartilage. The digit V presented late development in allembryos. The ossification of the limbs and vertebrae occurred as described for other reptiles. The ossification gradient in the vertebraewascranio-caudal with formation of independent ossification centers to vetebrae center, vertebrae archandribs. In the thoracic girdle, the scapula ossified first followed by coracoid. The ilium was the first to ossify in the pelvis, followed by pubis and isquium. The incubation period was approximately two months, in a controlled environment. Using similar methodology, it was possible to approximate these results with data o fother lizards, verifyin gmany similarities, what confirmed the conservative pattern of embryonic development for reptiles.

O uso de répteis como modelos experimentais é limitado, principalmente devido às particularidades fisiológicas da classe, como as oscilações diárias e sazonais em seu comportamento. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a atividade locomotora e nociceptiva de teiús (Salvator merianae) e iguanas-verdes (Iguana iguana) submetidos a testes comportamentais, ao longo do dia e do ano. Foram utilizados seis exemplares de cada espécie, mantidos em sala com temperatura ambiental (24 a 30°C) e fotoperíodo (12h:12h) controlados. Esses foram avaliados ao longo do dia (0:00h, 6:00h, 12:00h, 18:00h) e ao longo do ano (análise mensal). A análise locomotora foi realizada através do teste de campo aberto (teiús e iguanas), no qual o animal foi colocado no centro de uma arena circular por 15 minutos, e recebeu um ponto por cada ultrapassagem pelas subdivisões da mesma; e pelo teste de natação forçada (iguanas), no qual o tempo de atividade foi mensurado em piscina sem saída por 2 minutos. A resposta nociceptiva foi avaliada por meio de mensuração do período de latência do membro em resposta a estímulo nocivo térmico (25 segundos; 245 ± 7 mW/cm2) na superfície plantar do membro do animal. Não foram detectadas oscilações ao longo do ano no teste de campo aberto em nenhuma das espécies. Ao longo do dia, oscilações foram detectadas de Fevereiro a Dezembro em teiús; e em Abril, Maio, Junho e Outubro em iguanas. O tempo de atividade das iguanas foi menor em Janeiro e às 0:00h. Maiores latências de retirada do membro foram observadas nos meses de Maio e Agosto e às 6:00h em ambas espécies. Conclue-se que teiús e iguanas-verdes em ambiente controlado apresentam oscilações significativas em comportamento observado em teste de campo aberto, teste de natação forçada (somente iguanas) e teste plantar, que aparentemente não seguem padrões anuais claros, sendo provavelmente influenciado por fatores múltiplos ainda não compreendidos para as espécies. / The use of reptiles as experimental models is limited due to their physiological particularities, such as daily and annual fluctuations in behavior. The aim of this study was to evaluate locomotor and nociceptive activities of tegus (Salvator merianae) and green iguanas (Iguana iguana) throughout the day and the year, when undergoing behavioral tests. Six animals from each species, kept under controlled room temperature (24 to 30°C) and photoperiod (12h:12h), were used. They were evaluated throughout the day (0:00h, 6:00h, 12:00h and 18:00) and the year (monthly). Locomotor activity was measured by the open field test, in which the animal was placed in the center of a round arena for 15 minutes and the number of crossings through the subdivisions of the arena was counted, and by the forced swim test (iguanas), in which the activity period was timed after animals were placed in a pool with no scape for 2 minutes. Nociceptive activity was measured as the latency to limb withdrawal reflex in response to a noxious thermal stimulus (25 seconds, 245 ± 7 mW/cm2) in the plantar surface of the animal\'s limb. No differences were detected in locomotor activity in the open field test throughout the year in both species. Throughout the day, fluctuations were detected from February to December in tegus, and in April, May, June and October in iguanas. Activity period in iguanas were shorter in January and at 0:00h. Longer latencies to withdrawal reflex were detected in May and August and at 6:00h in both species. In conclusion, tegus and green iguanas kept in controlled environment have fluctuations in behavior presented in the open field test, the forced swim (only iguanas) test and the plantar test, which apparently do not follow a clear seasonal pattern and are probably influenced by multiple factors that are still unknown for both species.

Inbreeding depression has alarming impacts on threatened species with small population sizes. Assessing inbreeding depression has therefore become an important focus of conservation research. In this study, heterozygosityitness correlations (HFCs) were measured in adult and hatchling Lesser Antillean Iguanas, Iguana delicatissima, from a sampling site at Batali Beach in Dominica to assess the role of inbreeding depression on hatchling fitness and recruitment to the adult population in this endangered species. HFCs in hatchlings revealed no significant correlations and no general effects, suggesting that inbreeding depression may not be affecting hatchling fitness. Further, there were no significant differences in heterozygosity between the adult and hatchling groups suggesting that inbreeding depression may not be an important factor in shaping the population dynamics of I. delicatissima in Dominica. HFCs in the adults, however, revealed a significant negative correlation between heterozygosity and snout-vent length, which is more consistent with outbreeding depression in the population.