25-Hydroxyvitamin D Plasma Levels in Natural Populations of Pigmented and Partially Pigmented Land Iguanas from Galapagos (Conolophus spp.).

ABSTRACT: We report the first data on 25-hydroxyvitamin D plasma levels in natural populations of three species of land iguana endemic to the Galápagos Islands (Conolophus marthae, C. subcristatus, and C. pallidus). The pigment is present throughout the whole body in the skin of C. subcristatus and C. pallidus. On the contrary, pigment is not present in the skin of an extended part of the body in C. marthae. The only existing population of C. marthae is syntopic with a population of C. subcristatus, and the two species are closely related. These circumstances would suggest that, under the assumption that the species show a similar basking behavior and in the absence of compensatory mechanisms, lighter pigmentation should favor higher vitamin D

SUBMITTER: Di Giacomo C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9303120 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature