Caribbean Regional Program

Multiple adaptive radiations have taken place on the islands of the Caribbean, making this region one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. To help conserve the enormous biodiversity found in the Caribbean, CRES has established a regional conservation program using iguanas as flagship species.

Iguanas make excellent flagship species for conservation in the Caribbean for several reasons. Being native to most islands of the Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles, iguanas have one of the widest distributions of any closely related group of terrestrial organisms in all of the Caribbean. Additionally, of the 11 species of iguanas native to the Caribbean, 10 are endemic (found nowhere else). Further, all 10 endemic species are listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species: five as critically endangered, one as endangered, and the remaining four as vulnerable. And as the dominant native herbivores and frugivores on most Caribbean islands, iguanas play a critical role in the maintenance and perpetuation of native plant communities, both through herbivory and the dispersal and germination of seeds that pass through their digestive tracts. Finally, as the largest native land animals on most Caribbean islands, iguanas have great appeal to the public.

The Zoological Society of San Diego has been actively involved in the conservation and research of endangered Caribbean iguanas since 1992. Caribbean iguanas are well represented in the collection at the San Diego Zoo, and CRES is involved in captive breeding programs for three species: Anegada, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. At present, CRES’ Caribbean field program consists of four main iguana projects: Turks and Caicos, Anegada, Lesser Antilles, and Northern Bahamas. All of these projects involve collaborations with local partners and include education, capacity building, and technology transfer components in addition to conservation research with the ultimate goal of securing the long-term survival of Caribbean iguana species and their threatened dry-forest ecosystems.