Deciphering the depths: collective behaviour and movement of marine iguanas in the Galápagos Archipelago

The marine iguana, a large social amphibious reptile endemic to the Galápagos Islands, offers an unparalleled and unexplored model system to study collective behaviour. This project aims to quantify their movement patterns, with a particular emphasis on understudied underwater behaviours. By integrating state-of-the-art tracking technologies and leveraging the marine iguana’s amphibious nature, we aim to bridge significant knowledge gaps on the mechanisms of collective behaviour across diverse ecological settings, and offer insights that could reshape our understanding of group dynamics.