Abundance of the Fijian crested iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis) on two islands

Abstract The Fijian crested iguana ( Brachylophus vitiensis ) has a severely restricted distribution and is secure on only one island, the Iguana Sanctuary island of Yadua Taba. Line transect surveys of sleeping iguanas at night on Yadua Taba were used to assess the feasibility of this technique for population surveys of other islands, and for monitoring iguana numbers during the recovery process on islands selected for habitat restoration. Our surveys on Yadua Taba revealed population densities of 196 iguanas per hectare in forest habitat. On the smaller island of Monuriki, where crested iguana sightings were frequent in the early 1980s, the population density estimate was nine iguanas per hectare for the largest stand of forest. The total population estimate for Yadua Taba is > 6000 iguanas, while for Monuriki it is