Preserving the Past, Saving the Future: Galápagos

Nature’s reclamation: an image I captured in the Galápagos in 2018

Laying 500 miles off the Ecuadorian coast, the Galápagos Islands form an archipelago of over 20 islands, each with their own diverse wildlife and scenery. The Galápagos are known as the birthplace of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, which was a scientific breakthrough that laid the foundation of modern biology. The immense biodiversity of the Galápagos provided the basis for this theory. Darwin noticed that the finches on separate islands had adaptations that fit the ecosystems on each island. These adaptations included stronger beaks for cracking seeds, different colors to fit into the different environments of the islands, and different sounds. From this, and many other observations, he concluded that animals evolve to suit their environment through a process of natural selection over time.

The wide variety of animals on the islands is due to worldwide ocean currents that brought both sea creatures and land animals traveling on driftwood to the Galápagos. These currents brought animals ranging from turtles, penguins, sea lions, and iguanas to the islands’ shores, where many would develop adaptations depending on the island they landed at.

Unfortunately, these same currents that created the diverse ecosystem of the Galápagos now funnel plastics and other human waste directly to the islands. As plastics collect on the beaches of the islands, they poison the water and soil. They are also ingested by animals who then die. Other animals–especially marine life–get caught in plastics in fatal manners. The plastic seen on the beaches is not only from the shores of South America, but from as far away as Asia. In this way, the actions of humanity impacts the whole world.

Climate Change also threatens these ecosystems in a more direct way. As temperatures rise and weather patterns rapidly change, droughts and extreme weather destroy habitats, and the carefully tuned harmony of the islands and its animals is interrupted. They are unable to adapt or evolve as quickly as the climate is changing, leading to needless suffering and deaths and in some cases even extinction of species.

An image I captured of a giant tortoise in the Galápagos in 2018

Conservation issues caused by humans are also a threat to animal inhabitants of the Galápagos. As humans colonized the islands, they brought with them disease, rats, cats, goats and more–introducing new predators and animals that damaged the habitats of native species as well as native plants. Whalers stopping at the islands in the 1800s even used to eat the giant tortoises, leading to the extinction of at least one species and the near extinction of another–the Pinta giant tortoise. The sole known surviving Pinta tortoise, known as Lonesome George, was spotted in 1971 and taken into captivity the following year. For more than 35 years, conservationists tried to breed Lonesome George with other giant tortoises close to his species, all without success. He died in 2012, the last of his kind.

The good news is that massive efforts have been made in recent times to restore and preserve the islands. Successful eradication programs have restored the balance on many of the islands, and these programs continue. Goats, pigs, and donkeys that were released on Santiago in the 1800s, causing havoc for the island ecosystem and many of its native species, were successfully eradicated in 2006. At one point both goats and fire ants were introduced to Marchena – but impressively, both were successfully eradicated.

On Santiago, black rats introduced in the 1800s ate all the giant tortoise eggs and endangered the species. A conservation project begun in 1965 has increased the population by 800, and the rats were completely eradicated in 2012.

On Plaza Island, non-native mice were responsible for the decline in the cactus population, an important food source for land iguanas. The mice were eradicated in late 2012.

Image I captured in the Galápagos in 2018

On Floreana, 12 species are now locally extinct, including the Floreana mockingbird and Galapagos racer snake, the reason for which is widely thought to be due to introduced feral cats and rats. One of the largest, and most complex, eradication projects ever conducted on an inhabited tropical island is currently underway with the goal of eradicating the rats and cats from Floreana.

The Hood Island giant tortoises were another species that became endangered after Whalers consumed so many of them. Fortunately, Diego, a Hood Island giant tortoise who lived in the San Diego zoo for 30 years, has fathered more than 900 offspring, almost single handedly saving his species. He was released from captivity back to Hood Island in January 2020.

Across Isabela and the Fernandina Islands, the Mangrove Finch has become critically endangered because of a variety of factors including climate change and volcanic activity dramatically reducing their mangrove habitat, and the catastrophic impact of invasive species that feed on the finches’ eggs and chicks. Today, just 100 individuals and merely 20 breeding pairs remain on a very small tract of habitat on Isabela Island. Galápagos Conservancy is supporting research to control invasive rats in their habitats and treat nests with a biocontrol agent to eliminate parasitic flies that kill nestlings.

Other projects include the protection of more endangered species, widespread beach plastic cleanups, and massive restoration projects for coral reefs and the mangroves, to name just a few.

The intense and unique beauty along with the diverse wildlife of the Galápagos cements them as some of the most famous islands in the world. Thanks to their role in Darwin’s work, they are also some of the most influential islands in the world. Let us hope that the successful effort put into preserving and conserving the Galápagos can have as far reaching an influence: and serve as a guide for countless other places facing similar issues.