News archive for 2017
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Preventing Extinctions – Is Gene Drive the Answer?
Island Conservation and partners have been working with the Floreana community in seeing how invasive rodents which have driven with many of the island’s species off the island or even to extinction can be restored – more here
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The Return of the Floreana Tortoise ???
Credit Andrew MillerCan the Floreana Tortoise return to the island from whence it came? Remnant populations on other islands have some Floreana genes so the potential is there – find out more
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Nazca Booby Declining Numbers & Loss of Sardine Diet
Wake Forest UniversityA study by Wake Forest University suggests that the reduction in sardines found in Galapagos waters has had a dramatic effect on the Nazca booby and its reproductive success rate – find out more
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Lava Java – How Coffee is Aiding Forest Restoration
Credit Matt RogersGalapagos grown coffee is helping with a project on Santa Cruz to restore a scalesia forest – very important for the many species that rely on the trees more here
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Epigenetics, Finches & Rapid Environmental Changes
Credit: McNew et al, BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2017Epigenetics could explain how rapid environmental changes resulting from ubanisation in Galapagos have caused finches to adapt to an urban environment find out more
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Shocking Find of Illegally Caught Sharks
The Chinese ship discovered in the Galapagos Marine Sanctuary with thousands of sharks aboard was a ‘mothership’ which collects fish from smaller fishing boats – find out more here
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Oh So Blue!
Island ConservationThe more blue the better is the case with the amazing Blue-footed Booby – get the full story here
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BBC Documentary – Galapagos Islands
Galapagos Islands: A Little World Within Itself – listen to this doco here on life in Galapagos, the wonders to be found there and the challenges that face them. Narrated by Charles Darwin’s great, great granddaughter.
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Floreana Restoration Project – A Paradise in Waiting
Credit Andy KraemerThe eradication of invasive rodents and feral cats on Floreana will mean that extirpated species such as the Floreana Mockingbird and Floreana Giant Tortoise can be reintroduced to the island – more about this inspiring project here
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Darwin’s Thinking – Key Turning Point
Visits to the Zoological Society of London and help from an ornithologist there in identifying Galapagos finches topped of with him seeing interaction between an ape and her keeper changed Darwin’s thinking forever – find out more here
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In Charles Darwin’s Footsteps
Federico Rios Escobar NY TimesA tale of a land based holiday in Galapagos which will bring back memories for many – from the NY Times
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Snakes Alive
Fernandina Snake. Credit: Manny BarreraGalapagos snakes in a second part of of a project run by the Park, Island Conservation and Luis Ortiz-Catedral of New Zealand’s Massey University are being studied to better understand the number of species and distribution more
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Shark Monitoring by Video
Credits: Pelayo Salinas-de-León/Charles Darwin Foundation“These islands are a key ecosystem likely connecting populations of migratory sharks across the islands and mainland of the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and this information is vital for understanding the role of the Galápagos Marine Reserve in protecting threatened shark populations” says Dr. Salinas-de-León – find out more
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The Flightless Cormorant
Photo: Caroline Duffie JudyThe world’s only flightless cormorant lives in Galapagos – find out why the species cannot fly here
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New Book on an Expedition that proved Darwin’s Theories
An expedition in 1905 about which little has been written up to now validated the work of Darwin and is said to be one of the most important expeditions in the history of evolutionary and conservation science
Collecting evolution : the Galápagos expedition that vindicated Darwin
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Tropical Penguins Are Endangered
Photo: Daniela VilemaThe docile and gentle Galapagos penguin is threatened by climate change and other impacts on its habitat. Warmer waters mean they are having to swim further and further in search of food which puts them at risk of larger ocean going predators. There is a silver lining …. more
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Galapagos Godzilla
Photo: AlamyThe marine iguana had been seen as close to a demonic monster by early Galapagos visitors and Darwin referred to them as hideous-looking creatures – this characterisation was at odds with the placid nature of these herbivores. Marine iguana studies have provided insights into the processes of diversification and selection that drive the generation of species in Galapagos more
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Fin-Fish Study to Help Management of Fishing in the Galapagos Marine Reserve
Photo: Anna Schuhbauer, Charles Darwin FoundationFishing is the least managed of Galapagos economic activities and there are signs of over exploitation of fish stocks. Studies of young fish are being undertaken to provide information to help manage fish stocks sustainably. Interestingly fish can be aged by fish otoliths, or ear bones and growth rates established more
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Triggerfish, Pencil Urchins & Hogfish
Photo: YouTube.com/ Fat Fish MoviesThe mid level predator, the triggerfish has been tracked in Galapagos waters and has been shown to be vital to coastal eco-systems. Scientific experiments have shown that there is a three level trophic cascade from the triggerfish to pencil urchins to benthic algae – more
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How Complex Life Came to Galapagos
NASA / ISSFind out how the amazing life forms evolved on the volcanic islands of the Galapagos archipelago and how the islands themselves came into existence – here
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Encounters at the Charles Darwin Research Station
Photo: Paola Díaz, Charles Darwin Research Station.Find out about the many wonderful exhibits and experiences at the Charles Darwin Research Station at Puerto Ayora. The Station which plays a very important role, in collabaration with the Galapagos National Park, in the conservation of the Galapagos islands has 18 active research projects underway from marine conservation to land bird research.
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Galapagos Penguin Chicks Who Won’t Leave Home
Godfrey Merlen, Galapagos National ParkGalapagos penguin chicks have been found to stick around their parents demanding food even though they are old enough to feed themselves – more on this human like behaviour here
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Galapagos Life – a Movie
Kum-Kum BhavnaniGalapagos Life is a movie that profiles the people who live in the astoundingly beautiful archipelago and outlines how it is possible for conservation efforts to exist in a systematic manner over a whole region. A crowd funding campaign has been started to complete production for the film find our more here
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The Super Amazing Blue-Footed Booby
Photo Tui De Roy/Minden PicturesCheck out this great piece on the blue-footed booby with lots of fascinating tales about this most photogenic of birds
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Giant Tortoises Once Widespread Across the Globe
From Darwin’s 1890’s book on his Beagle adventure. Illustration: C. Darwin, 1890. ViewGiant Tortoises once existed in the Americas, Eurasia & Africa with species in northern India & Pakistan growing to the size of a small car – more intriguing reading here
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Giant Tortoises Back From the Brink
Jane Braxton Little, CC BY-NC-NDThe Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative is launched to continue and build on the work of the Galapagos National Park in the restoration of tortoise populations and their habitat after their numbers were reduced by up to 90% over the past 200 years. Image CC BY-NC-ND
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Tourism Operators Going Green
Eric Mohl/Horizon Writers GroupFind out about positive steps being taken by some tourist operators to mitigate the effects of tourism in the Galapagos archipelago
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The Plight of the Frigatebirds
Age Fotostock/AlamyIt is fly or sink when the frigatebird is flying for up to a month or more over water – find out why here
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The Pinzón Tortoise in Island Restorations
Rory Stansbury /Island ConservationThe Pinzón Tortoise is highlighted in this story of island restorations
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Exploring the Depths in Galapagos Waters
Video showing a National Geographic team go deep in a submarine to see wonderful marine life some of which has never been seen before
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Tourism and Threats to Galapagos
DW/M MarekInteresting article on how tourists can unwittingly threaten, amongst other things, the biodiversity of the Galapagos islands
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Amazing Lichens
Charles Darwin Foundation/F.BungartzCharles Darwin researcher tells why is he so fascinated by lichens
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The El Niño – La Niña cycle Effects on the Marine Ecosystem
Image: Jon WitmanGalapagos waters and the ecological drama of climate change – the full story here
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The Origins of Galapagos Biodiversity – 1.6 million years ago
Credit: University of ColoradoWhen some of the islands forming the Galapagos archipelago emerged and began blocking the Equitorial Undercurrent EUC a biological explosion began with the cold nutrient rich water fueling marine productivity – found out more here
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Galapagos Penguin From Above
Photo: Flicker user Gregory ‘Slobirdr’ SmithCheck out how Galapagos penguins camouflage themselves in the water
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Galapagos Matters
The latest issue of Galapagos Matters is here
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Land Iguanas are Seed Dispersers
Along with giant tortoises land iguanas are found to disperse seeds in Galapagos, replacing mammals which are not naturally found on the islands. This function is critical to the biodiversity balance of Galapagos – more on this story
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Sperm Whale Clans – Dialects & Population Shifts
Photo: Dominica Sperm Whale ProjectResearch shows that by studying sperm whale dialects – whole clans can be traced moving from one ocean basin to another. Individuals were identified by bite marks and natural differences in their tails – more here