Baseline research aims to build up our knowledge of the status and distribution of native and introduced species — the components of an ecosystem. Detailed data about the current state of the ecosystem are critical for detecting and measuring changes and assessing the state of its health. A baseline provides a frame of reference with which to assess changes that may occur to specific elements of the ecosystem. This baseline comprises current data on such elements (like plants, reptiles, or fish species), and on the factors that affect the ecosystem, such as human population and activities and invasive species.
© CDFCDF entomologist Lázaro Roque-Albelo uses a light trap as part of invertebrate baseline data collection.CDF and its partners, especially Galapagos National Park, work together to create a baseline of island biodiversity, using surveys, species population counts and mapping. These inventories focus on the status and distribution of threatened native species and invasive introduced species of plants and animals.
People often think that Galapagos has been so well studied that we must already have a good baseline of information on the plants and animals of the archipelago. However, this is not the case - there are still big gaps in our knowledge. For example, new surveys for threatened plants, in areas never before visited by scientists, have led to the rediscovery of several endemic plants thought to be extinct. The Isabela Project has created trail grids on various islands, and these new trails through previously unexplored areas led to the discovery of some of the densest populations of giant tortoises known.
Much remains to be discovered in the enchanted isles.