A lifetime of unbounded enthusiasm for all things Galapagos

	Graham Watkins, Executive Director, Charles Darwin Foundation © CDF

As we prepared this e-newsletter, we were saddened to learn of the death of Professor Robert Bowman, a key figure in the history of the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), and of Galapagos.

Professor Bowman was a member of the extraordinary group of visionaries who were the driving force behind creating the Galapagos National Park and the CDF. It was in 1957 that Bowman, Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, and others, after a joint IUCN and UNESCO mission to examine avenues for action to protect the islands, conceived the idea of forming an international institution to support Galapagos conservation.

A renowned ornithologist, Bowman was well known for his sense of humor and seemingly limitless energy, which he channeled into an unbounded enthusiasm for all things Galapagos throughout his professional life. In recognition of his efforts in protecting and preserving the wildlife and ecology of the Galapagos Islands, Bowman was awarded the Republic of Ecuador's Medal of Honor in 1964.

Robert Bowman once said, “No area on earth of comparable size has inspired more fundamental changes in man's perspective of himself and his environment than the Galapagos Islands.”

In 2006, we find ourselves again facing an apparently impossible situation, equivalent to the challenges Bowman and his colleagues confronted when they conceived the Charles Darwin Foundation. It is critical, in the memory of Robert Bowman and others like him, that the present generation takes up the new challenges to Galapagos conservation, ensuring that in another 50 years time, the islands will be even better conserved than they are now.

All my best,

Graham Watkins

A century of concern for Galapagos

Officials at the CDRS inauguration ceremony in 1964 © CDF

During the 1950s, significant strides were made to make Galapagos a protected area, building on earlier efforts in the 1930s. This was a direct result of recommendations made by a dedicated group of individuals who were devoted to the conservation of Galapagos as a site of pristine beauty and unrivalled uniqueness deserving of the world's attention and support to promote its conservation.

Following his visit to the islands in 1954, Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, an ethologist from the Max-Planck Institute, concluded that there was cause for alarm about the potential for the ecosystem's survival against invasive species and human impact. Eibl-Eibesfeldt raised the issue before the recently formed International Union for Protection of Nature, now the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and expressed his concern to the Government of Ecuador. His appeal gained many sympathizers, notably Robert Bowman in San Francisco, and they began urging the establishment of a biological research station on the islands. Several distinguished scientists in Europe and the Americas joined with them, including Julian Huxley, Roger Heim, S. Dillon Ripley, Jean Delacour and Misael Acosta-Solis. Delacour and Ripley, on behalf of the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP), presented and gained approval for the proposal with the Government of Ecuador. This was the base from which the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) were created in 1959. This lasting partnership, combining science and management, has been the key to the successful and on-going restoration of the Galapagos ecosystem.

When this group of pioneers began to scrutinize conservation issues in Galapagos, they encountered a bleak history of recent events. Previously, a 1906 California Academy of Sciences expedition of scientists had registered hopelessness. Whalers and fur sealers had stripped natural resources from some islands, and, like many recently arrived settlers, had slaughtered tortoises and left domesticated animals to wreak havoc among the fragile biodiversity of the islands. Alarm bells were still going off in the early 1950s, before the CDF began operations, when scientists noted that giant tortoises continued to be harvested, sea lions were being killed for sport, and invasive species were competing with native species - and winning.

Today, the extraordinary accomplishments of the CDF and the Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) are a testimony to the foresight of Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Robert Bowman and their colleagues. The advances made in the conservation of the islands over the last fifty years are the direct product of the conception of the CDF as an integral part of the fabric of Galapagos conservation, a remarkable institutional mechanism that permits the international community to work directly with the Government of Ecuador and the GNPS.

The Galapagos Islands remain a globally unique and fascinating ecosystem that are integrally bound to western evolutionary thought and are iconic model conservation sites. The islands represent one of the great global conservation success stories, in the face of the substantial threats that result from the interactions between people and the islands.

New and growing pressures, nonetheless, continue to challenge the successes of the past. As globalization proceeds, the threats to the islands grow exponentially. The increasing accessibility of the islands and the demand from international markets for tourism and marine products fuel an accelerating cycle of economic and population growth in Galapagos. This, in turn, places a strain on the existing local institutions. At the same time, as the Galapagos community becomes more heterogeneous and as alliances with external interest groups proliferate, conflicts have multiplied.

To protect Galapagos CDF and our partners will have to work together to forge a shared vision, create sustainable and equitable local businesses that are not driven by external markets and investments, build a Galapagos culture that understands how to live in a fragile island ecosystem, and further strengthen critical local institutions to lead these changes. We must, at the same time, continue to address the mounting threats of invasive species fed by the flows of people to, from, and among the islands. In doing so, we cannot forget critically endangered species - endemic insects, snails, snakes, geckos, and plants - that are perhaps less charismatic than the tortoises, but are vital to the health of the ecosystem.

Continual support is needed to ensure that these remarkable islands continue to be a haven of wildlife and a model of conservation. In 2006, the islands are again facing an apparently impossible situation, equivalent to the challenges that the visionary group of scientists and their colleagues confronted when they conceived the Charles Darwin Foundation in the 1950s. It is in the hands of the present generation to take up the new challenges to Galapagos conservation, ensuring that in another 50 years' time, the islands will be even better conserved than they are now.

Graham Watkins
CDF Executive Director

Lichens — nature's environmental sensors

Native loop lichen (Hypotrachyna isidiocera) © CDF Frank Bungartz   Lichens - small inconspicuous plants that live on the bark of trees or even on bare rock - are sensitive environmental indicators and are often the earliest warning signs that something has gone wrong. During February and March, CDF's new lichen specialist, Dr Frank Bungartz, and visiting consultant Dr André Aptroot, explored all vegetation zones on eight different islands to update the lichen surveys last undertaken during the 1980s. As a result, a staggering 300 new species' records for Galapagos are now housed at the CDRS herbarium amongst more than 4000 specimens collected during the survey. Lichens have recently been used to assess the impact of burning trash at the domestic waste site on Santa Cruz Island. Results indicate the urgent need to establish alternatives for waste disposal. This is a clear example of how monitoring the lichen flora in Galapagos will help give advance warning that an ecosystem might be unstable, a useful tool when balancing the needs of the human population with the conservation of Galapagos.

Insects tell the story of the extraordinary recovery of Pinta Island

CDF entomologist Lazaro Roque at work in the field © CDF Lazaro Roque   Over 20 previously unregistered moth species, an abundance of known endemic moths, and possibly a new species of beetle were recorded by CDF entomologists and specialists from the Geneva Museum of Natural History and Wake Forest University during a March trip to the isolated and rarely visited Pinta Island. The team was there to evaluate the recovery of the island following the 2001 eradication of the feral goats that once ravaged the island, as well as to study the evolutionary biology and chemical ecology of moths. Because of their short generation time and specialized feeding habits, insects are an important indicator of the health of any ecosystem. Damaged ecosystems generally register very low levels of endemic species. However, the recent findings of large numbers of endemic species on Pinta and the impressive recovery of the native vegetation on which they depend, clearly shows there is hope for islands that have been heavily affected by introduced species to return to their natural state.

Rare deep water sea pens rediscovered

Deep-water endemic octocorals known as sea pens © CDF   A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) is changing the way that CDF marine staff carry out marine ecological monitoring. Such studies are critical to evaluate the state of marine resources and the effectiveness of the coastal zonation system established by the Galapagos National Park Service in 2000. The ROV allows researchers, who were previously restricted to safe diving depths of around 100ft, to access depths of up to 500ft, to take video footage and collect marine samples in previously uncharted habitats. The first explorations in early April revealed an exciting rediscovery of rarely seen, deep-water endemic octocorals known as sea pens, 200ft down in Sullivan Bay off Santiago Island. Sea pens were once more abundant in the sandy bottoms of the cooler waters in the western islands but are considered extremely rare and even locally extinct since the strong El Niño event of 1981/82. Although the strange, featherlike corals disappear into the sand, making collection for positive identification difficult, initial observations suggest that these species (tentatively identified as Virgularia galapagensis, Cavernulina cf. darwini, and a third unnamed species) have persisted in cold, deep water, soft-bottom environments. “These octocorals may represent the last remaining species that have survived strong climatic events and their collection locations may be sites for future population recovery,” says CDF oceanographer Stuart Banks. “What we are finding using the ROV emphasizes the need to better understand these fascinating habitats. New discoveries are sure to follow.”

Netting the small fry to get the big picture

Lobster larva collected in nuestron net © Kathleen Newell

CDF and Park Service marine staff were able to test the efficacy of a variety of neuston tows (special nets designed to collect surface plankton samples) during a January trip to study the distribution and abundance of the hard-to-find lobster larvae.

The study was part of ongoing bi-institutional research being undertaken by the Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) and the CDF aimed at understanding the population dynamics of these ecologically and commercially important species in order to strengthen resource management. “It is essential to confirm if the lobsters in Galapagos originate outside the archipelago or whether these populations are restricted to Galapagos (closed population), which has very different management implications,” said Eduardo Espinoza, the GNPS project coordinator.

The commercial spiny lobster fishery has been managed as a closed resource and, according to the fisheries' management studies, is showing signs of depletion. Key information is lacking about the lobsters' life cycle, however, and this information is necessary to create the recruitment index, improve resource management, and generate population models that will help develop sustainable management plans.

The CDF and Park team were able to traverse the Galapagos Marine Reserve traveling with visiting scientists aboard the University of Washington's School of Oceanography research vessel R/V Thompson exploring a 400-km-long section of the Galapagos mantle plume and volcanic hotspots.

CDF issues alert about the rare waved albatross

Rare waved albatross (Phoebastria irrorata) © Lars Fritschi   The CDF, in its role as scientific advisor to the Government of Ecuador on matters of Galapagos conservation, has formally expressed its concern to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment, stressing that early action can prevent a population crash in the rare waved albatross (Phoebastria irrorata). Recent studies have shown that adult survival of the waved albatross is lower than historical estimates, contributing to a reduction of the breeding population. Preliminary results from studies led by Dr. David Anderson of Wake Forest University, North Carolina, indicate a decline in albatross populations between 1994 and 2001. Anderson and his team have visited Galapagos frequently since 1999 to survey and band adult waved albatrosses at their single breeding site on Española Island. In 2003, Anderson and his team also gathered survey information from major fishing communities in Peru, the principal foraging site of this species. Researchers believe the albatross are being affected by incidental death caused by fishing by-catch or intentional harvesting for human consumption. In response to the CDF alert, the Ecuadorian Ministry for the Environment has contacted the Peruvian Government to discuss the establishment of a bilateral commission to develop mechanisms to help reduce these impacts on the unique Galapagos albatross population.

Working together for Galapagos

Forest regeneration project in the Santa Cruz highlands © CDF

Community involvement in research is crucial to the CDF strategy for a sustainable Galapagos built on a conservation-oriented island culture. As part of this, several CDF teams have been busy working with the community to carry out introduced plant and terrestrial invertebrate inventories in urban zones, as well as a forest regeneration project in the Santa Cruz highlands.

In early 2006 during the hot season, CDF entomologists and students from local high schools distributed 140 traps throughout the town and all garden plants were checked for insects in the first-ever intensive terrestrial invertebrate collection in Puerto Ayora. Staff and students are now busy classifying and cataloguing the collected specimens. Dr. Brad Sinclair, Diptera specialist and collaborating scientist from the Zoologisches Forschungmuseum Alexander Koenig in Bonn, has identified a new record of a distinctly striped member of the pomace fly family Drosophilidae. The inventory will be repeated during the garua (misty cooler) season. “As well as establishing which species currently exist in urban areas of Santa Cruz Island, the study will help identify the species that pose the greatest risk to Galapagos' native plants and animals, as well as to the human population, domestic animals, and crops,” said Piedad Lincango, coordinator of the project. CDF entomologists are also developing an early warning system that involves a variety of residents - from students to shopkeepers to housewives - in regular monitoring to help detect new insect introductions to Galapagos.

The CDF botany team undertaking the introduced plants inventory in the towns and agricultural areas of the four inhabited islands moved efforts to San Cristobal Island in April. “Local communities on our survey islands have been very helpful, permitting us access to their farms and gardens. We look forward to the same support on San Cristobal,” said botanist Mireya Guerrero, who along with colleague Susana Chamorro will be surveying the capital of Galapagos, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Now in its third year, the inventory has been completed on Isabela and Santa Cruz Islands and over 700 introduced plants are now registered for Galapagos.

With the help of an enthusiastic team of local, national, and international volunteers, CDF botanists have been experimenting with management options for invasive plants such as elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) on private land. CDF's local partner FUNDAR Galápagos runs the experimental farm near Santa Rosa, a village in the west of the Santa Cruz Island agricultural area where tests are being carried out to develop propagation and planting techniques for quickly restoring native Scalesia forest on former pastureland. Elephant grass is relatively easily eradicated by cutting and the application of herbicide. Current work will identify techniques to quickly build up the native forest ecosystem once the large-scale removal of the pest grass begins. “Planting of the seedlings and seeds in the treated areas will begin with the coming of the garua rains,” said CDRS botanist Anne Guezou, who is supervising the experimental work.

The CDF is actively developing partnerships with institutions and Galapagos communities to find alternative and responsible approaches to sustainable development of the archipelago.

Big things come in small packages

Twin tortoises © CDF Alizon Llerena   Two very lucky baby tortoises were found during a search of Santa Cruz Island tortoise nesting areas near Cerro Gallina by park warden Bolívar Guerrero in February. The approximately two-day-old twins were joined by the umbilical cord on their bellies and were each half the normal size. They were taken to the Research Station's captive breeding center where they were carefully separated by CDF staff. They are healthy, developing normally, and stand an excellent chance that they will see out their 100- 200-year life span. Each year from December to April, park wardens visit the known Galapagos giant tortoise breeding areas to collect eggs and hatchlings to take to the safety of the Fausto Llerena captive breeding center at the Charles Darwin Research Station. Here they are raised under optimum conditions until ready for release back to their original home. Twin hatchings are rare but not unknown at the breeding center, but they have little chance of survival in the wild. The tough umbilical cord would have been a lethal bond, causing infection or bleeding that would have lead to the death of both tortoises. Since the restoration of the giant tortoise populations began in the 1960s, over 3200 young tortoises have been repatriated back to their island of origin. These tiny twins now have a chance to become part of the future where giant tortoises once again roam in thousands across Galapagos.

Ecuador honors a lifetime dedicated to understanding volcanos

Dr. Minard (Pete) Hall © Minard Hall   For more than 30 years CDF General Assembly member, Dr Minard (Pete) Hall has led and developed seismic and volcanology studies in Ecuador at the Geophysical Institute of the Escuela Politecnica Nacional in Quito. This has resulted in the development of a 50-station national seismic network that monitors the tectonic seismicity of Ecuador as well as the seismicity related to awakening volcanoes 24 hours a day. “This network has been critical for the day-to-day vigilance of the on-going volcanic activity of Ecuador's main volcanoes” said Dr. Hall. The Geophysical Institute and the implementation of the seismological network developed by Dr. Hall's vision and persistence has become a model for other Latin American countries studying these same natural phenomena. To honor his scientific and academic contributions to Ecuador, Dr Hall was awarded the Condecoración de la Orden Nacional “Al Mérito,” en el Grado de Gran Oficial, presented by the President of Ecuador, Dr. Alfredo Palacios, in the national capital Quito on January 20th, 2006, at the Inaugural Ceremony of the international meeting of the Cities on Volcanoes Commission of the International Association of Volcanology.

First Ecuadorian to join prestigious US science academies

Dr. Eugenia del Pino, a member of the Charles Darwin Foundation's (CDF) general assembly and professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, is the first Ecuadorian to be elected as a member of the two most important scientific Academies in the United States, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS). Considered the highest honor that a scientist can receive in the USA, del Pino joined NAS as a foreign associate member on April 25th, 2006. Since it began in 1863, NAS has bestowed this honor on only 2,013 individuals, of which only 371 are foreign associate members. CDF President Peter Kramer said “This recognition of Dr del Pino's decades of dedication to science and conservation is an inspiration for her students and for Ecuador.” Days earlier, AAAS elected del Pino as an honorary foreign member for her studies on frog reproduction and development and in recognition of her tireless work for Galapagos conservation. . « more about her work »

Scientific Merit Award recognizes decades of research

The Santa Cruz Island community chose CDF General Assembly members Rosemary and Peter Grant as recipients of this year's Santa Cruz Municipality Scientific Merit Award in recognition of their life's work on the study of Darwin's finches. Their research was honored at a ceremony held on Puerto Ayora on 18th February.
« more about their work »

Charles Darwin Foundation (aisbl), Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Ecuador.
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