Island Conservation
In honor of Women’s History Month, Restoration Specialist Paula Castaño reflects on a woman whose work inspires her to protect wildlife and advance conservation. By: Paula Castaño I have had the privilege of being surrounded by many amazing women in science throughout my career development. Each and every one of them has helped me become what I am […]
Conservation sometimes requires inventive measures—this is the case for the recovery of the Galápagos Tortoise. In the past 200 years, the presence of invasive species on the Galápagos Islands caused native tortoise populations to decline approximately 90 percent. The iconic tortoises have been the focus of conservation efforts for years and, thanks to the work of […]
Learn something new every day! Are you familiar with these five fascinating island lizards? The Marine Iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) is listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as a Vulnerable species. It lives among the rocks of the Galápagos islands. The Marine Iguana is well known for a behavior that is strange even among […]
The California Channel Islands are sometimes compared to the Galápagos Islands. They share biodiversity, beauty, and the problem of invasive species in common. Just off the coast of Southern California lies an archipelago of eight islands that stretch a total of 160 miles from the southernmost San Clemente to the northernmost San Miguel. The Channel Islands […]
Researchers discover that the Galápagos Land Iguana is providing an important ecological service by dispersing seeds of native vegetation. People often think of mammals as contributors to the spread of plant seeds—they eat the seeds contained in the fruit and later leave them behind elsewhere, a phenomenon known as “seed dispersal.” But, not only mammals do […]
Conservation projects to save native plants and animals are well-underway in the Galápagos. The Galápagos Islands are renowned for their astonishing biodiversity and are famous for their essential part in the development of Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. But ever since human settlement, the Galápagos Islands have suffered ecological deterioration. Fortunately, lots of people are […]
A new study shows that the native Galápagos Critically Endangered Mangrove Finch–which is imperiled by invasive predators and struggling to survive–is now threatened by inbreeding with a local woodpecker species. The scientific journal Conservation Genetics has published a new study: “Slow motion extinction: inbreeding, introgression, and loss in the critically endangered mangrove finch,” explores the threats that […]
The San Cristóbal Vermilion Flycatcher, a bird species endemic to the Galápagos Islands, has gone extinct. The Galápagos Islands are famous for their incredibly high biodiversity. Are they at risk of becoming famous for high extinction rates? The San Cristóbal Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus dubius) used to fly, sing, forage, and build nests on San Cristóbal Island of the Galápagos […]
A new report released in the journal Nature examines never before seen self-medicating behavior in Galápagos Finches. Galápagos Finches served as inspiration for Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution in the 19th century. Today, these iconic birds, commonly referred to as “Darwin’s finches”, have drawn the attention of scientists once again–but this time it’s not because of the size and shape […]
Research discovers that Diego the Giant Tortoise has helped to save his species from extinction by fathering hundreds of baby tortoises. All was well with Espanola Giant Tortoises (Chelonoidis hoodensis) in the Galápagos–until invasive rats were introduced by pirates and infiltrated the island ecosystem. The presence of rats made reproduction extremely difficult and often unsuccessful […]