CHARLES DARWIN FOUNDATION NEWS BULLETIN
According to a 28 April press release from the Galapagos National Park, on this day a working commission brought together the highest authorities of the Provincial and local governments, Ecuadorian Air Force, Navy and Galapagos National Park, to discuss the fate of Baltra Island.
For the past several weeks, intense concerns over who should own the island had galvanized the attention of the islanders and the national press, after news broke that a judge had adjudicated the entire island to the Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE).
Numerous fears and objections had been raised on legal, administrative and conservation grounds, with a lawsuit lodged by the Municipality of Santa Cruz. The meeting addressed these concerns with a variety of proposals designed to administer the 2,600 hectare island based on existing use, while the Commander General of the FAE expressed a strong conciliatory stance toward conservation and the interests of the people of Galapagos. The next meeting of the working commission is slated for 27 May.
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A new technical document was produced at short notice by the CDF in response to the ownership claim of Baltra Island by the Ecuadorian Air Force.
The document highlighted the remarkable ecological value of a frequently overlooked island: 110 species of terrestrial plants and animals make it the tenth most important island in Galapagos; four plant types are endemic to the island and its immediate environs on Seymour and the north coast of Santa Cruz, including a unique Scalesia and velvety-leafed palo santo tree; the recently repatriated Baltra land iguana is the heaviest iguana in the world and may be recognized as a separate species on the basis of genetic studies. Baltra is also an important nesting ground for endangered green turtles. Conservation work to date on the island have enabled the healthy return of the land iguana and the probable eradication of cats and introduced rats being the highest priority as a future challenge.
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An Ecuadorian film crew has completed a documentary film about the US Military forces present on Baltra during WWII. The film contains footage shot in Galápagos during the war, and scenes from a recent veterans reunion in Charleston, South Carolina, plus a recent return visit to Baltra by a small group of these veterans. The film, entitled "The Rock" (the US servicemen's nickname for Baltra at the time), was aired in Ecuador at the end of April, along with special events hosted by the US Embassy and Consulate.
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On 23 April, in a surprise operation conducted by National Park rangers and Ecuadorian Navy, five open tender-style fishing launches hailing from Manta, Ecuador, with a total of 15 illegal fishermen aboard, were apprehended with longlines deployed around Hancock Bank. This shoal, located roughly between Floreana and Santa Fe Islands and rising to about 60 ft of the surface, is a productive fishing ground traditionally used by Galapagos fishers.
The Park patrol aircraft SEA WOLF served to pinpoint the poaching activity while the patrol vessel GUADALUPE RIVER with two rapid SEA RANGER launches made the arrests. Eight longlines were retrieved, totaling three miles length, with about 220 hooks and 22 sharks caught. The fishermen and their catch are being held by the Park who is pressing legal charges. A sixth launch escaped capture but the mother ship could not be located in spite of aerial searches.
Furthermore, in other operations carried out last month the Park and Navy confiscated six gillnets of various sizes in Santa Cruz Island, with mesh sizes of 7-14 inches plainly aimed at sharks and other pelagic species.
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Intensive surveys of existing sea cucumber populations were carried out between 8 and 17 April to establish guidelines designed to assist the Interinstitutional Management Authority in deciding whether or not to open a sea cucumber fisheries this year, slated for May. Several boats from various fishing cooperatives, as well as the Park patrolling vessel GUADALUPE RIVER, participated in the monitoring trips to 12 of the main islands (including two new macrozones), with economic contributions from the guides and tourism sectors.
An exhaustive CDF study over the last four years shows a 39% decrease in abundance, and catch sizes also diminishing notably, with 44% of the catch measuring below 20 cm in 2003 as opposed to 9.2% in 1999. Five countries are listed as the principal buyers of this resource, led by Taiwan with 74.4% of the export and followed by the U.S.A., China, Hong Kong and South Korea.
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Taking advantage of the warm season, when rains usually green the slopes of many islands, 62 captive raised juvenile tortoises between 4 and 5 years of age were returned to their ancestral haunts on Santa Cruz Island. They are raised in captivity to this age so they will no longer fall prey to rats and pigs, although the latter have dwindled thanks to hunting pressures. The young tortoises traveled by truck to the end of the road before being carried another two hours in Park wardens' backpacks to the natural areas where it is hoped they will live a long and healthy life.
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Having moved from the testing grounds of Santiago Island to a temporary camp established at the abandoned radar base of Punta Albermarle, Project Isabela helicopters have entered a new, high flying phase. In just 13 days and 104 hours of flying time this month, comprehensive grid patterns were flown over Ecuador, Wolf and the northern slopes of Darwin volcanoes where variable densities of goats were encountered, with a 90 to 100% removal of animals in the areas worked.
Thanks to the Santiago experience, work on Northern Isabela is now well ahead of schedule, raising confidence levels to new heights for the ecological restoration of these extraordinary volcanoes, where flight crews report seeing large numbers of giant tortoises and land iguanas in rarely visited areas.
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A new species of introduced pest insect, the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, has been detected in the agricultural zone. With a predilection for cabbage, whose leaves it consumes entirely, it is not known whether this new plague will have an effect on native species, but it serves as yet another reminder of the need for strict control to prevent more inadvertent introductions.
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The crews of two private sailing yachts flying Italian flags were reported by tourist guides on Genovesa Island, not only visiting the island unsupervised but also allowing their pet Doberman ashore. The tour guides informed them of the regulations and they were later fined by the Park and made to pay retroactive entrance fees. Once again, this event demonstrates the dedication of guides to uphold the park rules by direct intervention, helping to spread the word to uninformed visitors about the need to tread lightly in Galapagos.
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On 5 April a pleasure vessel with two people aboard, bound from Panama to Galapagos, was rammed and attacked by high seas pirates about 400 nautical miles northeast of the island (roughly 300 miles NW of the border between Ecuador and Colombia). Five armed men boarded the yacht, tied up the crew and stripped the vessel of its electronic gear and other valuables. The victims were later able to free themselves and sail back to Panama.
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In the first quarter of 2004, the CDF contributed to ten authoritative, fully peer-reviewed scientific papers published in international journals. Covering wide ranging subjects such as fisheries and conservation strategies, biological control, giant tortoise genetics, Darwin finch song, undersea vulcanism, and Nazca booby dispersal, these reflect the on-going involvement of scientific staff, visiting scientists and scholarship students at CDRS. The complete list of references is appended here.
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Records compiled by the Galapagos National Park show a steady increase for visitors to the islands, with totals for the last four years as follows:
- 2000 - 68,856
- 2001 - 77,570
- 2002 - 82,226
- 2003 - 90,533, of which 62,896 were foreigners and 27,637 Ecuadorians.
Generally, July and August are the months of highest visitation, and April and September the lowest.
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The education programs of CDF have been busy on many fronts this month. Together with the Marine Dept, public information on the status of the much-prized sea cucumber fisheries has been distributed through various communications channels (lectures, TV and radio) to local and national audiences. This includes basic biology and 2004 population findings to help shape public opinion on the upcoming fishing decisions pending for May. Other programs on the Marine Reserve, in conjunction with the National Park and Fundacion Natura, were aimed at informing the press corps, decision makers and users in general. On San Cristobal Island, focus has been on the control of introduced species in urban areas, emphasizing public participation.
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Bio-control clarification
In the previous edition of this bulletin we ran an update on the biological control use of ladybeetles that prey on introduced Australian mealybugs which were destroying Galapagos vegetation. It has since been brought to our attention that both the predator and the prey may go by various names, causing occasional confusion. The predatory ladybeetle, Rodolia cardinalis in the vernacular may also be known as ladybug by some. The mealybug pest, accidentally spread from Australia to many parts of the world, such as Florida where it may devastate citrus orchards, is often referred to as the cottony cushion scale, causing some confusion in the nomenclature. Whatever the terminology used, the beauty of this effort is that intensive studies before and after the calculated release of this biological control demonstrate a glowing success story about science working for conservation in Galapagos.
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2004 Publications with CDF staff as authors (staff at the time of research completion):
Okey, TA; Banks, S; Born, AR; Bustamante, RH; Calvopina, M; Edgar, GJ; Espinoza, E; Farina, JM; Garske, LE; Reck, GK; Salazar, S; Shepherd, S; Toral-Granda, V; Wallem, P. 2004. A trophic model of a Galapagos subtidal rocky reef for evaluating fisheries and conservation strategies. ECOLOGICAL MODELLING; MAR 1 2004; v.172, no.2-4, p.383-401.
Causton, CE; Lincango, MP; Poulsom, TGA . 2004. Feeding range studies of Rodolia cardinalis (Mulsant), a candidate biological control agent of Icerya purchasi Maskell in the Galapagos islands. BIOLOGICAL CONTROL; MAR 2004; v.29, no.3, p.315-325.
Milinkovitch, MC; Monteyne, D; Gibbs, JP; Fritts, TH; Tapia, W; Snell, HL; Tiedemann, R; Caccone, A; Powell, JR. 2004. Genetic analysis of a successful repatriation programme: giant Galapagos tortoises. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON SERIES B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; FEB 22 2004; v.271, no.1537, p.341-345.
Wikelski, M., J. Foufopoulos, H. Vargas, and H. Snell. 2004. Galápagos Birds and Diseases: Invasive Pathogens as Threats for Island Species. Ecology and Society 9(1): 5. [online] URL: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss1/art5.
2004 Publications with CDF collaborators & visiting scientists as authors (projects logistically supported by the CDF):
Podos, J; Southall, JA; Rossi-Santos, MR. 2004. Vocal mechanics in Darwin's finches: correlation of beak gape and song frequency. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY; FEB 2004; v.207, no.4, p.607-619.
Tebbich, S; Taborsky, M; Fessl, B; Dvorak, M; Winkler, H. 2004. Feeding behavior of four arboreal Darwin's finches: Adaptations to spatial and seasonal variability. CONDOR; FEB 2004; v.106, no.1, p.95-105.
Behn, MD; Sinton, JM; Detrick, RS. 2004. Effect of the Galapagos hotspot on seafloor volcanism along the Galapagos Spreading Center (90.9-97.6(circle)W). EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS; JAN 15 2004; v.217, no.3-4, p.331-347.
Huyvaert, KP; Anderson, DJ. 2004. Limited dispersal by nazea boobies Sula granti. JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY; JAN 2004; v.35, no.1, p.46-53.
Nuez, F; Prohens, J; Blanca, JM. 2004. Relationships origin, and diversity of Galapagos tomatoes: Implications for the conservation of natural populations. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY; JAN 2004; v.91, no.1, p.86-99.
Thompson, PME; Kempton, PD; White, RV; Kerr, AC; Tarney, J; Saunders, AD; Fitton, JG; McBirney, A . 2004. Hf-Nd isotope constraints on the origin of the Cretaceous Caribbean plateau and its relationship to the Galapagos plume. EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS; JAN 1 2004; v.217, no.1-2, p.59-75.
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