Aleksandra Hosa - Team 5 - Iguanas - Mission 2008 - MIT

I'm a member of Iguanas team 5 and we are dealing with the preservation problem on the islands of Floreana and Espanola, which belong to the Galapos Archipelago. In our team we have divided into 4 sub-teams of one of two people to handle more specific aspects of the complex problem - Mission 2008. Mary Machado and me comprise the team responsible for designing the preservation strategy for our two islands.

Below I present a preliminary research concerning Floreana and Espanola.

Oct 29th, 2004

Oil spill threat

We should think of the tankers passing nearby Galapagos as they comprise serious threat in case of something goes wrong. And example of tanker "Jessica", which caused oil spill in 2001, shows what the consequences can be - the effects of contamination were overcome not before two years has passed. This example also shows how incapable is Galapagos National Park staff of dealing with such emergencies - they had to appeal to the international community for help. Thus, maybe it would be a good idea to make restrictions or even complete bans as far as tankers passing in close proximity to Galapagos is concerned. This could be a part of our preservation strategy.

Invasive species

Among invasive species on Galapagos islands are goats, rats and domestic cats. I couldn't find anything specifically about Floreana or Espanola though, except for the fact that the plague of goats on Espanola was successfully eradicated. As far as plants are concerned the number of introduced species is greater than the number of endemic ones, which threatens the balance of ecosystem greatly.

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El Nino

The article "Paradise maintained" by Victoria James justifies the obligation of making an effort to diminish the impact of El Nino on Galapagos ecosystem. In spite of the fact that El Nino is a natural phenomenon, its effects when combined with the impact of invasive species may prove to be disastrous. As people are responsible for introducing new animals and plants on the islands it is also their responsibility to protect the endemic fauna and flora from them.

Sea cucumber

The main objects of interest for poachers are sharks, lobsters and sea cucumbers, which are all delicacies on Asian markets. The situation of sea cucumber, which used to be found in large amounts around our islands, is the hardest, as it is failing to recover after 2002 harvest. Sea cucumbers act as waste filters and processors so the decrease in their number is followed by deterioration in the quality of water. Apart from that on-shore cucumber processing disturbs local animals and often leads to devastation of their habitats. We should think of some effective method of eradicating poaching as a part of our preservation strategy.

Oct 3rd, 2004

Anthropo-pression

The number of permanent residents on our islands has fundamental impact on the ecosystem that's why it is important to know that there are about 70 permanent residents on Floreana and no on Espanola. On Floreana the population density is extremely low (0.4 persons per square kilometer) but it can't be neglected. As far as Espanola is concerned, we don't have to bother about permanent residents impact as there never has been any long lasting community.

The impact of tourism is inversely proportional to the impact of permanent residents in case of these two islands. Espanola is much more attractive and people tend to go there more eagerly than to Floreana, where there is not so much to do.

El Nino

Another topic I have investigated with regard to our area of study was the impact of El Nino on the Galapagos ecosystem. What is interesting is that El Nino doesn't make any harm to land fauna and flora. Abundant rains allow plants to flourish and as a result population of animals also increases. The situation is very different with the marine life. One of the components of El Nino in the west of south America is that the top layer of ocean water is much warmer than usually. The upwelling is inhibited and so is the inflow of nutrients. Populations of marine animals, derived of their food, tend to decrease then. This may have catastrophic consequences. Maybe a part of our preservation strategy should be to decrease the impact of El Nino on the marine life.
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