Mission 2008 ---- Galapagos
(Mixture of notes/important info/ideas)
Tortugas – Team 5
Islands: Espanola and Floreana
(9/10/04 -- I have some dates, but didn't record all of them)
Introduced Species—animals (ex: rats)
-- plants (look @ Santa Cruz for ideas on eradicating
invasive plant species)
In class: Library Liasons
Get Started: Reserve materials: Search – 12.000
http://libraries.mit.edu/guides/courses/fall2004/12.000/
Geographic Information System
GIS : Contact Information
Sept: 16, 22
http://libraries.mit.edu/gis
and
gishelp@mit.edu
Categories : energy (recycling – not a bad idea)
Fresh water
Poaching – on land extinctions
Effects on species (el Nino)
Resources to maintain island
Problems/Ideas/Areas of Importance or Concern
-Energy; solar v. diesel (other . . . ?)
-invasive v. native plant species
-invasive species in general and their effect on
the environment
-long-line fishing/ overfishing
-tourism (a monorail?)
Fisherman (protests) and fishing (possibility they
can find/maintain jobs with tourism)
-endangered species (for various reasons) – monitoring?
-overexploitation of natural resources
http://web.mit/12.000/www/m2008/teams/arb my webpage address
-look at a website from last year: http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2007/teams/amassie
Three topics:
1) Invasive Species
2) Management and Human Population
3) Overexploitation
-keep in mind -2 methods for preservation
-sensors
-“ideal” village
Find:
1) Define Problem
2) Current/past/future and past problems v. successes
3) Monitoring/ Sensoring
4) Potential Solutions
At first I was focusing on Overexploitation of Natural Resources, but
later we decided that was a bit broad, and narrowed it down to more specific
topics such as fishing, energy/natural resources, tourism, policy, etc.
. . I was concentrating on energy and natural resources, and
then we once more rearranged topics so everyone knew exactly what the were
doing, and I finally landed with endangered species which I knew something
about. Lisa and I worked on invasive, native, endangered species.
-See Galapagos Research link to see some notes I took on islands in
general, overexploitation (sea cucumbers!), and a variety of other bits
of information.
-ideas on conserving “keystone species” (and identifying them)
-possibilities: sharks (hammerheads, Galapagos shark,
sawfish), hunted resource animals (moray eels, sea urchins, sea lions, sea
turtles)
-Overexploiting species – sea cucumbers
-- lobsters
(red lobster)
-- long-line
fishing (sharks, manta rays, fish)
-- there are
plenty more out there
-keystone species (need definition for this term), scientists still
don’t know a lot about what keystone species are out there (ex: sea cucumbers
might be “earthworms of the sea” and crucial to the ecosystem – but we know
so little, we just don’t know what will affect what.
Problem: Fisherman—local v. outside/foreign(immigrants, too)
-more competition,
less money for all individually
-misdirected
anger; ex: fishermen/locals held hostage the Charles Darwin Research Station;
killed tortoises – anger was misdirected
Land Threat: On-shore fisheries open doors to harming terrestrial habitats
– introducing more invasive species
Combined Topics
-Fishermen and Overexploitation (local protests)
-Native Species and Census? Studies
-Endangered Species
-Natural or Man-made Disasters (Global Warming, Fires,
Oil Spills, Volcanos) and Effects on Species
Helpful Notes from in class:
Task 1 : Design world “biopreserve”
-consider Ecuadorian gov’t
-making complete record of present system prior to
identifying issues
-est. organizations w/ specific tasks
-environmental impact statements for future projects
-research/ learn about previous attempts
-fiscal limitations and responsibilities
-regulate human impact
-define ecological dependencies of the biopreserve
-limit presence of tourists
-police
-define what it is about this ecosystem that warrants
it being called a biopreserve
-international law/ rules? (look at the ocean – rules
of the sea)
Task 2: Ecosystem network
-population levels
-plants and animals in it
-how to monitor it
-human interference
-maintenance
-natural elements (ex: El Nino, mineral levels)
-identify criteria for healthy ecosystem
-boundaries
-cost (organization?)
-environmental impacts of monitoring systems themselves
-who is going to monitor costs, pay for resources
Task 3: Village
-location
-transportation – trails?
-fresh water resources
-industry economy – what people do for a living?
-sub communities? – gov’t
-medical/ social services
-tourist attractions/ accommodations
-pets/domestic animals
-city minits/boundaries
-sanitation/waste disposal
-food resources? Imports?
-Immigration problems?
-fishermen moving to different islands
-costs/ maintenance
-energy sources
Natural Disasters
-Genetically Engineered Food/ Livestock and effects
on islands
-property rights/ police
inhabited -- Floreana -- 172 (km^2)
uninhabited -- Espanola 60 (km^2)
(according to www.law.emory.edu)
New Topics -- yay!
-Fishing: Peter
-Tourism
-Invasive Species: Lisa
-Over-exploitation of natural resources
a)Fresh Water
b)Energy and
Resources
-National and Foriegn: Thu and
Yi
-Reserves and Parks tonight
-Overexploitation
Nina's email < ninad@mit.edu >
Farah's e-mail < fghniem@mit.edu>
New Topic -- 10/2/04 -- Endangered Species -- The Species
-- Why they are endnagered
+humans, invasive
species, natural or man-made disastors
+can we reduce
any threats?
-- What we would affect if we protected them? What resources do we
need?
Hood -- black rats(native mice, fire-ants) and house mice (invasive)
--Galapagos Penguin (possibly being affected by the black rats)
Galapagos History -- Reserves/Parks/Who established the rules
Past Policies
Invasive Species
Native/Endangered Species
Other World Policies about the environment [current info!]
In Ecuador (current as well as past news)
Fishing -- local v. international
-Floreana is also know as Santa Maria and/or Charles
-Espanola is also known as Hood
More Helpful Class Notes:
Park Rangers
-want protection of ecosystem
-make kimits on right species
Fishermen
-want higher limits to the take because they want to make a living
-Is this self-defeating?
-Commercial (making tons) v. Substantial fishing (just getting by)
Park Director
-now he's pro-fishing
-motivation: politics (he wants the people who appointed him to be happy
-- aligns his views with the president's)
People who appointed Park Director
-Is this appointment (policy) economically motivated? or is it
political?
Questions: What are the qualifications needed for park director?
Who is Ecuador government trying to appease? (his image) Income
drawn in by tourism versus income by fishing?
Breakdown of topics:
-Fishing -- Pete
-Endangering Animals/Species -- Allison
-Invasive Species -- Lisa
-Economy and Tourism -- Thu
-Natives -- Timothy
-Policy -- Yi and Shashank
-Overexploitation -- Joe
Levels for Endangered Species:
Extinct --- Extinct in Wild --- Critically Endangered
--- Endangered --- Vulnerable --- Near Threatened --- Least concern ---
Data Deficient --- Not Evaluated
(10/2/04)
Grand Goals made in the Linden Library while researching (see Wild Ideas and Not-So-Wild Ideas)
Biopreserve -- more helpful class notes
why?
-more resources
-broader ownership -- respect and responsibility
-broader perspectives -- greater vision
-greater prestige, greater cachet (more weight)
-standards on a global level
-system of checks and balances
-better link between research and management
-greater international accountibility
-ecology doesn't respect international boundaries
-do it because it's worth trying to see what happens;
never been done before so nobody knows what will work
-possible research idea --- International Law of
the Oceans -- how do they do it?
Concerns:
-Unequal contribution
-Unequal power
-Conflict of opinion
-Chaotic interaction
-Inability to enforce will
-How do you determine appropriate distribution of costs
Why Not?
-Inefficiency
-Soveriegnty (problems with Ecuadorian gov't, etc. .
. )
-Maintaining cultural imperative (We have lived here
for a long time, we know how to take care of our own land)
Questions in class (and ideas)
-What is the feasability of distant management? -- Ecuador? Mainland?
Islands? Representation?
-How should we form an evacuation plan in case of a natural disaster? i.e.
volcano erupts, earthquake, tsunami
-What will we do with the info we find out about monitoring systems?
-What Might Appease Ecuador? (in response to partial cessation of control
over the Galapagos -- besides $)
-How can we limit immigration from mainland Ecuador to the Galapagos?
10/18/04
Environmental Sensing of Ecosystems
-find ways to "tag" microscopic organsims
Easier way (or benefits of monitoring) to monitor micro-organisms
-easier to see trends in bacteria -- smaller, shorter
life cycle then mammals -- why don't we? -- funding for "Save the Ecosystem"
versus "Save the Whales" -- symbolism of something concrete
Ideas: (what do we look for when monitoring on very small/elemental/molecular
level?)
-cloud-cover; sunny v. cloudy days -- affects plants
which in turn effects herbivores (this is the kind of reasoning we need)
-chloryphyl levels
-Nitrogen cycles/ Carbon cycles
-Temperature (Humbolt current -- rising temperatures
affecting currents?)
Our goal: "capture essential ecosytem process"
Monitoring :
Jackie McConnel --- jpmcc@mit.edu
Alicia Defrancesco --- asd@mit.edu
Allison Brown --- arb@mit.edu
Lisa Song --- lisa_s@mit.edu
Kris Tantillo --- (still need e-mail)
Issues that might need to be considered:
-Channel Islands off the coast of California -- unihabited islands having
problems with invasive species -- how is California dealing with it? Can
we apply that to Hood which is also unihabited?
-agriculture/ clearing land on Floreana; native people do farming? what?
how? endangered species are being affected by the clearing of
land/farming, but I don't understand why?
-(more to come. . . )
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