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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