The Galapagos Islands, one of the most renowned oceanic archipelagos in the eastern Pacific, remain one of the most pristine places on Earth. Here, wildlife not only reverberates above and below the sea surface, but most plants, animals and other forms of biodiversity are unique to the rest of the planet. Thanks to its pristinity and high levels of endemism, there is no doubt that the Galapagos Archipelago is an oasis for biodiversity in the eastern Pacific.

These islands are the tips of giant basaltic submarine volcanoes and owe their origins to volcanic activity. They emerged from the ocean and through time some have slowly disappeared back into the sea as a corollary of plate tectonic and hotspot theories.

The Galapagos, accidentally discovered in 1535, remained virtually uninhabited for the three centuries that followed. While humans did not settle on the islands until a few centuries after their discovery, they did leave their mark. Buccaneers and whalers were responsible for the introduction of the first (and perhaps the most devastating) alien species, such as the black rat and goat. In addition, the Galapagos giant land tortoise, the Galapagos fur seal and whales suffered their first predatory actions. From the beginning of the 19th century, the Galapagos experienced a slow but continuous process of colonization encouraged by the Ecuadorian government, which took possession of the Archipelago in 1832. Just three years later, in 1835, the islands received the most famous visitor they ever had: the great naturalist Charles Darwin, who reached the Galapagos and cruised the archipelago for five weeks during his five-year exploratory journey around the world.

The biology of the Galapagos

The main biological features of Galapagos biodiversity are:

• Biogeographic diversity - The Galapagos Islands are the only place on earth where species come from such a mixture of latitudes. Finding penguins on the equator looks like a biogeographic aberration or a joke of biogeography; but penguins are in fact there, swimming side by side with sealions that came from the north and fur seals that came from south.

• Taxonomic disharmony - Amphibians, a whole taxonomic class that includes frogs, salamanders and the like, are missing from the Galapagos. Upon closer examination, we find that many other taxa among both flora and fauna are missing entire groups that probably never reached or were unable to colonize the Galapagos. Thus, many of mainland South America’s most prolific and widespread families and genus of birds, insects, and plants do not exist on the islands.

• High Endemism - Most groups of both terrestrial and marine biota display a splendid level of endemism that on average is about 50%. Some groups, such as the reptiles, reach almost 100%.

• Species’ vulnerability – Evolution in isolation has the advantage of producing unique forms, but at the same time carries the disadvantage--from a biological conservation point of view-- that most species have not evolved altogether mechanisms that will equip them to confront new competitors. For this reason, they also have difficulties avoiding new predators or diseases like those that are continuously being introduced by the human population. Restricted distribution-range and small population-size further expose them to any direct impacts of their natural habitat.

A found "lost paradise" for scientists and conservation biologists

Perhaps the exquisiteness of Darwin's perception, something that allowed him to see beyond his sight, was key to his finding the most unequivocal evidence for his theory of evolution at a time when a world in stasis was the prominent philosophy. Today the Galapagos are recognized as a “living laboratory” of evolution, a textbook full of examples with which to understand the way that life forms become modified, and how a single colonizing life form diversifies into a complex array of new forms, each one permanently adapting to its own particular way of life. Thus, the Galapagos are truly a 'lost paradise' for evolutionary and conservation biologists who, in these islands, are better able to understand the heart and soul of Darwin's evolutionary theory through the study of processes such as colonization, adaptation and speciation ruled by natural selection, and perhaps also a more modern theory that at the time escaped Darwin: the process of genetic drift. As a result of adaptive radiation in the Galapagos, many plant and animal species have diversified into other forms. Not only animals like the ‘chiques’, (the early settlers’ vernacular name for the famous finches, Geospizinae, now honored with Darwin's name), but also land snails (Bulimulus spp.), land tortoises (Geochelone) and plants such as the ‘Lechoso’ (Scalecia spp.), an endemic genus of the sunflower family. Some species of scalecia have evolved into forms so enormous that they have caused the highlands of some of the largest islands to resemble a continental rain forest.

The islands remain as a silent witness to the turbulent geological past, and today they also represent a unique opportunity to study and apply the basic principles of conservation biology and sustainable management, both for marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The Galapagos are an open textbook to explore new theories, to confront existing ones in the face of actions and management decisions, and finally, to explore the role of science in conservation, the use (and sometimes misuse) of politics, in order to ensure that conservation and sustainable development policies actually become implemented.

An opportunity for conservation

At a time when nature and biodiversity have been severely degraded around the world, the Galapagos islands still retain more than 95% of their natural biodiversity, and most ecological processes perhaps have not been substantially altered. Therefore, from a conservation point of view, these islands represent a unique opportunity to invest in conservation. While conservation efforts around the world need much effort in restoration (a task not always biologically effective), in the Galapagos we do not need to invest as much effort in restoring biodiversity as we do in maintaining current biodiversity and preventing any further loss. However, such a privileged conservation status may not last too long; recent studies show that globally the Galapagos have one of the highest rates of biodiversity loss per unit area. If we want to preserve these Islands to posterity, the opportunity is now, as by tomorrow it might be too late. This situation reminds us of the unavoidable principle that several of today’s decisions may critically affect the future of the Galapagos.

Education is the key when thinking of long-term conservation

To ensure conservation of the Galapagos we should work at having science on one hand and people on the other. People are of concern as they are the root-cause for much of the environmental degradation that has already taken place. They are responsible for the introduction and dispersal of exotic organisms, the depletion of species and resources and environmental pollution. At the same time, we must rely on humans for a solution to several conservation problems. Education and capacity building play a paramount role in achieving long lasting conservation results. Recent studies have shown that although the Galapagos islands have the lowest rate of illiteracy in all of Ecuador, the quality of education on the islands is so poor that very few students qualify to attend institutions of higher education. Therefore, raising the quality of education and offering opportunities for further education to Galapagos’ natives is fundamental for the long-term conservation of the Galapagos. Education is key in order for the ‘Galapagueños’ to learn that development can be reached not necessarily by harming their own environment, but by other means.

Carlos A. Valle, Ph. D.
Diego Quiroga, Ph. D.
GAIAS Co-Directors