December 2009 Archives

Oceanadventures has announced that the Official Charles Darwin Foundation and Galapagos Conservation Trust fundraising cruise, which took place in October on board the MV Eclipse in Galapagos, raised a total of $23.000 in donations for both charities.

Ben Dod, the General Manager of Oceanadventures, handed the cheque to Rodolfo Rendón, Vice President of the Charles Darwin Foundation, at a special cocktail party held in honour of the cruise passengers at the Quito residence of the British Ambassador to Ecuador.

Charles Darwin´s great, great grandson, Randal Keynes, and the British actress Miranda Richardson were the VIP guests on board the 7-night cruise around the islands, which featured a unique behind-the-scenes insight into the Charles Darwin Centre on Santa Cruz Island, a tree-planting session at the Centre´s Bellavista nursery and a celebratory lunch prepared by the Chef´s School in Puerto Ayora.

Oceanadventures would like to thank all those who made this event such a success, especially the US and UK based travel companies Abercrombie & Kent Inc., Abercrombie & Kent (UK) and Steppes Travel for their commitment to this fundraising initiative, which would not have been possible without their effort and support.

Miranda Richardson, Toni Darton and Randal Keynes

on board the Eclipse.

Oceanadventures looks forward to contributing to similar projects in the future as part of its ongoing commitment to the Galapagos Islands and the conservation of its unique flora and fauna, as well as to social and educational projects involving the local population.

According to The Guardian, France was in mourning on Sunday for one of its oldest and best-loved lotharios, a giant Sychelles tortoise named Kiki, who died at the age of 146. Staff at

Kiki. Photo © F-G GRANDIN/AFP

the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris announced that its veteran resident had succumbed last week to an infection. They paid tribute to the zoo's "doyen", whose distinctive personality and "demonstrative lovemaking" had made him one of France's best known animals.

According  to the Charles Darwin Foundation's Stuart Banks, one in five of the 43 threatened Galapagos marine species may already be extinct.

In a landmark article published today by respected science journal, Global Change Biology, Stuart Banks, Senior Marine Scientist with the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), headquartered in Galapagos, teams with the world´s leading marine researchers in calling for increased focus on the forces of climate change.

CDF scientists researching coral reefs. Photo © CDF

Banks asserts that: "Galapagos is well-known for being unique, but what is less apparent is how tenuous the archipelago's unique status really is."  He reveals that of the 43 threatened Galapagos marine species, one in five may already be extinct.

The article provides an in-depth analysis of major studies charting changes in Galapagos biodiversity and marine ecosystems over the past 30 years.  Former CDF Marine Sciences Director and ongoing CDF collaborator Graham Edgar of the University of Tasmania led the development of the paper bringing together such luminaries as Sylvia Earle; National Geographic Society, and Peter Glynn, University of Miami, Les Kaufmann, Boston University, and CDF´s Stuart Banks.

In a sobering snapshot, Banks explains that:  "The unpredictable mix of El Niño, increased human presence, and global climate change is a recipe for the breakdown of natural ecological functions with serious impact on the recovery potential of species and habitats."
The article cites the Galapagos Marine Reserve as being "a near ideal environment for quantifying effects of oceanographic anomalies and fisheries on marine biodiversity, and for modeling future impacts of climate change," areas of study currently being addressed by CDF's Galapagos Climate Change Initiative.

This major new body of investigation takes a much-needed step in understanding the ties between climate, biodiversity, and the human impact, and will combine new and historical data to increase understanding of these relationships.


 

Something which Charles Darwin failed to spot when he visited the Galapagos Islands was the smile on those male Blue-footed boobies which skip a breeding season. The reason for the smile? Those males which abstain for a year have feet which are a brighter blue and more attractive to females.

Blue-footed boobies, one of the most loved and photographed species in Galapagos, are best known for their bright blue webbed feet, which the males prominently display in their courtship dances to attract females. A study has found that while the attractiveness of the blue feet diminishes with age in males that reproduce each year, if males skip a breeding season and don't mate, they appear to display a more attractive foot colour!

A new study reported in The National Geographic News shows researchers from University of Vigo in Spain, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico studied more than a hundred male blue-footed boobies over a total of six months in 2004 and 2005 on Mexico's Isla Isabel.

To adopt a Blue footed booby for a loved one for Christmas simply click here here

Ocean warming and human activity have devastated the coastal wildlife of the Galapagos Islands, say scientists.

Several species of marine plants and animals are believed to have become extinct and many others are seriously threatened, a new report reveals. Researchers blame the impact of rising ocean temperatures coupled with fishing and tourism.

Once abundant coral reefs and kelp beds had been wiped out in just a few decades, said the scientists from US-based Conservation International. Species that were previously plentiful such as the Galapagos black-spotted damselfish, the 24-rayed sunstar and the Galapagos stringweed were now thought to have vanished. Dozens of others, including the Galapagos penguin, were within ''a hairsbreadth of annihilation''.

Based on criteria laid down by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List, two species were ''probably'' extinct, another seven ''possibly'' extinct, and a further 36 ''vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered''. Over-fishing had led to an expansion of sea urchin populations, which in turn had upset the delicate web of marine life in the islands, said the scientists.

The researchers warned the Galapagos was a ''canary in a coalmine'' indicating what the world could expect from global warming.

Daily Telegraph