Biodiversity_in_the_Galapagos_Islands

The Galapagos Islands are a very good example of an area of rich biodiversity; it is the only place in the world where penguins and albatrosses live in the same region as coral reefs. There are a total of 19 endemic reptiles, 50 endemic fish, 5 endemic mammals, 250 endemic insects and 28 endemic birds including the Galapagos Penguin. The Galapagos is becoming increasingly under threat due to a number of serious factors both physical and anthropological. These reasons include climate change, oil spills, population growth, alien species, growing tourist numbers and illegal fishing. Anthropological The population in the Galapagos Islands is currently 21,000 however this number is increasing by 8% a year due to natural increase but also migrants from Ecuador. Economic migrants are attracted to the area because of the potential to work within the growing tourist industry; however this work is unsustainable for families so they are forced to move towards illegal motives in order to earn money. One such illegal act is illegal fishing. This is particularly becoming a large problem due to the commercial enterprises that illegally fish within the boundaries of the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Some boats have been known to haul up dolphins, sea cucumbers and spiny lobsters which have high demand in eastern Asia. Tourism is also an increasingly significant threat. Numbers have increased quite dramatically from 1,000 a year in the mid 1960s to 70,000 or perhaps more in the late 1990s. Half of the total amount of tourists that visit the Galapagos are from mainland Ecuador. In the mid 1980s a second airport was opened, in San Cristobal, in order to disperse and support increased tourist numbers. There is continued pressure for luxury hotels and the prominent result is evidence of increasing erosion of footpaths in key areas. Along with the arrival of humans to the Islands came introduced species of plants and animals. Many, having no natural predators or controls, exhibit rapid growth in numbers, threatening to dominate local ecosystems. Oil spills can have a great effect towards the biodiversity in and around the Galapagos Islands. The Ecuadorean-registered tanker Jessica ran aground Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001 in a bay on San Cristobal Island and began leaking oil on Friday, Jan. 19, 2001. Almost 600,000 litres of fuel had seeped out the tanker and spread into the ocean and onto the shores of many of islands in the region. Slicks affected a 303-square kilometre area. Officials said that the current was pushing the spill south. They're worried it could soon reach Espanola Island, home to large colonies of sea lions, and the island of Santa Fe, famed for the Santa Fe land iguana, a species found nowhere else. Physical As there is increasing evidence of global climate change due to a rise in carbon dioxide emissions from human use of fossil fuels, there seems to be a corresponding increase in the number of El Niño events. These alter the currents around the Islands and the availability of nutrients to the food chain and have a disastrous knock-on effect on wildlife. At least 45 Galapagos species have now disappeared or are facing extinction. This suggests that future climate change driven by human activity will have a major impact on the islands' wildlife.