Galapagos Islands: Global Warming’s Next Prey
The effects of climate change are finally reaching this volcanic archipelago; the very place that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
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Well-known for its rich and fragile biodiversity, the Galapagos are beginning to feel the damage Global Warming can cause. Sea temperatures are changing, and coral reefs have been dying near the islands. Not only that, an increase in tourism and illegal, overfishing are also having negative impacts on the islands. Shark and fish populations have dropped drastically due to illegal fishing techniques and the use of banned equipment. Then, you have a rise in tourism, which means the construction of more roads, hotels, shops; an influx of jobs; a rise in pollution and some critical habitat decline.
This chain of islands—600 some miles west of the Ecuadorean coast—are home to a vast amount of species that heavily depend on each other for survival. Some of the more well-known species that claim the Galapagos as their home are sea lions, waved albatrosses, penguins, marine iguanas, and of course—the giant Galapagos tortoise. The sea and the land co-exist with one another, and if enough damage is done to one part, a horrible domino-effect could ensue.
“The coral reefs create a habitat; they are like a forest, like the Amazon. They are home to scores of species. … If the corals die we lose thousands of species that are associated to the coral,” said German marine biologist Judith Denkinger. “Everything is intertwined”.
Now that the creeping death that is climate change is making its way through the Galapagos, the islands may become a worldwide, natural barometer in the months to come. Since they contain such fragile, yet numerous amounts of biodiversity, what kind of damage ends up being done here could give scientists and others a clearer glimpse of what to expect elsewhere.
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Gabriel Lopez, executive director of the Galapagos-based Charles Darwin Foundation, commented that global warming “will have very strong impacts on sea lions — due to the lack of food available to them — on penguins, and on marine iguanas.” If a worst-case scenario arises, approximately 900 penguins may have to live in man-made “condos”, in order to help them deal with temperature rises and food shortages. “We are going to do all we can not to resort to such extreme measures, but … if the climate-change models are accurate, I think that it’s going to be a real challenge to save the penguins,” he said.
Many of the species on the Galapagos are already listed as endangered; and the cruel act of poaching is no stranger to these parts. If Global Warming chooses to do its worst damage yet on the delicate ecosystem of these islands, it may be a race against the clock to see which species will survive, and which may be lost forever.
By Heidi Marshall
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Tags: biodiversity, Charles Darwin, climate change, environmental threats, Galapagos Islands, global warming
So much subjective sympathy. Does anybody want to know what Charles Darwin thought about the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands? Particularly with regards to Galapagos Tortoises?
‘The breastplate roasted…with the flesh attached to it, is very good; and the young tortoises make excellent soup.’
I wonder what Gabriel Lopez, executive director of the Charles Darwin foundation would have to say about that. I’m sure he would try to wriggle clear somehow, but whatever he would say the Charles Darwin Foundation does not represent the views of Charles Darwin himself, which is wonderfully ironic if nothing else. Indeed, they have even joined the Alliance for Zero Extinction, but does anybody want to know what Charles Darwin himself thought about extinction?
Probably not (such is the arrogance of those in conservation), but here they are anyway:
“We need not marvel at extinction; if we must marvel, let it be at our own presumption in imagining for a moment that we understand the many complex contingencies on which the existence of each species depends.” – Charles Darwin, On The Origin Of Species.