Galápagos Islands

"The Galapagos Islands are well known for their natural beauty and unique wildlife (60% of all organisms are endemic). As on most oceanic islands the native animals show little or no fear of man. These features make the archipelago very attractive for and since 1970 many people have come to see this ‘last paradise’. Initially the flow of visitors caused few problems. Since 1979, however, the pressure on the fragile s has increased rapidly and there is great danger that the archipelago will become another ‘lost paradise’."

"The Galápagos Islands arose as a series of violent volcanic eruptions from a convulsing deep ocean floor on the northeastern section of the . Slowly the islands grew, seething and fuming rising in fiery violence above the surface of the central eastern Pacific in awe-inspiring desolation. In this astonishing isolation they came to harbor living organisms found nowhere else on Earth. Though the islands appear to have no close geologic affinities with the mainland of North and South America, their native derive in the main from the American ."

"... These islands are of particular interest in the , because their study played an important part in inspiring and clarifying Charles Darwins views upon . The islands are separated from the by a 500-mile expanse of sea of over 1000 s in depth, and through this deep channel there flows a which frequently deposits on their shores , s, s, and other South American products."

"The Galapagos Islands are a global hotspot of environmental change. However, despite their potentially major repercussions, little is known about current and expected changes in regional terrestrial climate variables and s (SST). Here, by analysing existing meteorological observations and secondary datasets, we find that the Islands have warmed by about 0.6 °C since the early 1980s, while at the same time becoming drier. In fact, the onset of the wet season is currently delayed 20 days. This drying trend may reverse, however, given that future climate projections for the region suggest mean annual precipitation may increase between 20 and 70%. This would also be accompanied by more extreme wet and hot conditions. Further, we find that regional SST has increased by 1.2 °C over the last two decades. These changes will, in turn, translate into deterioration of s and , proliferation of , and damages to human water, food, and infrastructure systems. Future projections, however, may be overestimated due to the poor capacity of s to capture Eastern-Pacific dynamics. Our findings emphasize the need to design resilient climate adaptation policies that will remain robust in the face of a wide range of uncertain and changing climatic futures."

"The Galápagos Islands, to give one famous example, remained uninhabited by humans until the nine-teenth century, thus preserving a unique menagerie, including their giant tortoises, which, like ancient diporotodons, show no fear of humans."

"... as the travels over the , the rises due to thermal expansion. The Galápagos thermal swell is predicted to be only 400 high (Epp, 1984). The sea floor to the west of is about 3200 m deep, so 2800 m of lava needs to pile up on the swell for an island to form. In reality, much more is required, because as erupts from an oceanic volcano, the extra weight causes the to sag into the , forming a deep root."

"The Galapagos Islands are one of the most productive s in the world. The convergence of four ocean currents and the isolation of these islands create a variety of ecosystems that host unique biodiversity. Many of the endemic species are particularly vulnerable to disturbances in their environment, as most of them are unable to migrate or adapt in response to changing climatic conditions. Due to , there is an increase in extreme weather patterns ( and events) and climate variability. These affect the productivity of marine and terrestrial ecosystems on the Galapagos Islands and ultimately disrupt natural processes and ecosystem dynamics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecochg.2021.100026"

"The peculiar character of the Vegetation on the Galapagos Islands was brought to scientific attention in 1847 by Sir . His flora of the archipelago, based chiefly upon the collections of Charles Darwin, showed clearly that these islands, although small in extent, volcanic in character, and only five hundred to six hundred miles from Ecuador, possess a vegetation striking in individuality and very unlike that of the adjacent mainland. Darwin, who visited the Galapagos on the memorable voyage of the " ," landed on four of the islands (, , , and ). He was able to spend only a few days upon each, and naturally much of his attention was devoted to the general topography, the geology, and especially the peculiar fauna; moreover the season was one of drought; yet he was able to collect 201 different plants. These, supplemented by smaller collections (chiefly those of & , , and ), enabled Hooker to include in his enumeration 239 species, of which no less than 107 were described as new to science, thus indicating an extraordinary endemic element of nearly forty-five per cent of the whole flora of the islands, a proportion which became still more remarkable when the imperfectly represented s, and certain s, believed to be artificially introduced s, were omitted from consideration."