Charles Darwin was an English naturalist who is most famous for writing the book, “The Origin of Species”, describing the processes by which species may come into being. Through his observations on the differences between the variety of species found in South America and the Galapagos Islands, Darwin created the beginnings of the theory of evolution to explain these differences. While Darwin’s theory was not perfect, its basis in adaption and the idea of, “survival of the fittest”, were the starting points for further research and refinement of the theory. Unlike some other historic naturalists, Darwin did not invoke a creator as the mechanism behind the processes, instead leaving evolution and adaption completely in the hands of nature itself. Darwin was also not alone in regard to believing that organisms evolved over time, as many of the very basic concepts Darwin needed to come to his conclusions where created by other skeptical naturalists/scientists like Thomas Malthus and Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. Even with the further refinement of this theories through the publishing of six editions of “The Origin of Species” and many other books, Darwin’s scientific conclusions greatly divided the scientific community and public alike. Flaws within Darwin’s science became apparent, but many of these flaws can be traced back to his lack of knowledge on certain topics, such as genetics and the fossil record. After much debate and scrutiny, the theory of evolution would slowly become the accepted theory on how the great variety of species and sub-species found on the planet arose. What I found most surprising while reading this report was the fact that the controversy surrounding the theory of evolution was not as controversial as I had previously imagined. I had never considered the fact that the lack of mass communication meant that statements both for and against the theory were slow to arise and gain traction. This fact may have explained why the theory came to be supported so quickly among sections of the public and the scientific community, as it allowed any flaws to be quickly and quietly addressed. Had Darwin published “The Origin of Species” in an environment like modern society, it would have certainly spurred far more controversy and caused greater division amongst the scientific community.
Galapagos Population Growth & Ecotourism
The development of the Galapagos Islands’ ecotourism industry began in the 1950’s with the closing of the last penal colony on the islands. Over the course of the next twenty years, the islands themselves remained relatively free of physical development, as the majority of the ecotourism industry was based around servicing small numbers of tourists on large hotel-like boats around the islands. These conditions would change as the Ecuadorian economy surged during the mid-1970’s and early 1980’s, resulting in an increase in development on the islands and pressure to have them recognized as a World Heritage Site. The increasing development of the islands saw a dramatic rise the number of ecotourists visiting beginning in the 1980s and a shift away from the original marine-based nature of the ecotourism industry was quickly occurring. However, the mainland Ecuadorian economy was now experiencing a recession, the driving factor behind the sudden increase in immigration to the Galapagos. While the ecotourists had a relatively small ecological impact on the islands due to their smaller number and short visits, the rise of more permanent settlements created many more problems for the islands’ sensitive environments. These factors have lead to the defining problem that seems to be becoming more prevalent around the world today, which is determining how to best compromise between environmental conservation and socioeconomic development. Based on the information provided in this report, it is my opinion that new development on the islands should be heavily restricted and stricter immigration protocols be established. The ecological damage that the ecotourism industry caused to the Galapagos appeared to be limited due to the small number of tourists allowed to visit and by the fact that they did not stay on the islands themselves. Additionally, future international immigration should be prohibited in order to allow more Ecuadorian citizens to live and work on the islands. This would go a long way towards solving the illegal immigration issue that the government faces. Overall, a return to a more limited scope of land-based development and promotion of the original marine-based form would help alleviate many of the issues facing the future preservation of the Galapagos Islands’ environments. Galapagos Ecotourism Industry
Given the history of the Galapagos Islands and the rise of conservatism and ecotourism in the 1970’s, it was inevitable that the island chain would become a global hotspot for the industry. This popularity fueled efforts to establish research stations on the islands and have them officially designated as national parks, with all the regulations and protections that accompany such a designation. At first, professional guides were required to accompany and supervise every group of the limited number of ecotourists that were allowed to visit the islands. These tourists were also only allowed to stay on marine hotels in order to limit their impact on the mainland of the islands. These efforts were moderately successful, preventing most environmental damages but causing some cultural damage as traditional industries suffered under the increasing lucrative ecotourism industry. However, this increasing profitability drew more and more immigrants to Galapagos, severely increasing the rate of development. The sensitive habitats of the Galapagos were being destroyed in order further satiate the needs of the growing tourism industry and the rapidly growing population of permanent residents. Many of the endemic species on the islands are now threatened due to over exploitation and the introduction of non-native species. In order to limit further degradation, it is advised that the number of tourists be limited, and new zoning laws be implemented to curtail rampant development. Having read this report, its findings did not surprise me at all. While the ecotourism industry may have originally had good intentions, its lucrative nature drives those involved in it to toss conservation ethics to the wayside in order to pursue short term profits. This approach is akin to suicide, as the tourist draw of the islands will severely decrease as the islands become more developed. While limiting the number of tourists and curtailing development may hurt the local economy in the short-term, it will make the industry much more resilient in the long run.
Evolution in the Galapagos
The Galapagos Islands have historically been a hotspot for biologists studying evolution and the various ways animals adapt to their environments. This fascination with the islands and their wide variety of species began with Charles Darwin’s visits in the early 1800’s. During these trips to the Galapagos, Darwin was able to observe the physical variations between various bird species and populations found on each island. For example, Darwin found the mockingbirds on Espanola were larger than those on other islands and their beaks had a much more pronounced curve. Darwin was also able to observe the fact that many of the species found within the Galapagos Islands could also be found living in continental South America, although the island species had deviated from the physical appearances and behaviors of their continental counterparts. This led Darwin to correcting conclude that these species had, overtime, migrated from mainland South America and adapted to the islands’ various environments, forming the basis for the theory of evolution. As it turns out, one of the few islands that Darwin did not visit is home a plant species whose seed size varies each year depending on rain levels. In turn, these size variations lead to the island’s population of finches to quickly develop the necessary beak size changes to allow them to access the seeds. While I was aware of the background behind Darwin’s time in the Galapagos and his studies, I was unaware of just how many species Darwin studied while there. Additionally, I was under the assumption that evolution was a slow process and could only be accelerated in organisms like bacteria, who reproduced very quickly. It was interesting to learn about how fast the plant and finch species on Daphne Major adapted to their changing environmental conditions. The Origin of Birds
Among the various species that can be found throughout the history of the Earth, the one branch that has the clearest and most detailed evolutionary history is birds. Based on the work and discoveries of Charles Darwin, it is believed that the link between modern birds and their prehistoric ancestors can be determined through the existence of intermediary species. The first of these intermediary species to be unearthed was Archaeopteryx, whose fossil was discovered in Germany. This fossil clearly displayed the feathers and hollow bone structures that are the defining characteristics of modern birds. In turn, the shared skeletal structure between Archaeopteryx and modern birds pointed scientists towards an evolutionary link with the branch of reptiles referred to as dinosaurs. However, the accepted view of dinosaurs at that time made the notion of any connection preposterous, due to size and behavioral differences that were believed to have existed between dinosaurs and birds. This view was challenged in 1963 with the discovery of a fossilized Deinonychus foot, which demonstrated that warm blooded, more agile dinosaurs did exist. This discovery, when combined with the fact that a wishbone was shared between the three species, resulted in the branch of dinosaurs known as theropods being deemed the evolutionary ancestors of modern birds. With further behavioral and morphological discoveries being made, the evolutionary relationship between the theropod branch of dinosaurs and modern birds was cemented as fact. It was interesting to learn about the links that existed between these very physically different organisms. While I was aware of the fact that Archaeopteryx existed and was held up as a link between birds and dinosaurs, I did not know that it took the discovery of many more species to fully cement this as fact.
Galapagos Submarine Morphology
The Galapagos Islands where created through volcanic activity along the Nazca Plate over the course of the last ten million years. The plate has been steadily moving eastward, leading to the youngest islands being found in the western area of the archipelago. The morphology within the Galapagos Islands can be split into five distinct zones, submarine rift zones, large deep-water lava fields, shallow steep-sloped submarine flanks, mass wasting/erosions deposits, and submarine terraces. The rift zones found within the Galapagos become more uniform in nature as you travel further westward due to differing amount of geological stress. The rift zones surrounding Fernandina Island is the largest. Deep-water lava flows can be found in the northwestern areas, with the average depth being 300 meters. Steep-sided and flat-topped volcanic cones can be found surrounding the islands, with the steep-sided being found above 1500 meters and flat-topped being found below 1500 meters. Differences in pressure and lava draining patterns are the causes behind these different volcanic structures. I have very little background knowledge in geology, so it was interesting to read about the different geological structures and processes present within the Galapagos. While this paper dealt with the submarine geological structures, many of the processes at work generating these structures are also responsible for the creation of the islands themselves and explain why the islands have the characteristics they do.
Evolution of the Galapagos Finches
The Galapagos Islands are a very young series of Islands hundreds of miles off the coast of Ecuador. Due to their volcanic nature, the islands were completely devoid of life until a handful of species began to colonize them. Perhaps the most important of these species are the 13 varieties of finches than can be found on almost all of the Galapagos Islands. Based on DNA evidence, one ancestral species of finch arrived in the islands and populations began to adapt to fit the wildly different environments found through out the island chain. Over a long period of time, these adaptions resulted in some of the populations of finches becoming a new species. Biologists have been able to observe this adaption in real time through the cataloging of beak sizes and characteristics on the small island of Daphne Major. Over a period of years, these scientists were able to document the fact that the frequency of certain beak shapes in the island’s population of finches was connected to the current environmental conditions on the island. For example, when Daphne Major experienced a severe drought, the finch’s regular food supply of small seeds disappeared. In response, the next generation of finches had larger beaks that would allow them to consume the more plentiful larger seeds. The fact that these bird populations can adapt to their changing environment so quickly astounds me. I had originally thought that the only species that could adapt this quickly were ones that had very large pools of offspring very quickly, such as bacteria. Given this discovery, it might be possible for a few species to adapt quickly enough to survive the changing climate of the Earth and eventually fill the niches left behind by those who have gone extinct.