katieoliverA2media: research - the Galapagos islands specifically Isle Isabela

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gal%C3%A1pagos_Islands

http://www.galapagosisland.net/galapagos_islands/map.html

The Galapagos island is a group of islands off the coast of south America that lies on both sides of the equator(see below).

Information about Island Isabela

The biggest of the islands is Isle Isabela. Isle Isabela is the youngest of the islands and is approximately 1 million years old, it was formed by the merging of 6 shield volcanoes ( a shield volcano is a type of volcano that is usually made up of almost entirely fluid magma. they are named shield volcanoes because of their size and low profile which makes them look like a shield when layed on the ground), all but one of those volcanoes are active which makes this one of the most volcanically active places on the planet. the volcanoes are named: Alcedo, Cerro Azul, Darwin, Ecuador, Sierra Negro and Wolf - Ecuador is the only inactive one.

Isle Isabela has two settlements on it, they are Puerto Villamil and Santo Thomas - both were founded in 1893. the islands has a population of 2,200 the majority of which live in Puerto Villamil. the government there have been trying to move people away from traditional jobs like fishing and towards jobs like tourism over the years, because of this there was an incident in 2000 were a group of fishermen kidnapped baby tortoises (presumably from the tortoise breeding center) so that the government would extend their fishing limits.

Tortoises on Island Isabela

Island Isabela is home to five of the Galapagos subspecies, these include:

An Abingdon hybrid tortoise (the Abingdon tortoise has been presumed extinct), the hybrid was discovered in 2007 which suggests that there is at least one Abingdon tortoise left in the wild. however the last known Abingdon tortoise named Lonely George died in 2012. one of the reasons that the Abingdon tortoise went extinct is that it was depleted by whalers and fisherman as well as the destruction of vegetation by goats that were introduced in 1958.

Lonely George (his shell is a saddle back shell)

Volcan Wolf Tortoise there are roughly 1,139 in the wild, they make there home on the northern parts of the island as well as the northern and western slopes of Volcano Wolf. there are two different types of Wolf tortoises, one is a saddle back and the other is a domed - research suggests that this variation is caused by a hybrid species of native Isabela tortoise with about 40 descendants of Floreana tortoises that people have believed to be extinct since the 1850's. right now their conservation status is Vulnerable

Sierra Negra Tortoise there are 694 members of this species that live on the island by the Sierra Negra Volcano after which they are named. There are also two other groups, one in the east and another that live on the southern and western slopes. Out of all the Galapagos sub species that live on the island it is the most threatened, in 1998 20 adults were taken into captivity for a breeding program because of the threat of volcanic eruption from the nearby Cerro Azul volcano. The subspecies is shaped between a domed and saddle back with a distinctive 'tabletop' appearance, the differences in the form and structure are put down to geological differences. Its conservation status is endangered.

Volcan Darwin Tortoise there are 818 of these tortoises on Isabela Island, they are spread out across the southern and western slopes of Volcano Darwin. They were heavily exploited in the 19th Century by Whaling vessels, but recovered. their conservation status is threatened.

Iguana Cove Tortoise there are roughly 2,574 that live on Cerro Azul Volcano. this subspecies population was depleted by sea men in the last two centuries, it was also extensively slaughtered by cattle owners in the 1950's and 1960's. Before the eradication programs its nests and hatchlings were destroyed by wild pigs, dogs, cats and black rats. its conservation status is threatened. There are differences in the shells between the males and females of this species unlike the other sub species that live on the island, the males are larger and more their shells are saddled back whereas the females have more domed shells.

Other Animals on Isle Isabela

Other species of animals that live on this island are Penguins, Cormorants, Marine Iguanas, the blue footed booby, pelicans, Sally Light Foot crabs, Galapagos land iguanas, Darwin Finches, Galapagos hawkes and Galapagos doves

The Galapagos Penguin

The Galapagos penguin is the second smallest type of Penguin in the world and is native to the Galapagos and is the only penguin that lives north of the equator. It is 49 cm (19 inches) high and 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lbs) in weight

It is one of four living species of branded penguins, all branded penguins are part of the Spheniscus genus, All four species of branded penguins have similar colouring. the other species of branded penguins are Megellanic penguins, Humboldt penguins and African Penguins.

It can survive living above the equator because of the Humboldt current and the cool waters that are brought up from the depths by the Cromwell Current.

The juveniles are fluffier, are grey on the side and chin and have no brand stripe across their chests. The only difference between the males and females appearances is the fact that the females are smaller than the males.

While 90% of the penguins live on the west coast of Isabela and the western part Fernandina island smaller populations of the Galapagos penguins also live on Floreana, Santa Cruz, Santiago and Bartolome.

Typically the temperature of the islands is between 15 - 28 degrees C apart from the El Nino season. El Nino season is an anomaly that heats the surface of the sea. El Nino is defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) as a 3 month average warming period of at least 0.5 degrees C in a specific area of the east Pacific Ocean. It is defined slightly differently by other organisations however it can last between seven months and two years and takes place at irregular times - it can occur every two - seven years. On average it takes place every five years. if it lasts between 7-9 months it is called the El Nino condition if it lasts longer it is called the El Nino episode.

Because of the heat they have developed three different behavioral adaptations to cool off because of their time on land, the first is going into the water, the second is panting - they use evaporation to cool off their throats and airways, the last adaptation they have is the ability to lose heat through their flippers by hunching forward and shading their flippers from the sun.

According to a survey by the Charles Darwin Research Station in 2004 there was an estimated population of 1,500. Currently their conservation status is endangered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galapagos_penguin

The Flightless Cormorant

The cormorant has webbed feet and strong legs that it uses to propel itself through the water when hunting for eels, fish, small octopuses and other small sea creatures. It will rarely venture father than one kilometer from breeding grounds and only swims in shallow coastal waters this includes straights and bays. It is the biggest member of the Phalacrocoracidae family, it can grow to be between 89-100cm (35-40 inches) and can weigh between 2.5-5.0kg (5.5-11 lbs). Because it is flightless its wings have become 1/3rd of the size they would require to fly. In 1983 50% of the population died due to the El Nino, its population fell from 800 to 400, however by 1999 the population had recovered to an estimated 900. Before the islands were discovered by man, the cormorant had no predators so it no longer needed the ability to fly, therefore it lost the ability to. However since then cats, dogs and pigs have been introduced so they are now no longer free of predators, though they remain unafraid of people and can in fact be approached and picked up.

Before 2011 this animal was listed as endangered, however due to resent research it has been decided that these birds are not as rare as they were believed to be and that the population has stabilized, in fact in 2011 it was estimated that there were 1,679 in total - they live on both Isabela and Fernandina - as a result they were down graded to vulnerable. these birds are native to the Galapagos.

Their ability to recover quickly from natural disasters e.g. the El Nino of 1883, is due to the females ability to breed three times a year, each time she will lay three eggs but usually only one will survive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flightless_cormorant