Pub Date : 2021-06-10DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780197531518.003.0001
W. Durham
Galápagos stands out for its vast collection of extreme life: the world’s only tropical albatross, its only flightless cormorants, and its marine iguanas; three colorful species of boobies; and 15 species of giant tortoises, one on each major volcano, except for one especially large volcano that has two. Each of these organisms has evolved adaptations to the unique rigors of life in an isolated archipelago on the equator. As Galápagos has recently grown ever more connected to the world system, many species’ adaptations have become vulnerabilities in the face of human-induced change. Fortunately, long before people arrived, evolution also endowed native species with forms of resilience to local perturbations like El Niño events and periodic droughts. The eight case studies in this book highlight these vulnerabilities and resiliences and argue that the mismatch between them, stemming from human impact, is the core conservation challenge today.
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Pub Date : 1900-01-01DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197531518.003.0004
W. Durham
The same species of Galápagos rail, a 6-inch insectivorous ground bird, has been reported on all eight islands with a highland humid zone. Evidence suggests that the rail colonized Galápagos at roughly the same time as giant tortoises, which evolved into 15 species with life spans of 150 years. So why is there just one species of rail? The question is especially germane given reports of the rail’s “reduced flight ability” (as is true of many island-dwelling rails), which would effectively isolate different island populations. And why has the species survived when so many similar rails have succumbed to human influence on other Pacific islands? The human history of Galápagos helps to answer these questions. Two things have saved the Galápagos rail from extinction: (1) It remains capable of flying between islands, which explains why it failed to differentiate like tortoises. (2) There have been massive efforts to eradicate or control invasive species, restoring habitat for rails to repopulate.
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