University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...

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Ecotourism as a sustainable way to protect nature Baquerizo Moreno on San Christobal Island, although the largest town is Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz. Five of the islands are inhabited, with a total population of around 15.000 people. The Galapagos Islands is a very unique place, because it has been deserted for many years. Species of plants and animals have evolved differently on approximately 14 islands. That means the islands contain many endemic species. The nature is still in a pristine state, (though it is endangered by tourists and immigrants), and because of that it is an ideal place to study evolution and other ecological issues. 3.1.2. Nature Three to five million years ago volcanic eruption gave birth to a new archipelago. This new group of islands had flat shorelines and mountain interiors, but despite of equatorial location, the habitat of several of the islands was desert like. But plant and animals migrated to Galapagos and nowadays it is home to many unique, endemic species. Though Galapagos sites equator it also lies in the path of a cool nutrientrich current, so corals, manta rays and other plants and animals of tropical seas, share islands with penguins, fur seal lion and other cool-water species. Galapagos have many different habitats, such as forests, beaches, volcanic craters, mangrove forests etc. The mangrove has rich concentrations of nutrients and plankton flow in and out with the tides, making the forest an important breeding and nursery ground for fishes and invertebrates. The mangrove is also used as nesting sites by many birds. a. Flora Plants entering the islands tend to be pioneer species, hardy plants which successfully cross oceans and manage to establish themselves in the often 40
Ecotourism as a sustainable way to protect nature hostile environment of the islands. Relatively few plants succeed in doing this, so Galapagos Islands have far fewer species than in similar environments on the South American mainland. The plants have few specialised fleshy fruits and showy flowers, because they have adapted to very few insects and other pollinators to pollinate their flowers and disperse their fruits. The Galapagos Islands have 560 native species and one third of these are endemic, species such as cotton, tomato, pepper, guava and passionflower. Introduced species is a big problem on the Galapagos. They arrived with the people for the purposes of either agriculture or gardening. Now they have become pests and invade the native vegetation. In 1999, 475 introduced species where known, and 10 new species arrive each year. In 2007, it is estimated that the introduced species will outnumber the native ones (Galapagos Conservation Trust, 2002). Introduced animals are also a big problem. Goats, donkeys and cattle have decimated the vegetation, and introduced insects and other invertebrates have infected and killed many native species (Galapagos Conservation Trust, 2002). b. Fauna Galapagos has many unique and endemic animals, most of which are fearless due to the lack of natural predators. One of the best known is the giant tortoise. Scientist believes the tortoises have drifted from the mainland with the ocean current, their shells keeping them afloat, and that the giant tortoise has grown to an immense size (250 kg), because of abundant food and absence of predators (Galapagos Conservation Trust, 2002). There have been 14 races of tortoises, evolved on 14 different islands, but as a result of hunting, 3 races are extinct and 1 left of the fourth race. It is 41
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