Jack's Revised presentation

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Jacks 5 fav picks

Packing list by Mikey Oh

Suggested packing list by Mikey Oh

More than one swimming suit

1.     SUNSCREEN! A LOT OF THEM

2.     A whole bunch of socks

3.     Mole skin

4.     Good walking shoes + good shoes/sandles that dries well for wet landing

5.     Sunglasses

6.     Spanish-English Dictionary 

Galapagos Costal Life - Mikey Oh

Mike Oh

Galapagos Winter Term

Photo Essay: Coastal life of the Galapagos

Galapagos fur seals are endemic to the Galapagos Islands.  They are the smallest of the eared seals, or otariids. They live on rocky cliffs by the water where shade is provided to protect them from the sun.  The picture is showing habitat of the fur seal, and a fur seal pup.  Fur seals have the longest nursing period than any other seals, and the adult fur seals leave their offspring behind for up to four days while they go hunt for food.  Their usual diet is fish or squids, and they usually hunt at night.  Reason they usually hunt at night is because their diets are easier to hunt during night; squids rise near the surface during nighttime. They live in colonies, but during mating season (mid-August to mid-November), female seals have their own territory to breed in.  In order to reproduce, females must protect their territory; therefore extremely violent to other pups that are not their own.  Large amount of pups die during the time of El Nino because of starvation.  During El Nino, fur seal population decreases by large percentage.  However, fur seal do not face constant danger of predators.  Sharks and orcas can be recognized as their predator, but it is very rare.

Galapagos penguin is endemic to the Galapagos Islands.  They are primarily seen on Fernandina and Isabela Island, but they also appear on other islands such as Bartolome Island or Santiago Island.  They are third smallest penguin, and only penguin to cross the northern hemisphere.  They feed on small fish, hunt during the day and stay on land during the night.  They don’t stay too far from their breeding sites, and mainly depend on the cold currents for their food.  Their breeding pattern is very interesting that during El Nino, they put off breeding in order to raise the chances of survival.  They usually put off breeding unless the surface temperature of the ocean is below 24°C.  Since the Galapagos is located on the equator, the strong sun becomes major problem for Galapagos penguin.  They have developed behaviors to stay cool on land, although main method is going into the water.  They hunch over to provide shadow for their feet, where they can lose heat due to the blood flow.  Also, they are able to pant to cool the throat.  Their small size resulted in having many predators, on land and under water.  Hawk, owl, and snakes attack penguins, and sea lions, fur seals, and sharks hunt penguins.  Also, El Nino destroys Galapagos penguin’s food source, resulting decrease in population. 

Red-footed boobies are the smallest of all types of boobies.  They can be differentiated from other boobies by its red foot and blue and pink beak.  They are not endemic to the Galapagos Islands, but found on many tropical islands.  They feed at sea, with their great diving skills.  They are also strong fliers that they can travel about 150km to hunt. They are well adapted for diving with their closable nostrils, long bills, and long wings to wrap the body before the diving.  Once under water, they use their feet to swim.  They nest on land around coast.  They have several morphs, such as white morph or brown morph, which describes their body color.  Red-footed boobies live longest out of 3 boobies in the Galapagos.  However, their reproduction rate is slower than Blue-footed or Nazka boobies.  Unlike other two boobies, Red-footed boobies lay their eggs on the tree.  They mate in large mass, and both parents takes care of the egg. 

Marine Iguana is endemic iguana to the Galapagos Islands, and has unique ability to be underwater.  Their ancestor is thought to be the green iguana of South America, taken by the current leading to the Galapagos Islands.  It dives about 10 m into the water, and uses its tail and body movement to swim.  Their tails are flat on the sides unlike round tail of land iguana, which helps them swim. They dive to eat marine algae or seaweed, and they shoot out excess salt from their body using special gland in their nostril.  Because of the cold seawater, they must warm their body with sun before diving.  This is why it is common to see marine iguanas sunbathing on rocks by the coast.  Their black body color also helps them absorb heat quickly, which helps them minimize the danger of losing too much heat after emerging from water.   Marine Iguanas cannot move effectively if their body heat is low.  They are very vulnerable after eating underwater, therefore becomes aggressive before warming up.  Another time Marine Iguanas are aggressive is during mating season.  Males are highly territorial while mating season, protecting group of females. 

Galapagos sea lions are descendent of California sea lions.  The current leading to the Galapagos has brought some of the California sea lions to the archipelago.  They are slightly smaller than California sea lions, and they are around 1.5m~2.5m, and weigh up to 400kg.  They live around the coast forming community with one alpha male.  Other males who lost the competition live in separate community consisted of other males without power.  They challenge alpha male, fighting for the territory.   Because of this challenge system, male sea lions develop many different traits.  Their forehead grows larger and pointier to use during the fight, and their necks get thicker and tougher to protect its vital organs.  Most dominant males don’t last over few months.  One that loses gets chased off from the community, moving in with other males.  The alpha male constantly patrols around their territory, checking both underwater and land.  The female recognizes its cub through its smell and bark.  The female can spot its cub’s bark within large number of other cubs barking.  The cow nurtures its pup up to 3 years, having a very strong bond between the mother and the cub.  Large part of their daily life is lying around the beach sunbathing in large groups. 

Mikey's 5 favorite Pics

Jack's Birds of the Galapagos

Birds of the Galapagos

Jack Russell

The Galapagos Albatross, also known as the Waved Albatross, are the largest birds found within the Galapagos Islands. There are various different types of Albatrosses, all belonging to the Diomedeidae family, throughout the world, however the Waved Albatross is the only one who resides in a tropic location. Within the family, the Galapagos Albatross is only mid-sized comparatively. They weight around 7.5 lbs and have a wing span between 2-3 meters long.

            These birds primarily feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans. From the food, they produce a type of stomach oil that they store in the proventriculus. This oil is used as energy for long flights and also is used to feed their chicks.

            One of the most distinctive attributes of the Galapagos Albatross is their mating dance. The picture above was taken in during the mating dance. Through a series of clicks, snaps, and moans, the Albatross move their heads up and down then side to side in sync wit the sounds that they are making. The mating season is between April and June, and then they incubate the eggs for the next two months. Their nests are found is rocky areas with little vegetation and brush.

The Blue-Footed Booby is a tropical bird most know for their blue webbed feet and dwelling throughout the Galapagos Islands. The name Blue-Footed Booby was appointed due to their blue feet and their clumsiness on land. Booby, coming from the Spanish word, bobo, means “silly” or clown.” They used to be a fine source of food on the island because they were easy to capture and good to eat. The Blue-Footed Booby is one of ten species that make up the Sulidae family. These birds averagly weight a little over 3lbs and are 32in long. Their diets include of sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and flying fish. When hunting they work in groups and wait for the leader to nose dive into the water, at which point they all follow. This allows them to separate and surround their prey at the same time.

            The males impress the females by showing off their bright blue feet by stomping them on the ground and dance side to side. The male then spreads his wings and lets out his call. The Boobys are monogamous, in which they have a breeding ground in which they meet back up with their mate, or in some cases try to find a new one. This cycle repeats every 8-9 months. Both the male and the female care for the eggs, switching day by day. They care for 2-3 eggs at a time and are one of the few birds on Galapagos that rears more than one chick at a time.

The Frigatebird is one of the most aggressive birds in the sky. Deriving from the Fregatidae family, they are one of five within their species. Also known as Pirate Birds, Frigates have a reputation for stealing food from other birds mid-flight. Working in packs and using the hooks on the ends of their bills, they force birds to either drop the fish that they have caught, or induce vomiting which the Frigatebirds also feed from. Although Frigates are seabirds, they do not go into the water. This is because they do not have waterproof feathers. So if they were to drive into the water, they would not be able to take back off. Their only source of food is from stealing from other birds.

Frigatebirds have long cornered wings and a pointed double-prong tail. The male Frigatebird has a large red gular pouch that inflates in order to attract females. They only acquire one spouse and they nest colonially. Their nests are placed on the ground in light brush. They only lay one egg and both parents care for the egg and the chick. The frigatebirds don’t mate annually simply because it takes so long to finish rearing their young.

The Yellow-crowned Night Heron is a medium-large sized water-bird that is part of the Ardeidae family. The have a wingspan of 39in and are 23in long. These birds are found on multiple islands within the Galapagos, including: Fernandia Island, Isabela Island, Tower Island, and San Cristobal Island. The Yellow-Crowned Night heron is endemic to the Galapagos.

The Yellow-Crowned Night Heron is active during both the night and the day, and feeds on insects of crabs. They bread year round and nest close to the ground on roots and rocks. The adults have dark grey feathers while the along have more of a brownish tint.

The Galapagos Hawk is at the top of the food chain within the Galapagos Islands. It usually has dark brown feathers and is 55cm long, with a wingspan of 120cm. The Galapagos Hawk, endemic to the Galapagos, mainly feeds on insects along with lava lizards, snakes, and rodents. It also is known for stealing eggs from other birds. It uses it’s strong razor claws to dig into its prey, either killing the animal on impact or keeping the talons dug in and waiting for the animal lose all it’s energy. They tend to hunt in groups of two or three and soar between 50-200 meters high.

The Galapagos Hawks have no regular mating season, instead they mate often and sporadically. The male hawk begins by faking attacks against the female, causing the female to find a perching spot, and the male proceeds to follow.  The males are monogamous however the female’s have multiple mates. The nests are made on lava ledges or in low trees. The female switches with the males to watch over and incubate the egg.

Jack's Journal Entry: Day 2

Journal Entry: Day 2

Jack Russell

The first night on the boat wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. What really did me in was the wake-up call. We all got up to the sound of Jose ringing the bell sometime around 6 am, which is six hours earlier than I’m used to. We ate a delicious breakfast and then set out to South Plaza Island. It was amazing how much we saw in such a short period of time. There were too man sea loins to count. Many of them were still young and finding food and comfort from their mothers. Washington said that the rearing process was more than two years. Along with the hundreds of crabs we saw on the beach, there was a large amount of land iguanas close by. The Iguanas stay close to trees and cactus bearing fruit. They fight over the territory around the vegetation because the females stay close to where food is available. We were able to also see a hybrid Iguana, which is a mix between a land iguana and a marine iguana. Washington said that there was only a few found on the entire planet. After our walk we returned to the boat for a little siesta time. Soon after we got ready for the snorkeling. We all got into our wetsuits and headed out in the dingies. I have been snorkeling many times before however there is still an initial rush when first entering the cold water. We snorkeled for about an hour and a half but it felt like 30min. The fish and marine life that we saw was amazing, however it I was expecting that. What I wasn’t expecting was seeing a huge sea loins rush right by me, spinning me in the process. Some people said they saw a sea turtle, but I must have missed it. Eventually we all got back into the dingys and headed back to the boat. We all got out of our wet suit and sat down to yet another delicious meal on the boat. All in all, one of the longest most exciting days I’ve had in my life. Not bad for only the 2^nd day in the Galapagos.