Notecard Information
Candlebra Cactus: This is an endemic species that grows up to 23 feet. The color of the cactus is green, and sectionalized like a candlebra. It sprouts green and red flowers that produce fruits of the same color before dawn each day. This species can only be found on the Santa Cruz island, more specifically on the cliffs of Puerto Ayora. The arms become woodier with age and when the plant dies the hollow woody "skeleton" is left behind.

Red-Footed Booby
These birds have brown coloring albeit their red feet. They also have a blue bill and a red base. They are the smallest of the booby birds. They are one of the few seabirds to create and perch in vegetation. Although the red-footed booby is the most numerous of the Galapagos species, it spends much of its time over the ocean feeding so they are not seen as much as the other booby's. The Galapagos species is considered an endemic subspecies.

Concentric Pufferfish
This fish like to hang out in shallow water and can be seen from ships. Although these fish look like any other fish, looks can be deceiving. The skin is covered in a very poisonous substance which comes in handy to keep away possible predators. Another way that they deter predators is by puffing up by sucking in water or air as well from their concentric markings.

How do the Ocean Currents affect the Galapagos?
The climate in the Galapagos Islands is different from the other islands near the equator because the climate is dominated by the prevailing current. It can create strong, unpredictable tides between islands, cooler than normal temperatures which results in the unique ecology of the islands.

Endemism

As a final part of our note card assignment, I have an important theory in evolutionary biology to discuss that is extremely relevant to the Galapagos Islands. The topic I have to discuss is endemism...which I probably should have described first without using it in previous posts! As we have already discussed in our pre-departure meetings, an endemic species is a species that is found only in one place in the world--nowhere else. How large can this place be? We're not talking about continents here; we're talking about a species that is found on one specific island, or one particular country, or one habitat zone in a country. That being said, since they are only found in one region of the world, endemic species are prone to extinction, either from competition or human intervention, since by definition endemic species are relatively rare. How do endemic species rise about? There are two ways. In paleoendemism, the population of a formerly common species shrinks to the point where the species can only be found in one area--this is essentially near-extinction. By contrast, in neoendemism, a new species arises through speciation and reproductive isolation. Knowing what we know about the Galapagos--the volcanic islands have never connected to the mainland and are thus ripe for adaptation, speciation, and evolution--we can expect to find a large number of endemic species in the islands. This is part of what makes this trip so exciting! We'll see things that people cannot see anywhere else in the world.

I hope you've enjoyed this bite-sized series on animals and plants found in the Galapagos! I'll be sure to take my own pictures of these things and share them with you all.

Tiquilia--Not to be Confused with Tequila!

It's time to continue our series on species found in the Galapagos. Now that we've taken care of the animals, we're ready to move onto Ecuadorian flora!

Tiquilia nesiotica, courtesy of Wikipedia!

Next, we have the plant genus Tiquilia. No, Tiquilia is not related to tequila; tequila comes from the blue agave plant, or Agave tequilana. The genus Tiquilia refers to 27 different plant species known by the common name crinklemat. The crinklemat is a flowering plant that is part of the Forget-me-not family, or the borage family. The different crinklemats are all found in the Western hemisphere, and almost all are found in arid or desert regions. So far as I have been able to tell, 4 of the Tiquilia species are found in the Galapagos. They are Tiquilia darwinii, fusca, galapagoa, and nesiotica. All 4 are endemic to the islands. The first three species are quite common, being found on all or almost all of the islands. Only the Tiquilia nesiotica is rare; because it is only found on Santiago, its IUCN status is listed as vulnerable. You'd think that there would be a lot of information out about a plant that sounds like an alcohol, but there isn't. All you can see for now is that it is a hardy brush/scrub that survives in dry places with lots of brown and little green. There aren't an abundance of pictures either, so I had to rip off either Wikipedia or some personal photo collections.

Next time, we'll discuss a biological term extremely relevant to the Galapagos...endemism. 75% done!

Genus Tiquilia
Tiquilia Darwinii
Tiquilia Fusca
Tiquilia Galapagoa
Tiquilia Nesiotica

Slipper Lobster

To continue our series on animals that we can find in the Galapagos, we'll move from the cuddly Galapagos sea lion to something far less cute...the slipper lobster, or Scyllarides astori.

These guys look nasty in a fight!

Locally know as the langostino, the slipper lobster is commercially exploited along with the red lobster and blue lobster. The slipper lobster is not your typical lobster--it is actually more closely related to spiny or furry lobsters than the other two Galapagos lobsters. Slipper lobsters are bottom-dwellers that like to hang out at depths of up to 500 meters. The slipper lobster body is made of 14 segments, each of which is covered in a thick carapace. Slipper lobsters are known for their enlarged antennae. The slipper lobster eats a variety of molluscs, like oysters and limpets, and they are preyed upon by bony fish that can penetrate the lobster's thick exoskeleton. The slipper lobster can be eaten, but it is of much less commercial importance than other types of lobsters.

We're now ready to move onto a plant that you can find in the Galapagos...Tiquilia. No, it has nothing to do with tequila. You'll just have to wait and see what it is!

More on the Slipper Lobster...if you know Spanish!

Baltra Island

chelseabaltra

Isla Floreana

To view a little, fun presentation on Floreana Island...

Follow the link!
Floreana Island

Katherine's Pre Departure presentation/notecard info

Presentation on Charles Darwin Research Station:

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=d3c6qfg_4dfddj9c5

Notecard Presentation:

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=d3c6qfg_8gfcxxvcc

Galapagos Fur Seals...or is it Sea Lion?

Okay, so to do a little background research on the islands for our group, I need two animals, a plant, and a theory to discuss...luckily, I have this handy note card that tells me which ones to pick!

Nap time for the Galapagos fur sea lion!

First up are the animals, namely the Galapagos fur seal and the slipper lobster. My guide book tells me that, technically, the index card is incorrect; there is no Galapagos fur seal, only fur sea lions! The rest of the internet, even sacred Wikipedia, does not seem to agree, though... We can talk about this in person! I'm inclined to believe my book--it tells me that seals have internal ears, but every Galapagos fur "seal" that I've seen has had external ears. Originating in the Southern Hemisphere, the ancestor species of the Galapagos fur sea lion rode the Humboldt current up to the islands, where the sea lions lived and differentiated into the species we now today: Arctocephalus galapagoensis. The Galapagos fur sea lion were, until recently, endemic to the islands, but it seems that a second colony established itself in northern Peru in. To distinguish it from the rest of the fur sea lions around the world, the Galapagos version is smaller and is the only type of fur sea lion to live in the tropics. Because they are so darn cute, the Galapagos fur sea lion was hunted for its fur, almost to the point of extinction in the 19th century. However, the fur sea lion populations have now recovered, and these lobos de dos pelos (double-fur sea wolves) are happy to lie underneath the rocks to hide from the sun.

I hope you've enjoyed this post on the loveable sea lion. We've got a lot more to cover, so look for more posts! Until next time...

National Geographic Photo of the Sea Lion

Notecard Topics

Opuntia Cactus

Often Called the Paddle Cactus, or prickly pear. The species evolved into 14 different types, reaching up to 40 feet. One kind (average height 4 ft.) can be found on Santa Cruz Island. It is the source of food and shelter for 2 species of finch, iguanas, etc. Yellow flowers develop into orange, thorn-covered fruit.

Waved Albatross

Is a very large bird, only found on Espanola Island. They have a very large wingspan of about 7 feet. Most notable for being spectacular flyers, spending most of their time in the air, stopping only top breed. Mostly brownish bodies, with a white head and distinctive yellow beak. Because of their large wings, they use large cliffs as a "runway" for flight.

Blue Parrotfish

One of about 90 species of fish that reside in relatively shallow, tropical waters. Named such for their distinctive beak-like mouth. They reside in various coral reefs around the galapagos. 

Adaptive Radiation

In evolutionary biology this refers to multiple speciations from one common ancestor. In the galapagos this can be seen with the variety of wildlife–especially birds. A common ancestor bird would then, over time, evolve into several distinct species to fulfill various niches.