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Galapagos a Paradise in Peril:Ecological Restoration as a

Conservation ToolPatricia Jaramillo, Leader Galapagos Verde 2050 Project, Charles Darwin Foundation(patricia.jaramillo@fcdarwin.org.ec)

Washington Tapia, Director Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative, Galapagos Conservancy(wtapiaa@gmail.com)

Location

equator

Why isGalapagos an

uniqueecosystem?

Why isGalapagos an

uniqueecosystem?

For its completely volcanic origin

All the islands were formed by volcaniceruptions and isolation

• 100 % reptiles

• 79% mammals

• 56% insects

• 49% birds

• 42% plants

Endemism

But, there areThreats and

problems

But, there areThreats and

problems

Tourism and populationexplosion

1

12

144

1,728

20,736

248,832

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

1950

1955

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

Popu

latio

n

Tour

ism

- Exponential increase of population- Steady increase in tourism

1974

1980

1980

1974

Accelerated population growth

Spatial foot prints

Red Gravel Mine

Abandoned farms

Photo: Daniel ShermanPhoto: Daniel Sherman

Problem 1: Change in land use

Problem 2: Introduced species

• 900 plant species (+50%)

• 536 invertebrate species

• 30 vertebrate species

• 19 avian diseases

Trueman et al. (2010) Biological Invasions.

Floreana

Santa Cruz

San Cristobal

Isabela407 (36%)

248 (47%)

708 (29%)

633 (28%)

Invasive plants on National Park boundary

Weedy time bomb!

Weedy time bomb!

Because people have introduced speciesin their farms, those spread to the otherparts of the island

So, what do we need now?

o Control and quarantine

o Biological control

o New methods of restoration Threatened species in natural areas Promoting sustainable agriculture

o Control and quarantine

o Biological control

o New methods of restoration Threatened species in natural areas Promoting sustainable agriculture

We need interdisciplinaryand applied research

We need interdisciplinaryand applied research

Galápagos Verde 2050:

Technology Innovation in support of EcologicalRestoration

• 11.012 species of birds and plants

• 2050: >50% of species reduce >45% climatic niches; 10% will be extinct

The Galapagos Verde 2050 project combines appliedresearch and management actions to contribute to the

sustainability of Galapagos

The Galapagos Verde 2050 project combines appliedresearch and management actions to contribute to the

sustainability of Galapagos

1Restoration of

species and degradedecosystems

2Ecosystem Services

(sustainableagriculture)

GalápagosVerde 2050

DPNG

ABG

ECOGAL

GobiernoParroquialFloreana

FAE

CNG

Capitaníade Puerto

Ayora

Strategic partners

Galapagos Verde: Goals for 2050

2014 - 2017

2017 - 2027

2027 - 2050

What is this innovativetechnology?

Groasis(Waterboxx)

Constant dailywater supply

Cocoon

Recyclerain water

Species used for restoration

0

50

100

150

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ControlGroasis

Planting with Groasis and Cocoon

Planting with Groasis and Cocoon

Virtual Platform and Android Application

www.galapagosverde2050.com

Background of each islandand preliminary results

Santa Cruz

Scalesia affinis

Establishing a new population of Scalesia affinis, athreatened endemic shrub

- Is known to be self-incompatible, cross pollinationwas carried out in the wild to try and augment viableseed production.

- Average seed viability from 22 artificial crosses was0.58 (SE ± 0.043)

- Survivorship from germination was low, with only17% of plants surviving to three months postgermination.

- Survival following transplanting out in the wildwas also low, with just 19% of plants (11 out of 57)alive after one year.

Atkinson, R. Tapia, W. and Jaramillo, P. 2010

We walked all over theisland using equidistant

points

Last 71 Scalesia affinis individuals

Garrapatero: Impact of invertebratesfor a year of drought (2016)

Santa Cruz: preliminary results

• 10,000 seeds of Scalesia affinis were collected• 250 plants from Garrapatero and El Mirador locations are monitored monthly,

with their biological data inputted by the CDF team into the virtual platformmade for the project.

Survival analysis

Floreana

Restoredfarm

Basurero

Black Granite Mine

Garbage Dump Black Granite Mine

Garbage Dump

Phase 1

Floreana: Mine

Agosto 2014 Agosto 2015Agosto 2016

Floreana: preliminary results

• 116 native and endemic plants were planted

Baltra and South Plaza

SOUTH PLAZA

Referenceecoystem

(Control): NorthSeymour

Referenceecoystem

(Control): NorthPlaza

Phase 1: Baltra and SouthPlaza

Phase 12014-2017

Phase 12014-2017

FamilyNombrecientífico

Commonname

Origen Ecological or functional role

BurseraceaeBursera malacophylla

palo santo Endemic Food and bird nest

AsteraceaeScalesia crockeri

lechoso EndemicHost of native and endemic invertebrates. Attract

pollinators

Boraginaceae Cordia lutea muyuyo Native Food and bird pollination

CaesalpinaceaeParkinsonia aculeata

palito verde NativeNitrogen fixation, with showy flowers that attract

endemic butterflies

SimaroubaceaeCastela galapagensis

amargo EndemicPioneer species in arid zone, facilitate the colonization of

other target species such as Scalesia and Opuntia.

Cactaceae Opuntia echios echiosopuntia Endemic Food for land iguanas and birds

Mimosaceae

Solanum cheesmaniae

acacia NativeNitrogen fixation, with showy flowers that attract

endemic butterflies

VerbenaceaeAcacia macracantha

rodilla de caballo NativeFood for land iguanas and birds. Fruits three times a year

every four months.

MimosaceaeProsopis juliflora

algarrobo NativeNitrogen fixation, with showy flowers that attract

endemic butterflies

Solanaceae Ipomoea triloba Lycium EndemicAttract pollinators and provides soil stability and coverageprotection. Fruits two times a year .

Key species to restore

Quarantine processes

Baltra

Iguana populations• Declined in the early XIX• Habitat destruction by introduced goats• Population went extinct after World War II• During 1932 to 1933, 70 individuals were transferred from Baltra to

North Seymour

Background

Current situation in Baltra Island

Ecological restoration ofBaltra

20 Km ²Restorable

Starting with5 Ha

Minimum

3000plants ofdifferentspecies

Minimum

3000plants ofdifferentspecies

Background

Location of plots Phase 12014-2017

Site 2: Old garbage dump

Jan-Apr 2016: 2850 seedlings planted between

Garbage Dump Eolico site

2.93 Ha

Baltra

Preliminary results with Cocoon

Soil variation different sites(Cocoon)

Species selectionCocoon = planting tool for early tree

establishmentTimely connecting to moist substrata for

independent tree life

General analysis in Baltra

Good

Bad

Dead

Regular

Status

South Plaza

Background

a) (Above), central part of the island, aphotograph taken in 1967 by RobertBowman,

b) (Below), photograph taken from thesame position as Bowman (S00 ° 35.005,W90 ° 09.941 W) now Sulloway in 2007.Of the 340 cactus visible in the image,1967, 181 (53%) died over a period of40 years (Sulloway et al. , 2013).

Surviving plants

New recruits

(Snell, et al. 1994)

Ecological restoration ofPlaza Sur

13 HaMinimum

600cacti

Minimum

600cacti

Background

426

We serveyet entere island

12

3

410 seedlings O. varechios echios wereplanted in threeareas of South Plaza

South Plaza

South Plaza

Española

Viability and germination tests

Isabela Norte

- N = 1600 seeds (100%)- N = 160 viability test (10%)

Research community Action

Social

Environment

Economy

Ecoturism

Education

Galápagos Verde 2050 is part of the solution

¡Thank you very much!

Restoring theGiant Tortoise Dinastyof the Galápagos

Seed DispersersEcological Engineers

Why is recovering this population necessary?

Originally there were 15 different species of thesame Genus (Chelonoidis)

C. Zeigler NGS

Carapace Adaptations

Actually, Saddlebackcarapace is an adaptation thatcan only be found inGalapagos

Domed form: Humid andhigh islands

Saddleback form: low and dryislands

Unfortunately Giant tortoises are Endangered

1: Up until the 19th century, they were often hunted bysailors (Pirates and Whalers) who needed fresh meat to eat

Pirates

Whale hunters

Unfortunately Giant tortoises are Endanger

Habitat destroyed by goats

3: From pirates age to the present introduced speciesdestroy their eggs and habitat

2: Until 1959 colonists killed them for meat and oil

Killed tortoises by Colonist(1905)

Tortoise Population Decline

It is estimated that the population could have beenas high as 200000, dropping to 3000 in the 1970

Now = 11 living species

porteri

donfaustoi

and 4 extinct

X

XTortoise Restoration 50years ago became aConservationChallenge

With 4 extinct species and ~ 10% of historicalnumbers

X

X

How could we recover this species complex?One island at a time…and all islands at once!

1965-Charles DarwinFoundation and GalapagosNational Park ServiceEstablished a CaptivityBreeding and RearingProgram as aconservation strategy

Basically with Españolaand Pinzón tortoises

This program was very succesfuland helped to recover thesespecies

After 50 Years, starting with 15 adults (12Females and 3 males)

Now we have 2000 repatriated toEspañola

~ 50% survival20% offspring now from repatriates

But we don´t really know what happenedwith the other populations not included inthe program

Española Tortoises Case

2014

Giant TortoiseRestoration Initiative

(GTRI)

2014 - 2024This program overthe next 10 yearsseeks to restorepopulationsthroughout theGalapagos Islands,combining appliedresearch withmanagement

2014 - 2024

Using thefollowingstrategies

Repatriation

1. Continue with breeding, rearing andrepatriation programs with 3 centres

Breeding Rearing

(Santa Cruz = 5 species)(Isabela = 2 species)

(San Cristóbal = 1 species)

2. Population monitoring andcensus

3. Use exclosures to study ecosystem changesand interactions between tortoises, cacti andwood vegetation

4. Use “analogue” tortoisesto repopulate islands

Use genetics asa tool fortortoisesconservationand restoration

Example 1:Description a new species of Galapagostortoises, help to take management decisions

Poulakaskis et al. 2015

SANTA CRUZ

LA CASETAporteri

CERRO FATALdonfaustoi

Puerto Ayora

Example 2: In a sample of nearly 1700 C. beckitortoises…

Above: Purple = tortoises with C. elphantopus ancestry which are extinct

Wolf Volcano

Opportunity to take animals with partial ancestry ofFloreana from Wolf to start a breeding program andrecover a species that has been extinct for 150 years

And opportunity to discover tortoiseswith partial ancestry of other extinctspecies like Pinta

Giant TortoiseRestoration Initiativemain Conservationtarget…

Contribute to recover tortoises population~ 90% of historical numbers and originaldistribution by year 2200

These projects are possible thanks to thecoopeation of many institutions andresearchers

Many thanks for your atention

Oppotunities to colaborationand voluntering

• Galápagos Verde 2050 contact to: PatriciaJaramillo atpatricia.jaramillo@fcdarwin.org.ecwww.darwinfoundation.org

• Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative contactto: Washington Tapia atwtapiaa@gmail.com www.galapagos.org