Tsunami in the Galapagos Islands

Posted by Greg Estes on February 27, 2010 (click here for Reuters article on tsunami alert in Galapagos)

“This morning I received  a skype call here in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos. It was a family member calling with a warning that a tsunami may be on its way to Galapagos and many people here were making their way to higher ground as a precaution. After checking the web for the latest from NOAA I opted to stay in Puerto Ayora and keep checking  the news. I did go to the top of my house where I have a view of both Academy Bay and the back bay in Puerto Ayora.  I was there between 7:30 to 8:45 am and observed a rapid (every 5 to 10 minutes) ebb and flow of 3-5  feet of sea water into both bays. The biggest surge came at 7:55 am. There is one little island in the back bay which at one moment was connected to Santa Cruz island by the tide dropping and then within minutes became an island again as the water surged back in. There was debris in the bay. Many of the tour boats had weighed anchored and were waiting out the tsunami in deep water offshore. There was one report of a tour boat touching the bottom of the bay and heeling to one side before the tide came back in and brought her back upright. I have been in contact with people who have evacuated to higher ground. Although the tsunami warning has been lifted people in the highlands apparently are being kept away from Puerto Ayora until Saturday afternoon as a safety precaution.”  (click here for  tsunami bulletin from NOAA)

Galapagos Sea Lions Cooperatively Feeding

Posted by Greg Estes on February 6, 2010

“On a recent trip in Galapagos I was asked by a biology student whether sea lions in Galapagos cooperatively feed. I had heard of marine mammals cooperatively feeding (for example bottle-nosed dolphin, humpback whales and orcas) but I couldn’t remember seeing sea lions cooperatively feed. In fact it is rare to see sea lions feed in Galapagos. I have observed sea lions on the surface of the sea ripping off pieces of flesh from large fish and octopus. And I have also observed individuals catching fish as they dash repeatedly through a school of small fish. But I had never seen this as a cooperative behavior. But later on that same trip I came across several males at Puerto Egas on Santiago Island which appeared to be trapping a group of fish by herding them into a submarine grotto. I managed to get a short clip of video which I have uploaded onto YouTube (click here to view the video). One of the sea lions objected to my presence as he most likely considered me a competitor. If you look closely at the video you can see him make a dash towards the camera. At that point I decided it was time to give him some space.”

The following is a comment by Greg posted on February 6, 2010 in response to a National Geographic video entitled Welcome to the Galapagos Islands (click here to view video)

“Great footage and message about taking care of the Galapagos marine environment. But there are a number of mistakes made in the narration regarding Charles Darwin.

First of all Darwin didn’t record seeing penguins, fur seals or flightless cormorants. The flightless cormorant did not feature in his thinking on evolution and was never mentioned by Darwin.

Secondly, although Darwin didn’t dive below the sea he was interested in the marine environment. He was the first to collect specimens of fish in the Galapagos. He also collected marine invertebrates.

Thirdly, there were people living in the Galapagos when Darwin made his visit. There were people living on both Floreana and Santiago Islands and Darwin met them. In fact meeting these people was particularly important to Darwin as they were able to tell him about the different types of tortoises found on the different islands.

Check out the book Darwin in Galapagos: Footsteps to a New World for a completely new and comprehensive account of Darwin’s visit to the islands. The authors have retraced Darwin’s steps using his original manuscripts and for the first time have been able to clarify what Darwin observed in the islands and what was key to his understanding of evolution.”

The following is a comment by Greg posted on February 3, 2010 in the New York Times in response to Olivia Judson’s article entitled Fearless which appeared February 2, 2010 (click here to view article)

“The reason that these islands were not settled is not because of luck but because there is very little fresh water in Galapagos. FitzRoy, the captain of the Beagle, had to put the crew on rations because he couldn’t find a good place to resupply the ship with water. Eventually he was forced into resupplying at San Cristobal island, where the sea was rough, as this was the only place where he could find sufficient water for the ship. Geologically the islands are similar to the Hawaiian islands but a big difference is there are no lush islands with waterfalls in the Galapagos. The Hawaiian islands were colonized by people long before the Galapagos and that accounts for why so many of the native birds have gone extinct in Hawaii. There has not been a single species of bird going extinct in Galapagos. This can be attributed largely due to the scarcity of fresh water making it difficult for people to colonize the islands. In 1937 there were only 34 people living on Santa Cruz island which now has the largest human population in the Galapagos estimated to be between 20 – 30,000.

On one of the islands (South Plaza) in Galapagos one finds land iguanas which are fearless at a visiting site. But they haven’t always been that way. Back in the 1950’s people were still hunting land iguanas for food (Darwin himself ate land iguanas while in the Galapagos in 1835). It was very difficult to find iguanas on South Plaza in the 50’s because as soon as visitors appeared the iguanas were so skittish they would scamper for cover. When tourism began in the 1960’s it was not so well regulated as it is now. Today there are strict National Park regulations which limit what visitors are allowed to do at the visiting sites. For example you are not allowed to feed the animals. In the 60’s visitors would bring food ashore to feed the iguanas. Within a decade of being hunted the iguanas were displaying the opposite behavior towards people where they would run down to the landing when visitors arrived.

Loss of flight in the Flightless Cormorant was not about being blown out to sea. The Flightless Cormorant is a seabird. It is thought the evolution to flightlessness with the Flightless Cormorant was not only due to a lack of land mammal predators but also the abundance of food inshore due to the upwelling of nutrient rich water from the Cromwell current which bathes the islands of Fernandina and Isabela where the Flightless Cormorant is endemic. The Flightless Cormorant didn’t need to fly long distances to find food. Also by putting the energy for wing development into their legs and feet they were able to dive down deeper, using their feet, to occupy a niche which other birds could not reach. The Flightless Cormorant did not feature in Darwin’s thinking on evolution as it was not described until after he died. He never commented on the Flightless Cormorant.

The Galapagos Islands has the coldest water on the equator anywhere in the world. I have been diving in 56 F at one of the dive sites which has been dubbed the icebox by the dive guides. This may account for why the marine iguanas were so quick to swim back ashore when being tossed in by Darwin rather than the fear of predators. Marine iguanas typically feed under the water in the middle of the day after their body temperature has heated up.

As far as Darwin and Galapagos being an old story with nothing new, nothing could be further from the truth. Check out the book Darwin in Galapagos: Footsteps to a New World http://darwiningalapagos.com/ for a completely new and comprehensive account of Darwin’s visit to the islands. The authors have retraced Darwin’s steps using his original manuscripts and for the first time have been able to clarify what Darwin observed in the islands and what was key to his understanding of evolution.”