Goodbye, Lonesome George.

Lonesome George in his corral at the Charles Darwin Research Center on Isla Santa Cruz.

In December 1971 , the last Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni) was discovered in the Galápagos.  This solitary male would come to be known as "Lonesome George", and he would spend the rest of his days serving as an international symbol for conservation.  As the last of his subspecies, much effort was put into trying to breed him with females of closely related subspecies, but all eggs laid were infertile.  Today, Lonesome George's life ended, and with it, another (sub)species has gone extinct.

Love in the Galápagos

In many parts of the word, today is a day set aside to celebrate love and affection. Inspired by last week's posts on the Galápagos (which I know I have yet to finish), I thought I'd share some photos of signs of "love and affection" I saw when I was traveling the islands.

The uniquely shaped pad of the cactus Opuntia galapageia profusa on Isla Rábida .

In Darwin's Footsteps: Field Studies in the Galápagos Archipelago (Part 2)

A lava gull at the Lobos Islet of Isla San Cristóbal.

If memory serves me, yesterday I left off discussing speciation events that have occurred in the Galápagos Archipelago. Obviously, there is lots of this going on there. Animals and plants, separated from their traditional breeding population, adapt and evolve to better survive in new environments. The lava gull (Leucophaeus fuliginosus) provides the perfect example. The population of this sea bird is only around 400 pairs, and they only live in the Galápagos. However, on and around Pacific coast of South America, many other closely relates species can be found. The lava gull, being isolated from the rest of the parent population, has evolved into a unique species found nowhere else on Earth. But geographical isolation is not the only driving force behind the evolution of new species in the Galápagos.

In Darwin's Footsteps: Field Studies in the Galápagos Archipelago (Part 1)

A humble explorer, pointing towards the Pinnacle Rock of Isla Bartolomé.

On 27 December, 1831, The HMS Beagle set sail on what would become one of the most influential voyages of all time. On board was a young gentleman naturalist who, despite suffering from seasickness on a regular basis, kept detailed notes, collected valuable specimens, and made keen observations on the geology, biology, anthropology and ecology of many of the southern continents and islands. This man was Charles Darwin, and it was on this second voyage of the Beagle that he first began his musings on his theory of evolution.