Between the late 1500s and 1700s many pirates occupied the Islands. The Spanish Empire had conquered large parts of Latin America, also know as the New World. Occupation of the New World was providing Spain with a vast amount of gold, which was sent back to Spain on ships. The rest of Europe, mainly France and Britain, were getting nervous about Spain’s increasing wealth and power. These diplomatic tensions led to a lot piracy and privateering. 

The golden age of piracy

Ambrose Cowley’s First Chart of the Islands

Pirates began to use the Galapagos Islands as a place of refuge to hide from pursuers. The Islands were perfectly placed in the Pacific Ocean, making them a great strategic position from which to raid the mainland.

The Islands were close enough to allow for raiding, but remote enough to make escape possible. The Islands also provided much needed supplies of fresh meat for the pirates, but the water was scarce, so they never stayed on the Islands too long.

In 1684 the ship ‘Bachelor’s Delight’ had to take refuge on Santiago after Captain John Cook fell ill. They landed on Buccaneers Cove and a crew member (Ambrose Cowley) made a navigation chart of the Galapagos Island.

In 1697 Englishman William Dampier published his book ‘A New Voyage Round the World’ showing the Galapagos from a naturalist perspective. In 1708, Dampier returned to the Islands.

On the way, he rescued Alexander Selkirk from the Juan Fernandez Islands near Chile. It is thought that Selkirk inspired the story of Robinson Crusoe. 

Rise of the whalers

Eventually, piracy started to decrease and a business where more money could be made started to gain popularity. This business was whaling. During the 19^th century, Spanish power in Latin America was declining and countries began to trade independently with England.

Pirates discover the giant tortoises © Katie Meads

There was a demand for whale oil and not for Spanish gold. English and American whaling vessels began to explore the Pacific Ocean after the whale population in the Atlantic Ocean declined.

Whalers on the hunt © Katie Meads

In 1793 the English Captain James Colnett was sent to investigate the Islands’ potential for whaling. The map that Colnett’s investigations produced is attributed with alerting whalers to the area and increasing whaling in the Galapagos Islands for over a century. 

In 1813 the US Frigate Essex, headed by Captain David Porter, fought and captured a number of British whaling ships in Galapagos. He also released four goats onto the Island of Santiago – the descendants of these goats quickly grew to outnumber indigenous species on the islands and are now labelled an invasive species.

The Galapagos Islands were one of the main whaling sites until a whaling base was established in Japan in 1819. This meant that there were huge losses to the whale population in the area, and fur seals were close to extinction. The number of tortoises also drastically declined around this time period. According to whaler’s logs, between 1811 and 1844, around 15,000 tortoises were removed for food.

The Galapagos Islands are famous for plant and animal life which has been there for thousands of years before human beings appeared on the islands. As the population of the Islands grow, it is important to monitor the impact of the human population on the environment.

Where do people live in Galapagos and how is the population growing?

Only four of the archipelago’s thirteen major islands have human populations: Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Isabela and Floreana. In total, only three percent (or 300km²) of the Islands have human settlements, (the remaining 97% of the Galapagos Islands is maintained as national park). Therefore, as the population of the Islands grows, this space gets more and more crowded. The permanent resident population of the Islands is currently growing by around 6.4% a year, compared to population growth of 2.1% in mainland Ecuador. Both natural population growth and migration to the Islands are having an impact on this growth as the Islands become a more attractive place to work and live.

Land Zoning

“The ultimate purpose of zoning is to avoid or minimize the negative effect of human impact. Galapagos ecosystems are subjected to and allow for a rational use of goods and services these ecosystems offer to society.”- Galapagos National Park

Isolation is the key to the special nature of the Galapagos archipelago. Because human colonisation in Galapagos did not occur until relatively recently compared to the majority of the rest of the world, the unique ecosystems have been preserved and species have survived. However, population increase and urban expansion means that land zoning of areas for human use and rules for the use of the zones has become necessary.

Prior to 1959, protected areas and unprotected areas were considered independently and the interconnectedness of the zones was not taken into account. There was no real difference in the management of the human and natural space. When the Galapagos National Park was defined in 1959, 97% of the islands around populated areas were declared protected natural areas. The remaining 3% of the land is used by Galapagos communities both rural and urban. The new zoning model recognises that hazards such as invasive species and pollution come from populated areas and that the populated areas depend on the unique ecosystems and their conservation, so demonstrating the inter-connectedness of the zones.

A digram showing land use in the rural part of Santa Cruz © Galapagos National Park

Rural areas are in the upper parts of the inhabited Islands and are privately owned. They are wetlands which allowed the formation of soil suitable for agriculture. This importance of agriculture has declined and the land has gone out of cultivation. This has led to an increase in the invasive plant species such as guava, blackberry and passion fruit, that were introduced when the land was cultivated. The responsibility of recovering these areas, preventing further invasions and removing the invasive species lies with the owners, local government and government. A pilot plan on Santa Cruz Island in 2009 used chemical and physical controls such as cutting back plants, foliage spraying and fumigation.

The urban areas around ports are where most human activities take place, such as the arrival of cargo and people from other islands and the mainland. Human activity causes the greatest changes to the environment through construction of buildings and roads, pollution and introduced species. It is therefore very important to have clear land use policies and planning.

Urbanisation in Galapagos © Galapagos Conservation Trust

Surrounding rural and urban human spaces on each populated island is an area defined as low impact. These are areas which have much of the original ecosystem still intact but have been altered to some extent by human activities. The establishment of Special Public Use Sites is allowed so that some timber can be extracted and non-recyclable solid waste can be disposed of.

The Marine environment is also subjected to zoning with a Marine Reserve and coastal areas with different uses in specific locations for fishing, research, conservation and education. There are sub-zones for special management and recovery, in which human activity is particularly relevant.

We can find many special ecosystems across the Galapagos Islands. With so much unique animal and plant life, the Islands need to be carefully managed to protect them.

What is Conservation?

Conservation involves direct action by people to protect nature and the environment. There are many different actions that are contained within ‘conservation’ such as preservation, protection and restoration.

Why is Conservation important for Galapagos?

The unique species of Galapagos are one of the main attractions for visitors to the Islands. These visitors bring money to Islands by buying products and food on the Islands as well as paying to stay in hotels. However, this has not always been the case.

Before the Galapagos Islands were colonised by humans, the wildlife on the Islands developed and evolved without the influence of outside forces. Over thousands of years, plants and animals formed their own unique ecosystems. With the arrival of humans to the Islands, new and expanding settlements have meant that some habitats have been lost. A larger number of people on the Islands have meant there is an increased demand for resources such as food. This caused an increase in fishing, use of wood and more land was changed into farmland to meet the needs of the growing human population.

Puerto Ayora © Heidi Snell

Protection

A large part of the Galapagos economy depends on tourism. However, if tourism is not carefully managed and planned, there can be problems. In the past, tourists have accidentally brought non-native species with them to the Islands. Even a tiny seed lodged in their shoe can end up growing in Galapagos which can lead to problems for the native species. You can find out more about sustainable tourism in our next chapter.

San Cristobal © Just Janza

In 1990, the Galapagos Inspection and Quarantine System (SICGAL) was established to inspect cargo from ships and to check bags and luggage belonging to tourists for any signs of non-native organisms that might damage the delicate Galapagos ecosystem.

Restoration

Invasive species have also damaged the habitats of many Galapagos species beyond repair. Scientists believe that the introduction of feral goats to Pinta island destroyed the vegetation that the local giant tortoise species needed to eat to survive. Researchers found Lonesome George wandering around on his own. He was the last known giant tortoise to come from Pinta island. Sadly, attempts to restore the Pinta tortoise population did not work. But there have been various other successful species restoration projects, such as the restoration of land iguanas to Baltra. You can learn more about the fate of Galapagos giant tortoises in our Tortoise Trackers chapter.

Galapagos Land Iguana © Les Lee

Preservation

One of the most damaging invasive species to have arrived in Galapagos is the parasitic fly called Philornis downsi. These flies lay their eggs in the nests of Galapagos finches. One particular species of Galapagos finch has been pushed to the edge of extinction by Philornis downsi. The larvae of these parasitic flies feed on the hatchlings of mangrove finches. With less than one hundred individuals remaining in the world, it was essential to take steps to preserve this species. A series of organisations have been working together to boost the population numbers of mangrove finches. To do this, they take eggs from the nests and transport them to specialised laboratories where the baby finches are hand-reared. So far, scientists have successfully raised 23 mangrove finch chicks. You can find out more about invasive species in our Life on the Islands chapter.

A mangrove finch © Michael Dvorak

The number of individuals in a population will increase and decrease due to natural and human factors. Natural fluctuations in population size occur due to factors such as food availability and the number of predators.

Humans can cause population sizes to change by introducing invasive species, hunting or changing the environment. A healthy ecosystem, with high biodiversity is important in helping reduce the effects of these factors on a particular species.

Factors affecting species populations

Species populations of Galapagos fluctuate due to natural and human factors. Species population growth or decline can be caused by either density-dependent or density-independent factors:

• Density-dependent factors have varying impacts according to population size. Different species populations in the same ecosystem will be affected differently. Factors include: food availability, predator density and disease risk.
• Density-independent factors are not influenced by a species population size. All species populations in the same ecosystem will be similarly affected, regardless of population size. Factors include: weather, climate and natural disasters.

Biodiversity and population health

High biodiversity can help to stabilise an ecosystem and reduce the overall impact of density-dependent and density-independent factors. Biodiversity is a measure of the difference between the living organisms within an ecosystem.

With many endemic species and a great range of wildlife, Galapagos has a high level of biodiversity. This is due to the number of very different habitat zones found in Galapagos, and also due to more acute environmental differences between the habitats of each island.

Biodiversity is an important factor in ensuring a healthy ecosystem. For example, an ecosystem with a wide range of producers will provide the primary consumers with a stable and varied food supply. Each species also plays a unique role in servicing the ecosystem, ensuring that it operates smoothly. Ecosystems with a high level of biodiversity are more able to recover from disasters, whether natural or man-made (anthropogenic).

A fluctuation in the size of one species population can impact on other species within the ecosystem. A species that will have a large impact on the ecosystem is known as a keystone species. The more biodiverse an ecosystem, the less vulnerable it will be to fluctuation in keystone species populations.

Case study: Galapagos giant tortoise

A Galapagos giant tortoise munching on some greenery in Santa Cruz © Catherine Rouse

The Galapagos giant tortoise is a keystone species and its population has declined as a result of human activity. During the 18th and 19th centuries, whaling ships would stop at the Galapagos Islands and hunt giant tortoises to feed their crew.

Giant tortoises continued to be targeted as the Islands’ settlements expanded and the human demand for food increased. Their population was estimated to be around 250,000 in the 1500s, when they were first discovered. However, a 1974 census recorded just 3,060. Research suggests that 13,000 giant tortoises were taken from the Islands between 1831 and 1868 by whaling crews.

The decline of the Galapagos giant tortoise population impacted on Galapagos ecosystems. Even plant and animal species directly unaffected by human activity began to experience great population change.

Galapagos giant tortoises shape their habitats by grazing on plants, dispersing plant seeds and trampling areas of vegetation. They therefore play an important role in germinating seeds, as well as in thinning out and opening up new areas of ground for different types of vegetation to grow.

Without the giant tortoises constantly changing the environment, a few fast-growing plant species could dominate a much less biodiverse ecosystem.

The Galapagos Islands face many environmental threats. Ecosystem degradation could be caused by: climate change, deforestation, pollution, overfishing, eutrophication and the introduction of invasive species.

Human threats

Around 30,000 people live in the Galapagos and the Islands receive almost 200,000 visitors a year. This is putting pressure on resources and is increasing many environmental threats. Anthropogenic (or man-made) changes have been the biggest factors affecting the size of animal and plant populations since the Islands were first discovered in 1535.

The humid zones (the areas of highest plant biodiversity) have been affected by humans. To meet the demands of a growing human population, parts of the humid zones have been cleared for farming. Agriculture reduces biodiverse forests to areas of monoculture, in which there is very little biodiversity. This reduces the resilience of ecosystems, which are then less able to cope with environmental threats.

Invasive species taking over

Humans have also introduced invasive animal and plant species to Galapagos, many of which aggressively out-compete native species or negatively impact on the Island’s habitats. Invasive species pose the greatest threat to biodiversity in the Galapagos.

Himalayan hill raspberry (mora) © GCT

The hill raspberry (Rubus niveus) known locally as mora, is an invasive plant species that is spreading rapidly throughout the humid zone to the detriment of native species, particularly the Scalesia or daisy trees that make up forest areas in the humid zone. These and other native plants struggle to compete for space, water, nutrients and sunlight.

There are also many problems with introduced animals in Galapagos – from introduced insects such as the parasitic fly (Philornis downsi) and fire ants to mammals such as rats, cats, dogs, pigs and goats. Invasive species are often introduced accidentally. They can be unwittingly carried on boats and planes and can be difficult to eradicate once they arrive.

Native and endemic Galapagos populations have declined as a consequence of invasive species population growth. Many of these are now critically endangered.