Evolution of Darwins Finches, Birds, and

their Common Ancestor the Dinosaur

Every individual type of animal has evolved from a prehistoric ancestor. In
the case of birds, it looks like this ancestor is the Theropods; a group of dinosaurs
including the T-Rex. This link was found when a fossil of the Achaeopteryx was
dug up. It had 3 digit wings, feathers attached along the arm and hand bones, and
light hollow bones, which is an extremely similar skeletal formation to birds. When
comparing these fossils with the fossils of a Deinonychus Ran, a dinosaur with a
slashing claw, it was noted that maybe dinosaurs are not the slow cold blooded
creatures they were previously thought to be. This data combined with the research
of Thomas Henry Huxley, and John Ostrom, resulted in the conclusion that birds
and dinosaurs can, in fact, be related.
Examples of different unique bird species:
Frigate bird

Blue footed booby

Galapagos Penguins

Evolution happened as a mean of natural selection over long, extended

periods of time. Natural selection occurs generation to generation, however in a
diverse population, it will not be seen for years, if not centuries. On the Galapagos
Island, there is a diverse amount of species, however they are all extremely well
adapted to the islands, and the influence of natural selection can be seen much
more quickly.
This is especially true on the islands of Daphne Major, where there is rocky
volcanic mountains, low grasses, and in short not many components contributing to
the work of evolution. On this island the ground finches are adapting annually to

the size of the seeds available. Each year, birds who are adapted to the abundant
seed size survive and produce more offspring, which in turn makes a larger
population of birds with beaks adapted to that seed size.
Below is an image of Daphne Major to assist with visualization:

This phenomenon was noted in Darwin, almost by accident when he began

looking closely at the many species of finches he carried with him from his
journey. He noted that finches from different islands, had different sized beaks.
Using deductive reasoning it became apparent that, despite the fact that these were
all the same type of bird, they had evolved into different species (Sharp Beak
Ground Finch vs. Large Ground Finch) as a way of survival and energy
management. If their beak did not function in a way that was optimal for food
harvesting, they could not meet their energy needs and would not survive; since
there was different prominent food sources on each island, the birds need different
beaks and evolved to match those needs. This is seen not just in birds, but in many
endemic Galapagos Species.

An example of the evolution of beaks in Darwins finches on the Galapagos Islands:

The Benefits and Disadvantages of Ecotourism,

and how they are related to Population Growth
and Other Threats Facing the Galapagos
Islands.

Below is a map of the archipelago with islands labeled:

There is an incredible amount of unique and diverse species which are

endemic to the Galapagos Islands. The rare beauty found on the island attracts
many different type of people who participate in Ecotourism, and are awed by the
opportunity to travel to such an amazing place. The Galapagos Islands are one of
the worlds most prominent areas for ecotourism.
Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable
travel. This means that those who implement and participate in ecotourism
activities should follow the following ecotourism principles:
1. Minimize impact.
2. Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.
3. Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.
4. Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.
5. Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people.
6. Raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social
climate (Ecotourism Definition n.d.).

Ecotourism is a good concept and if it is executed in a well-managed and

sustainable way, it can bring a large amount of financial assistance to an area
which need money to allow for increased conservation, without damaging the local
environment.
Ecotourism in the Galapagos has led to a mixed breed of results, although it
has increased revenue and also allowed more people to witness the beauty of the
Galapagos first hand; it has also created tension between the locals and the NonGovernmental Organizations (NGO) which are in charge on maintaining the
conservation aspect of this sort of tourism. On top of that increased tourism is
associated with the increase in population on the island. This increase has obvious
complications, including increased pollution, increased land use, to accommodate
the influx of immigrants, as well as this there is an increase in hotels and other
types of not-so-environmentally friendly land uses.
The increase in population has been drastic, and is definitely not solely
related to the increase in tourism on the island. However, when people were
surveyed many tourists stated that they would not travel to the mainland, if they
could not also travel to Ecuador. Between the years of 1982 to 1998 the population
growth on the island was at 6% which is an extremely fast rate; along with this the
population has doubled in the past 10 years (Novy). This has happened partially
because there was a serious economic downturn in Ecuador during this time
period, and since there was such a booming tourist business, mainland dwellers
moved to the islands.
As the population has increased, the amount of tourism to the island has
followed the same upward trend. This means more and more people are walking on
the fragile ecosystems which have not seen much human presence up until the
1900s (Novy). With a more consistent human presence, there is going to be an
exponential increase of human related threats to the area, such as invasive species,
over fishing, agricultural use of the land, over building of land, pollution to
waterway and more. Since this population increase is so easily related to
ecotourism it becomes clear that there needs to be some serious regulation of the
land and the people who are visiting or living on it.
There have been many laws which were implemented (for the most part) in
the 1990s, which are intended to reduce some of the unintended consequences. In
1993 the entrance fees to the park were raised to their current rate of $100;
originally 75% of this went to establish and maintain protected areas on the
mainland (Epler, 2007). However in 1998 this was changed (as a result of political
and civil unrest) to serve the Galapagos Islands evenly (Epler, 2007). As a way of

tackling the invasive species problem, the Quarantine Inspection System for the
Galapagos Islands was initiated in 1999 (Epler, 2007).This system is reduces the
chance of unwanted guests travelling to the islands by inspecting all entering
vessels and individuals, before they step onto the Galapagos. This is especially
important in order to maintain the uniqueness of the islands because, many of the
species are endemic and have evolved specifically to their habitat without being
affected by outside sources.
Below is an image which shows how the fee for entrance into the park is broken down:

Ecotourism is regulated by NGOs which are in responsible for maintaining

the conservation aspect of this type of tourism. On this specific Archipelago the
Charles Darwin Foundation is the primary NGO, along with other contributors
such as the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International (Epler, 2007).
They control everything that goes on within these ecotourism areas, from how the
tours operate to how to sustainably build on the land. However, as the population
has increased, and opportunities to access protected land are being aggressively
sought out, tensions are rising.

Below is an image of the Galapagos National Park Logo, which is the primary spot for
ecotourism on the island:

These tensions can be seen in local fishing communities, who are losing
possible revenue because of the conservation management part of these operations.
Up until fairly recent fishing operations were mostly unregulated and uncontrolled
which was especially devastating to populations of sea cucumbers and sharks
(which were hunted for their fins). Agricultural operations have been harmed,
because of their impact on populations of feral goats, pigs, and donkeys, which are
extremely detrimental to the surrounding ecosystems. As more and more attention
is paid to the behavior of the locals, tensions will continue to rise; especially if the
population continues to increase, and the locals are being forced to sacrifice
possible revenue in order to maintain a certain level of conservation (Epler, 2007).
Looking more closely at the actual effects of ecotourism it is easy to see the
effects that the increased amount of human traffic via boat, or land has on the
island. Tourists typically arrive by small boat, or large ships; as more and more
people are travelling to the island the amount of sea vessels in the surrounding sea
has increased. These boats often leak oil into the water, and on top of this, there is
often excessive dumping from these boats (refuse of bilge oil) (Novy, n.d). This
has detrimental effects on the waterways, which are coincidentally much less
monitored than much of the land on the islands (Sitnik n.d.).

Below is an image of a cruise ship off-shore of the archipelago:

Typical operations of ecotourism are very well regulated and controlled.

Tourists are led by nature guides, which prevents too much damage from
happening to the natural park areas. The parks as a whole are very well monitored
protect them on a deeper level. Along with as this the revenue which is generated
from this the parks allows for more conservation in other areas, and can result in a
larger percentage of protected areas. Since this operation is so well regulated, it is
seen that ecotourism itself is not a direct problem, but the problem is rather an
externality of the influx of population which comes hand in hand with ecotourism.
There will hopefully be a balance between the local, tourist, and immigrant
populations, however, it is difficult to say that the increase in tourism on the
Galapagos Island has not become a serious threat to the overall prosperity of this
archipelago. The Galapagos Islands are extremely delicate and diverse, which
makes these threats even more ominous. As more people travel to the island, there
is an increased chance that invasive species will come as guests. Along with this
there is a serious problem of over-fishing, which is exemplified as the demand for
seafood increased hand in hand with the increased amount of tourists. More boats
in the waterways to hold travelers, results in more water pollution; as well as more
individuals on land results in more land based pollutants. This is not completely
avoidable, however, there needs to be more attention given by the immigrants who
recently migrated to the islands (for financial gain) as well as the travelers, to the
fragile state of this island. Unless this shift of mindset happens, these islands could
be in a dire situation.

References
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