ISABELA ISLAND

ALCEDO VOLCANO

Alcedo Volcano was a visitor site of the Galápagos National Park until the start of Project Isabela in the late 1990s. Visitors could make the many hour hike to the rim to view the caldera and experience the giant tortoises. One of the largest tortoise populations in Galápagos lives on and in Alcedo – both on the outer and inner slopes as well as along the rim and on the floor of the caldera. For decades this population survived with the presence of feral donkeys. However goats finally crossed the Perry Isthmus from Sierra Negra to northern Isabela sometime in the late 1970s. The population explosion that resulted when they reached the lush highlands of Alcedo devastated the landscape, destroying the forests and causing massive erosion. The tortoises and much of the natural world of Alcedo was endangered. After years of planning, preparation, and training, the field work of Project Isabela, aimed at eliminating large mammalian exotics from northern Isabela, began in April 2004. By 2006 the job was completed – goats and donkeys no longer roamed the northern portion of the island. The vegetation is recovering rapidly and both reptile and bird species are beginning to thrive once again. Perhaps one day the Park will re-open this amazing visitor site.

MANGROVE FINCHES

Although most land birds in Galápagos are still relatively abundant, the Mangrove Finch is considered one of the rarest birds in the world, with less than 100 individuals in existence. It inhabits two small sections of coastal mangrove forests at Playa Tortuga Negra and Caleta Black on the northwest coast of Isabela Island. To ensure the long-term conservation of this species, the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust began in-depth studies in 2006 and have confirmed that populations still exist at three sites on Isabela. However, the finch’s natural habitat and the species itself face threats from climate change, human activities, invasive species, and disease. If this species were to be lost, it would be the first bird species to become extinct in Galápagos since Darwin visited the islands nearly 175 years ago.

As part of the Mangrove Finch Captive Rearing Program, the first mangrove finch eggs were collected in the wild and hatched in captivity in early 2014, followed by a release of 15 captive-reared mangrove finches back to their native home on Isabela. Concurrently, research is ongoing to discover means of controlling one of the biggest threats to mangrove finches and other land birds: the invasive avian parasite Philronis downsi.

PENGUINS & CORMORANTS

The on-going, collaborative penguin-cormorant project is crucial for the long-term conservation of these vulnerable, flightless species. Their inability to move easily within the archipelago and their vulnerability to predation and global climate change make them excellent indicator species for ecosystem health. Annual censuses on Fernandina and the western coast of Isabela provide essential data to determine whether the populations are stable, increasing, or decreasing, and to diagnose the causes of changes in their populations and provide the Galápagos National Park with scientifically-based recommendations for management to ensure the protection of these two endemic seabird species and their habitat.