Conservation in the Galapagos Islands

With kind support from

The Galapagos Islands• Located off the coast of

Ecuador

• Volcanic hotspot – still active

• Unique climate

• Hot, tropical islands

• Cold waters

Animals and Plants of Galapagos

• High biological diversity

• Tremendous number of endemic species, including:

• Mammals

• Birds

• Reptiles

• Fish

• Invertebrates

• Plants

Galapagos mockingbird Galapagos land snail

Activity 1

• Read the “Conservation in the Galapagos Islands” information sheet

• Complete “Galapagos or Galapa-Nos?” exercise

• Other examples of Galapagos endemic species and habitats can be found on www.ARKive.org

Galapagos or Galapa-Nos? Answers

The four endemic species:• Floreana coral

– One of very few cold-water tolerant coral species

• Large ground finch– One of 13 of Darwin’s finches

• Daisy tree– This whole genus is native to the

Galapagos Islands

• Galapagos marine iguana– The world’s only marine iguana

What are the threats?

• Invasive/introduced species

• Illegal fisheries

• Tourism and population growth

• Previous exploitation

Activity 2 – “ARKive News” Bulletin

• Work in small groups – pairs or groups of three

• Produced a 2 minute news bulletin-style presentation about conservation in the Galapagos Islands

• Specific topics will be handed out.

• Research, script and perform your news bulletin to the class

• Research should use www.ARKive.org and other reliable websites

• Tips

• Write a full script and practise it

• Think about the structure of news bulletins e.g. start with headline, go on to short summary and then go into details

• Include who, what, why, when, where and how

• Use props, news themes, appropriate humour to make it interesting!

The ARKive teaching resource

‘Conservation in the Galapagos Islands’

was made possible with the kind support of