Floreana Island
Exposure. Defining with one word how organisms in the Galápagos have arrived, established and evolved. Yes, here in the Eastern Pacific, 600 miles off the South America mainland, these Galápagos Islands and the fragile life-forms that inhabit them, are exposed to an endless list of external agents: oceanic currents, trade winds, volcanic activity and isolation, to mention just a few. In addition there is little fresh water or shade here.
In the 1970’s the mini submersible Alvin was used to discover, in the abyss of the Pacific, a fracture on the Nazca plate where organisms belonging to the Archaea group were living 3500 meters (11,000+ feet) below the surface. The Archaea are prokaryotes (cells without nuclei) and thrive where there is no sunlight and tremendous pressure. These microbes feed from emerging hot material that comes from volcanic vents. Tube worms and other invertebrates feed on the Archaea, making incredible formations and telling a story of life that none had witnessed before.
Nowadays we also know that there are more than 200 groups of Eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus). Of these, three are fungi, plants, and animals; the organisms that we are most familiar with because we can see them with our eyes. The remaining groups of Eukaryotes (~197) are predominantly unicellular, with only a few exceptions, like the giant kelp and red algae that we can see on beaches. There is an overwhelming amount of very simple life on the islands in lagoons, along the shore, underwater, under the rocks, and in the depths of the sea.
Today we are bird watching around the lagoon at Floreana Island; nearly a hundred flamingoes are at the peak of their breeding season. Their pink plumage is at its best and their honks are an endless call to mate. The flamingoes feed on tiny shrimp, called Artemia salina, which gives them the colored carotenes needed in their diet. These shrimp are not visible to the naked eye. Neither are any of the other microscopic organisms that underlie the ecosystems on these islands. It is the invisible microbial life that sustains one of the most pristine sites on Earth, the Galápagos!
Exposure. Defining with one word how organisms in the Galápagos have arrived, established and evolved. Yes, here in the Eastern Pacific, 600 miles off the South America mainland, these Galápagos Islands and the fragile life-forms that inhabit them, are exposed to an endless list of external agents: oceanic currents, trade winds, volcanic activity and isolation, to mention just a few. In addition there is little fresh water or shade here.
In the 1970’s the mini submersible Alvin was used to discover, in the abyss of the Pacific, a fracture on the Nazca plate where organisms belonging to the Archaea group were living 3500 meters (11,000+ feet) below the surface. The Archaea are prokaryotes (cells without nuclei) and thrive where there is no sunlight and tremendous pressure. These microbes feed from emerging hot material that comes from volcanic vents. Tube worms and other invertebrates feed on the Archaea, making incredible formations and telling a story of life that none had witnessed before.
Nowadays we also know that there are more than 200 groups of Eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus). Of these, three are fungi, plants, and animals; the organisms that we are most familiar with because we can see them with our eyes. The remaining groups of Eukaryotes (~197) are predominantly unicellular, with only a few exceptions, like the giant kelp and red algae that we can see on beaches. There is an overwhelming amount of very simple life on the islands in lagoons, along the shore, underwater, under the rocks, and in the depths of the sea.
Today we are bird watching around the lagoon at Floreana Island; nearly a hundred flamingoes are at the peak of their breeding season. Their pink plumage is at its best and their honks are an endless call to mate. The flamingoes feed on tiny shrimp, called Artemia salina, which gives them the colored carotenes needed in their diet. These shrimp are not visible to the naked eye. Neither are any of the other microscopic organisms that underlie the ecosystems on these islands. It is the invisible microbial life that sustains one of the most pristine sites on Earth, the Galápagos!
