The Galapagos Islands: On the continuing extinction of species
-
-
- ampersand
- added this
Humans left their mark on the Galapagos even before Darwin turned up. Whalers slaughtered the giant tortoises, and the few settlers brought rats, cats and goats, which crowded out local flora and fauna. Yet the pace of depredation has picked up rapidly over the past three decades, as tourist visits have increased 14-fold to over 160,000 a year.
Tourists are partly responsible for invasive species that threaten endemic wildlife. The hundreds of thousands of chicks that are brought to the islands to feed humans transmit avian diseases to native birds. Parasitic fly larvae began attacking hatchlings of the Darwin finch a few years ago. Wild birds have caught the canary pox virus, and penguins have been stricken by avian malaria. In some cases the damage is more direct. Taxis are a particular hazard. One study found that the average Galapagos car runs over seven birds a year.
When tourism was more limited, fishing by settlers from the mainland was the main threat. The sea cucumber was hunted nearly to extinction. Many fisherman have since set up as unlicensed tourist operators. Some 40 small craft carry thousands of visitors a month on unregulated tours.
Ecuador also has no plans to cap the tourist trade, which is worth $500m a year. It is even planning a new airport that could triple the number of visitors to the archipelago. Paradoxically, if word spreads of the islands’ deterioration, even more tourists may feel moved to visit them before it is too late.
http://www.economist.com/node/16281325
Tourists are partly responsible for invasive species that threaten endemic wildlife. The hundreds of thousands of chicks that are brought to the islands to feed humans transmit avian diseases to native birds. Parasitic fly larvae began attacking hatchlings of the Darwin finch a few years ago. Wild birds have caught the canary pox virus, and penguins have been stricken by avian malaria. In some cases the damage is more direct. Taxis are a particular hazard. One study found that the average Galapagos car runs over seven birds a year.
When tourism was more limited, fishing by settlers from the mainland was the main threat. The sea cucumber was hunted nearly to extinction. Many fisherman have since set up as unlicensed tourist operators. Some 40 small craft carry thousands of visitors a month on unregulated tours.
Ecuador also has no plans to cap the tourist trade, which is worth $500m a year. It is even planning a new airport that could triple the number of visitors to the archipelago. Paradoxically, if word spreads of the islands’ deterioration, even more tourists may feel moved to visit them before it is too late.
http://www.economist.com/node/16281325
-
- groups:
- Co-Evolution
