Or more accurately: Why do blue-footed boobies have blue feet?

The Galápagos Islands are full of the weird and the wonderful. One of their most iconic species is the blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii), a marine bird that is found all along the Pacific coast. It is best known for its blue feet (which it was very creatively named after), making it really cool to look at but, why are they blue? To answer this question, let’s break it down into the how and the why.

The how: What are the mechanisms that cause blue-footed boobies’ blue feet?

Our first answer is potentially a killjoy one; they’re not actually blue, they just appear that way! 

Colours most often come from pigments, which absorb specific wavelengths of light, but the blue in blue-footed boobies doesn’t seem to come from a blue pigment. Blue pigments are actually very rare in nature – the funky blue mandarin fish is one of the few examples of an animal that makes any.

Instead, the blue in blue-footed booby feet is likely a structural colour which comes from light being reflected. The way different structures on animal surfaces are organised can affect the way that wavelengths of light reflect off their surface – like in the diagram:

The blue-footed booby has a layer of collagen under its foot skin, and the structure of this collagen likely makes them appear blue by reflecting only blue light wavelengths. This is the case for the majority of blue animals.

Pigments might still play a role though because blue-footed booby feet sometimes appear slightly greener which might be due to yellow pigments (blue + yellow = green!). These pigments are carotenoids which animals can’t actually make themselves. Instead, they get them from their diets and the food they eat can influence what colour they are.

For example, flamingos aren’t born pink – they’re born grey but become pink because of the carotenoids in their food. Similarly, if you eat too many carrots you could turn orange (but please don’t, that would be bad for you).

In blue-footed boobies, these carotenoids from their diet can affect how bright their feet are. Biologists tested this by changing how much food blue-footed boobies were given – when they didn’t get food, their feet became duller but when they were fed again with fresh fish, their feet became brighter.. This is super cool and also super important to keep in mind for our next question…

The Why: Why have blue-footed boobies evolved blue feet?

The reason that anything in nature looks or works the way it does is because of evolution. Darwin’s theory of natural selection says that traits that increase survival will be passed on so the fact that blue-footed boobies have evolved blue feet suggests they might be helpful in some way. But what advantage do blue feet give them? To answer this we need to understand sexual selection.

What is sexual selection?

Great question! It can be thought of as a special type of natural selection where traits that increase reproduction (instead of survival) will be passed on. This can include animals choosing a mate based on preferences for certain traits, which increases the chances of animals with those traits reproducing and so, the trait is passed on. For example, peahens prefer peacocks that have larger, more colourful tails which means large colourful tails get passed on over time!

As it turns out, female blue-footed boobies prefer brighter feet! 

We know this because biologists carried out some fun experiments – they used make-up to make male feets look duller (who says biology isn’t a very serious science?). When males had duller feet, the females were less likely to mate with them. Brutal!

Biologists also did this to males that had already mated with females (because blue-footed boobies don’t lay all their eggs at once). When the feet of these males were made duller, females actually made their second eggs smaller so that they’d hatch smaller chicks. Even more brutal!

This suggests to us that females are deciding who to mate with based on foot colour and if the blue isn’t as bright as they like they want to reproduce with those males less. So, foot colour might be a sexually selected trait because it increases the chances of reproduction for the males!

Why do female blue-footed boobies like blue feet?

As lovely as the blue is, it’s not just that they really like the colour. The stakes are quite high for them; they are choosing males to father their offspring and want to make a good decision. So, if they are basing this off foot colour, foot colour likely contains information that is quite valuable. It is likely a signal.

What are signals?
Signals are behaviours or structures that have specifically evolved to change the behaviour or state of others by conveying information. The response of the receiver must also have evolved due to signals – it is important to understand what receivers have to gain from responding to signals.

As we already know, carotenoids from their diet can influence blue-footed booby foot colour. What’s even more interesting is that these carotenoid changes can influence the immune response and foot colour also correlates to immune response.

Females might also be interested in how good of a parent males might be and foot colour might also signal this. When biologists swapped baby birds between nests, they found that the foot colour of the foster father was a pretty good indicator of condition (even though they weren’t genetically related).

So, to summarise: blue feet have potentially evolved because male foot colour might signal their condition, females want to reproduce with good condition males so they choose males based on foot colour.

What about female blue-footed boobies’ foot colour?

Male blue-footed boobies also seem to prefer brighter feet on females but the story is slightly less straightforward.

When female feet were made duller, the effects are mostly after they’ve already formed a pair, Blue-footed boobies form pairs then lay eggs but there is a courtship period before they lay an egg. In this period, females with duller feet received less courtship nest presentation (when birds add materials to nests) both from males they were paired with, and other males. 

In the period after egg-laying, making the female foot colour duller also had impacts on how much males incubated eggs. However, this was also affected by egg colour and size, which can indicate offspring quality. When females had duller feet, males incubated more in nests with a large egg but when they had colourful feet, males incubated both small and large eggs. Males also spent less time incubating small-dull eggs than small-colourful and large eggs.

So it seems that female foot colour is signalling something about their condition (and as an extension, the offspring’s) and the way males respond depends on the phase of reproduction they’re in. However, it also seems that foot colour isn’t the only useful indicator; egg size also is. 

One explanation might be that females have to decide between investing in their offspring (egg size) and signalling (foot colour) so foot colour might not give the whole picture. The mechanisms and reasons for this aren’t completely understood yet which just means there’s more left to learn about blue-footed boobies – exciting!

It’s not just blue-footed boobies that use signals

Nature is full of quirks! Beyond blue-footed boobies, evolution has brought about an array of interesting signals throughout nature. Animal signals are incredibly cool and incredibly diverse; they come in all shapes and sizes (literally) and some of them are also less honest than others. For example, some mantis shrimp display a claw that looks threatening to scare off intruders even when they are actually weak.

The signals that animals display will evolve to reflect the context in which animals live, which might be the environment or how they interact with species.

For example, yellow warblers (a species of small bird) produce alarm calls to scare off parasites. However, the yellow warblers that live alongside blue-footed boobies on the Galapagos don’t produce these calls. Why? They don’t need to!

They have been geographically isolated from their parasites for thousands of years, while the warblers on the mainland have not. These alarm calls either evolved before the Galapagos warblers became isolated, and they then lost the behaviour, or the calls evolved only in the mainland warblers afterwards. Either way, they reflect the lack of parasites on the islands!

Understanding why animals look or behave the way they do could be very valuable to us. For example, in the blue-footed boobies, their feet could show when their condition is declining. Since we know feet colour has likely evolved to signal their condition, if the foot colour changes, this could be because their food quality and availability has changed. This could signal to us that they’re in trouble!

So, as well as being incredibly interesting, learning more about nature and how species have evolved could also be important to protecting them.

Post by

Agata Czernecka

Fish that break all the rules by living in the Ocean and streams: 

Look into a river and you will find very different animals to the Ocean, even if they are just a few miles apart. Why are these wet worlds so different? In short – it is all about osmoregulation (explained below). 

Whether you live in the Ocean, in a river, on a mountain or in Thneedville (yes, that’s a Lorax movie reference) – everywhere has its challenges. One of the main challenges of living in saltwater (read more about why the Ocean is salty here) is maintaining the balance of water in an animal’s cells.

What is osmosis?
Water will travel from areas of high concentration to low concentration in an attempt to balance them (this is called osmosis). Salty water has lower water concentration than freshwater. 

Join us to explore the difficulties of swimming between the two worlds, some of the incredible journeys of the fish, like salmon, eels and bull sharks, that overcome them and crown the winner of the wet.  

What is osmoregulation? 

All living things need water, and they need salts. Maintaining the balance of both is tricky – too much or too little of either is fatal.  

Imagine a balloon full of water, but this balloon can let water in and out of it. This is our cell. The water in the balloon (our cell) has a little bit of salt in.  

If you put the balloon in a bucket of freshwater, water enters the balloon (by osmosis) to balance the concentration. This could end up bursting the balloon. Alternatively, putting the balloon in salty water will lead to the water leaving the balloon, shrivelling it.   

Animals living in these environments have to adapt to avoid bursting or shrivelling – neither sound particularly fun.

Fish living in freshwater have to hold on to their salts and avoid water intake. Saltwater fish take in as much water as they can and excrete the extra salts.  

How do freshwater and saltwater fish stay hydrated AKA: do fish drink the water they live in? 

To maintain a good balance of water and salt, fish in different environments alter their drinking, gill function, kidneys and excretion (waste removal).  

Marine fish will constantly drink sea water, getting as much water in as possible. They actively remove salt from the water through cells in their gills. The pee of marine fish is highly concentrated urine (if you get dehydrated, your body does the same – your pee will be very yellow, with little water diluting it), minimising water loss.  

Freshwater fish, on the other hand, don’t drink water. They don’t need to. Think of the balloon example – they are saltier on the inside, so water wants to move in. Freshwater fish easily absorb water through their gills. They use energy to pump salts in, against the concentration gradient – they actively ingest salts. Their pee is very diluted, ensuring they don’t become swamped by discarding lots of water.  

Why can’t freshwater fish live in the Ocean?  

Knowing all that, let’s see what would happen now if we put a marine fish in freshwater. A marine fish wants to lose salt from its body and keep water. Think of the balloon – a marine fish invites water in, pushing salt out. This means the balloon will lose all its salts and get over filled with water. That is one unhappy fish.  

For a freshwater fish in the Ocean, the opposite happens. Used to a world with plenty of water and little salts, the balloon will shrivel as it is filled with more salts and loses water. The bottom line is the same – an unhappy fish.  

Are there fish that can live in both freshwater and salt environments? 

Amazingly, yes. There are examples of fish that can live in both marine and freshwater all over the world. There are two main types.  

1. Anadromous fish are born in freshwater, spend most of their lives in the Ocean and then return to freshwater to spawn.  
2. Catadromous fish live in freshwater most of their lives, returning to the Ocean to spawn. 

We will explore these groups through a couple of their most famous members, as well as a shark that makes it all look easy.  

How do salmon survive in both fresh and salt water?  

Salmon are incredible fish.  

Not all salmon are anadromous: there are Atlantic salmon in North America called sebago, named after one of the lakes they are found in. More Atlantic salmon live in Norwegian, Swedish and Russian lakes; and yamame are a landlocked Japanese masu salmon.  

But some salmon travel thousands of miles between fresh and salt water over the course of their lives.

Chum salmon have been estimated to complete total migrations of over 10,000km (6,200 miles) across the North Pacific from feeding grounds to the Yukon river or streams in Japan.  

Anadromy appears to have evolved at a similar time that the Ocean cooled and became richer in food. This, coupled with the existence of landlocked variations, suggest that salmon were a freshwater fish that took to the sea, although this is not confirmed. What is certain is the incredible journeys and transformations many salmon go through to mate. 

For salmon, the movement from river to Ocean and back to river is integral to their life cycle.

The first few years of a salmon’s life are spent growing in the river, before they go to the food-rich Ocean. Here they gorge themselves, growing very quickly. After travelling many thousands of Ocean miles, they will return to the rivers they were hatched in, to spawn themselves.  

But how do they manage to conquer both environments?  

Through hormonal changes, salmon make behavioural and physiological changes to the ways they manage their osmotic balance. In freshwater, they won’t drink water – when in salt water they will drink a lot. Hormones change the fish’s physiology, increasing the number of ion transporters in the gills and kidneys to process the salt balance.  

The change is a costly one though, as salmon won’t feed during their return to freshwater, relying on fat reserves built up through years in the Ocean. They battle up their rivers, overcoming waterfalls, predators waiting on the banks and their own failing bodies to reach the same spot they hatched in. Here, they will spawn.  

For most of these fish, it is the last thing they do.  

What can salmon teach us? 

Just as rivers are the connection between us and the Ocean, salmon are among the clearest species to bridge that gap. And they feel the impact of people more keenly. Rivers are the frontlines, and salmon are in the trenches.  

Salmon rivers are best in old forests, as the tree roots hold the banks together and keep the rivers form – holding it narrow and fast flowing. Where forests are lost, the river can widen and the salmon population diminishes. And as we build dams to harness the power of the rivers, we block the salmon from getting home.  

The populations of salmon in different rivers show far more genetic variation than between people. Each salmon is genetically coded for its river home. Climate change, pollution, human development and fishing – salmon deal with a lot.  

But their adaptability is shown time and again. The genetic diversity they show allows them to overcome the challenges they face. Just as they are able to thrive in these two different worlds, they can take on the new world we are shaping.  

What do you call returning to the Ocean to reproduce? 

Catadromy is the mirror of salmon – starting life in the Ocean, living in freshwater and returning to the salt to spawn.  

European eels begin life as eggs riding Ocean currents, drifting through the Sargasso Sea near the Bahamas. They hatch into small, transparent, leaf-shaped larvae called leptocephali. Like so many (hungry, well-teethed) leaves in the wind, the Ocean carries the eels to the coasts of Europe, a journey taking 2-3 years.  

On reaching the coast, they metamorphose (change body shape) into glass eels – still small and see-through but eel-shaped. After up to a year, they change again into elvers (juvenile eels) and begin to travel up rivers. Here, they change again into yellow eels and can remain in freshwater for up to 20 years until they reach sexual maturity. 

This means an eel can be 23 years old before reproducing. When their time comes, they become silver eels, migrating down rivers towards the Ocean.  

How do eels switch between living in fresh and saltwater? 

For the elvers and glass eels, they need to do the same as our salmon. They alter the salt uptake of their gills via specialised cells, increasing it in freshwater and decreasing in saltwater.

For many years, European eels were characterised by mystery. They were well known in the rivers of Europe, yet no one could find baby eels. Greek philosopher Aristotle suggested that they just appeared out of the mud, and this was the general belief for almost 2,000 years.  

It was Johannes Schmidt, a Danish biologist working in the early 20^th century, who began to unveil the elusive eels. By finding progressively smaller eels across the Ocean, he followed the trail of breadcrumbs to the Sargasso Sea. He couldn’t find any spawning, but he drew the metaphorical arrow.  

It wasn’t until 2022 that we found the first direct evidence of adult European eels travelling to and reaching the Sargasso Sea. This study also shows us just how far the eels travel – up to 8,000km. If you’re ever lucky enough to see one of these eels, appreciate just how far it has come, and how far it still has to go.

The eels adapt twice, changing their whole bodies to swap salt for fresh and back. On the way back, the silver eels don’t feed. As with salmon, they rely on fat reserves for their journey, and their bodies slowly disintegrate, and once they have reached their spot, they reproduce and then die.  

But the switch doesn’t always have such dire consequences.  

Are bull sharks the best sea-swappers? 

Yes. Bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) are the aquatic conquerors supreme. As we have seen, moving between fresh and salt water is tough. Most salmon only do it once, some can manage it a couple of times, their bodies failing them under the stress. Eels change their whole bodies when they make the switch. Yet bull sharks can move between fresh and saltwater with apparent ease.  

They have been found in unexpected places. In Africa, bull sharks are known as Zambezi sharks as they are found deep into the Zambezi river. They were initially described as a different species* – because no one expected a bull shark there. In Brisbane a bull shark was spotted swimming the streets after flooding in 2011, and they have been to Baghdad up the Tigris. They have even been found in Alton, Illinois, 2,800 km (1,740 miles) from the Gulf of Mexico.   

The ultimate tourist? A bull shark was reported in the upper reaches of the Amazon, in the Ucayali River, Peru. Nearly 5,080 km (3,157 miles) from the Ocean.  

How do bull sharks do it? 

Ready for some high-density science?  

They change how salty they are (in the balloon). In the Ocean, bull sharks’ blood is at least as salty as the water they are in due to the levels of urea and trimethylamine oxide (TMAO). But when in freshwater they excrete much more urea, lowering the salt concentration of their blood to minimise the gradient (the difference in saltiness).  

However, they are still more salty than freshwater, so they absorb water and lose salts through their gills. They change their salt and water processing to match their environment.  All sharks have rectal glands through which they excrete excess salt when in the Ocean. When in freshwater, bull sharks reduce the activity of their rectal gland to preserve these salts. The kidneys of bull sharks in freshwater go into overdrive, producing large amounts of dilute urine to avoid the balloon-popping scenario. Both the kidneys and the gills are triggered to actively uptake salts, while the liver changes urea production. 

On top of all this, bull sharks have to deal with the different densities of salt and freshwater. As anyone who has visited the Dead Sea will tell you, more salt = floaty (scientific term). So, bull sharks in freshwater reduce the densities of their livers to counter their reduced floaty-ness. Still, living in freshwater really does drag them down, which may be why they still mostly prefer the Ocean (can’t say we blame them).  

Why do these species matter? 

These fish, as with our rivers, are great connectors. Their journeys are important to all those they encounter. By travelling between the separate biomes, they transport nutrients and link ecosystems, strengthening them.  

They are used as indicators of water quality and ecosystem health and provide food sources. Something harder to measure is their cultural importance, which resonates through many different social histories – they bring us closer together as well.

The challenges of moving between the Ocean and its fresh-water fingers are staggering. Yet these fish tackle it head on.  

Which do you find more impressive; the salmon battling bears and waterfalls to return to its river home; eel larvae drifting thousands of miles and swimming back, changing their whole body to tackle each step; or the bull shark that is just as at home in the heart of the Amazon as a reef in the Indian Ocean?

From the legend of the salmon, to the mystery of the eels, to the euryhaline hero the bull shark, these fish are truly conquerors of the coast.  

Book recommendations from our Marine Scientist 

When I am writing my articles, I use a variety of sources. One of the most engaging are the books. Here are a few I used for this article, do let us know if you have a read, and watch out for more recommendations.  

Blowfish’s Oceanopedia 

Salmon by Mark Kurlansky

Sharks of the World  

Additional sources:
*Peters, W. C. H (1852): Hr. Peter legte einige neue Säugethiere und Flussfische aus Mossambique vor. – Bericht über die zur Bekanntmachung geeigneten Verhandlungen der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Aus dem Jahre 1852. Berlin, pp. 273–276. (not available online)

Post by

Will Steen

Approximately 926 km (575 mi) off the coast of Ecuador lie the Islas Encantadas: the Enchanted Islands.

Better known as the Galápagos Islands, this collection of islands is named after the tortoises that once covered their shores.

Now, fewer in number (reduced to 15,000 from an original 250,000), these giant shelled residents reflect the degradation that the islands are experiencing. 

However, not all hope is lost. As our knowledge and appreciation of these incredible ecosystems has advanced, the Galápagos tortoise and the Galápagos Islands are becoming successful conservation stories. 

What is so special about the Galápagos Islands?

Below is a quote from the renown naturalist Charles Darwin. He is attributing the inspiration of his theory of evolution to the animals of the Galápagos Islands. Indeed, they are described as a ‘laboratory for evolution’, as they have a small number of species in distinct habitats, making them easy to study. 

Explore who Darwin was and how the Galápagos featured in his work here. 

“I have been now ever since my return engaged in a very presumptuous work and which I know no one individual who would not say a very foolish one. 

I was so struck with distribution of Galápagos organisms and with the character of the American fossil mammifers (AKA mammals) […] At last gleams of light have come, and I am almost convinced (quite contrary to opinion I started with) that species are not (it is like confessing a murder) immutable.”- C Darwin, 1844 to Hooker 

Starting with Darwin’s visit in 1835, the islands have continued to be a focal point for scientific research and tourism.

Carrying his legacy are Peter and Rosemary Grant in 1973.  The two scientists lived the dream, moving to a remote island and watching birds. They studied the finches of the Galápagos and how populations responded to environmental conditions (for example, drought). Their observations were the first measurements of evolution in action.  

Made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, the Galápagos Islands are a place that showcases the wonders of the natural world.  

The unique species capture the imagination. They also act as a reminder of the stewardship humans have for our natural world.  

What threats do the Galápagos face? 

The Galápagos biosphere face human-made threats. Invasive species, direct human impacts such as building and pollution, climate change and overfishing all contribute to the decline of the species that make the islands unique.

How do invasive species threaten the Galápagos Islands? 

Humans have explored the world, linking remote places like never before, and  with us, we have brought some hitchhikers. According to the Charles Darwin Foundation, there have been 1,978 introduced species in the Galápagos, and of these, 1,898 have become established on the islands.  

Some were intentional: early pirates left goats and pigs on the islands as a food source they could come back to. Later, ornamental plants were brought for gardens, and cats and dogs for companionship.  

Others were stowaways. Rats and fire ants are two examples that managed to catch a ride into this haven, via ships or in delivered goods.  

This has made life harder for the residents. The Galápagos tortoises now have to compete with herds of goats for the vegetation they eat and hatchlings can be attacked by fire ants, cats and rats. Blackberry bushes out-compete native plants, killing off more food for the tortoise. Spanish cedars (a mid-sized tree) grow in thick stands making it challenging for the tortoises to gain access.  

Their world is changing faster than they can keep up with.  

What direct human impacts affect the Galápagos? 

More people live on and visit the Galápagos islands than ever before. The population has grown by 300% since 1990 and in the first half of 2024 alone the Galápagos accepted 142,473 visitors. 

As humans settle, we use land for agriculture and residence, reducing the land available for resident animals. This phenomenon is called land-use-change and is one of the biggest threats to global biodiversity today.  

How is pollution impacting the Galápagos Islands?  

The islands waste collection grew 66% over the last decade to 28.6 tonnes per day, which needs shipping back to the mainland.  

But it is the waste that isn’t collected that causes more of an issue. According to Plastic Pollution Free Galápagos, over 8 tonnes of plastic is removed from the beaches each year, and 38 species have been entangled in or ingested plastic. Much of this plastic pollution this comes from the mainland, following the same route as the residents’ ancestors.  

How is climate change impacting the Galápagos Islands? 

The Galápagos thrives because of the Ocean surrounding it. Fed by nutrient-rich currents from the deep, the Ocean is full of life.  

However, climate change is slowing Ocean circulation, increasing the acidity and lowering oxygen levels of the water, reducing the amount of food supporting life on these islands. It also interferes with El Nino.  

What is the El Nino event?  

El Nino is a naturally occurring event, characterised by changes in Ocean upwelling and climate.  

Climate change is predicted to vary the strength and frequency of this event. Species on the Galápagos islands have adapted in incredible ways to deal with El Nino. For example, marine iguanas can shrink; reabsorbing bone mass, to deal with the scarcity of food.  

Climate change has major influence over the way our planet functions, coupled with the loss of population and resilience caused by other factors, populations will be stressed more than before.  

How does overfishing impact the Galápagos? 

The waters of the Galápagos are exceptionally rich and contain some of the highest densities of reef fish anywhere in the world.  

Largely, high densities of sharks (lots of sharks usually means a healthy Ocean). It is also a key spot for the largest fish in the Ocean, the whale shark – with 700 adult females passing through every year, most of them pregnant.  

We suspect this could be the location whale sharks come to give birth – hidden around the Galápagos could be the nursery for baby whale sharks!! 

Fishing has destroyed the majority of the coral reefs in this archipelago (an extensive group of islands), and sharks are targeted for their fins.  Hammerhead populations have seen a 50% decline since 2000. 13 of 28 species tracked over the last 20 years have declined sharply. 

In 2020, the tag of a whale shark called Hope suddenly logged fast movement above the surface of the water, indicating she had been caught by a fishing vessel. In 2017, a fishing boat containing the fins of 6,620 individual sharks was seized.  

The fish lover in us doesn’t like this. Losing sharks and habitats can disrupt the ecosystem, meaning less fish for feeding people. Most people like people, so most people also won’t like this.  

What is being done to protect and restore the Galápagos Islands? 

But the Galápagos is proving we can make a difference.  

As a focal point for nature and evolution, it is only fitting that the Galápagos Islands are also a focal point of conservation efforts.  

Tourism is utilised to support the islands, with an entry fee of $200 per person. 40% of this goes directly to conservation efforts, ensuring the attraction of the islands is preserved by those attracted to it.  

Conservation efforts in the Galápagos: 

Conservation efforts use camera traps, satellite tags and intense gardening to give the natives a hand.  

The Galápagos Conservation Trust is spearheading an incredible citizen science project, Barcode Galápagos, aiming to describe the genetic profile of all species in the Galápagos. Employing local people, the venture will enable identification of new invasive species, tracking of the health of the Galápagos and tracking of illegal pet or shark fins. 

In light of the impacts of overfishing, Ecuador has protected 198,000 square km in the Galápagos Marine Reserve, including a 30,000km² area where any fishing is prohibited. Research is being used to guide fishing practices. The aims are to reduce by-catch (the accidental trapping of unwanted marine creatures by commercial fishing nets) and waste. This ensures sustainable fishing practice, producing more fish with less effort. 

For our Galápagos tortoises, new conservation efforts aim to eradicate the invasive species threatening them, and even bring back species that were driven to extinction. 

Genetic analysis of surviving tortoises on the islands has found traces of Floreana tortoises, a species declared extinct in the 1850s. Through selective breeding programs, the Floreana Giant Tortoise could soon be roaming the islands again. 

Project Co-Galápagos targets a growing global issue – dependence on tourism and how to make it more environmentally friendly.  Co-Galápagos aims to be the global example of developing local communities in symbiosis (what a great word) with nature.

What does symbiosis mean? Symbiosis the interaction of different organisms living in close physical association, but in benefit to them both. 

How does the Galápagos help us protect our world? 

Our abilities to understand the natural world have increased since Charles Darwin first sketched a marine iguana. We know and understand so much more about the Galápagos Islands, and the world, than we once did.  

This enables us to better protect it. The Galápagos are a unique environment due to their isolation, distinct habitats and rich biodiversity. They give us a microcosm of our planet. Charles Darwin realised this, and the islands gave him a chance to better understand the world by observing them.

Now, our world is changing, and again the Galapagos is the perfect place to understand the effects of those changes. 

The Galápagos Islands have provided inspiration in our understanding of the natural world, they are giving us the chance to understand how best to protect it.  

Post by

Will Steen