Galapagos Tortoise Programme

Large male Galapagos giant tortoise on Santa Cruz Island feeding on Sida rhombifolia leaves. Photo Stephen Blake. Galapagos tortoises The goal of the GALAPAGOS TORTOISE PROGRAMME is to assist the Galapagos National Park (GNP) • Largest terrestrial reptiles on earth. to effectively conserve giant Galapagos tortoises by conducting cutting edge applied research and • Weigh up to 250Kg. developing an inspirational tortoise-based outreach and education programme. Our research focuses • Lifespan over 150 years. on understanding the movement strategies of Galapagos tortoises and their ecological impacts and • Colonized Galapagos from South conservation implications. We use state of the art Global Positioning Systems (GPS) tags to monitor America some 2-3 million years ago. tortoise movements coupled with traditional ecological research including surveys on foot to assess the • Once lived on 10 islands. distribution and abundance of tortoises, observations of feeding behaviour, and sampling of vegetation Today, wild tortoises are found on structure and composition. Our research drives an outreach and education programme for young people just 6 islands. on Galapagos, in the USA and UK. We collaborate with institutions such as the Galapagos National Park • May have comprised 15 taxa. and Ecology Project International to introduce students to practical field-based research and classroom Today, only 10 are recognized. activities. To increase the effectiveness of our science for conservation, we share our tortoise movement data at www.movebank.org and on Facebook at (www.facebook.com/galapagostortoiseproject). The Programme The programme is coordinated by the Max Planck Institute • Initiated in 2009. and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry • First GPS telemetry study of giant in collaboration with the Galapagos National Park Service, tortoises. Charles Darwin Foundation, Saint Louis Zoo, and others. • Over 90 individuals tagged in 4 Where we work populations on 3 different islands. We work with four different species of giant tortoises on • Movement data three islands. These sites were selected because they [email protected]. cover the ecological range over which Galapagos tortoises • Over 600 students have participated live, from the arid low-lying island of Española to the lofty in our outreach programme in both Alcedo Volcano of Isabela which rises to an altitude of the field and classroom. 1100m. We study two different species on Santa Cruz, the • Media attention includes National island most heavily populated by humans, which allows us Geographic Society, BBC, SKY TV, to assess the impact of human activity on tortoise ecology. and Ecuadorian radio. • Produced three peer-reviewed scientific publications so far.

Fredy Cabrera measures a radio-tagged hatchling tortoise Adult female Santa Cruz tortoise Tracking tortoise movement By monitoring tortoises on three different islands, Tortoise movement ecology we can assess how tortoise movement may have • Some species of Galapagos tortoises evolved in response to the particular environmental migrate seasonally in response to characteristics of each island. We use GPS tracking food, temperature, and suitable sites devices to record the hourly location of over for nesting. 80 tortoises. The tags contain accelerometers that • Migrations occur up and down the track the fine detail of movement in three dimen- slopes of Galapagos volcanoes or sions. The tags have a 10 year battery life which will around crater rims. allow us to analyse patterns in movement in relation • Non-migrating tortoises move an to ecological and climatological variation over a average of only 20m per day, but meaningful time scale. Our research goes migrating tortoises move about beyond giant tortoise ecology, allowing us to 110m per day. address long-standing questions about animal • The longest migration route we movement. The different islands and their tortoises have recorded is 15km one way. provide a natural experimental setting to study the • Unlike most migratory species only causes and consequences of animal movement. adult tortoises migrate. • Tortoises have very general diets, Research on ecology and health and have a strong preference for Tortoise movements over three islands (A), and in detail on Alcedo fruit when it is available. We conduct traditional ecological research including volcano (B), Santa Cruz (C) and Española (D). monthly surveys of tortoise distribution, quantifying • Tortoises are proficient seed tortoise diets in relation to vegetation characteristics, dispersers, moving large and examining the ecosystem role of tortoises. To put quantities of seeds over large tortoise ecology into an environmental context, we distances. collect environmental data in the field and from remote • Tortoises may be the “gardeners of sensing sources. We also conduct physical exams of Galapagos”. tortoises, collect blood and dung samples to assess tortoise physical state, and use “in situ” ultrasound Collaborators of female tortoises to determine reproductive • Galapagos National Park condition in relation to movement strategy. • Charles Darwin Foundation • SUNY-College of Environmental Science and Forestry • Washington University Institute for School Partnership Ultrasound scan showing developing egg follicles • Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine Outreach • Houston Zoo Inc. We have developed an outreach programme to • Swiss Friends of Galapagos translate the results of our research into something • Galapagos Conservation Trust meaningful for local communities, from Galapagos • Ecology Project International children to policy makers. Our research will only be • Movebank.org beneficial for conservation if it is understood and • E-Obs Digital Telemetry can result in positive change in individual behaviour • NGS-Critercam and better management decisions. We focus on • Genstat bringing local young people into nature to expe- rience Galapagos tortoises and their habitats to motivate them toward a conservation ethic. We have Contacts Walter Pisco from the Mola Mola Ecology Club with a BBC film crew also publicized our project more widely through me- Stephen Blake, PhD dia including the National Geographic Society, David [email protected] Attenborough and SKY TV, BBC and other internation- James Gibbs, PhD al outlets. [email protected] Next steps Galo Quezada In 2014, we will focus on publishing our latest results in scientific journals while maintaining our strong [email protected] “on the ground” research and education programmes. This includes papers on tortoise diets and the role of introduced species, vegetation change mediated by tortoises along the elevation gradients For more information, see of Galapagos, and a number of tortoise movement and health papers. In the field, we will continue our research on nesting, reproductive success, and the fate of eggs and hatchlings. We will work with education www.gianttortoise.org professionals to advance the “Galapagos Tortoise Education Partnership” that introduces young people in www.stlzoo.org/ the Galapagos, US, and Europe to tortoises and turtles through hands-on experience in the research project conservationmedicne and the completion of customized educational activities. www.movebank.org www.facebook.com/ galapagostortoiseproject