Lonesome George' Returned to Galapagos Islands 18 February 2017

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Body of tortoise 'Lonesome George' returned to Galapagos Islands 18 February 2017 2014-January 2015. The Pacific island chain is famous for its unique flora and fauna studied by Charles Darwin as he developed his theory of evolution. Of the 15 species of giant tortoise known to have originated in the Galapagos, three, including George's, have gone extinct—victims of plundering 18th-century pirates who damaged the islands' fragile ecosystem. Lonesome George was thought to be around a century old when he died in June 2012 The embalmed body of the giant tortoise known as Lonesome George—the last known member of a species that was wiped out with his death in 2012—returned home to the Ecuadoran Galapagos Islands. The body arrived in Puerto Ayora, the capital of the archipelago's Santa Cruz Island, on an Ecuadoran military plane after undergoing taxidermy work at New York's American Museum of Natural History, the Galapagos National Park said. The giant tortoise—thought to be around a century old when he died in June 2012—was the last known member of the subspecies Geochelone nigra abingdoni. He failed to reproduce despite a decades long conservation effort that earned him the moniker "Lonesome George." His body will go on display at the park starting Last of its kind February 23, after having starred in an exhibition at the New York museum from September 1 / 2 © 2017 AFP APA citation: Body of tortoise 'Lonesome George' returned to Galapagos Islands (2017, February 18) retrieved 2 October 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2017-02-body-tortoise-lonesome-george- galapagos.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. 2 / 2 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org).

Copy Link

Recommended publications

The Conservation Biology of Tortoises
The Conservation Biology of Tortoises Edited by Ian R. Swingland and Michael W. Klemens IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group and The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology Occasional Papers of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) No. 5 IUCN—The World Conservation Union IUCN Species Survival Commission Role of the SSC 3. To cooperate with the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) The Species Survival Commission (SSC) is IUCN's primary source of the in developing and evaluating a data base on the status of and trade in wild scientific and technical information required for the maintenance of biological flora and fauna, and to provide policy guidance to WCMC. diversity through the conservation of endangered and vulnerable species of 4. To provide advice, information, and expertise to the Secretariat of the fauna and flora, whilst recommending and promoting measures for their con- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna servation, and for the management of other species of conservation concern. and Flora (CITES) and other international agreements affecting conser- Its objective is to mobilize action to prevent the extinction of species, sub- vation of species or biological diversity. species, and discrete populations of fauna and flora, thereby not only maintain- 5. To carry out specific tasks on behalf of the Union, including: ing biological diversity but improving the status of endangered and vulnerable species. • coordination of a programme of activities for the conservation of biological diversity within the framework of the IUCN Conserva- tion Programme. Objectives of the SSC • promotion of the maintenance of biological diversity by monitor- 1.
[Show full text]
Giant Tortoises with Pinta Island Ancestry Identified In
Biological Conservation 157 (2013) 225–228 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Biological Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon Short communication The genetic legacy of Lonesome George survives: Giant tortoises with Pinta Island ancestry identiﬁed in Galápagos a, a a,b c d Danielle L. Edwards ⇑, Edgar Benavides , Ryan C. Garrick , James P. Gibbs , Michael A. Russello , Kirstin B. Dion a, Chaz Hyseni a, Joseph P. Flanagan e, Washington Tapia f, Adalgisa Caccone a a Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA b Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, MS 38677, USA c College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA d Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC, Canada V1V 1V7 e Houston Zoo, Houston, TX 77030, USA f Galápagos National Park Service, Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador article info abstract Article history: The death of Lonesome George, the last known purebred individual of Chelonoidis abingdoni native to Received 22 August 2012 Pinta Island, marked the extinction of one of 10 surviving giant tortoise species from the Galápagos Archi- Received in revised form 9 October 2012 pelago. Using a DNA reference dataset including historical C. abingdoni and >1600 living Volcano Wolf Accepted 14 October 2012 tortoise samples, a site on Isabela Island known to harbor hybrid tortoises, we discovered 17 individuals with ancestry in C. abingdoni. These animals belong to various hybrid categories, including possible ﬁrst generation hybrids, and represent multiple, unrelated individuals. Their ages and relative abundance sug- Keywords: gest that additional hybrids and conceivably purebred C.
[Show full text]
Galapagos News
GALAPAGOS NEWS Fall-Winter 2015 NEW GIANT Flamingo Origins TORTOISE Disappearing SPECIES Opuntia Cacti NAMED! PROJECT UPDATES: Tortoises on Santa Fe Plans for Tortoises in 2016 Education for Sustainability PHOTOGRAPHING GALAPAGOS PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS! GALAPAGOS GIFTS ON SALE: GALAPAGOS CALENDAR 2016 www.galapagos.org Johannah Barry and a Galapagos National Park ranger, Freddy Villalva, watch feeding time for baby tortoises that reside at the Tortoise Center on Santa Cruz. © Ros Cameron, Galapagos Conservancy FROM THE PRESIDENT Johannah Barry CONTENTS nce again, we are delighted to share big news about big tortoises! With support from 3 GC Membership OGalapagos Conservancy, our colleagues at Yale University have embarked on an Galapagos Guardians ambitious program of genetic testing and identification of previously unidentified Galapagos 4-5 Galapagos News tortoises. That painstaking work was rewarded with the discovery of a new species of 6-7 The Mystery of the Galapagos tortoise — the Eastern Santa Cruz tortoise. Dr. Gisella Caccone, the study’s senior Disappearing Opuntia author, named the tortoise Chelonoidis donfaustoi after Fausto Llerena Sanchez, or "Don 8-9 In the Pink: Flamingos Fausto" as he is known by his friends. His 43-year history as a Galapagos National Park ranger 10-11 A Photographer's View also included a long relationship with Lonesome George as his primary keeper. This naming honors Don Fausto and celebrates the important work of the keepers and Park rangers whose from the Crater Rim work is indispensable to protecting and preserving Galapagos. 12-13 Galapagos Updates: We are pleased to highlight the work of long-time Galapagos scientists, Frank Sulloway Photo Contest, Desktop and Bob Tindle, whose seminal work on cactus ecology and flamingo population health have Wallpaper, SETECI, BBB spanned four decades.
[Show full text]
Scientists Try to Mate Galapagos Tortoise -- Again 21 January 2011
Scientists try to mate Galapagos tortoise -- again 21 January 2011 Scientists believe George may have a better chance of reproducing with his two new partners, of the Geochelone hoodensis species. The two potential mates arrived on Santa Cruz island, where George lives, on Thursday from the archipelago's Spanish Island. Genetic studies conducted by Yale University have shown that the newly arrived tortoises "are genetically closer ... more compatible, and could offer greater possibilities of producing offspring," In this July 21, 2008 file photo released by the the park's statement said. Galapagos National Park, a giant tortoise named "Lonesome George" is seen in the Galapagos islands, The Galapagos island chain, about 620 miles an archipelago off Ecuador's Pacific coast. Scientists are (1,000 kms) off Ecuador's coast, is home to unique still hoping to mate the elderly giant tortoise from the animal species that inspired Charles Darwin's ideas Galapagos - even though efforts over the past two on evolution. decades have failed. On Thursday, park officials said that they are providing two new female partners for George, who is believed to be the last living member of ©2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. the Geochelone abigdoni species. (AP Photo/ This material may not be published, broadcast, Galapagos National Park, File) rewritten or redistributed. Will Lonesome George ever become a dad? Scientists are still hoping to mate the near century- old giant tortoise from the Galapagos - even though efforts over the past two decades have failed. The Galapagos National Park said in a statement Thursday that they are providing two new female partners for George, who is believed to be the last living member of the Geochelone abigdoni species.
[Show full text]
Determining the Optimum Complementary Sets of Taxa for Conservation Using Evolutionary Isolation
I-HEDGE: determining the optimum complementary sets of taxa for conservation using evolutionary isolation Evelyn L. Jensen1, Arne Ø. Mooers2, Adalgisa Caccone3 and Michael A. Russello1 1 Department of Biology, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, Kelowna, BC, Canada 2 Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada 3 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States ABSTRACT In the midst of the current biodiversity crisis, conservation efforts might profitably be directed towards ensuring that extinctions do not result in inordinate losses of evolutionary history. Numerous methods have been developed to evaluate the importance of species based on their contribution to total phylogenetic diversity on trees and networks, but existing methods fail to take complementarity into account, and thus cannot identify the best order or subset of taxa to protect. Here, we develop a novel iterative calculation of the heightened evolutionary distinctiveness and globally endangered metric (I-HEDGE) that produces the optimal ranked list for conservation prioritization, taking into account complementarity and based on both phylogenetic diversity and extinction probability. We applied this metric to a phylogenetic network based on mitochondrial control region data from extant and recently extinct giant Galápagos tortoises, a highly endangered group of closely related species. We found that the restoration of two extinct species (a project currently underway) will contribute the greatest gain in phylogenetic diversity, and present an ordered list of rankings that is the optimum complementarity set for conservation prioritization. Subjects Biodiversity, Conservation Biology, Evolutionary Studies Submitted 13 May 2016 Keywords Conservation genetics, HEDGE, Mitochondrial control region, Shapley index, Noah's Accepted 20 July 2016 Ark problem Published 23 August 2016 Corresponding author INTRODUCTION Evelyn L.
[Show full text]
ANNUAL REPORT: June 1, 2016 – May 31, 2017 (I.E., Summer 2016, AY 2016-2017) DEPARTMENT of ENVIRONMENTAL and FOREST BIOLOGY SUNY-ESF
ANNUAL REPORT: June 1, 2016 – May 31, 2017 (i.e., Summer 2016, AY 2016-2017) DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND FOREST BIOLOGY SUNY-ESF ***PLEASE DO NOT INSERT TABLES FOR ANY CATEGORIES*** NAME: James P. Gibbs I. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES 1. Regular Course Offerings Credit No. No. of Lab. Course No. Title Hrs. Students Sections SUMMER: FALL: SPRING: EFB413 Introduction to Conservation Biology, 3 cr , 103 students, no lab sections EFB419 Problem-solving in Conservation Biology, 3 cr, 58 students, no lab sections EFB485 Herpetology, 3 cr , 89 students, three lab sections EFB 202 Ecological Monitoring and Biodiversity Assessment (Session A: Herpetology), 4 groups of 14-15 students (in field) NOTE: PLEASE INDICATE WHICH COURSE(S) HAD A SERVICE-LEARNING COMPONENT AND BRIEFLY EXPLAIN THE NATURE OF THIS COMPONENT. For examples of service-learning in courses, see: http://www.esf.edu/students/service/courses.htm. Service-learning is a form of structured experiential education in which students engage with the community to be active learners, to enrich their sense of civic responsibility, and to explore practical application for course content. Faculty oversight, reflective thinking, and reciprocity are key components of service-learning. 2. Non-Scheduled Course Offerings (e.g., 496, 899, 999) Credit No. Course No. Title Hrs. Students 3. Continuing Education and Extension (short courses, workshops, etc.) 4. Guest Lecture Activities Course No. Title No. of Lectures Diversity of Life EFB 211 2 lectures Freshman seminar (Conservation Biology) 1 lecture II. STUDENT ADVISING A. Number of undergraduates for whom you are the student’s official advisor 19 and unofficial advisor _____ B.
[Show full text]
V.The Tortoise Can Win the Race for Candidate Species Conservation
Conservation & the Environment: Conservative Values, New Solutions V. The Tortoise Can Win the Race for Candidate Species Conservation Laura Huggins PERC In June of 2012, the world mourned the loss of the There is much to be learned from Lonesome George. giant tortoise, Lonesome George. The 100-year-old Perhaps the most critical lesson is if we really want to tortoise lived in the Galapagos and was believed to help ensure a species survival than we should engage be the last of his sub-species. George served as an in conservation activities prior to a species becoming ambassador for endangered species—especially in endangered. Acting late is risky and expensive; but Ecuador where many groups are working to restore not individuals respond to incentives and require a carrot only tortoise populations throughout the archipelago or a stick to act early to conserve species. but also to improve the status of other rare species. The federal framework for species conservation in the George’s death made the headlines because it was United States—the Endangered Species Act (ESA)—is one of the few times people actually watched an often characterized as a reactive tool. This regulatory extinction take place. New York Times columnist Carl stick triggers costly conservation requirements after a Hulse wrote that this sentiment was expressed at the species is critically imperiled (Lueck and Michael 2003, shops and restaurants along Charles Darwin Avenue in Stokestad 2005). A system of positive incentives for the Galapagos: “We have witnessed extinction,” said a environmental stewardship upstream of listing under blackboard in front of one business.
[Show full text]
Bush Remains Lie in State As Tributes Pour In
06 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 world Moldy food postpones SpaceX launch AFP | Tampa paceX has postponed its Bush remains lie in Scargo launch to the In- ternational Space Station until today after mold was found on food bars for a mouse experiment bound for the orbiting outpost, state as tributes pour in NASA said. The launch was initially set for yesterday. The new President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited the US Capitol rotunda to pay their respects time is 1:16 pm (1816 GMT) today. the president was driven from “The launch was moved George HW Bush the White House up to Capitol to Wednesday after mold • Hill. was found on food bars for saluted at Capitol With first lady Melania at his a rodent investigation pri- with tributes to his side, Trump saluted, and they or to handover to SpaceX,” service and decency stood at Bush’s casket for about a NASA said. minute. They exited the rotunda “Teams will use the ex- AFP | Washington with little fanfare. tra day to replace the food Bush never warmed to Trump, bars.” and he had let it be known that Some 40 mice are part he remains of George he did not vote for him in 2016. of the experiment aimed at HW Bush lay in state yes- Trump himself has criticized the studying the effects of mi- Tterday at the US Capitol elder Bush on campaign trail. crogravity in the immune amid a groundswell of tributes But on Monday, Trump wrote system. honouring the 41st US president.
[Show full text]
TCF Summary Activity Report 2002–2018
Turtle Conservation Fund • Summary Activity Report 2002–2018 Turtle Conservation Fund A Partnership Coalition of Leading Turtle Conservation Organizations and Individuals Summary Activity Report 2002–2018 1 Turtle Conservation Fund • Summary Activity Report 2002–2018 Recommended Citation: Turtle Conservation Fund [Rhodin, A.G.J., Quinn, H.R., Goode, E.V., Hudson, R., Mittermeier, R.A., and van Dijk, P.P.]. 2019. Turtle Conservation Fund: A Partnership Coalition of Leading Turtle Conservation Organi- zations and Individuals—Summary Activity Report 2002–2018. Lunenburg, MA and Ojai, CA: Chelonian Research Foundation and Turtle Conservancy, 54 pp. Front Cover Photo: Radiated Tortoise, Astrochelys radiata, Cap Sainte Marie Special Reserve, southern Madagascar. Photo by Anders G.J. Rhodin. Back Cover Photo: Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle, Rafetus swinhoei, Dong Mo Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo by Timothy E.M. McCormack. Printed by Inkspot Press, Bennington, VT 05201 USA. Hardcopy available from Chelonian Research Foundation, 564 Chittenden Dr., Arlington, VT 05250 USA. Downloadable pdf copy available at www.turtleconservationfund.org 2 Turtle Conservation Fund • Summary Activity Report 2002–2018 Turtle Conservation Fund A Partnership Coalition of Leading Turtle Conservation Organizations and Individuals Summary Activity Report 2002–2018 by Anders G.J. Rhodin, Hugh R. Quinn, Eric V. Goode, Rick Hudson, Russell A. Mittermeier, and Peter Paul van Dijk Strategic Action Planning and Funding Support for Conservation of Threatened Tortoises and Freshwater
[Show full text]
Puerto Ayora, June 25, 2012 Lonesome George, the Last Pinta Giant Tortoise Has Died
WWF Galapagos Tel + 593 (5) 2526 053Ext 117 WWF Programa Regional Amazonas Norte &Chocó Darién [email protected] www.wwf.org.co Oficina Principal Calle 18 de febrero s/n y Piqueros Puerto Ayora – Galápagos Ecuador Press Release Immediate Release Puerto Ayora, June 25, 2012 Lonesome George, the last Pinta giant tortoise has died Lonesome George, the last individual of the giant tortoises from Pinta Island in his pen. Photo: David Jimenez‐Henao Lonesome George, the last individual of the Pinta giant tortoises (Geochelone abingdoni) died in his pen at the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island on Sunday June 24th. George was found in 1972 by a group of eager Galapagos National Park (GNP) wardens who were searching earnestly to ascertain whether the whole Pinta species population was extinct. Lonesome George was living in a special pen in the “Fausto Llerena Captive Breeding Center” in the GNP headquarters in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island. At the breeding center, GNP, with support from the Charles Darwin Foundation and other national and international scientific institutions were researching for ways to help perpetuate George’s lineage. Unfortunately, to date these efforts had been unsuccessful. George died in the company of two Española females, the genetically most closely‐ related species to the Pinta tortoises. George’s body is being kept under controlled conditions until a necropsy can be performed to identify the cause of his death. George is thought to have been more than 100 years old. The Galapagos Islands, a province of the Republic of Ecuador, is considered Earth´s natural laboratory of biological sciences.
[Show full text]
Ecological History and Latent Conservation Potential: Large and Giant Tortoises As a Model for Taxon Substitutions
Ecography 33: 272Á284, 2010 doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06305.x # 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation # 2010 Ecography Subject Editors: David Nogue´s-Bravo and Carsten Rahbek. Accepted 7 March 2010 Ecological history and latent conservation potential: large and giant tortoises as a model for taxon substitutions Dennis M. Hansen, C. Josh Donlan, Christine J. Griffiths and Karl J. Campbell D. M. Hansen ([email protected]), Dept of Biology, Stanford Univ., 371 Serra Mall, CA 94305, USA. Á C. J. Donlan, Advanced Conservation Strategies, P.O. Box 1201, Midway, UT 84049, USA, and Copeland Fellow in Global Sustainability, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002, USA, and Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Á C. J. Griffiths, School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UG, UK, and Inst. of Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Zurich, 190 Winterthurerstrasse, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. Á K. J. Campbell, Island Conservation, LML, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA, and School of Integrative Systems, Univ. of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia. Starting in the late 1970s, ecologists began unraveling the role of recently extinct large vertebrates in evolutionary ecology and ecosystem dynamics. Three decades later, practitioners are now considering the role of ecological history in conservation practice, and some have called for restoring missing ecological functions and evolutionary potential using taxon substitutes Á extant, functionally similar taxa Á to replace extinct species. This pro-active approach to biodiversity conservation has proved controversial. Yet, rewilding with taxon substitutes, or ecological analogues, is now being integrated into conservation and restoration programmes around the world.
[Show full text]
Of the Galapagos: HOW SELECTIVE BREEDING IS HELPING BRING EXTINCT GIANT TORTOISES BACK from the DEAD
GHOSTS of the Galapagos: HOW SELECTIVE BREEDING IS HELPING BRING EXTINCT GIANT TORTOISES BACK FROM THE DEAD. WORDS AND PICTURES BY: n January 2020, TUI DE ROY / naturepl.com the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative mounted I the most ambitious giant tortoise expedition to date. The mission: to find descendants of the long-extinct Floreana and Pinta tortoises, and breed them to help restore these lost bloodlines to their original Galápagos islands. Given the long lifespans of the reptiles in question, only our kids and grandkids will be there to witness the results. ECHOES OF THE PAST Whalers of old collected giant tortoises for food and left a legacy of feral goats and rats that Within the Galápagos archipelago, further depleted tortoise populations. 15 species of giant tortoise have been recognised, although only 11 survive to this day. Which four species are thought to have FLOREANA TORTOISE suffered extinction? already extinct and two But wait! What nobody (Chelonoidis niger) more were reduced to a realized is that sometime mere handful of survivors, during that great tortoise SANTA FE TORTOISE most notably a single male slaughter of the late Pinta tortoise who became 1800s, amid the whalers’ (Chelonoidis nov sp.) known affectionately as shenanigans around Banks About 200 years ago, delicious fresh meat to Lonesome George. Since Bay at the western foot of something really odd hungry sailors. Thus, tens his discovery in 1971, every Wolf Volcano on Isabela happened in Galápagos. - or possibly hundreds - effort was made worldwide Island (where sperm whales It was the heyday of of thousands of tortoises to find him a mate, and tended to congregate), far-ranging whaling met their ignominious to collect his sperm for some captured tortoises enterprises which saw demise.
[Show full text]