Pinta Island in the Galapagos Archipelago has had two major ecosystem disruptions in recent history: the loss of its nativeecosystem engineer, the Pinta giant tortoise (now represented by a single individual, “Lonesome George”), and severe devegetation caused by a large and invasive population of goats. Ecosystem restoration on Pinta began with the culmination of the 30-year goat eradication program in 2003. Restoration progressed to the next stage in 2010 when the Galapagos National Park introduced a group of 39 non-reproductive adult “ecological analog” tortoises to reinstate the ecosystem services that Pinta tortoises previously provided.
Project Title:
Ecosystem restoration on Pinta Island, Galapagos, through the reintroduction of giant tortoises
Summary:
Research objectives for the monitoring of this introduced population are to:
- Determine what habitat features drive tortoise behavior
- Estimate changes in the plant community due to tortoise presence
- Make management recommendations to the Galapagos National Park for future tortoise introductions to Pinta.
Location: Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Timeline: 2010-2012
Field participants:
Elizabeth Hunter (M.S. candidate, SUNY-ESF)
Francisco Laso (2010-2011 Technician, American Museum of Natural History)
Garrison Loope (2010 Technician, Pennsylvania State University)
Benjamin Risk (2010 Technician, Cornell University)
Caitlin Homan (2011 Technician, SUNY-ESF)
John Mulligan (2011 Technician, SUNY-ESF)
Claire Phillips (2011 Technician, USGS)
Principal Investigators:
James P. Gibbs (SUNY-ESF), Elizabeth Hunter (SUNY-ESF)
Funding:
Galapagos Conservancy, Galapagos National Park Service
For more information:
http://retortoisepinta.blogspot.com
http://galapagos.org
Contact:
Elizabeth Hunter, M.S. Candidate
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
ehunte01@syr.edu
315/470-6754
