Scientists from the Ecuadorian Galapagos archipelago will reintroduce several extinct species on Floreana Island, in the heart of the island formation, to restore ecological networks and prevent the disappearance of other endemic animals.
The plan is to introduce some varieties of finches, the witch bird, the pachay (endemic bird), the lava gull, the Galapagos owl and the imitation thrush, as well as the Floreana snake and the giant tortoise, explained the Park Directorate National Galapagos (PNG).
The PNG is responsible for the environmental care of this archipelago located about a thousand kilometers east of the continental coast of Ecuador and declared a Natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The project, which started two years ago, will be completed in 2024.when the reintroduction of specimens, chosen from among “populations of origin” already defined in other places of the archipelago, is expected to be effective, a PNG source explained to Efe.
A first step in the project is to remove from Floreana Island several harmful introduced species that have damaged the ecosystems, especially rodents and feral cats.
PNG wildlife experts and the environmental organizations Island Conservation and Re:Wild, which make up Floreana’s small human population of 150, recently completed a workshop to outline lines of action and time for the gradual reintroduction of the thirteen species considered locally extinct on the island.
The PNG, an agency linked to the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment, indicated that next year the eradication phase of rodents and wildcats should be completed, which will pave the way for the reintroduction of new specimens, whose mission is to strengthen the dynamics of the ecosystems of the island and contribute to their recovery.
Floreana is one of the first inhabited islands in the world where species that have been lost in the last two centuries will be reintroduced, thereby increasing populations in danger of extinction and restoring disappeared ecological networks”, assured Luis Ortíz-Cathedral, scientific consultant of PNG and wildlife expert.
Luis Ortíz-Catedral recalled that “this activity was planned in accordance with the ecological relationships between the species” which could allow greater profits for the restoration of the ecosystem than “if isolated individual reintroductions were made”.
Danny Rueda, director of the PNG, highlighted the role of the Floreana community in the formulation of the project, thanks to its deep vocation for conservation.
We would not have been able to reach this stage of the project, which began twelve years ago, without the joint work of the local community that was involved in the different stages and took all the mitigation and training measures to ensure their well-being. Danny Rueda pointed out.
The scientists responsible for the “Floreana Project” believe that its application “will set a precedent on a global scale and serve as a model for the restoration of other islands in the world”, since the plan involves the elimination of invasive species such as rodents. and cats, and the reintroduction of locally extinct species.
The Galapagos Islands are considered one of the best protected natural reserves in the world and a natural laboratory, the same one that inspired the English scientist Charles Darwin to formulate his theory on the evolution and natural selection of species.
East archipelago is made up of 13 large islands, 6 small islands and 42 islets.and owes its name to the giant tortoises that inhabit them.
Source: Observadora
