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Tortoise Conservation Plans An Island-by-Island Summary ISABELA – SIERRA NEGRA & CERRO AZUL VOLCANOS • Confusion about genetics of southern Isabela tortoises • Survey planned focusing on distribution & genetics • Problems with illegal poaching • Anti-poaching workshop and actions planned • Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center in Puerto Villamil PINTA • Pinta tortoise extinct (Lonesome George died in June 2012) • Goats eradicated in 2003 • Pinta hybrids found on Wolf Volcano in 2008 • 39 sterilized hybrids released on Pinta in 2010 • Breeding program using Pinta hybrids to begin in 2014 • Expected release of first juveniles in 2019/20 ESPAÑOLA • 15 native adults in tortoise center on Santa Cruz • Nearly 2,000 tortoises repatriated • Natural reproduction of repatriates began in early 1990s • Island survey conducted in 2010 • Tortoise-cactus-woody vegetation study planned FERNANDINA • Fernandina tortoise extinct • Single Fernandina tortoise collected in 1906 • Search expedition planned – waiting for funding FLOREANA • Floreana tortoise extinct since 1850s • Floreana hybrids found on Wolf Volcano in 2008 • Breeding program using Floreana hybrids to begin in 2014 • Expected release of first juveniles in 2019/20 ISABELA – WOLF VOLCANO • 2008 survey of more than 1,600 tortoises (DNA analysis) • 17 Pinta hybrids found (possibly 70–80 present) • 84 Floreana hybrids found (possibly 250–280 present) • Other non-Wolf hybrids – potentially 470–560 • Series of hybrid recovery expeditions planned ISABELA – DARWIN VOLCANO • Tortoise population not well known • Limited habitat because of extensive lava flows • To be included in the rearing center at Puerto Villamil ISABELA – ALCEDO VOLCANO • Project Isabela eliminated goats and donkeys in 2006 • Vegetation recovering and tortoise population is healthy • Needs ongoing monitoring of vegetation recovery GIANT TORTOISE PINZÓN • Native population of ~100 tortoises • More than 650 tortoises have been repatriated • Natural reproduction of repatriates since 1990s • Rat eradication campaign in 2012 • Good outlook for tortoise population RESTORATION INITIATIVE 2014-2018 © Mary Traveland SAN CRISTÓBAL • Distribution of tortoises not well known • Survey planned focusing on distribution & genetics • Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center F or more than one million years, Giant Tortoises have played a natural and essential role as ecosystem engineers in the Galapagos Islands, helping to shape the landscape for the islands’ other extraordinary creatures and plantlife. As many as 200,000 Giant Tortoises once roamed the islands, but only 20,000 (or just 10–20% of the original population) remain today. Their dramatic decline was mainly due to overexploitation by whalers and, more recently, predation and habitat destruction from invasive species like rats and goats. In addition to their crucial ecological role, Giant Tortoises also play an important economic role as one of the Galapagos Islands’ greatest eco-tourism attractions. SANTA CRUZ • Two populations: Tortoise Reserve and Cerro Fatal • Cerro Fatal population is very small — in rearing program • Migration studies being conducted • Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center – many populations SANTA FE • Santa Fe tortoise extinct for ~150 years • ~7,000 land iguanas, ~170,000 adult Opuntia cacti • Expected release of analog tortoise species soon IN BRIEF Between 2014 and 2018, Galapagos Conservancy will invest more than $1,000,000 in Giant Tortoise conservation efforts in the Galapagos Islands. These efforts seek to reverse some of the damage caused by humans going back as far as the 16th century. SANTIAGO • Project Isabela eliminated goats, pigs, and donkeys • Vegetation recovering • Tortoise population still skewed towards males • Monitoring of on-island reproduction needed • May still need to be included in rearing center A few residents of the Tortoise Center on Santa Cruz Island await their next meal on the feeding platform. The three Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Centers play a crucial role in helping tortoise populations rebound in Galapagos. GALAPAGOS CONSERVANCY 11150 Fairfax Boulevard, Suite 408 w Fairfax, VA 22030 USA w [email protected] w www.galapagos.org Program Contact: DR. LINDA CAYOT, GC Science Advisor, [email protected] © Leslie Lenny THE EXPERTS Galapagos Conservancy’s Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative will require collaboration from many experts: A team of international giant tortoise experts from universities, zoos, and other institutions from around the world will collaborate in the planning and execution of each phase of the project. Left: One of the Pinta tortoise hybrids found on Wolf Volcano Giant Tortoises perform many critical (P. Pritchard). Right: A young tortoise raised at the tortoise roles in shaping healthy ecosystems, breeding center (B. Schoeberl). such as dispersing seeds of native The Galapagos National Park Service (GNPS) will plants and creating open pathways where other animals and provide the technical expertise and infrastructure needed to plants can thrive. By restoring Giant Tortoise populations carry out the work. throughout the islands, ecosystems will return to a more balanced state as a result of the many beneficial actions of Galapagos Conservancy’s Science Advisor, Dr. these apex herbivores. Linda Cayot, who has spent several decades working on behalf of Galapagos tortoise conservation, will continue to On many of the Galapagos Islands, the recent eradication play a leading role in this work. After completing her PhD on of harmful introduced species (like goats and rats) that the ecology of the giant tortoises of Santa Cruz and Pinzón once posed serious threats to tortoises makes this long-term Islands, Linda supervised the tortoise breeding and rearing tortoise restoration project both timely and feasible. center (including the care of Lonesome George) and much of the tortoise field work from 1988–1997. She played Kicked off with a planning workshop in July 2012 and a major role in planning Project Pinta and organized the building on decades of tortoise research and management, tortoise workshop in July 2012, at which the next 10 years the first five years of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative were developed. will focus on 8 distinct goals outlined on the following pages. RESTORING THE GIANT TORTOISE DYNASTY IN GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION HISTORY The next 5 years in Galapagos tortoise conservation will build on decades of tortoise research and management investments made by Galapagos Conservancy and our partner organizations in the Islands. Below are notable events and accomplishments: 1965 – PRESENT The world-class tortoise breeding and repatriation program of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Foundation was established in 1965. Since then, more than 4,000 young tortoises have been repatriated to their islands of origin as a result of this program. 1972 – 2012 Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise, was discovered and taken into captivity where he lived out his life as a conservation icon at the tortoise center on Santa Cruz Island. He passed away in June 2012 at an estimated 100 years old. 1997 – 2006 Lonesome George Early 1900s to 2012 Project Isabela, the largest ecosystem restoration initiative ever carried out in a protected area, successfully eliminated introduced goats — one of the biggest threats to giant tortoises — from northern Isabela, Santiago, and Pinta Islands. 2008 – 2012 Genetic testing of more than 1,600 tortoises on Wolf Volcano identified tortoises with partial ancestry from Floreana (extinct on Floreana since the 1850s) and Pinta (considered extinct following the death of Lonesome George). 2009 – PRESENT A number of advances have been made in the understanding of tortoise movement ecology and the technology to study it. 2010 Tortoises were returned to Pinta Island. 39 sterilized hybrid adult tortoises were released and are now thriving and exerting a significant ecological impact on the island. 2010 – 2011 A major survey of tortoises, cacti, and woody vegetation was conducted on Española Island and a similar survey was done on vegetation and land iguanas on Santa Fe. JULY 2012 An international workshop, Giant Tortoise Recovery through Integrated Research and Management, was held in Galapagos. It resulted in the strategic and operational plans to guide the next decade of tortoise research and management. GALAPAGOS CONSERVANCY WILL INVEST $1,310,000 OVER 5 YEARS Tortoise team staff Research on tortoise-cactus-woody plant interactions To ensure that the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative is successful, a small team of competent researchers must be established to oversee the effort and to coordinate all activities with the GNPS and others. This will include a part-time supervisory and planning position at GC (Dr. Linda Cayot) and the leader of the Initiative in Galapagos with a staff of two assistants. Total funding needed: $550,000 $50,000 for 2014 and $125,000 per year for 2015 –2018 Expeditions to Wolf Volcano Beginning in December 2013, GC will help support a series of expeditions over the next 3-5 years using genetic analysis to identify tortoises of high conservation value (tortoises with partial or pure Floreana and Pinta ancestry) and to initiate breeding programs. These expeditions will include searches in previously unexplored areas. During each expedition, potentially as many as 100 tortoises (known Pinta/Floreana tortoises, as well as un-sampled tortoises with similar morphology) will be transported by helicopter to a holding pen near the northern Isabela coast, where blood samples will be taken from all animals for DNA analysis at Yale University. Tortoises to be transported off Wolf Volcano will remain in quarantine before being transported to other islands. Those with sufficient Pinta and Floreana ancestry will be moved to the tortoise breeding center on Santa Cruz Island. Total funding needed: $150,000 $50,000/year for the next three years for personnel, equipment, travel and field logistics Return Giant Tortoises to Santa Fe It is well documented that tortoises once lived on Santa Fe, but, unfortunately, the species has been extinct for more than 150 years. While other populations have been of higher conservation priority to date, we must now focus on the overall restoration of Santa Fe, wich includes the return of tortoises. An analog species will be used in place of the original species. Scientists are currently reviewing which species will best fill this role. Careful monitoring of the return of tortoises on this island, which is relatively pristine, could provide key information about how tortoises repopulate an island and their effects on the ecosystem. Total funding needed: $75,000 $25,000 per year for three years beginning in 2015 for field trips and monitoring A survey of tortoises, cactus, and woody plants was carried out on Española in 2010, but a larger, archipelago-wide research project is needed to determine the interactions among these groups. Of particular importance is the status of cactus populations on different islands due to impacts of introduced species. A critical resource for tortoises on the arid islands, cactus is a lynchpin for tortoise restoration. As the decades go by and tortoise numbers increase to historical numbers (100,000–200,000), we need to have a clearer understanding of their relationship to their environment, the potential of the habitat to support large tortoise populations, and the importance of habitat management as a tortoise restoration tool. © GNPS TIMELINE OF TORTOISE Park rangers mark tortoises on Wolf Volcano during a 2009 expedition. Breeding program for Pinta and Floreana tortoises Over the next few years the GNPS will require additional technical assistance to expand the tortoise breeding center on Santa Cruz Island (and potentially other islands) to provide adequate room for the new breeding populations of Pinta and Floreana tortoises. If all goes as planned, the first young tortoises will hatch in 2015 and the first repatriation will take place in 2019 or 2020. Total funding needed: $75,000 $25,000 per year for the next three years for technical assistance and to help support the expansion of the center(s) Rapid increase in the number of adult tortoises on Pinta Island The tortoise breeding program will eventually produce young Floreana and Pinta tortoises for repatriation. However, with the recent eradication of goats, Pinta Island is in urgent need of additional adult tortoises to serve as ecological engineers to help in a more natural restoration of the plant community. Expanding on the highly successful 2010 release of 39 sterilized adult hybrid tortoises on Pinta, additional hybrid tortoises (without Pinta or Floreana ancestry) collected on Wolf Volcano will be sterilized and relocated to Pinta. These animals will act as “ecological management tools,” conditioning the habitat for juvenile Pinta tortoises. The hybrid tortoises will be monitored to learn as much as possible before the release of juvenile Pinta tortoises in 2019/20. Total funding needed: $120,000 $40,000/year for three years beginning in 2014 for personnel, logistics, and monitoring Total funding needed: $120,000 $30,000 per year for four years beginning in 2014 for personnel, field work, and data analysis Population surveys and advanced genetic sampling in Southern Isabela, San Cristóbal, and Santiago Islands During the recent tortoise workshop (July 2012), Galapagos National Park personnel and international experts identified several tortoise populations in which the genetic relationships among tortoises are not well understood. In some cases, certain tortoise populations should be classified as two or more distinct species. There are also major gaps in knowledge regarding tortoise distribution. For example, much of the tortoise habitat on San Cristóbal Island has never been comprehensively surveyed. Tracking tortoise movements with cutting-edge GPS technology can help resolve some of these unknowns. Total funding needed: $120,000 $30,000 per year for four years beginning in 2014 for field trips and logistics Anti-poaching workshop and follow-up Giant tortoises were a traditional part of the diet of settlers in Galapagos. When the GNPS was established in 1959, efforts to curb the hunting of tortoises were generally successful. However, killing tortoises underwent a resurgence in the 1990s and has become a serious concern on southern Isabela. A focused workshop, involving a small group of international experts and GNPS personnel, will be held to develop a series of strategies to combat the problem, including education, community outreach, and enforcement action. Total funding needed: $100,000 $25,000 per year for four years beginning in 2014