Download Main information information about the Galápagos Islands

Main information about the
Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands are composed of 7 main islands
which are: Fernandina, Baltra, Genovesa, San Cristóbal,
James, and Santa Cruz. Also there are another 12
islands..
islands
Galápagos Islands are a group of islands that are a
region of Ecuador. The region is 600 miles (about 1,000
kilometres) from Ecuador’s coast.
The climate in the Galápagos Islands is very mild and
comfortable. From June to December, the colder air
comes to the islands giving rain to the animals and
plants. From January to May, the hot air comes, giving
warmth and heat.
They didn’t change a lot during the last 100 years.
The oldest of the islands were formed four million years
ago, but the youngest are still being formed.
The Galápagos Islands have a rich scientific history
history..
This islands were made famous by the naturalist Charles
Darwin. He investigated the biodiversity.
biodiversity.
The Beagle carried a total of 75 men.
Life on board the Beagle was really difficult.
There were three natives on board from the first
trip the Beagle made.
The crew needed to eat very little because the Beagle
couldn’t carry a lot of food.
They slept in hammocks because they didn’t have
enough space for beds.
They needed to make a lot of stops to get resources
or food.
The Beagle had squared sails and cannons to protect
them from the pirates.
Darwin started the voyage when he was 22 years old
and it ended when he was 27. So the trip lasted for 5
years.. (1831
years
(1831--1836).
• Darwin was seasick so he suffered a lot during the
whole voyage.
voyage.
• During the voyage the crew made lots of stops for
Darwin to take notes of everything he wanted.
wanted.
• They made about 11 stops all around the world till
they were again in the U.K.
•
They sailed from Plymouth to their first stop, Bahia,
Bahia,
eastern Brazil.
Brazil. The crew continued sailing until Rio
de Janeiro, another city in the coast of Brazil.
Brazil. Then
they went to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay,
and bordered South America, stopped at
Valparaiso, a city on the coast of Chile.
Chile. Then they
pause at Callao Lima, in Peru. And then finally, this
led him to the Galapagos Islands.
Islands. Here, at the
Galapagos Darwin took most of his time observing
tortoises.
The trip getting back to the U.K. was shorter
because they stopped less
less..
Getting back they first stopped at Sydney, in
Australia. And then curved to an island called
Hobart. Then they continued through the Indian
Ocean until they stopped at Cape Town, the
legislative capital of South Africa. Then they
continued straight until stopping for second time at
Bahia. Finally from Bahia they travelled to the U.K.
Darwin’s
general theory about evolution is that
evolution is the development of life.
Darwin’s complex theory is that all animals
descend from a common ancestor
Darwin created his theory based on the
Galapagos experience and his observations there.
Darwin was puzzled about a question.
The question was what keeps one species of plant or animal
from overpopulating the planet or living in every corner of
the world?
Darwin realized that something in nature limits population.
•He was born on 17
•1825 On 22
October
matriculates with
his brother Erasmus
at the University of
Edinburgh.
Registers for
medical courses.
February 1809 in
Shrewsbury,
England, son of
Robert Waring
Darwin and
Susannah, nee
Wedgwood.
•1817 Attends
school in
Shrewsbury run
by George Case,
Unitarian minister.
His mother dies.
•1827 On 15
October is admitted
to Christ’s Collage,
University of
Cambridge, but
does not move
there until January
1828.
•1829 July his
name appears in
Stephens'
Illustration of
British
Entomology.
•1831 Passes his
BA examinations on
22 January without
honors and remains
at Cambridge for a
further two terms to
fulfill residence
requirement.
•1832 16 January
Darwin makes his
first landing in Cape
Verde Islands. In
December arrives in
Tierra del Fuego.
•1833 March,
Beagle visits
Falkland Islands.
From April to July
around Maldonado,
August to
December in Rio
Negro and
Monteviedo
•1831In August he returns to Shrewsbury from Wales to find a letter
from Henslow inviting him to join the Beagle voyage. Meets Captain
Robert FitzRoy (1805-65) and makes preparations for the voyage.
Begins Beagle dairy. After two false starts, the ship leaves Plymouth on
27 December.
•1834 Early part of
the year is spent
surveying in Tierra
del Fuego and
another visit to the
Falkland Islands.
April to May Darwin
and Fitz Roy make
an inland expedition
along the River
Santa Cruz.
Repeated ports of
call in Tierra del
Fuego, eventually
leaving the Straits
of Magellan in June.
•1835 Spends February
in Valdivia and early
March in Concepcion,
makes long excursion
northwards from March
to September, calling at
Copiapo, Iquique and
Callao. Beagle departs
Lima on 7 September
for the Galapagos
Archipelago. Darwin
spends 16 September to
20 October exploring the
archipelago, 15-26
November in Tahiti, 2130 November in New
Zealand. December
Henslow prints extracts
from his letters.
•1836 Beagle calls at
Sydney in January, Hobart
in February, Cocos and
Keeling Islands in April,
followed by Mauritius.
Visits Cape of Good Hope
from 31 May to 18 June.
Writes first article
to be published with
Fitzroy. The ship makes
way across Atlantic ocean
calling at St Helena and
Ascension Islands in July.
Returns briefly to Brazil in
August to check some
readings. Calls at Azores
in September. 2 October,
Beagle drops anchor at
Falmouth, England
•1837 Arranges for his
Beagle specimens to be
identified. Begins
publication of The
Zoology of the Voyage
of the Beagle
•1838 Marries
Emma Wedgwood
on 29 January.
Publishes Journal of
Researches, later
known as Voyage of
the Beagle. First
child, a son William,
is born. He and
Emma eventually
have ten children,
seven of whom
reach adulthood.
•1848 November,
his father Robert
Waring Darwin
dies. Goes to
Shrewsbury for
the funeral but
arrives too late to
attend.
•1851 In March,
he takes oldest
daughter Annie to
Malvern where
she dies of fever
on 23 March,
aged ten.
•1859 Origin of
Species is published
in London on 24
November by John
Murray.
•1858 Baby Charles
dies of scarlet fever
on 28 June. Darwin
knows someone
else called Alfred
Russel Wallace who
has the same
theory has he does.
•1860 Publishes
2nd edition of
Origin. Foreign
editions appear.
Begins work on
Variation book.
•1862 Meets Alfred
Russel Wallace on his
return from Indonesia.
• 1863 Seriously ill,
consults many medical
men about his
symptoms. Ill health
continues until spring
1866.
•1867 Completes
Variation book.
•1876 During the
summer begins to
write
an autobiographic
memoir for his
children and future
grandchildren.
In September
Darwin’s first
grandchild is born
to Francis and Amy
Darwin. Amy dies
in childbirth.
•1871 Publishes The
Descent of Man, and
Selection in relation
to Sex. Daughter
Henrietta marries
Richard Litchfield
•1882 Dies 19 April,
aged seventythree. Buried in
Westminster Abbey,
26 April.
•1881 In August his
brother Erasmus
dies, and is buried
in Down churchyard.
Defends right of
scientists to
experiment on living
animals
Darwin found out about both natural selection and
diversity . With natural selection, Darwin said that
organisms with certain preexisting traits that favor it in
the environment are selected by nature for survival and
will pass on the characteristics to offspring. If an
organism is selected against or does not have an
advantage to survive in its environment, it will die out.
Diversity is the way an animal is different from others.
Darwin later went on a five-year trip stopping at
the Galápagos Islands on 15th September, 1835.
On the Galápagos Islands, Darwin was amazed
by the diversity of tortoises. Each tortoise had a
different characteristic from the one before that
helped it to survive better in its environment.
Some tortoises could grow to be as big as a VW
Beatle.
But the first conclusions of his evolution theory
came to Darwin when he saw the 13 types of
finches on all of the islands. With finches he
could see more clearly the characteristics that
helped each bird to survive in its environment.
While Darwin was on his voyage, he sent
reports and some fossils he had uncovered to
the scientists back in England.
When Darwin came back to England, he told
people about his theory, but many thought he
was mistaken. Then, in 1858, Darwin was
shocked to find out that a biologist called Alfred
Russell had developed the same theory he had
come up with.
Darwin then quickly finished the draft of a
book he was working on named The Origin of
Species Within Means of Natural Selection. It was a
bestseller.
Then in 1882 Darwin died. He is widely known
as the best biologist that ever lived.
Interesting facts
The name Galápagos came from the old Spanish
word “galapagos”
galapagos” meaning tortoise.
tortoise.
More than 600 volcanic eruptions have been
known to occur from 200 years ago until now
now..
One of the islands, Darwin, was named in honor of
the naturalist.
naturalist.
The poisonous apple tree called Manzanillo is from
the Galapagos Islands. Both the fruit and the sap
are poisonous.
poisonous.
The islands and their surroundings are a WHS (World
(World
Heritage Site).
Site).
Orcas can be seen hunting sperm whale.
whale.
There are thirteen species of Darwin’s finches endemic
to the island. The main characteristic that distinguishes
finches from other birds is that they have an especially
long beak.
Darwin was very hurt when he published his theory
theory.. The
Christian church didn’t believe him because they
thought God created them.
them. Darwin and his family
were very religious
religious.. The consequences were that
Darwin was sent out of the church.
church. This was a tragedy
for Darwin. But he demonstrated that he was right in his
theory..
theory
The End
By Jon, Xabier, Ivan, Jaime,
Jorge, and Borja
Bibliographies
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“The man who rocked biology to its core”.
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“Darwin In The Galápagos Islands.” Galápagos
Connection.
www.galapagosconnection.net/page_darwin.ht
ml 19/10/09.
“Darwin And Evolution.” Galápagos Geolygon
The Web.
www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/galapagoswww/d
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“Charles Darwin In The Galápagos.” Galapagos
Islands.
www.galapagosislands.com/html/darwin_s_visit
.html 19/10/09.
“Darwin’s Theory Of EvolutionEvolution-A Theory in Crisis.”
All About Science. http://www.darwins
http://www.darwins--theorytheory-ofofevolution.com/http://www.darwins--theoryevolution.com/http://www.darwins
theory-ofofevolution.com/ 2002
“Animals, Adaptation, and the GALAPAGOS
ISLANDS Discover with Darwin.”
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November, 2009
“The Galapagos Islands.” The Galapagos
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www.geographia.com/ecuador/galislands.htm..
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19/10/09
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