Scientists uncover fish species : Galapagos sharks’ evolution branched off 320 million years ago

From the Inside Bay Aera in the USA:

 

By Matt Krupnick, MEDIANEWS STAFF

It’s amazing what you find lying around the bottom of the ocean, as St. Mary’s College professor Douglas Long has discovered.

Long was part of a team of researchers who this year identified two new species of deep-sea fishes, unusual-looking sharks that set out on their own evolutionary path more than 320 million years ago.

The creatures — named the Galapagos and whitespot ghost sharks — were found more than 1,200 feet underwater near the Galapagos Islands in 1995, sucked through a vacuum tube into a research submarine. Long and his team spent more than a decade making sure they were new species before publishing their results in the journal Zootaxa in October and December.

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Scientists uncover fish species : Galapagos sharks’ evolution branched off 320 million years ago

Only in Galapagos (Excellent diving article)

Marine biologist Keith Hiscock visited the Galápagos islands in April to discover marine ecosystems that were unique to the islands and that can provide further understanding of biogeography and  evevolution.  

 

                            

Keith Hiscock is Programme Director of the Marine Life Information Network (MarLIN), part of the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth. For eleven years he ran the Marine Nature Conservation Review of Great Britain. Visiting other countries to view their marine biodiversity helps him to put the rich seas around Britain into perspective.

When Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos Islands in 1835 he collected information that would underpin his theory of evolution. He paid little attention to marine life apart from describing the remarkable marine iguanas and by bringing back specimens of 15 fish species – all new to science and five of which are now known to be found only in Galápagos. Now that scientists can dive around the islands, the peculiarity and fascination of the Galápagos underwater world is revealing its secrets – many of them of equal importance to our knowledge of the finches, tortoises and other well-known terrestrial species in demonstrating how life can become unique in such isolated and ancient locations.

As many as 18% of marine species living around the islands are only found (are ‘endemic’) in Galápagos. The fishes are probably the most thoroughly studied and, in a publication by Grove and Lavenberg (The Fishes of the Galápagos Islands, 1997), of the 460 species described, 11% were endemic to the islands. Compare that with Britain and Ireland where no marine fish species are endemic and there are 333 species known. Seaweeds are considered to have 23% endemism. The most recent count of marine species numbers in Galápagos suggests 3,000, compared to a recent count of 6,172 named species around the Marianas islands on the other side of the Pacific or 8,200 named species around Britain and Ireland. Surveys undertaken by staff of the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) together with visiting scientists have catalogued species from a substantial number of marine groups of organisms and have identified three distinctive biogeographic regions. The CDRS has now brought all existing information together into a 500-page report cataloguing marine biodiversity.

Latin America: The End of An Era

This overview article by Mark Weisbrot is forthcoming in the International Journal of Health Services.  It looks at Latin America’s political shift over the last several years. The author argues that these changes have largely been misunderstood and underestimated in the United States.

Report

 

América Latina: El Fin de una Era  

 Informe

Este artículo analítico por Mark Weisbrot será publicado en la próxima edición (Vol. 36, No. 4, 2006) de la revista académica, International Journal of Health Services (Revista Internacional de Servicios de Salud). El artículo presenta un análisis del viraje político de América Latina durante los últimos años. El autor sostiene que estos cambios han sido ampliamente mal comprendidos y subestimados acá en los Estados Unidos.

 

What Does Galapagos World Heritage Site Signify?

Many of us have heard or read about the famous and magical phrase “World Heritage Site,” but what does it mean? Living in Galapagos, I decided to ask around. I was surprised to learn that only a handful of people could adequately answer the question. The majority struggled to define the meaning of this phrase commonly used by officials, politicians, guides and tour operators. Looking for a comprehensive answer, I searched the World Heritage website for a more in depth explanation. Following is a synopsis of what I found.

1. Definition

Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritages are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration………

………..What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located……

(for the full text visit “About World Heritage”

2. The W.H. Committee

. . .The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties. It has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List.

(for the full text visit “The Committee”

What is Ecotourism

Having seen so many and different definitions of Ecotourism,  it was a bit confusing and I always felt that “something” was missing, until a friend of mine, Milena Frieden  a board member of NovaGalapagos, sent me the one from Martha Honey who is the Executive Director of  The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) and the Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development.

I particularly like the inclusion of “supports human rights and democratic movements”
 

“Sound ecotourism involves travel to natural destinations, minimizes impact, builds environmental awareness, provides direct financial benefits for conservation, provides financial benefits and empowerment for local people, respects local culture, and supports human rights and democratic movements.”

Too Mellow for our Predatory World

Max Planck Society, Press Release December 18th, 2006

Scientists examine flexibility in flight behaviour in marine iguanas on the Galápagos Islands

Photo Taken By Milena Frieden.  For more about Iguanas please check her blog at  http://milenagalapagos.wordpress.com

Galapagos : World Heritage Destinations Rated (National Geographic Traveler)

From National Geographic Traveler, USA:

Text by Jonathan B. Tourtellot

In 1973, when the U.S. became the first country to sign the World Heritage Convention, the idea was for global recognition to encourage protection of the world’s great natural and cultural sites. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) would administer the program, and nations could apply to have a site inscribed on a World Heritage List, if the site was protected and of “outstanding universal value.” Tourism traffic wasn’t even part of the equation.It is now. If you look at the destination as a whole—the site plus its neighboring region—tourism management can protect it, or degrade it, often more than any other factor.

More . . .

National Geographic Traveler