Abstract
Although still in relatively good condition, the Gala´pagos Archipelago suffers from increasing human pressures. Apart from direct actions like hunting and logging, endemic plants and animals are threatened by introduced species, and in many cases the present status of the populations is not known. The conservation status of eight plant species considered endangered was studied from literature and field surveys and the main threats were determined. Each of the eight species is endemic to only one island but in some cases is also present on nearby islets. Of these eight species, one is considered extinct, one critically endangered, and the others suffer various levels of threat. As in all island systems of the world, the main threats are introduced organisms, both plants and animals. The extinct species probably disappeared owing to invasion by Lantana camara, one of the most aggressively invasive plants of the islands, and the most endangered species is threatened by goats. The remaining species seem to be regenerating well and we can expect positive results from protection efforts. Today, only one of the eight species benefits from a direct protection action.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adsersen, H. (1980) Revision of the Galá pagos endemic genus Lecocarpus (Asteraceae). Botanical Tidsskrift 75, 63–76.
Adsersen, H. (1989) The rare plants of the Galá pagos Islands and their conservation. Biol. Cons. 47, 49–77.
Adsersen, H. (1990) Intra archipelago distribution patterns of vascular plants in Galá pagos. In Botanical Research and Management in Galápagos (J.E. Lawesson, O. Hamann, G. Rogers and H. Ochoa, eds) pp. 67–78. Monography in Systematic and Botany of the Missouri Botanical Garden number 32.
Batianoff, G.N. and Burgess, R. (1993) Problems in the documentation of rare plants-the Australian experience. Biodiv. let. 1, 168–71.
Brockie, R.E., Loope, L.L., Usher, M.B. and Hamann, O. (1988) Biological invasions of island nature reserves. Biol. Conserv. 44, 9–36.
Eliasson, U. (1968) Studies in Galá pagos plants VII. On some new or otherwise noteworthy plants from the archipelago. Botaniska Notiser 121, 630–40.
Eliasson, U. (1974) Studies in Galá pagos plants XIV. The genus Scalesia. Opera Botanica 36, 1–117.
Grant, P.R. (1986) Ecology and Evolution of Darwin's Finches. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Hamann, O. (1979) Regeneration of vegetation on Santa Fé and Pinta islands, Galápagos, after the eradication of goats. Biol. Conserv. 15, 215–36.
Hamann, O. and Wium-Andersen, S. (1984) Scalesia gordilloi sp.nov. (Asteraceae) from the Galápagos islands, Ecuador. Nordic J. Bot. 6, 35–8.
Harris, M.P. (1984) The seabirds. In Key Environments. Galápagos (R. Perry, ed.) pp. 191–206. Pergamon Press, Oxford.
Hoeck, H.N. (1984) Introduced fauna. In Key Environments. Galápagos (R. Perry, ed.) pp. 233–45. Pergamon Press, Oxford.
Hooker, J.D. (1847) On the vegetation of the Galá pagos archipelago, as compared with that of some other tropical islands and of the continent of America. Transactions of the Linnean Society 20, 235–67.
IUCN (1994) IUCN red list categories. Prepared by the IUCN Species Survival Commission. Gland, Switzerland.
Lawesson, J.E., Adsersen, H. and Bentley, P. (1987) An Updated and Annotated Check List of the Vascular Plants of the Galá pagos Islands. Reports from the Botanical Institute, University of Aarhus, No. 16. 74 pp.
Lawesson, J.E. (1990) Threatened plant species and priority plant conservation sites in the Galápagos islands. In Botanical Research and Management in Galápagos (J.E. Lawesson, O. Hamann, G. Rogers and H. Ochoa, eds) pp. 153–68. Monograph in Systematic and Botany of the Missouri Botanical Garden Number 32.
Loope, L.L., Hamann, O. and Stone, C.P. (1988) Comparative conservation biology of oceanic archipelagos. Hawaii and the Galá pagos. BioScience 38, 272–82.
MacDonald, I.A.W., Thébaud, C., Strahm, W.A. and Strasberg, D. (1991) Effects of alien plant invasions on native vegetation remnants on La Réunion (Mascarene islands, Indian Ocean). Environ. Conserv. 18, 51–61.
Mauchamp, A. (1997) Threats from alien plant species in the Galá pagos Islands. Conservation Biology, 11, 260–263.
McBirney, A.R. and Williams, H. (1969) Geology and Petrology of the Galápagos Islands. The Geological Society of America, memoir 118.
McMullen, C.K. (1987) Breeding systems of selected Galá pagos islands angiosperms American J. Bot. 74, 1694–705.
North, S.G., Bullock, D.J. and Dulloo, M.E. (1994) Changes in the vegetation and reptile populations on round island, Mauritius, following eradication of rabbits. Biol. Cons. 67, 21–8.
Parkes, J.P. (1990) Eradication of feral goats on islands and habitat islands. J. Royal Soc. New Zealand 20, 297–304.
Pimm, S.L. (1987) Determining the effect of introduced species. TREE 4, 106–8.
Porter, D.M. (1976) Geography and dispersal of Galá pagos islands vascular flora. Nature 264, 745–6.
Schofield, E.K. (1989) Effects of introduced plants and animals on island vegetation: examples from the Galá pagos archipelago. Cons. Biol. 3, 227–38.
Simberloff, D. (1995) Why do introduced species appear to devastate islands more than mainland areas? Pacific Sci. 49, 87–97.
Snell, H.M., Stone, P.A. and Snell, H.L. (1996) A summary of geographical characteristics of the Galá pagos islands. J. Biogeography 23, 619–624.
Soulé, M.E. (ed.) (1987) Viable Populations for Conservation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Stone, C.P. and Stone, D.B. (eds) (1989) Conservation Biology in Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Stuessy, T.F., Marticorena, C., Rodriguez, R., Crawford, D.J. and Silva, O.M. (1991) Endemism in the vascular flora of the Juan Fernandez Islands. Aliso 13, 297–307.
Towns, D.R., Daugherty, C.H. and Atkinson, I.A.E. (eds) (1990) Ecological Restoration of New Zealand Islands. Conservation sciences publication 2, Wellington, New Zealand.
Tye, A. (1997) Rediscovery of an “extinct” endemic plant-the Floreana flax linum cratericola. Noticias de Galápagos 58, 3–4.
Wagner, W.L., Herbst, D.R. and Sohmer, S.H. (1990) Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press and Bishop Museum Press (Special publication 83).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mauchamp, A., Aldaz, I., Ortiz, E. et al. Threatened species, a re-evaluation of the status of eight endemic plants of the Gala´pagos. Biodiversity and Conservation 7, 97–107 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008863814027
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008863814027