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Galapagos Islands Marine Reserve, Ecuador
Locator map
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Site map
Click on map for larger view
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| Site Overview |
General description of site: In Galapagos, the land and sea are
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| Photo credit: Galapagos National Park Service |
interlinked and have particularly close relationships, making it an exceptional oceanic archipelago for the world. In order to survive, virtually all species living in and around Galapagos depend on the sea. Even highland communities of plants and animals utilize nutrients released as droppings by marine birds returning to nest. The highly productive coastal waters thus support a food chain that extents not only from plankton to sharks and whales, but also to land plants, insects and birds. Galapagos sits on the equator but also lies in the path of cool nutrient rich currents, a combination that separates it apart from all other major island groups. Here corals, manta rays and other plants and animals typical of tropical seas share islands with penguins, fur seals and cool water species.
Date of establishment: 1998
Area (Km2): 135,000
Size of site (S <= 20Km2; M = 20 - 2000Km2; L >= 2000Km2): Large
Ecosystem type/main ecological features: Upwelling, volcanic origin
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| Photo credit: Galapagos National Park Service |
Description of special resources; important ecological features; reason for establishing a protected area:
- The cool and warm current systems, coupled with a great variety of underwater landscapes that include ”bajos’, underwater volcanos that rise hundreds of meters to near the sea surface, promotes an exceptional diversity of species, including sponges, corals, anemones, gorgonians, shrimps, conchs, and starfish. The smaller animals provide food for the larger species of fishes, seabirds, dolphins, sea lions and whales.
- In addition to providing home to a range of animals from Pacific, South American and Central American regions, a surprisingly high number of species are restricted to the Galapagos, including the marine iguana, the only sea going lizard in the world. This reptile lives on rocky coasts, feeding on seaweed, and can remain underwater for up to 45 minutes.
- Extending along the shores of many islands, one finds forests of mangroves of four species: red, black, white and button. A rich concentration of nutrients and plankton flows in and out with the tides, making mangrove forests important breeding and nursery grounds for fishes and invertebrates. They are also used as nesting sites by many birds.
- Although appearing at first glance devoid of life, Galapagos beaches are also utilized by a number of species, ranging from microscopic plants living amongst sand grains to sea lions. They also provide the main nesting sites for green sea turtles, and endangered species, in the western pacific.
- The open ocean in the tropics typically has little productivity, however deep nutrient rich currents moving east across the Pacific strike Galapagos islands and ”bajos’ and rise to the sea surface, creating important feeding zones for marine mammals. Dolphins, orcas, and blue and humpback whales are some of the 24 species of cetacean known to visit this refuge for feeding and mating.
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| Location Information |
Geographic coordinates (lat/long):
2 S - 2N Latitude, 89 - 92W Longitude
Nearest major city: Guayaquil
Region: Tropical/arid
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| Goals and Accomplishments |
Goals and objectives of MPA:
- Goal: to protect and conserve the marine and coastal ecosystem of the archipelago and its biodiversity for the benefit of humans, local, populations, science and education.
Site accomplishments to date:
- Stakeholder participation and understanding of the administration system
- Provisional zoning
- Mid term fishing calendar
- Specific regulations for lobster fisheries
- National and international recognition
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| Site Management |
Management objective: Multiple
Type of management structure: Co-management
- Main principles for management: participation, adaptive and precautionary management;
- Defines human uses;
- Administration of marine reserves: defines responsibilities;
- Considers a zoning system;
- Establishes regulations; and
- Describes programs for management and administration
Main stakeholders involved:
- Fishing sector
- Tourism Sector
- Naturalist Guides
- Charles Darwin Research Station staff
- Galapagos National Park Service staff
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Other Site Evaluations and Research
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Description of any other site evaluations to date: An evaluation of the participatory management system was done on 2001.
Listing of current/recent research activities: Chlorophyll analysis and studies in these fields: marine mammals, sea cucumber, lobster, whale sharks, fish larvae, fishes, currents, marine iguanas, and corals.
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| Contact Information and Web Links |
Main Contact Information:
Pablo Guerrero
Biologist & Head of the Galapagos National Marine Park Resources Unit Park, in charge of the Galapagos Marine Reserve
Galapagos National Park, Puerto Ayora
Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos, Ecuador
Ph: + 593 05 526511 x127
Fax: + 593 05 526190
e-mail: pguerrero@spng.org.ec or
rmg@spng.org.ec
Other Contact(s) Information:
Eliécer Cruz
GNPS Director
e-mail: ecruz@spng.org.ec
Mauricio Velásquez
Scientific Projects Coordinator
e-mail: Velasqu1@spng.org.ec
Washington Tapia
Head of the Technical Department
e-mail: wtapia@spng.org.ec
Link to pilot site Web page or related Web pages:
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