An iguana species that has been extinct for almost 200 years on the Galapagos Islands have made a comeback with the help of a team of conservationists. Charles Darwin was the last to spot the Galapagos land iguana in 1835. When a team of expeditionists from California came to the Santiago Islands, Ecuador, in 1906, the iguanas were nowhere to be found.
Although the iguana species are still found on other Galapagos Islands, they are believed to be extinct in Santiago for over 187 years, until now.
Reintroducing the Galapagos Land Iguanas to the Santiago Island
In late July, a team of park rangers and scientists discovered new lizards in various life stages while walking on the island. This suggests that the species has been reintroduced to the islands successfully. Jorge Carrio, the director of conservation at the Galapagos Conservancy, the island's ecosystem is thriving as a result.
Carrion explains that seeing lizards from different ages across unmarked specimens can only mean that the iguanas are breeding in their new environment.
Before joining the Galapagos Conservancy, he wired for the Galapagos National Park Directorate, caretakers of the ecosystem and resources f the island. The GNP is also an authority spearheading the reintroduction project of the iguanas, with funding and assistance from the conservancy.
According to carrion, the collaborative project has released more than 3,000 land iguanas since January 2019, reports NPR.
Conservationists decided to reintroduce the iguana species after considering how its return would affect the island's ecosystem. The lizards are known as engineering species, like the giant tortoises of the Galapagos, in that they play a vital role in maintaining the ecosystem's overall balance.
As the primary herbivores on the islands, the land iguanas and tortoises spread seeds across the Galapagos landscape and help model the plant communities. Their movement patterns create open spaces used by other species.
Carrion explains that this kind of species is critical for ecosystems. In the case of the land iguanas, it was the justification for the reintroduction. He adds that when engineer species are no longer present, the ecosystem gets thrown out of balance.
Extinction of Galapagos Land Iguanas
Experts believed that the Galapagos land iguanas were initially wiped out by invasive species like feral pigs, goats, cats, and donkeys. These unwelcomed animals were introduced to the islands by whalers and other mariners. They wreaked havoc on the island's ecosystem, devouring plants that other species rely on and some even devouring the iguanas.
This is the main reason why experts had to rid the island free of non-native animals before any reintroduction could be started. This was accomplished over a nine-year Galapagos Conservancy's Project Isabela program, completed in 2006.
Carrion explains that he and his colleagues learned a valuable lesson from the reintroduction of the land iguanas: if the source of the ecological disturbance is an invasive species, in this case, the ecosystem can return to its natural dynamic.
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