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Animales y Cambio de Cobertura/ Uso del Suelo:Una Evaluación mediante Teledetección en las Islas Galápagos

Foto: Alam Coss

Los ecosistemas de Galápagos están en constante transformación debido a la interacción entre procesos naturales, animales y actividades humanas. Esta investigación analiza cómo distintas especies, tanto nativas como introducidas, influyen en el paisaje de las islas a través de sus movimientos, hábitos de alimentación y comportamiento, y cómo estos cambios se pueden observar con herramientas digitales de monitoreo ambiental.

El objetivo de este estudio es comprender de qué manera los animales como tortugas gigantes, iguanas, aves, cabras y roedores contribuyen a modificar la vegetación y el uso del suelo, y al mismo tiempo evaluar cómo estas transformaciones están vinculadas a factores humanos como agricultura, urbanización e invasiones biológicas. La investigación busca generar información que oriente acciones de conservación basadas en evidencia.

Para estudiar estos procesos, se integraron imágenes satelitales, drones, cámaras trampa, monitoreo acústico y GPS. Estas herramientas permitieron observar que los animales actúan como agentes de cambio: tortugas dispersan semillas y crean senderos, iguanas reducen vegetación leñosa, aves fertilizan el suelo y cabras e invasores como ratas alteran drásticamente los ecosistemas. Además, se detectó que la actividad humana fragmenta hábitats y modifica rutas de movimiento de especies.

Foto: Andrew Russell

Los resultados muestran que la fauna, el paisaje y la actividad humana están estrechamente interconectadas. Comprender estas relaciones es fundamental para planificar la conservación en Galápagos. El uso de tecnologías de monitoreo remoto aporta datos precisos y continuos, esenciales para restaurar áreas afectadas, manejar especies invasoras y tomar decisiones de manejo ambiental informadas y sostenidas en el tiempo.

Lee el articulo completo aquí: 

https://surl.lu/pbxvoz

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In 2022, the Galapagos Science Center (GSC) and the broader UNC & USFQ Galapagos Initiative will celebrate its 10th Anniversary. We are proud to announce the World Summit on Island Sustainability scheduled to be held on June 26–30, 2022 at the Galapagos Science Center and the Community Convention Center on San Cristobal Island.

The content of the World Summit will be distributed globally through social media and results documented through papers published in a book written as part of the Galapagos Book Series by Springer Nature and edited by Steve Walsh (UNC) & Carlos Mena (USFQ) as well as Jill Stewart (UNC) and Juan Pablo Muñoz (GSC/USC). The book will be inclusive and accessible by the broader island community including scientists, managers, residents, tourists, and government and non-government organizations.

While the most obvious goal of organizing the World Summit on Island Sustainability is to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the GSC and the UNC-USFQ Galapagos Initiative, other goals will be addressed through special opportunities created as part of our operational planning of the World Summit.

For instance, we seek to elevate and highlight the Galapagos in the island conservation discourse, seeking to interact with other island networks in more obvious and conspicuous ways to benefit the Galapagos Islands, the UNC-USFQ Galapagos Initiative, and the world. We will seize the opportunity to further develop the I2N2 – International Islands Network-of-Networks. Further, we wish to highlight and emphasize multiple visions of a sustainable future for the Galapagos Islands and we cannot do this alone. Therefore, engaging the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Tourism, the Government Council of Galapagos, the Galapagos National Park, and local Galapagos authorities, including government and non-government organizations and local citizen groups, is imperative.

The Galapagos Science Center on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos

Borrowing from Hawaii’s and Guam’s Green Growth Program and the Global Island Partnership, we wish to examine existing global programs that emphasize island sustainability and their incorporation into life, policies, and circumstances in the Galapagos Islands. We will also seek to enhance our connections with the institutional members of our International Galapagos Science Consortium and expand the Consortium through the recruitment of other member institutions. We will also work to benefit islands and their local communities by working with citizen groups as well as important NGOs who seek to improve the natural conditions in the Galapagos and diminish the impact of the human dimension on the future of Galapagos’ ecosystems.

Lastly, we will use the World Summit to benefit UNC & USFQ and our constituencies through a strong and vibrant communication plan about the World Summit, creating corporate relationships as sponsors, identifying funding goals through donors, and benefiting our study abroad program for student engagement in the Galapagos Islands. We plan to develop and issue a Galapagos Sustainability Communique after the World Summit that includes the vision and insights of all its participants for a sustainable Galapagos with applicability to global island settings.

We are eager to hear your perspective and have you join us at the World Summit on Island Sustainability!