Photo: Hammerheads Darwin Jonathan
The laboratory integrates research, education, and community engagement through an interdisciplinary approach. It aims to strengthen surveillance, diagnostics, monitoring, and conservation efforts in the Galapagos under the “One Health” framework, which promotes the health of people, animals, and ecosystems.
Additionally, this laboratory’s mission is to advance scientific research management and enhance the response to wildlife health emergencies on San Cristóbal Island and, when necessary, across the Galapagos archipelago.
One Health in Action
Photo: Andrew Russell
This project will position USFQ–GSC as a key strategic partner of the Galapagos National Park Directorate, ensuring that all laboratory activities adhere to the highest technical standards, rigorous biosafety protocols, and full compliance with current environmental and sanitary regulations. This lab operation focuses on two main areas:
Histopathology Laboratory: In this area, biological samples (including formalin-fixed tissues, blood, serum, and cytological smears) will be processed and analyzed for histological, hematological, and biochemical diagnostics.
Necropsy Laboratory: This area will support post-mortem examinations of species such as birds, fish, reptiles, mammals, and invertebrates, using standardized necropsy procedures and sample collection for further analyses.
The infrastructure includes specialized equipment, air extraction and filtration systems with HEPA filters, wastewater management through biofilters, an inspection chamber for wastewater control, and UV lights for sterilization and disinfection of the space, as well as supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) that will ensure the safety of procedures and personnel.
In the future, the laboratory is expected to incorporate equipment for histopathological analysis, including a tissue processor, paraffin embedding station, microtome, staining equipment, and a microscope with a camera, in
addition to appropriate safety and storage systems.
This laboratory will become a strategic resource for the conservation of Galapagos biodiversity, strengthening diagnostic capacity, response to health emergencies, and the connection between scientific research and wildlife
management.
Photo:
Photo: Karina Vivanco
Join Our Mission
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.
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!