BRAINCAKEManaging Environmentally Sensitive Ecosystems - Galapagos
The Galapagos Islands are volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, about 1000 km west of Ecuador. Because they are isolated, many species are endemic (found nowhere else), including giant tortoises, marine iguanas, flightless cormorants and Darwin's finches. The islands are an environmentally sensitive ecosystem: the small populations of endemic species are easily harmed.
Threats:
• introduced species: goats eat the vegetation that tortoises and iguanas need; rats and cats eat eggs and young; introduced plants such as blackberry outcompete native plants
• a growing human population and increasing tourism, bringing demand for water, land and fuel, and pollution
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All 17 lessons in Populations and Sustainability · All OCR A-level Biology topics