How does the Galapagos Islands change the world?

The Galapagos Islands have a bizarre fauna with rare endemic animals of volcanic regions isolated on the Pacific Ocean. This is an archipelago of interest by many ecologists, and in the nineteenth century life on the islands itself was an essential testament to the widely influential study of Charles Darwin's species evolution.

Darwin (and some colleagues) had doubts about the nature of species formation many years earlier and strengthened his theory in later years, but the great fauna of Galapagos was the basic element. forming natural selection theory, forever changing biology and sparking many conflicts until today.

Separate islands make unique species

When the young English naturalist arrived in Galapagos on San Cristobal Island in 1835, he compared this hot and dusty land to hell, and was amazed by the strange animals that seemed not afraid of strangers.

It is of course, because the Galapagos wild life is almost no contact with humans, so there is no reason to be afraid.

When the Galapos were first discovered in 1535, animals on the island had thousands of years of adaptation to the conditions there. Located about 500 miles from the west coast of South America, the special conditions in this isolated archipelago created a population of species unlike anywhere else on earth, only slightly different from one island to another. For example, giant turtles become large because their small ancestors swim to this island area without evading any predators.

Creatures on pristine and mysterious Galapagos Island.(Photo: touriz)

Darwin observed the giant tortoise (and unfortunately he ate a lot of these creatures), crests, and sea lions on the Galapagos, but the diversity of birds here is what makes him special. attention.85% of birds in Galapagos cannot be found anywhere else, including finches.

Bird beaks develop from natural selection

Thirteen species of sparrows are endemic to the Galapagos Islands, they have a similar appearance except for their distinctive shape and size. With different mines, they can take advantage of special food sources on each island separately. Some eat like ant woods, some use beaks to dig from holes, and others eat ticks and parasites on turtles' backs.

In 1835, for more than five weeks Darwin had carefully observed strange birds on each island, but had not found anything special about evolution on Glapagos, different from what we thought.

By 1839, after comparing his notes with colleagues, Darwin's observation formed a theory with a name - natural selection. Each living organism that Darwin listed has adapted to its specific environment for generations because its ancestors have properties that are suitable for their own existence as well as their descendants.

The idea that animals develop gradually from simple to complex is not new - naturalists came up with this theory in the late 18th century - but 'how' the process of turning This change has made scientists unable to explain it. Natural selection, presented vividly on the Galapagos Shorts, has linked the missing points.

With the necessary basis available, Darwin continued to gather evidence to prove the point that his observations on the Galapagos Island could apply to all animals, including humans. Only 20 years later, did he feel secure enough to publish his work in 'Origin of Species'.