Santa Fe + South Plazas Island Day Tour

Puffinus subalaris is an endemic species for the Galapagos islands, since here is the only site where this seabird nest. It is a small bird with dark upper feathers and white underneath. They are gregarius, it means the live and fly in groups, usually you will see them sitting on the water or flying actively as an elusive extrategy near the cliffs, where they nest, especially in South Plaza. This behavior helps to distract their main predators (frigate birds or short-ear owl) to prevent of finding its nests.

The ancestor of the Galapagos iguanas arrived to the old Galapagos island about 8 to 10 million years ago. Some of them reach to islands without vegetation with the appropriate condition for the evolution of the marine iguana, since the only resource available were the algae. There are at least eleven subspecies of the marine iguana. Others arrived to island with vegetation, among these we have three species: the yellow iguana with 5 subpopulations, the pink iguana with a single population on Wolf Volcano in Isabela island and the pale iguana of Santa Fe island. Genetic studies had found that the pink iguana is closer related to the marine iguanas than to the others land iguanas.

There were several evidences (bones and nests) that Santa Fe was home for a unique species of giant tortoises. Apparently got extinct at the end of XVIII century. In 2018 the National Park took a decision to re-establish this ecosystem keystone species. proThe genetic analysis shown that the closer related species was Española tortoise. So once that the repatriation program was over, the baby tortoises from Española were sent to Santa Fe island. The tortoises had survey and checked carefully and they seem ok on this new environment. In the future, probably people can see some of this tortoises walkin near to the tourist site.

A lichen is a symbiotic association between a fungus and an algae. In Galapagos the scientist had describe at least 800 species of lichens. They grow in different subtracts like on tree barks, on rocks, or even on tortoises shells. A lichen that is particularly abundant on the top of the tree in the arid area of Santa Fe is Ochillia racemosa or “dyer moss” this was one of the main reasons for Ecuadorian government to claim the Galapagos as part of Ecuador territory in 1832, since this species was used to dyer cloth, the business didn't last long time, but the Galapagos remain as part of Ecuador.