Hola from Galapagos!
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| A marine iguana 5 minutes away from our cabins |
Nugget of Knowledge for the Day – The Galapagos acquired its name from the word galápago,
the Spanish word for a cleated saddle. The Spanish named these islands "Galapagos" around 1600 due to the famed giant tortoises and their shells that resembled a cleated saddle.
Research Interests
Our research is really taking off! We have been in the field for the past several days, and are looking forward to continuing through it again this week. To recap, we are here assessing the effects
of ecotourism and its potential impacts on the marine iguana populations.
Specifically, we’re looking at the balance of energy between immunity and
reproduction. Take a brief moment to think about this - how would you
address the impacts of tourism on a population of animals? What types of things
would you look for and what kinds of questions would you ask? How many animals
would you need for your study? Would you need to sample these animals from locations with and without
tourists? For us, we are taking a multi-faceted approach to try and answer our
question. I’ll share a bit of insight into how we’re doing this.
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| Field science = lots of field stuff |
First, there was a need for research that was originally
identified by the head scientist on this project, Dr. Susannah French. Dr.
French is a physiologist at Utah State University and focuses on how certain
organisms balance energy demands between immunity and reproduction. Animals in the
wild – and many populations of people as well – have limited amounts of
necessary resources (e.g. food, water, shelter, and space). They must take
action based on the potential for risk and success, life and death, and how
much energy is worth expending for a particular task. She looks at how animals
balance the limited amounts of energy they gain from some of these resources, primarily in terms of immunity and reproductive success…here is why.
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| Massing marine iguanas and recording data in the field |
First, if an animal doesn’t have a well-supported immune
system, they may easily get sick, potentially catch an infection, and may not be able
to ward off those microscopic invaders.
Similarly for you, if you are stressed out, not getting enough to eat or drink,
or are having consistent stressful events occur in your life, what tends to
happen? You get sick! Secondly, if an animal cannot be reproductively
successful given their environmental constraints, their genes will not be passed
on to the next generation – and that’s the name of the life game.
Without the necessary energy to support these two life
functions, or with the presence of something that negatively impacts the ability to perform or
allocate energy to these life functions, many animals would simply not make it,
while others would be forced to adapt. It is this last piece of the puzzle that
our team is interested in; does ecotourism impact the ability of marine iguanas
to have an effective immune system and successfully reproduce? Are these
animals evolutionarily adapting to potential stressors caused by the ecotourism
industry? Do these adaptations have other potential effects?
We have constructed our hypotheses based on strong previous
evidence. Once more, our hypotheses are (1)
increasing intensities of ecotourism will result in increasing effects on immunity and reproduction, and (2) detrimental effects on immunity and reproduction are
in part a result of altered energy acquisition and energy state.
Take a second to
think about these two measures. How would you measure the success of an
animal’s immune system? How would you work towards addressing how
reproductively successful an animal is and if it has changed due to a potential
stressor? How could you test these questions in the field and in a lab? I’ll have more
insight to this in the coming days!
As I mentioned above, our research has finally been under way. For the
first two days (Saturday and Sunday) the science and fieldwork went much better
than expected. However, the first day was a bit tough. As with most scientific
field research, our team had to get into the groove by assigning specific tasks to people and figuring out the best flow and order for those tasks - especially when we all haven't worked together as a team before this trip. To
help you get a better picture of what kind of work we are doing in the field,
here is a layout of the tasks being done every morning.
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| Buenas noches from Galapagos |
Our jobs were a) iguana capturer and first round bleeder
(these people captured the iguana, took the initial, pre-stress blood sample
from the base of the tail, and put it in a bag for 30 minutes) b) timer and
note-taker (this person kept everyone on track, ensured that everyone was doing
the correct tasks on time, and also recorded field data) c) biopsy-taker and
marker (these people took a small skin punch from each lizard and sewed a
unique string of beads to the base of one spine) d) second round bleeders
(these people took a final, post-stress blood sample from the base of the tail)
e) ultrasound technician and tick checker (these people used a field
ultrasound to check for the presence and number of eggs, as well as counted the
number of ticks on the each animal's body) and f) iguana releaser (this
individual walked the lizards back to their place of capture and released
them). Between the 5-6 of us, the excitement of working with these amazing
lizards and the pressure of time, we became a well-oiled machine in no time.
We are all sunburned, tired, travelling constantly, and have no end in sight – but
we are more excited than ever. Looking forward to sharing more with you in the
days to come! As always, leave comments and ask questions!
what kind of sicknesses do marine iguanas get
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of different sicknesses that marine iguanas can catch. There is a recently introduced mosquito to the Galapagos that carries a form of Malaria that can be transmitted to reptiles. They can get ticks, bacterial infections, and many other sickness. Since they swim out into the water to get their food, and often engage in combat with each other, they can acquire lacerations on their bodies that may become infection. They've got a lot to deal with!
Deletewhat is the most interesting thing you have found out about the iguanas? are they endangered?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think one of the most interesting things has been the difference in sizes between iguanas on different islands. On the island of Santa Fe, the (what we think were) adult males were very small, and tended to look like females. While here on Isabela, the adult males get close to 4-4.5 feet. They're huge! It's an interesting observation to think about. They are not endangered, and number in the thousands on the islands, however they are only found here on the Galapagos, and because of the agreement with the park service, they are protected.
DeleteYour research sounds very interesting! This is the only post I've read, and yet I can't wait to learn more about this exotic iguana. Everything you're doing sounds like an adventure fit for an Indiana Jones movie, minus the archeology ;) I just have one question--what measures do you take to make sure your research itself doesn't harm the Galapagos?
ReplyDeleteThank you! We all think it is very interesting as well. And our trip is full of adventures. Just today, we went exploring in one of the ocean pools and swam with a sea turtle and a playful sea lion! We also hiked up to 2 miles down the ocean shore today to find a colony of almost 100 iguanas.
DeleteAs far as the measures, this is a great question!! As members of a research team, we must ensure that our science is as safe to the environment, the model organism, and the surrounding community as possible. When writing the original grant, it went through a review process that was looked at by many individuals to ensure that the science was sound and safe. We also ensure to take the best care of the animals while they are in our care. Animals are always released at the point of capture, we always make sure to pick up our trash and belongings (and leave no trace), and make sure to educate locals about what we're doing if we are approached.
All this stuff looks really cool and looks like it's fun there! It's interesting that you've gathered all this information! hope you are having a good time filled with a lot of information!
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking for quite some time about the science opportunities on this island. Have you got to dissect any of them? This research is really benefitting humanity for the good of all men. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy you're thinking about this. We are not dissecting any of them, as our questions can be informed by simply taking blood samples, morphometric data (svl, tail length and girth), and egg count.
DeleteWhether or not this is benefitting humanity is another argument entirely. Many scientists have that vision and idea of their work. However, we must remember that most research benefits a particular group of people, and not others. While some people value the work, others may not and may actually be harmed by it. We must keep our values and ideas and beleif in rational thought in check as we do research, and remember that our research serves a purpose, but doesn't benefit all of mankind.
So if the iguana's immune system isnt working good then would they die?
ReplyDeleteRead this post more thoroughly for some potential answers. Think about how this relates to our research.
DeleteDuring our skype call, you mentioned how you took skin samples. Wouldn't the saltwater in the ocean sting the Iguanas?
ReplyDeleteIndeed we took skin samples, not to look at the removed skin, but to instead look at the ability of the marine iguana to heal that wound. Salt water is a great cleaning agent, and is used by many people to wash out and clean wounds. When I was a kid, my father would have me wash my mouth out wish salt water after loosing a tooth to cleanse the exposed area. For wildlife, this is no different. It may sting the iguanas slightly, but my guess would be not very much. Since the wound was very, very small (only 3 mm in diameter), they have bigger things to worry about. We found iguanas with missing limbs, terrible scars, shortened tails, and even bones of long dead lizards. This gives our method meaning (in the sense that they are constantly exposed to things that can injour them) but also shows that, in the grand scheme of things, a small, circular incision is very minimal.
DeleteI didn't know that the Iguanas could get sick because of there environment.
ReplyDelete