Galapagos

Summary

This script recounts a personal journey to the Galapagos Islands, a place renowned for its role in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The traveler shares experiences from Quito to various islands, highlighting the unique wildlife, such as the flightless cormorant, marine iguanas, and the famous Galapagos tortoise. The narrative emphasizes the diverse endemic species and their adaptations, illustrating the principles of evolution in action. The script also touches on conservation efforts and the impact of human presence on these delicate ecosystems.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The Galapagos Islands are part of Ecuador and are famous for their role in the study of evolution, particularly associated with Charles Darwin.
• 🎂 The narrator visited the Galapagos Islands as a 50th birthday gift to themselves, highlighting the islands' significance in biology and evolution.
• 📍 The script provides a geographical context, showing the location of the Galapagos Islands in relation to South America and Ecuador.
• 🏞 The islands are known for their unique and endemic species, which have evolved in isolation due to the archipelago's remote location.
• 🐦 The narrator has a passion for birdwatching and details the high bird species density in the area, aiming to document 365 bird species in a year.
• 🌳 The cloud forest is described as a habitat with the highest bird species density in the world, contributing to the biodiversity mentioned.
• 🕊 The script mentions the variety of bird species observed, including the Masked Trogon, Collared Sparrow, and Toucan Barbet, among others.
• 🐢 The Galapagos Tortoise is highlighted as a prime example of evolution, with different shell shapes adapted to the food sources available on different islands.
• 🦅 The Galapagos Hawk and Marine Iguanas are mentioned, with the latter being linked to the inspiration for Godzilla due to their appearance.
• 🐧 The presence of the Galapagos Penguin, the only penguin species found north of the equator, is noted, emphasizing the islands' unique wildlife.
• 🦈 The script describes interactions with sea lions and various bird species, showcasing the lack of fear these animals have of humans due to their isolation.

Q & A

What was the speaker's significant personal event at the age of 50 that involved the Galapagos Islands?

The speaker's significant personal event at the age of 50 was a trip to the Galapagos Islands as a gift to themselves to experience the place central to the study of evolution and Charles Darwin's work.

What is the location of the Galapagos Islands in relation to South America and Ecuador?

The Galapagos Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Ecuador in South America, and are part of the country.

What unique feature of Quito did the speaker observe during their visit?

The speaker observed that Quito is a very populated city that is spread out in a valley between mountains, and they experienced a weekly tradition where the president of Ecuador comes out to address the public.

Why were guinea pigs considered a delicacy in Quito according to the speaker's experience?

The speaker learned that guinea pigs, which might be considered 'icky' to eat in other cultures, are a traditional delicacy in Quito, and they even paid a dollar to take a picture of the guinea pigs being sold by local women.

What is special about the bird species density in the cloud forest the speaker visited?

The cloud forest visited by the speaker has the highest bird species density in the world, with hundreds of different bird species.

What unique behavior did the speaker observe in lava lizards on the Galapagos Islands?

The lava lizards on the Galapagos Islands have unique mating rituals involving push-ups performed by the males to impress the females, and this behavior varies among different species on different islands.

Why are the sally lightfoot crabs' bright colors an evolutionary advantage in the Galapagos Islands?

The bright colors of the sally lightfoot crabs are an evolutionary advantage in the Galapagos Islands because they have no predators, allowing them to evolve such conspicuous colors that are beneficial for mating.

What is the significance of Darwin's finches and mockingbirds in the theory of evolution?

Darwin's finches and mockingbirds are significant in the theory of evolution because they exhibit different beak shapes adapted to the food sources available on their respective islands, demonstrating natural selection and adaptation.

Why are the Galapagos Islands important for the study of evolution?

The Galapagos Islands are important for the study of evolution because they host many endemic species that have evolved in isolation, providing a natural laboratory for observing evolutionary processes.

What is the impact of human activities on the Galapagos Islands as mentioned in the script?

Human activities, such as tourism and the introduction of non-native species like goats, have threatened the native species of the Galapagos Islands, leading to habitat destruction and the endangerment of endemic species.

What is the significance of the Galapagos tortoise in the context of evolution?

The Galapagos tortoise is significant in the context of evolution because different subspecies on different islands have evolved different shell shapes based on the availability of food sources, illustrating the principle of natural selection.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Adventure to the Galapagos Islands

The speaker embarks on a personal journey to the Galapagos Islands, inspired by Charles Darwin's work on evolution. They provide a geographical context, explaining that the islands are part of Ecuador and located along the equator. The speaker shares initial experiences in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, including city sights, local cuisine, and a unique encounter with guinea pigs as a delicacy. They also mention a visit to a cloud forest renowned for its high bird species density, expressing excitement about the potential to observe and photograph a variety of bird species.

05:02

🐦 Exploring Biodiversity in Ecuador

The narrative continues with the speaker's experiences in Ecuador's cloud forest, where they successfully photograph various bird species, such as the cinnamon flycatcher, the mask trogon, and the toucan barbet. They describe the unique behaviors of these birds, particularly the nocturnal habits of one bird that resembles a 'muppet.' The speaker also recounts their birdwatching efforts, aiming to document 365 bird species in a year, and shares the thrill of reaching their 300th bird sighting in the cloud forest.

10:04

🌋 The Wonders of the Galapagos Islands

The speaker's adventure takes them to the Galapagos Islands, where they discuss the islands' unique wildlife, including endemic species that have evolved in isolation. They mention the islands' volcanic nature and the Pope's visit to promote nature preservation amidst threats to the islands' ecosystem. The speaker observes a variety of animals, such as flamingos, herons, and Sally lightfoot crabs, and describes the mating rituals of lava lizards, highlighting the lack of fear these creatures have towards humans.

15:04

🐦 A Close Encounter with Galapagos' Birds

The speaker provides a detailed account of the various bird species found in the Galapagos, including the Nazca booby, the red-footed booby, and frigate birds. They describe the boobies' nesting habits and the frigate birds' unique feeding behavior, which involves stealing food from other birds. The speaker also recounts an amusing incident with a lava lizard during mating, which was interrupted by their presence.

20:05

🐠 Darwin's Finches and the Galapagos' Unique Wildlife

The speaker discusses Darwin's finches, which played a significant role in the development of the theory of evolution, and clarifies a common misconception that Darwin collected finches from the islands. They also talk about the mockingbirds of the Galapagos and use them to explain the concept of natural selection through an example involving berry-eating birds. The speaker shares their observations of other unique species, such as the flightless cormorant, the Galapagos hawk, and marine iguanas.

25:06

🐢 The Legacy of Lonesome George and the Galapagos Tortoises

The speaker focuses on the Galapagos tortoises, providing insights into their evolutionary adaptations based on food availability on different islands. They mention the impact of whaling activities and the introduction of goats on the tortoises' population, leading to near extinction. The story of Lonesome George, the last of his species, is highlighted, along with efforts to preserve the tortoises in reserves. The speaker also shares anecdotes of tortoises' behavior in these reserves.

🦈 Diverse Marine Life and the Conclusion of the Journey

The final paragraph covers the speaker's experiences with marine life, including encounters with sea turtles, blue-footed boobies, and various shark species during snorkeling and scuba diving activities. They also mention the playful behavior of sea lions and provide an overview of the trip's scenic beauty. The speaker concludes by offering the video script for educational purposes, with the possibility of extra credit for students who watch and summarize it.

Keywords

💡Evolution

Evolution refers to the process by which different kinds of living organisms develop and diversify from earlier forms during the history of the Earth. In the video's theme, it is central as it discusses the Galapagos Islands, which are renowned for their role in Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Darwin's observations of the unique species on these islands contributed significantly to his development of the theory of natural selection.

💡Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands famous for their unique ecosystems and biodiversity. They are part of Ecuador and are known for their endemic species, which have evolved in isolation. The script describes a visit to these islands, highlighting the distinctive wildlife that exemplifies evolutionary principles.

💡Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. His book, 'On the Origin of Species,' laid the foundation for evolutionary studies. The video script mentions Darwin in the context of his visit to the Galapagos Islands, which significantly influenced his theory of evolution by natural selection.

💡Endemic Species

Endemic species are those whose natural habitat is confined to a specific geographic area, known as an endemic region. In the video, the script discusses various endemic species of the Galapagos Islands, such as the Galapagos tortoise and the flightless cormorant, which have evolved in isolation from other species due to the islands' remote location.

💡Natural Selection

Natural selection is the process by which certain heritable traits become more common in successive generations of a population due to the individuals with those traits being more likely to survive and reproduce. The script provides examples of natural selection at work among the Galapagos' wildlife, such as the different beak shapes of Darwin's finches, adapted to consume different food sources.

💡Darwin's Finches

Darwin's finches are a group of about 15 species of passerine birds, all found in the Galapagos Islands. They are a classic example of adaptive radiation and are directly mentioned in the script as an illustration of how different beak shapes have evolved to exploit different food sources, a concept central to understanding evolution.

💡Lava Lizards

Lava lizards are a group of seven species of lizards found in the Galapagos Islands. The script describes their unique mating rituals, which involve specific push-up displays to attract females. These behaviors are a result of evolutionary processes, where certain displays have become more attractive to mates, thus increasing the likelihood of reproduction.

💡Marine Iguanas

Marine iguanas are the world's only ocean-going lizards and are found uniquely on the Galapagos Islands. They are mentioned in the script as an example of how species adapt to their environment, with marine iguanas having evolved to forage for algae in the ocean despite being reptiles.

💡Galapagos Tortoise

The Galapagos tortoise is one of the largest and most iconic species of the Galapagos Islands. The script discusses their long lifespan and how their shell shapes have evolved based on the availability of food sources on different islands, demonstrating the principle of natural selection.

💡Flightless Cormorant

The flightless cormorant is a unique bird species native to the Galapagos Islands that has lost its ability to fly due to evolutionary changes. The script uses this species to illustrate how certain traits, like the inability to fly, can become advantageous in environments without predators, thus being preserved through natural selection.

💡Sea Lions

Sea lions are mentioned in the script as being abundant and unafraid of humans on the Galapagos Islands. They are depicted as playful and curious, often interacting with snorkelers and divers. Their behavior adds to the overall narrative of the unique wildlife experience offered by the islands.

💡Blue-footed Boobies

Blue-footed boobies are a species of seabird known for their distinctive blue feet. The script describes their mating dance, where males display their blue feet to attract females, illustrating another example of how certain traits can become important for reproductive success in the context of evolution.

Highlights

The personal journey to the Galapagos Islands to experience the place central to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

The geographical significance of the Galapagos Islands as part of Ecuador and their location along the equator.

Quito, the capital of Ecuador, as a starting point for the journey to the Galapagos with its unique cultural experiences.

Cultural insight into local delicacies like guinea pigs which are considered a treat in Ecuador.

The biodiversity of Quito's cloud forest, home to the world's highest bird species density.

The unique bird species observed in the cloud forest, including the Masked Trogon and the Collared Sparrow.

The Toucan Barbet's distinct appearance and behavior, a bird species unique to the region.

The experience of a small cruise ship with a close-knit group of 16 people for an intimate exploration of the Galapagos.

The volcanic nature of the Galapagos Islands and its influence on the evolution of species like the Sally Lightfoot Crab.

The unique mating rituals of the Lava Lizards, which vary between species on different islands.

The fearlessness of Galapagos wildlife towards humans, allowing for close encounters with species like the Nazca Booby.

The distinctive behaviors of the Blue-footed Booby, including their mating dance and unique nesting habits.

The evolutionary significance of Darwin's Finches and their varied beak shapes adapted to different food sources.

The role of the Galapagos Mockingbirds in Darwin's development of the theory of evolution.

The Galapagos Penguins, the only penguin species found north of the equator and their unique adaptations.

The Galapagos Tortoise as a prime example of natural selection and adaptation to different environments.

The conservation efforts for the Galapagos' endemic species, including the challenges posed by introduced species like goats.

The snorkeling and scuba diving experiences with sea lions and sharks, showcasing the underwater biodiversity of the Galapagos.

The educational value of the trip, offering insights into evolution and conservation that can be applied to broader ecological understanding.

Transcripts

as we get into talking about evolution

one of the things you always hear about

is the Galapagos Islands in Darwin

Charles Darwin I was fortunate enough

when I turned 50 my gift to myself was

to go down to the Galapagos Islands down

to Ecuador and Galapagos Islands are

part of Ecuador just to experience it

because when you learn biology you learn

about evolution and you hear about

Darwin so I'm just going to take you on

a quick little trip down there give you

some idea of some of the things that

Darwin looked at and some of the other

things that have been learned since then

dealing with the Galapagos

first of all location this is South

America right here you see Ecuador and

then located right along here's the

equator right here is the archipelago

called the Galapagos Islands so it is

part it is part of Ecuador so here's a

close-up of Ecuador we flew into Quito

we've Luna Quito we spent we spent a few

days there I'll show you some pictures

from that and then we flew down to kake

Hill right here and then flew out to the

Galapagos Islands from there where we

took a cruise which I was talked about

these are just some pictures from Quito

a very very populated city spread out

just farther than I've ever seen a

spread city spread out in the valley

between mountains

this was actually every week the

president comes out and so they have all

these the president of Ecuador comes out

and does a little spiel and so we got to

see that as we walked along we took a

walking tour of Quito and this is one of

the delicacies for them and I don't know

if you can tell what they are but the

women that we're selling these were like

they're like weenie weenie weenie and it

turns out that they are guinea pigs

which for us would be kind of icky to

eat but it was a delicacy for them so I

paid them a dollar to let me take their

picture and I thought they were going to

let me the women well let me take their

pictures with the guinea pigs and then

it turned out they didn't I just could

take a picture of the greeny pick guinea

pigs Quito by night we went to a we

thought we were going to a Ecuadorian

restaurant but we were actually going to

a Greek Ecuadorian restaurant so we

pretty much had Greek food but it had an

amazing view from from the balcony there

that we were sitting so that was very

nice what we did before we flew out to

the Galapagos

I'm a big bird geeky person and so we I

wanted to go see instead of my friend I

travel with we wanted to go see a cloud

forest in the area they have the highest

bird species density in the world in

this area just hundreds and hundreds of

different birds so this is here when I

knew I was traveling I also traveled to

prove that year that I was going to be

in hi bird density area so I was going

to try to get 365 Birds on my list for

that year and I knew I needed to get to

300 by the time I left Ecuador so here's

the cloud forest it's called the cloud

for us because clouds come through very

easily think of fog a very very moist

and the clouds can just roll in pretty

much at any time and you can't see

anything and then BOOM they can roll out

and you can see you can see through the

rain forest so here you have a morning

shot of the clouds coming in so saw a

bunch of birds and I'm going to be

honest with you it's been a few years

this is a cinnamon fly capture this is a

mask trogon and this is the female and

this is the male they actually hung out

around the area that we stayed because

they had lights and the lights would

attract bugs and they would like to eat

the bugs this is a sparrow rust collar

or I think it's a rest collared sparrow

we actually have things that look kind

of like this but not not just like that

and this is called a toucan barb Annette

pretty cool just so neat to see birds

that looks so different for the ones

that we have this one I'm blanking on

the names of both of these but this one

is just unbelievable

I truly asked somebody and another

American I asked him how they got a

muppet because he just looked like a

muppet up there and this guy was sitting

up there he's at night he's nocturnal

and he would come up there at night so I

had a guy flat put his flashlight on it

so I could take a picture of him this is

a toucan a version of a toucan bird so

pretty neat just like I said the

diversity of birds was just amazing this

is called best named on a rock this

is a female on a rock she was

actually number 300 for the year they're

called that because they nest on these

rocks and so she was actually off her

nest we saw her on the nest but she was

often at this point she wasn't real

happy with us we apparently were too

close

so we moved away they're known for their

hummingbirds we have one species of

hummingbirds in Indiana they have they

have at least 11 I think like 15 20 and

they would just come in

I spent and I'm like said I'm a

photography buff so I literally took 800

pictures of hummingbirds I was it was

just amazing to see them just how pretty

they are and they put feeders up so they

come in pretty close this is a bumblebee

bumblebee I think that's what they call

a bumble bee hummingbird it's a second

smallest behind one that's in Cuba so

they're cute and they're very loud but

they get pissed off at each other they

can start to fight so pretty neat you go

up and down the mountain and there's

different species at different

elevations so then we flew out to the

Galapagos Islands just to show you a map

here some of these are easier to get to

some you can't get to we actually landed

we landed here in Santa Cruz there is

one there's an airport with one runway

and the plane goes in turns around drops

people off takes off another one comes

in it was actually built by the United

States in during the Second World War

kind of as a protection to make sure we

didn't get attacked from the south our

cruise is going to go around here we let

landed here come in here go around here

we went all the way up to here came back

around went around over here came here

to Isabella and then we ended up in

Santa Cruz again and then my friend and

I wanted to see a few other things so we

took a fast boat over to San Cristobal

and we spent a couple days there and

I'll show you what we did there real

quickly

all right so Darwin when he traveled on

the Beagle and you'll read about this in

your book they won't tell you this but

he traveled with a camera cameras back

then were pretty big probably ten times

bigger than the one I carried but he

didn't take any pictures in the

Galapagos because it was just too

difficult to get it out so unfortunately

it would have been really cool to see

the pictures that he would have taken

but he didn't they are known for them

dead endemic species who what that means

is their habitat is restricted to a very

particular area because of Galapagos

Islands or Islands away far away from

anything else

these have developed their that only

exists there and they are endemic in the

sense that they are also somewhat

endangered and so we're always trying to

protect them what was interesting was

that while we were in the Galapagos

after we left the mainland of Ecuador

the Pope actually came for a visit and

one of the reasons he picked Ecuador on

his trip was to try to promote try to

promote nature and promote preserving

nature because the Galapagos Islands are

being threatened they they control a lot

of things they only let so many people

on the islands they only let so many

people in the boats only you know and

you have to have a very strict schedule

the boats have to be a certain way in

order to try not to pollute the area but

it's slowly being lost an attempt to try

to make more money some people in

Ecuador are starting to abuse the

Galapagos and it might not be as

controlled in the future so first day

and the Galapagos we saw a flamingo we

saw a heron we have herons here

flamingos are actually not native they

came from actually came from the United

States there's what's called a sally

lightfoot crab I want you to look when

we talked about evolution look at the

color of this crab I mean if you were

this color crab in the wrong spot what's

going to happen to you you're going to

get eaten because man you're bright okay

so you're sitting out there going come

on I'm here I'm food but they have no

predator in the Galapagos and that's why

they can evolve this way this is

actually a satellite foot crab eating

the particles out of the mouth of a dead

fish so that was kind of cool to see so

again because they don't have a predator

they evolved these colors the colors are

beneficial from a mating standpoint okay

from a mating standpoint the brighter

you are the males especially the females

will they will want you a couple more

islands we went to the Galapagos is

volcanic and so the different islands

are farther along depending on where or

when they were produced because of

volcanic activity

so the first islands we went on were

very very hot and very volcanic and then

the first things that will start to form

is these cacti will start to form and

then the land will put

F as it as the island becomes more

mature and older there are what are

called lava lizards there are seven

different species throughout the

different islands each species has a

different push up mating routine and

what happens is the male will do so many

push ups in a certain way and then that

attracts the female so he does this

little push up saying you know I'm

impressed so try to impress the female

and then the female will get in the

ready position which I'll show you in a

second and then the male will mount her

and each species does a different push

up mating routine so each Island

different species does a different

routine so here you see this is uh this

is called pumice this is actually lava

okay so here's what happens he does his

little push up thing and if she's okay

she she all show you what she does and

then he gets on top of her and they make

little lizards so what happened at one

time animals here what's so amazing

about the Galapagos is the animals here

they they don't fear humans so you can

get six feet or five feet from a bird

and it's not going to fly they're just

not scared of humans because they've

never been abused by humans so what

happened is the male had done his little

thing this is the position the female

gets into when she's like whoo I like

your push-ups and is ready to be mounted

but what happened was as we came around

the corner and we didn't know they were

there as we came around the corner the

male ran so the female was kind of stuck

like this so I call this lava lizard

porn so she was like what the heck he

never can team a have came back after we

left but he didn't come back while we're

there we went to the top of the island

is just to get a view so there was our

boats our boat was one of the smaller

ones so I say we're on a cruise it was a

16 person cruise it was a small boat it

wasn't what you think of as you know a

big cruise ship it wasn't like that at

all so again you see some of the

volcanic kind of looks to it this is the

picture that every tourist takes so I

had to take it - this is in the morning

again you can see the volcano volcanic

kind of structures this is sunset

and then we went out and this is a long

trip out we did it overnight out - Jenna

visa it was one of those nights where it

was if you get motion sickness you had

to have something to help you we pretty

much didn't sleep all night because the

boat was just up and down and up and

down and up and down so but it was worth

it this is not my picture but this is

actually you this is a collapse this is

part of the island is collapsing and so

the boat actually comes in here this is

Jenna visa Island there are birds

everywhere that's one of the reasons I

think it was the best island ever these

are the people that were on the cruise

with us and so we spent a did a long

hike this is my friend that I traveled

with these birds are they are eaten by

what an owl

an owl species that lives there she was

looking for one of the owls that we

could not find one and then we saw our

first boobies and the Galapagos are

known for their boobies we saw what are

called Muscat and red footed boobies so

this is Nausicaa boobies they nest on

the ground again they don't fear people

you're supposed to stay six feet away

and they are just oblivious to the fact

that we were there this one was not mad

at me it was mad at its mate so here's a

full you see they're little and they're

known they're called boobies because

their chest is so dominant and here is a

Nava booby nest now this may look

pathetic and like this birds not the

chicks not going to make it but this is

actually what they look like you'll

notice their nest is pretty

insignificant but they just have to keep

them safe they have to keep them safe

from the Sun so here's a little booby

Abu Bet later in life they're pretty

cute pretty fluffy this is their nests

made by these rocks and this is bird

poop all the way around here and what

happens is they will turn away from the

Sun so as they turn away from the Sun

they poop out this way and then if the

Sun moves and they move over here and

they poop out this way and so by the end

of the day they've pretty much pooped

all the way around so you get like an

outline of a poop outline of their nests

these are the red footed boobies used to

be known are still known somewhat as

masked boobies

here's a close-up the face this is

probably only picture me on the trip

right there is my reflection in their

eyes again you had to stay six feet away

but that's not very far and again the

birds were pretty much oblivious to us

we saw frigate birds thirty forty

percent of their food comes from other

birds so they don't do a lot of hunting

on their own and this includes they

steal food from them from there from the

other frigate birds not just other birds

that's a frigate bird here's one

building is nest

the guide told us what they what they

learned this is a young frigate bird

they learn how to steal food and how to

grab food from other animals so she

asked one of the guys on our cruise he

goes put put your hat up now and he

wasn't supposed to let go and the

frigate bird kept coming down and tried

to yank it which is exactly what they

would try to do with another bird this

picture here this is the first day and I

didn't even realize what was happening

what would happen is this figure bird

would come and whack this one and he

would drop the fish and this one would

catch it before it would fall into the

back into the ocean and then this one

would hit this one and they go back and

forth stealing the fish from each other

until one finally just probably got

tired and let the other one have it

here's a frigate bird this is probably a

more common picture this is their mating

they filled this up with air they fly

around and it fills with air the bigger

it is the more attractive they are to

females and so they make little noises

with their big old red frigate chin and

chest and that's what attracts females

all right Darwin's finches you've

probably heard of Darwin's finches he

collected well he actually didn't

collect finches most people think the

finches are what gave him the idea of

evolution in a reality he didn't collect

any sample so he didn't have anything to

bring back with him to study later he

did note that there were differences in

their beaks and that was based on the

food type they could eat but here's a

cactus Finch here's a medium build Finch

here's a smaller one this guy was just

pissed off Finch and it wasn't at me

because I was far enough away but what

happens is based on the food they have

available they will the ones that have

the bills that will allow them to eat

the food that's there we'll pass that on

so by chance they have the right shaped

bill that allows them to eat the food

which allows them to survive if their

bills not the right shape they can't eat

the food they die off and that that is

not passed on to the next generation

what Darwin actually really used was

mocking birds and we actually have those

here but they have four species of

mocking birds throughout the Galapagos

Islands we saw three of them and he did

collect samples of mocking birds and

take them back

with him and it's what he used to

develop the idea of evolution so here's

mockingbirds they can be kind of

annoying by us but notice a unique big

shape here now this is a small

Mockingbird just going to give you a

simple example of how simple evolution

can be so let's just say that this berry

is the only berry on this island that

the birds can eat and let's say this

Mockingbird was born and his mouth is

too small and he can't eat the berry so

what's going to happen to that bird over

time he's going to starve to death where

if a Mockingbird just by chance is born

with a bigger beak and a bigger mouth

they're going to be able to survive

because they can eat the berry and then

over time they will reproduce and then

you have a population of mockingbirds

with bigger beaks and bigger mouth who

survived because they can eat that food

this guy was just young and not very

smart but he kept trying to swallow this

and he couldn't he'd spit it out I

actually sat and watched him for like

ten minutes and took a bunch of pictures

and so then he went on obviously he's

got other choices of foods this wasn't a

good choice for him this is just the

gull type of goal you'll see in the

Galapagos this is we have these Yellow

crowned night heron this is one

meditating on the rocks they are famous

for their sea lions or sea lions pretty

much own the islands you walk into a

park and every bench that you look at

will have sea lions on it this they put

their fin up to help cool them off this

is one of the guys on the cruise and so

he tried the same technique I took a

GoPro with me and I never really

snorkeled and so we snorkeled and it was

amazing and you just see how clear the

water is and if there was sea lions

around they just wanted to play and so

we got I got tons of pictures of them

you can see some of the people on the

cruises us and the sea lions were like I

said just frolic around with us this guy

when you get a bowl sea lion they can be

pretty vicious he was on the stairs we

needed to get up two to go to the island

this is our guide from Germany

she actually had to scare him off to get

him off the stairs he was pretty violent

so she obviously has a little more

training and getting them off there

this is a video of them swimming around

if you want to see it it's out on my

YouTube site now one of the species that

you're not going to see anywhere is

what's called a flightless cormorant we

have cormorants in Indiana there are

cormorants you know in a wide range of

places around the world but they can all

fly this one cannot now normally what

would be the disadvantage of not being

able to fly if you're a bird one would

be food and two would be that predators

could easily get you because you

couldn't fly away in this case here's a

mutation that occurred here's a mutation

that occurred in a bird and because

there are no predators and because they

have access to food in the water that

mutation was passed on over time and it

survived normally if you were a

cormorant let's say in Washington state

or Alaska having wings and you can't fly

you wouldn't you would die relatively

quickly because of either getting eaten

by a predator or not having access to

food and so that trait would not be

passed on these are just some other

birds the galapagos hawk he let me get

within six feet of him pretty amazing

there's a little finchy bird heading

into the water marine iguanas is another

species they are famous for Godzilla was

developed from the look of a marine

iguana Darwin and marine iguanas the

people on Darwin ship they were whalers

they weren't always very nice one of

them I guess that one of the things they

did was they took a big stick and they

held by its tail a marine iguana

underwater for over an hour and they

thought oh that thing is going to die

when they released them the marine

iguana just swam off that wasn't very

nice

they have salty sneezes because they

spend so much time in the water they

have to have a way to get rid of that

salt and so when they sneeze salt comes

out and I tried to get a picture of one

sneezing but it just didn't work but

here's what a marine iguana looks like

so you see where the Godzilla look came

for came from

they can spend a long time underwater

they have very sick claws that allow

them to hold on and eat the algae here

they're just being nice to each other

here's one again a GoPro picture I took

of one swimming away again they were

pretty oblivious to us once I got too

close just because the current kept

leading me towards him as hard as I was

trying to get away I don't think I

scared him but I did get a little bit

too close and again I have won a video

of them swimming if you want to go on

youtube and look at that these are land

iguanas there's also what are called

pink iguanas they're very rare again

they're trying to preserve them these

were harder to see it was difficult to

find a place where they actually found

them they have penguins in the Galapagos

Islands smallest penguin in the world

and the only one found north of the

Equator so there's a little galapagos

penguin one of my goals in life is to

see all the natural places where

penguins are found South Africa I've

been to Galapagos I've been to so I have

to get down to Antarctica and to the

Falkland Islands and then over to New

Zealand in Australia so I've got two of

the five done here are some when I took

this picture I had no idea there was

even an iguana they just kind of fit

right in there here's one swimming the

Galapagos tortoise is another famous

example of evolution that's talked about

a lot what I want you to notice here is

these are large tortoises some live 150

years notice the difference in their

shell if they were evolved as they

evolved on an island where the food was

up high the ones that had a shell like

this were the ones that would survive

because they could lift their head up

and get to the food if you were born

like this

tortoise on an island where the food was

up high you wouldn't survive so by

natural selection the ones that could

get to the food were the ones that would

survive this is a tortoise from another

island the food on this island is easily

accessible without lifting their head or

neck

and so the lower they don't have to have

the ability to go up high so there are

different types of tortoises in all

different islands they've all evolved

slightly differently because of the food

sources that have been available or that

were available on the islands that they

were evolving on so now most of the time

you see a tortoise it's usually in an

area in a reserve where they're trying

to keep them safe I will tell you when

the Whalers came through the Galapagos

in the time of Darwin they would

actually take the tortoises as a food

source but they didn't want to kill them

so they would put them in the boat and

turn them upside down and then they

would eat them kill them and then eat

them as they were going along the

Whalers also brought goats to the

islands and that is one of the reasons

that many of these have almost gone

extinct what the goats did is the goats

would eat all the vegetation and then

what would happen is the vegetation was

gone and then the tortoises did not have

access to anything and some of them were

many of them died lonesome George is no

longer with us but he was the last of a

specific species of a tortoise they did

everything to try to get him to

reproduce but he just he just didn't

want to so they weren't able to keep

that species going this is just kind of

a combination here they love these

apples and other poisonous apples so

people we shouldn't have eaten them but

they loved them now you can tell we're

in a reserve here because you can see

the number on his back and so here is

going after the Apple here is going

after the Apple and they'll fight over

them so this one comes in and these are

little guys these guys are only like 2

or 3 years old he'll come in and he

wanted the Apple and then this guys know

like I want the Apple and then they

stared at each other over the Apple and

then this guy got pissed off and flipped

the other one over so he he have the

Apple and then he felt bad if a tortoise

stays like this too long he'll he'll fry

up in the Sun so he must have known that

and felt bad so then he slipped him back

over and then they ran back to the Apple

and then they stared at each other again

so it's pretty fun to watch

this is an adult they can live up to

like I said 150 years old many times

they're not sure how old they are they

only get fed they only need to be fed

twice a year this is probably one of my

favorite pictures of the whole trip I

was like thank you for being in the

water and thank you for there being a

reflection so that was kind of cool

all right sea turtles you can watch that

video also we ended our cruise and like

I told you we went over to San Cristobal

and we saw more boobies and these are

probably the fame most famous of the

boobies these are the blue footed

boobies and so the bluer their feet the

more they attract females they do a

little dance where they put one foot up

then they put the other foot up and then

they shake it all about

and then hopefully the female likes that

and then they have little boobies like I

said blue beds so boobies like 2ba they

like to dive-bomb for food so I could

take pictures of up for hours of this so

they would just dive bomb into and come

up with the fish they actually catched a

fish on the way up not on the way down

this is this is all a lava tube my

friend Lonnie was very impressed and

wanted to go back there I had my camera

and didn't want to slip so I she

travelled through these natural lava

tubes we went out to kick a rock and we

actually slam with sea lines again and

we slam above sharks there's hammerhead

sharks there's a Galapagos shark several

sharks we were way up they were way down

they've got plenty of food so they're

not going to bother they're not going to

bother the snorkelers we also had people

on our boat that went scuba diving with

the sharks these guys got really close I

actually at one point felt their

whiskers against my face these guys kind

of flipping me off and there's some of

them swimming if you want to watch those

on YouTube also so these are just some

more pictures some scenery pictures from

the trip this is worth watching

I consider the I consider these sea

lions the cats of the of the ocean you

can watch that if you want to and

there's the end all right so I will have

it available for you if you want to do a

summary of the

if you can and it will give you

possibility of extra credit so if you

want to watch it and do some of the

summaries of the answer the questions

that are on that sheet it can give you

up to 15 to 20 points extra credit