First Entry at Galapagos Science Center, Universidad San Francisco De Quito.

Several weeks ago, I began my internship with Dr. Luis Vinueza at the Galapagos Science Center. Our first project was particularly time sensitive, so Professor Vinueza made sure that we focused on this research since the opportunity presented itself. In the past few years, Dr. Vinueza has been taking GPS data of sea lion Zalophus wollebaeki, and marine iguanas', Amblyrhyn chuscristatus, locations around the coast of San Cristobal Island. He collects this data periodically to see how the spatial distribution of these species may change with different anthropogenic factors as well as different climatic events. During the first two weeks of May 2015, the Galapagos experienced two intense storms, comprised of harsh wave action that destroyed much of the commercial boardwalk and coastal vegetation. It sunk several boats in Wreck Bay, the island’s primary port, and unearthed sewage lines, among many other effects. Of course, because of all these physical damages, many of these central, charismatic species were also displaced as their typical coastal habitats were altered.

Following the storm, we attempted to examine the effects of increased wave action on the distribution of sea lions and marine iguanas by using GPS devices to record the placement of the species. One of the driving forces behind this research is that in recent years, many scientists have linked the increase in frequency and intensity of storms and tropical cyclones to the warming and changing climate (Chu, 2013) . Currently, in our research we are working on compiling the new data into Geographic Information Systems maps to compare the placement of species post-storm against a more typical species distribution. Figure 1 below shows one of the pre-storm distribution maps we created with data taken in late April. During our post-storm field work, we trekked through the same set of coastal areas to gather data.

This map, generated using GIS, displays the distribution of sea lions and marine iguanas in the town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island. This distribution is from late April, prior to the harsh May storms.

I took this photo during high tide on May 7th, one of the most intense days of the storm. It shows the waves harshly crashing into the boardwalk of San Cristobal. You can see San Cristobaleños, mostly local restaurant and tourist shop owners, watching from a questionably safe distance as the waves tear apart the boardwalk on which their stores sit.

This photo was taken several hours after the harshest waves hit San Cristobal. As you can see, the road is flooded with lots of rubble and bricks from the boardwalk. Already, workers from the municipality were working to put the boardwalk back together. With increasing storm intensity and frequency coming from climate change, the municipality must be prepared to handle the increased impact of these storms on the developing town. This photograph is most relevant to our research because of the Galapagos Sea Lion, which can be seen in the middle of the flooded road. The variety of implications of the displacement of these animals is not yet fully known. However, sea lions among many other stressed out animals, will likely have trouble handling the impacts of the storm that tore apart sewage water pipes and much of the infrastructure, leaving roads flooded with highly unsanitary water.