Instead of stamps and postmen, the Galapagos isle relies on a barrel and the kindness of travelers to move its mail. Twice a day including Sunday, boatloads of unofficial mail carriers land in Post Office Bay and walk a few sandy yards to a wooden barrel crammed with postcards and notes left by past visitors. The guests, mainly cruisers eco-touring the Ecuadorian islands, sort through the stacks, looking for addresses within delivery distance of their homes. They also drop their own messages into the receptacle, adding another link to the chain of mail.

“Sometimes it’s faster than the regular mail,” said our guide, Carlos, as he yanked dozens of letters from a plastic bag. “You come one day and drop it off two days later.”

The practice started in the late 1700s as a way for English whalers to communicate with friends and family back home. The men heading out to sea would deposit their correspondence, which sailors returning home would collect and deliver.

The “post office” looks like an installation piece by Robinson Crusoe, with artful piles of driftwood and other organic detritus surrounding the elevated barrel. Stickers, scrawlings and a poster of Golden Age Hollywood stars adorn the artifacts as if they were a bathroom wall in a bar.

Since this was our fourth day of traveling together, our group of 16 knew one another’s home towns, and we hollered out international cities hoping to make a match. A New Yorker named Maura approached my parents with “Brookline,” thinking that the Boston neighborhood might be close to their home in western Massachusetts. She kept one destined for Cambridge, Mass., planning to drop it off during an upcoming trip there. The Swedish family grabbed a Stockholm-or-bust postcard and gave me a patient grin when I asked whether a holiday in Copenhagen was in their future.

In my cluster, I found cards addressed to California, Toronto, France and Germany. One for Vancouver said, “We are stranded on Postcard Island. Send help. Quick. Stop.” A sheet of thin, fraying paper covered in tiny print needed a lift to Romania. I was tempted to deliver it myself, worried that it might disintegrate before a Romanian-bound traveler could save it. After flipping through countless images of sea lions and blue-footed boobies, I finally scored: East Capitol Street, Washington, D.C.

It was exciting to make a connection, but then I realized that I actually had to deliver the postcard — or else let down the writer as well as a centuries-old tradition. Buying a stamp and mailing it is considered cheating, Carlos warned us. But arriving at a stranger’s house with a “surprise” from someone you’ve never met could be a little creepy, no?

To her credit, Kathy Brennan was a model recipient. I left a note in her mailbox saying that I wished to deliver a special something from her friend Nancy and asking her to call me to arrange a time. When we talked on the phone, she was excited to hear that I knew Nancy, until I admitted that I had no idea who Nancy was, but that I was her messenger. Even after that, she invited me over.

In her living room, I handed her the postcard of two frolicking sea lions, explaining its journey from a barrel in the sand to a rowhouse in Washington.

“I’m amazed that you picked up this card and hand-delivered it to me,” said Brennan, who has traveled to Africa and Patagonia with Nancy but couldn’t make the Galapagos trip. “It’s like the message in a bottle. You never know if it’s going to reach someone. This is the ultimate travel story.”

Later, I called the letter writer, Nancy Buermeyer, to find out when she’d “mailed” the card. Amazingly, it was the day before I’d arrived in Post Office Bay.

“I mailed postcards to friends who did not get them yet,” said the San Francisco resident. “Turns out you are more efficient than the Ecuadoran and U.S. postal services.”

I asked her why, of all her friends and family, she chose Brennan to send a note to. Buermeyer explained her criteria, which were calculated to increase the odds of a delivery: The friend must live in a metropolitan area, in a building with an accessible mailbox or front door and “would be okay with having a wayward traveler showing up at your doorstep.” Brennan passed on all counts.

For the note I posted at Floreana Island, I was less scientific, addressing it to the first person I could think of. I can’t wait to hear how my trip to the Galapagos was.

- Washington Post

Ryan Tempel, an 8th grade student at Chester-Joplin-Inverness Junior High School, won the school-level competition of the National Geographic Bee on December 19 and a chance at a $25,000 college scholarship. The school-level Bee, at which students answered oral questions on geography, was the first round in the 22nd annual National Geographic Bee. The Bee is sponsored by Google.

The kickoff for this year’s Bee was the week of November 9, with thousands of schools around the United States and the five U.S. territories participating. The school winners, including Ryan, will now take a written test; up to 100 of the top scorers in each state will be eligible to compete in their state Bee on April 9, 2010.

The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state champions to participate in the national championship on May 25 and 26, 2010. The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the Society, and a trip to the Galapagos Islands.

- Liberty County Times

UCF was honored with a visit from a TIME magazine dubbed “Hero of the Planet” Thursday afternoon to discuss his turtle conservation efforts with students and professors alike.

A leading environmental conservationist, nationally-known tortoise and turtle expert, and director of the Chelonian Research Institute, a non-profit organization in nearby Oviedo, Peter Pritchard focused mainly on Galapagos turtles and “Lonesome George,” the last remaining Pinta Island giant tortoise.

The presentation was a co-curricular component of the UCF General Education Program Unifying Theme, “The Environment and the Global Climate Change,” the university-wide theme of “The Environment, Energy, and National/Global Security” for 2009-10, and part of this year’s Global Perspectives’ events.

When Pritchard first visited the Galapagos’ Islands in 1970 he said that “at times there was no food available and you’d have to go fishing if you wanted to eat,” but that you can now call in for pizza delivery and the population is up to 30,000.

“Growth is upon us,” he said.

The theme of growth continued during the presentation’s screening of the BBC’s documentary “Lonesome George and the Battle of the Galapagos,” in which Pritchard is featured.

“The film is a rather remarkable one because it shows these two aspects of the Galapagos, mainly the human aspects,” Pritchard said.

The film poses two questions: what is going to happen with the people pressure (due to increased population) and how are we going to save the endangered species, particularly Lonesome George?

Lonesome George, considered the “loneliest creature on Earth” by the Guinness Book of World Records, was discovered in 1971 on the Pinta Island and is part of a race of giant tortoises that had thought to have been extinct.

It took four people to carry him and transport him to the national park, where he still resides.

Scientists have been trying to get George to mate with females from similar races, but have been unsuccessful.

George has become a celebrity for natives and tourists alike, showcasing the importance of conservationism for the sake of the island’s tourist industry–a sort of eco-tourism which has irked some extreme conservationists–which is discussed in the film.

In Pritchard’s 2003 visit, he and his research crew found 15 male skeletons and all had fallen down and had become trapped in ravines.

“You’ve got this phenomenon…in paleontology of extinction by masculinization and falling in potholes,” Pritchard said.

The film also discusses the issues of fishing regulations, lack of self-sufficiency on the islands, their over-abundance of goats, for which the government hired New Zealand sharp-shooters to exterminate, and the new threat of maggots on Charles Darwin’s well-known finches.

“People can be careless anywhere,” said Malcolm Phillips, a Junior Political Science major, of the lack of environmental regulations documented in the film.

“UCF’s been doing a lot of conservation and green efforts lately,” he said. “Orlando and UCF are radically different from the Galapagos, though.”

Despite their efforts he thinks they could all use improvement.

During the short Q&A session following the screening, Phillips posed the question of if scientists had tried cloning George to save the Pinta race.

Pritchard explained that no one has really tried and that the people of Galapagos hadn’t really been as assertive with the conservation efforts as they should have been.

“Sometimes nature needs a little bit of manipulation,” Phillips said. “We can’t bring back anything that has been lost, but we can preserve what is still there.”

-Central Florida Future

A little more than 600 miles off the western coast of Ecuador are the Galapagos Islands, a chain of 13 islands, some the sites of dynamic volcanic activity, others home to unique animal species found nowhere else on earth.

It’s been called the “far side of the world.” When local filmmaking brothers Philip Leclerc, 21, and Chris Leclerc, 19, had the opportunity to go there to assist in filming a documentary, they exchanged a look, talked it over and decided this wasn’t a chance that could be passed up.

The team, headed by Vision Forum Ministries, traveled to the Galapagos in March, accompanied by Andrew and Jon Erwin of Erwin Brothers Motion Pictures, who directed and produced the film.

Critical in understanding the purpose of the trip is the fact that 2009 is also the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin, and the 150th anniversary of “On the Origin of Species,” his seminal work on natural selection.

Darwin’s theory, which suggests that the primary mechanism for evolution was a process called natural selection — with millions of species arising from a single life form — had a tremendous impact on the worlds of science and religion.

The team, under the leadership of Dr. John Morris, president of the Institution for Creation Research, took Darwin’s theory and created a film revealing their conclusions. Morris discussed Darwin’s work, saying that it “needs evidence that any basic type of animal changes into something else.”

“Was Darwin seeing evolution or just mutations in the species?” Philip Leclerc asked. “We went down as a creation team seeking to explore and investigate what Darwin saw. It’s a very controversial topic.”

The Leclercs work takes the viewer swimming with giant tortoises through emerald waters; over beaches of coppery sand so rich it seems you could reach out and clench fistfuls; and on to the black lava rocks of Fernandina Island, where marine iguanas with gnarly flesh and thorny spikes running the length of their spines rest in the morning sun.

Mediated design — the theory that during creation God gave each creature the ability to adapt to its surroundings — was put to the test. To support this, Doug Phillips pointed out several animals that have specific mutations that allow them to thrive in the Galapagos.

Marine iguanas, normally land creatures, dive in the water to chomp on algae. Back on land, they’ve adapted special glands that allow them to spray excess salt out their noses.

Phillips also examined flightless cormorants, saying the birds didn’t start out flightless — after generations of finding their food in the ocean, adaptation reduced their wings to 1/3 the size of a normal cormorant’s wings.

The Leclercs cited the finch as a creature they noticed undergoing mediated design.

“Some of them developed small beaks for getting between rocks, while others have beaks that allow them to break open nuts,” Philip explained. “Darwin thought this was a process of evolution, but given the chance, the finch’s beak would return to its original size if put in normal surroundings.”

After blistering days in the equatorial sun, lugging equipment over lava fields and across hot sand, the Leclercs relaxed at night, discussing their findings with the team.

“It was so necessary to share what it means,” Philip said. “To believe in evolution means we’re simply the process of random chance and development; that we weren’t created in any image. If we are a creature and not a created being, we’re without hope. The idea of evolution is defeatist.”

They gave credit to Vision Forum Ministries and the Erwin Brothers, with Chris explaining that he and Phil were the main cameramen, shooting interviews and nature.

“It’s not our movie,” he said. “The concept came from Vision Forum, and we shot about 40 to 50 percent of the scenes you see.”

After shooting wrapped, the Erwins returned to their studio to complete the film, which is now being premiered across the country. Recently, the Leclercs traveled to Tampa, Fla., where more than 3,000 people watched the movie.

Looking back, the decision to pay their own way to the Galapagos Islands is one both brothers call the best they’ve ever made — professional connections were forged, their moviemaking skills were enhanced and they shared their faith with each other and the viewers.

“I just stood back and couldn’t believe I was there,” Chris said. “Not many people get to go, and it really is amazing.

-Sheboygan Press

CAMBRIDGE, England (Reuters) – His beetle cabinet is back in his old college rooms, his home is a national treasure and the islands that led Charles Darwin to evolutionary theory are under threat from tourism two centuries after his birth.

Celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the birth of the man whose book “On The Origin of Species” transformed how we see the natural world have captivated fellow scientists, royalty, religious leaders, historians, presidents, conservationists and tourist officials around the world.

David Attenborough, whose television programmes on the natural world have been watched by millions around the planet, provided a simple explanation for the draw of the bicentenary.

“Without Darwin, very little in the natural world makes sense,” Attenborough told Reuters. “Darwin turned natural history into a science.”

The 19th century naturalist’s influence was feted at his old university in Cambridge, at his home in Kent — now preserved for the nation — and in the Pacific islands off Ecuador where his theory began to take shape.

Several recent books include one that proposes Darwin’s hatred of slavery drove him to the theory of evolution, and two due this year come from Darwin expert John van Wyhe, who is in charge of Cambridge University’s Darwin Online project and the restoration of Darwin’s student rooms at Christ’s College.

Thousands of people have flocked to the biggest exhibition of his work at London’s Natural History where the star attractions are two unremarkable stuffed birds lying on a purple velvet cushion in a glass case at the entrance to the show.

The mockingbirds from the Galapagos Islands gave Darwin the first clues to his famous evolutionary theory. He noted that the birds varied slightly from island to island, suggesting that species with a common ancestry evolve over time.

-Reuters UK

The holidays are coming up and you want to do something different this year with your family. Bring a little more excitement to the holidays. You want to travel simple, but you’re on a budget. Well, we want to let you know that at Galapagos Inc, we are offering discounts for easy traveling. Our cruises are great for families because we have all the amenities that you need that would make your holiday or even just a simple vacation a breeze.

A common criticism of evolution is a lack of observable examples to study. Due to much of evolution taking place on a large time scale (think thousands of years) macroevolution has not been demonstrated in an observable species. That is the nature of macroevolution. Microevolution on the other hand has been shown multiple times to happen precisely the way that Darwin predicted it. Recently in Nature Darwin’s very own Galapagos Island finches have demonstrated a possible speciation. On November 16th Nature reported that evolutionary biologists have found a new, odd species out. After a drought in the islands one group of finch was isolated from its fellows.

Over the subsequent generations this group of finches has evolved on a different track than the finches on other islands. This has been shown to the point of the new breed can not successfully mate with the other finches in the area. Evolutionary biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant of Princeton University suggest that this inability to breed is due to a difference in the mating song of the birds. The new finches are unable to attract the other variety of finches with their song. In contrast to Darwin’s idea that it would take a very long time for a species to evolve in a noticeable way this new data suggests that change can occur rapidly in situations like those in the Galapagos.

While this change in the finches of the Galapagos is significant, the change may not be permanent say the Grants. If the finches were to continue to be isolated speciation would be more likely but due to the comingling of the breeds once more this temporary speciation is unlikely to develop further. This does give evolutionary biologists one more example of microevolution and further supports the evolutionary hypothesis. Other examples of microevolution are prevalent however so this new example only adds to a considerable bulk of evidence. Some examples of microevolution include resistances to pesticides and herbicides. In humans the resistance to medicines by pathogens is a very relevant example. HIV, gonorrhea and many other infections all develop resistances over time. This new evidence of microevolution is particularly appealing to scientists because Charles Darwin himself observed the finches of the Galapagos Islands and it is facinating that they can still provide relevant information even today.

- The Examinar

Almost 11.5 tonnes of lobster was fished between 7 August and 8 October in the Galapagos Marine Reserve (RMG), according to a Fisheries Monitoring Process report by the Galapagos National Park (PNG) Directorate.

Some 9,165. 61 kilograms of red or pronghorn spiny lobster (Panulirus penicillatus) and 2,322.11 kg of green spiny lobster (Panulirus gracilis) were captured In the first two months of the fishing season, which concludes next 13 January.

The fishery will be opened for 160 days, or until the maximum catch quota established – 30 metric tonnes of red or pronghorn spiny lobster – is reached.

No quota was fixed for the fishing of green spiny lobster.

The following data was registered In the three ports authorised for lobster tail landings:

• Ayora Port, Santa Cruz: 4,115.41 kg;
• Villamil Port, Isabela: 3,691.39 kg;
• Baquerizo Moreno Port, San Cristobal: 3,680.92 kg.

In addition, 98.12 kg of lobster tail were seized, for different reasons: they did not fulfill the set minimum size for capture, which is 15 cm; they were pregnant or presented signs of having had their pleopods (abdominal legs) brushed or cut,Periodico de Negocios del Ecuador reports.

The minimum catch size was fixed at 26 cm in length overall, from head to tail, and tail size at 15 cm

Fishers who target lobsters should be registered in the PNG and be in possession of the original copy of their valid license, which accredits them as artisanal fishers of the Marine Reserve.

Meanwhile, the inspections carried out by the PNG Directorate to confirm that the pronghorn spiny lobster fishery within the RMG fulfills the regulations established is not limited solely to monitorings of the product in landing wharves, nor to inspections made at fishing sites, but also involves raids with the Environmental Police in seafood restaurants and other retail sites.

During the last raid undertaken, 16 commercial establishments at Ayora Port were inspected.

In four of these establishments, lobsters that did not fulfill the minimum size for capture were indeed found, as were pregnant lobsters and those that had had their pleopods cut or brushed.

Article from Fis.