On our last day at the Charles Darwin Research Station we were busy with preparing the samples for the shipping to Germany and obtaining the permits for the export. During lunch time we took a walk to the wonderful Tortuga Bay where we watched marine iguanas walking across the wide carbonate beach.
In the afternoon we gave presentations to the scientists at the station to introduce our project and the developments at ZMT in general. And we took the opportunity to cordially thank the people at the station who have been supporting us in a wonderful way during the past two weeks. We feel that this has been a good start into a very promising project and look forward to come back! Tomorrow we will fly out to the Christmas atmosphere of cold and hopefully white Germany.
Marine Iguana in front of the Marine Biology Department of the Charles-Darwin research station
At midday we returned from the boat expedition happy with the success of being able to get more sediment samples than expected and interesting biological data. Another reason to celebrate is Claire's birthday!
After a transit of 15h and after crossing the equator in a northward direction, we arrived at the island Marchena this morning. The island is rather low but features impressive fresh witnesses of volcanic activity: barren cinder cones and black lava flows cutting through the grey vegetation. Dolphins greeted our arrival. The water here is much warmer, 21°C, and we were able to sample sediment with coral rubble. The sea is much rougher here, and one cannot but notice how small the Queen Mabel is!
On board the RV Queen Mabel, biometric measurements of star fish
The Queen Mabel is anchored in a pleasant bight bordered by high cliffs of an eroded volcanic cinder cone. The abundance of sea turtles, sea lions, penguins, blue-foot boobies and sea iguanas is puzzling. The biomass of fish is equally impressive. The waters again are surprisingly cold, 14°C in 15 m water depth. The sediment accordingly is devoid of corals but features red algae and barnacles.
Marine Iguana and Sea Lion resting on volcanic rocks
This morning we arrived at the first study location in the south Canal Bolívar between Isla Isabella and Isla Fernandina. In the early morning we saw whale blows and whales themselves, penguins, and sea lions very close to our vessel. The sea is calm, the sky is cloudy, water temperature is as low as 15°C. Even the divers from the Research Station find the water extraordinarily cold. While starfish and sea urchins are abundant on the sea-floor, sea cucumbers are rare - apparently the population has not recovered from overfishing.
In the afternoon we took the zodiac to learn more about the fauna of the coastal areas at the study site. We observed a colony of the blue-footed boobies, abundant sea lions, endemic flightless cormorants - clearly an environment very rich in biomass.
The cook of the Queen Mabel is spoiling us, and in the calm waters, the small vessel is an ideal and very cozy base for undertaking our research. No artificial lights to see anywhere - Galapagos is still a very remote place indeed.
The past days we have been preparing the field equipment for the boat expedition where we plan to sample carbonate sediment and measure various marine macrofauna. We were received at the research station by very helpful and friendly people who enabled us to prepare further activities in a very efficient manner. Tonight we will leave aboard the Queen Mabel (some 11 m long) and steam to our first destination south the Isla Isabella. The weather is calm and cloudy and as we are in between seasons, temperatures vary between 24 and 31 °C. On the boat expedition we will be accompanied by the head of the Marine Biology of the Charles Darwin Research Station, Volker Koch, and other staff from the station.
Working in the collection of the CDRS
The aim of the current expedition to Galapagos is the study of the effect of increasing CO2 on marine organisms. As Galapagos has the least alkaline waters in the tropics, they can serve as a natural laboratory for studying ocean acidification. The expedition is a combined approach of fisheries biology and carbonate sedimentology and is conducted in close collaboration with the Charles Darwin Foundation on Galapagos on Isla Santa Cruz.
Prof. Hildegard Westphal, Dr. Claire Raymond (WG Geoecology and Carbonate Sedimentology)
Prof. Matthias Wolff, Diego Ruiz (WG Resource Management)