Biodiversity hotspot case study:  Galapagos

John McCosker I'm chair of the Department of aquatic biology of Academy of Sciences the Galapagos is a very unique place on planet Earth it is an island group that 9 million years ago came from the seabed thousand kilometers from shore and a number of animals were capable of reaching it not many but the few that did make it were able to evolve in isolation and during that period of time they became endemic species found nowhere else on planet earth ever since Darwin in 1835 visited the Galapagos Islands and realized that the uniqueness of the animals that lived at galapagos was very special to sinus as well as to all humanity he was overwhelmed by the uniqueness of some of the tortoises the mockingbirds some of the plants in animals you see the plants and animals on the Galapagos are so unique that fifty percent of the birds are found nowhere else the scuba and submersibles we can go underwater and realize that the same endemism uniqueness of the Galapagos Islands occurs underwater much as it does above water it is a hot spot because of all the danger that it now faces because of humanity increased tourism invasive species and the universal global problems of climate change ocean acidification damage to near shore environments exaggerated climate effects of El Ninos and la niñas such that no place on earth is safe even the Galapagos we have to focus on those areas that have the highest degree of biodiversity you'll also been very damaged by humanity in order for us to say what's left on planet earth we must focus