Pacific Islands

Meet the Pacific Islands team »

More than 25,000 islands are dotted throughout the vast area of the Pacific Ocean, ranging from flat coral atolls to rugged, mountainous volcanic isles.  Each contains a unique suite of species found nowhere else in the world, many of which are on the brink of extinction. Durrell’s field programmes are located in the Galápagos archipelago, but through our Training Programme we are supporting the development of conservation skills across the region.

This vast region encompassing the entire expanse of the Pacific Ocean contains a staggering diversity of natural and cultural systems, and some of the most intact remaining tropical wilderness areas. The region includes the island groups of Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia, as well as Hawaiian islands and the Galápagos archipelago.

The diversity and abundance of islands in the Pacific, combined with their isolation has led to the evolution of numerous new species.  For example more than 80% of the birds on the island of Samoa are only found on this one island.  New Caledonia supports more than 2,400 species of plant which are found nowhere else in the world.

However the length of time these islands have been isolated for, which has given rise to the high levels of species endemism, also makes them high vulnerable to threats such as invasive species. By virtue of being found on oceanic islands, species will not be able to adapt to the effects of climate change either. As a result more species are known to have gone extinct on the Pacific Islands than in any other region in the world, and many more are currently at risk of extinction.

The Galápagos archipelago

Lying 800km off the coast of Ecuador, these hostile, volcanic and arid islands were long thought of as one of the least inviting places on earth and frequently only the haunt of pirates and the whalers who hunted in the rich cold currents. However, the islands gained a new prominence following Charles Darwin’s brief visit in 1835 on the British survey ship HMS Beagle. His observations of the variation in animal forms with common ancestry between islands led to the Theory of Natural Selection. Today the Galápagos are synonymous with their plentiful and confiding wildlife and, unlike other almost all other oceanic islands, have had no bird extinctions.

However the biodiversity, which similar to other oceanic islands such as Mauritius, was so plentiful when encountered by European settlers, was quickly diminished, either to make way for agriculture, as food or from the effects of introduced species. More recently economic development and tourism have brought major pressures on the islands’ natural resources, including the spread of exotic species. By 2006, more than 500 introduced animal and 700 plant species were recorded, of which 114 taxa were considered invasive and capable of causing severe impacts on the native biodiversity.

Durrell in the region

Durrell has been running a region-wide training programme in the Pacific since 2006.  During this time we have run island species conservation courses in Galápagos, Fiji and Guam, training more than 70 conservation professionals from 18 islands and island states. The training has equipped these professionals with new skills in establishing captive breeding programmes, eradicating invasive species and engaging local communities in conservation action.  We have provided post-course funding for participants to put into practice some of the skills they have learnt.  One group used the money to determine whether or not the pohnpei mountain starling (Aplonis pelzelni) had gone extinct. In fact they managed to rediscover the species!  Plans are now underway to secure the long-term survival of this unique species.

To find out more about our international training programme and how you could help by supporting course participants to attend the training they need to save more species, click here.

Durrell in Galápagos

One of the naturally most restricted habitat types in the Galápagos is mangrove, and it is perhaps no surprise, that it hosts its own finch specially adapted to the tidal substrate. The mangrove finch Cactospiza heliobates, living on the island of Isabela and, occasionally, on neighbouring Fernandina, may be the bird species with the smallest distribution of any in the world: a population today of perhaps 100 birds inhabiting around 1 km².

Highly threatened by a suite of invasive species – rats, cats, fire ants and a parasitic fly Philornis downsi the species has been the focus of a three year UK Darwin Initiative funded project to halt declines and restore populations. In collaboration with Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation the project has so far seen the decline in finch numbers halted and the initiation of a programme to translocate individuals to other mangrove areas on the island of Isabela.

Durrell is also a partner in a new effort to restore the island of Floreana back to its former glory. Many of the island’s endemic species are either gone or been isolated to small islets off the coast. A large programme aims to remove invasive species from the main island and to start to bring back some of marooned endemics. Durrell’s focus will be primarily on the restoration of the Floreana mockingbird. This bird has a special place in science in that it was this bird that inspired Charles Darwin, during the HMS Beagle voyage, to develop the Theory of Natural Selection. This species is now only found on two tiny islets off Floreana. Durrell, the Charles Darwin Foundation and Zurich University with support from the Galápagos Conservation Trust are developing plans to translocate mockingbirds back to Floreana after invasive threats such as cats are removed and native vegetation begins to regenerate.

Image copyrights: (listed from top to bottom)

• Header image - Taken at Punta Mangle, Fernandina looking East toward Isabela Credit Glyn Young
• Isabella Coast Credit Glyn Young
• Mangrove on Galapagos islands Credit Glyn Young
• Mangrove finch Credit Michael Dvorak