Galapagos Islands
Galapagos Marine Life
The interior waters of the Galapagos islands, plus those 133,000 square kilometres of the Archipelago are now a protected marine reserve. This is the only protected coastal marine area in the Southeast Pacific, and the second largest Marine Reserve in the World.
Marine life in the Galapagos is very rich, though not so varied as in warmer tropical waters. Due to the cold water there are only a few species of corals and those grow mostly in the subtidal zone.
Marine life in Galapagos is extremely varied, abundant and marvelous. The combination of cool upweiling waters in some parts and warm, tropical waters in others allows for an astounding diversity of marine creatures.
Sharks, turtles, sea lions, fish and invertebrates abound. Some 306 species of fish are found in Galapagos waters of which nearly a quarter are endemic forms. A common crab found on rocky shores in Galapagos is the 'Sally Lightfoot crab'. They are bright orange and blue, and skip across the surface of rock pools. There are only a few small, and not very diverse, coral reefs, but the vesicular and creviced nature of the lava rock provides abundant shelter near the shores, and the open water is nutrient rich and swarming with life from the upwelling currents.
Occasionally, with the El Niño flow, the cool waters are displaced by warm waters and the ecology of the Galapagos marine ecosystem is drastically changed.
Most Galapagos waters are still unexplored and new species continue to be discovered. Few visitors get a chance to scuba dive, but almost every visitor has the opportunity to don a mask and snorkel and peer down into the rich andvaried shallows. continues...
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Galapagos flora
There are about 560 native species of plants in the islands, in other words...
