The
Galápagos project will examine population-environment interactions among various elements of the islands' social, economic, and ecologic systems. In the last three decades the
Galápagos Islands have sustained rapid population growth in combination with a sharp increase in tourist accessibility to the islands, resulting in dramatic changes to this delicate and unique ecosystem. These demographic trends have influenced labor and agricultural markets, community development, conservation and environmental management, and the local biodiversity. Four of the islands in the
Galápagos Archipelago are populated, and research will primarily focus on three of these: Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, and Isabela. Of particular interest are issues of development and conservation, with regard to land abandonment and the spread of invasive plant and animal species. Satellite imagery combined with field measurements and demographic surveys will be used to assess rate of landscape change over time, while considering the impact of outside forces such as climate change. The goals of the project are to develop a complex model representing the feedbacks present in these socio-economic and biophysical systems, and to identify pattern-process relationships that may contribute to landscape change and policy, economics, and development.
