Image 8
Category: SUSTAINABILITY
Topic: 150. Resource Use and Ecological Resilience in a Tropical Socio-Ecological System

Particularly Poignant

Medium: pastel on museum paper
Year Produced: 2010
Dimensions in inches (H x W): 23 x 12 "

The body wastes of Galapagos giant tortoises constitute a limited and diminishing natural resource for numerous island organisms. The endemic giant tortoises of Galapagos are the only native terrestrial herbivores that move throughout the islands. By leaving their droppings  behind they transport a great amount of semi-digested biomass from the highlands to the lowlands. They open gaps in the forests and the seeds of certain plants from their intestinal tracts germinate at a higher rate than those that don't. The droppings attract insects which become a food source for warblers, finches, mockingbirds and Lava Lizards. They then decompose quickly, generating soil and allowing plants to grow. As producers of this resource, tortoises are a keystone species of Galapagos. Wherever they disappear, island biodiversity loses.