Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T04:48:55.060Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Invasion of Highlands in Galá'pagos by the Red Quinine-tree Cinchona succirubra

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Ian A.W. Macdonald
Affiliation:
Chief Scientific Officer, Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
Luis Ortiz
Affiliation:
Associate Investigator, Charles Darwin Research Station, Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador
Jonas E. Lawesson
Affiliation:
Botanical Institute, 68 Nordlandsvej, 8240 Risskov, Denmark
J. Bosco Nowak
Affiliation:
Charles Darwin Research Station, Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador

Extract

The alien tree species Cinchona succirubra, the Red Quinine-tree (Rubiaceae), was introduced to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, in 1946, for purposes of cultivation, but causes much concern as, by 1987, it was found to cover about 4,000 hectares in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island, changing the original, largely endemic, vegetation. Some limited herbicide trials have been made by the Galápagos National Park Service, but a really successful method of controlling this pest still remains to be found.

The removal of Cinchona plants from a 1000-ha Intensive Control Area (ICA) within the Galápagos National Park has been successful to date. However, large stands of the tree exist in the adjacent agricultural area of Santa Cruz Island, as well as elsewhere in the National Park. With the maturation of these stands, an increased input of Cinchona succirubra seeds to the ICA can be anticipated.

Strengthened use of manual, chemical, and biological, control measures are therefore recommended on a shortterm basis, in order to conserve the unique highland vegetation of Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos.

Type
Main Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Calvopina, L. (in prep.). Research and Control of Feral Goats in Santiago and Other Islands of the Galápagos National Park. Charles Darwin Research Station, Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador: 87 pp. (typescr.)Google Scholar
Clark, D.A. (1981). Foraging patterns of black rats across a desert-montane forest gradient in the Galápagos Islands. Biotropica, 13, pp. 182–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cruz, F.J. & Lawesson, J.E. (1986). Lantana camara L., a threat to native plants and animals. Not. Galápagos, 43, pp. 1011, illustr.Google Scholar
Eckhardt, R.C. (1972). Introduced plants and animals in the Galápagos Islands. BioScience, 22, pp. 585–90, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamann, O. (1974). Contributions to the flora and vegetation of the Galápagos Islands, 3: Five new floristic records. Bot. Notiser, 127, pp. 309–16, illustr.Google Scholar
Hamann, O. (1979). Taxonomic and floristic notes from the Galapagos Islands. Bot. Notiser, 132, pp. 435–40, illustr.Google Scholar
Hamann, O. (1984). Changes and threats to the vegetation. Pp. 115–32 in Key Environments: Galápagos (Ed. Perry, R.). Pergamon Press, Oxford, England, UK: x + 321 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Hoeck, H.N. (1984). Introduced fauna. Pp. 233–45 in Key Environments: Galápagos (Ed. Perry, R.). Pergamon Press, Oxford, England, UK: x + 321 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Itow, S. (in press). Origin of treeless vegetation and the plant communities in the Galápagos highlands. In Lawesson et al., see Lawesson & Ortiz, q.v.Google Scholar
Kastdalen, A. (1982). Changes in the biology of Santa Cruz Island during the last twenty years. Not. Galápagos, 35, pp. 712, illustr.Google Scholar
Lawesson, J.E. (1986). Problems of plant conservation in the Galpágos. Not. Galápagos, 44, pp. 1213.Google Scholar
Lawesson, J.E. (Ed.) (1987). Summary Report on Workshop: Botanical Research and Management in Galápagos 1987. Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: 135 pp. (mimeogr.)Google Scholar
Lawesson, J.E. & Ortiz, L. (in press). Introduced plants in the Galápagos Islands. In J.E. Lawesson, O. Hamann. G. Reck & O. Ochoa (in press). Proceedings of the Workshop: Botanical Research and Management in Galápagos 1987. Monographs Syst. Bot.Google Scholar
Lawesson, J.E., Adsersen, H. & Bentley, P. (1987). An updated and annotated check-list of the vascular plants in Galápagos Islands. Reports Bot. Inst. Aarhus (Denmark). 16, 74 pp.Google Scholar
Loung, T.T. (1987). Introduced plants: Problems and possible control and eradication methods. Annual Report 1984. Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador: pp. 1314.Google Scholar
Loung, T.T., & Potts, E. (1987). A preliminary study of the use of herbicides to eradicate Cinchona succirubra on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos. Annual Report 1984, Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador: pp. 1516.Google Scholar
Lubin, Y.D. (1984). Changes in the native fauna of the Galápagos Islands following invasion by the Little Red Fire Ant. Wassmania auropunctata. Biol. J. Linn. Soc., 21, pp. 229–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacDonald, I.A.W. (1983). Monitoring alien plant control operations. Veld & Flora, 69(4), pp. 134–5.Google Scholar
MacDonald, I.A.W. et al. (1987). Report of working group IV: Introduced organisms. In Summary Report on the Workshop: Botanical Research and Management in Galapagos 1987 (Ed. J.E. Lawesson). Charles Darwin Research Station. Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador. [Not available for checking.]Google Scholar
Moran, V.C., Neser, S. & Hoffman, J.H. (1986). The potential of insect herbivores for the biological control of invasive plants in South Africa. Pp. 261–8 in The Ecology and Management of Biological Invasions in Southern Africa (Eds MacDonald, I.A.W., Kruger, F.J. & Farrar, A.A.). Oxford University Press, Cape Town, South Africa. [Not available for checking.]Google Scholar
Ortiz, L. & Lawesson, J.E. (1987). Informe sobre los ensayos de control de Cinchona succirubra en la parte aha de Santa Cruz. Charles Darwin Research Station. Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos. Ecuador: 10 pp. (mimeogr.).Google Scholar
Schofield, E.K. (1973). Galápagos Flora: The threat of introduced plants. Biological Conservation, 5(1), pp. 4851. 4 figs.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Utreras, M. (1987). Distribution of Guayaba (Psidium guajava) and application of herbicides for its control on Santa Cruz Island. Annual Report 1983, Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador: pp. 1617.Google Scholar
Vries, T. De & Tupiza, A. (1980). Dispersion y crecimiento del Guayaba (Psidium guajava) y la dinamica de poblacion de Lechoso (Scalesia cordata) en Sierra Negra, Isla Isabela. Annual Report 1979, Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador: p. 157.Google Scholar
Werff, H. Van Der (1977). Vascular plants from the Galápagos Islands: New records and taxonomic notes. Bot. Notiser, 130. pp. 89100.Google Scholar
Werff, H. Van Der (1979). Conservation and vegetation of the Galápagos Islands. Pp. 391444 in Plants and Islands (Ed. Bramwell, D.). Academic Press, London. England, UK. [Not available for checking.]Google Scholar
Wiggins, I. & Porter, D. (1971). Flora of the Galápagos Islands. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, USA: xx + 998 pp., illustr.Google Scholar