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Science 21 November 2008:
Vol. 322. no. 5905, p. 1206
DOI: 10.1126/science.1163454
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Brevia

Fossil Pollen as a Guide to Conservation in the Galápagos

Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen,1 Cynthia A. Froyd,2* W. O. van der Knaap,1 Emily E. Coffey,2 Alan Tye,3{dagger} Katherine J. Willis2,4

Paleoecological evidence from the past 8000 years in the Galápagos Islands shows that six presumed introduced or doubtfully native species (Ageratum conyzoides, Borreria laevis/Diodia radula-type, Brickellia diffusa, Cuphea carthagenensis, Hibiscus diversifolius, and Ranunculus flagelliformis) are in fact native to the archipelago. Fossil pollen and macrofossils from four sites in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island reveal that all were present thousands of years before the advent of human impact, refuting their classification as introduced species. These findings have substantial implications not only for conservation in Galápagos but for the management of introduced species and pantropical weeds in general.

1 Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland.
2 Long-Term Ecology Laboratory, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK.
3 Charles Darwin Research Station, Galápagos, Ecuador.
4 Department of Biology, University of Bergen, N-5007 Bergen, Norway.

{dagger} Present address: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Post Office Box 240, Apia, Samoa.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cynthia.froyd{at}ouce.ox.ac.uk

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E-Letters:

Read all E-Letters

A Pragmatic Conservation Perspective for Fossil Pollen
Rachel Atkinson, et al.
Science Online, 29 May 2009 [Full text]
Response to R. Atkinson et al.'s E-Letter
Cynthia A. Froyd, et al.
Science Online, 29 May 2009 [Full text]

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