What’s the island like? Has anyone else collected insects here? What kind of insects live there? Is there any interaction between endemic plants and insects? These are some of the questions I started asking myself as I prepared a field trip to Española island. The fact is that a researcher’s work starts in their office, with a computer, articles, and a good cup of coffee. I invite you to read this blog where some of those questions will be answered.
As I researched documents ahead of my trip, I found an article about the biochemistry of endemic plants of the Galapagos island which included Lecocarpus lecocarpoides (Adsersen et al., 1988), the plant I was going to study on Española island. It also included some information about the presence of chemical compounds with "anti-herbivore" functions, which can be toxic to certain organisms. If you’ve ever wondered whether plants can communicate with one another or with animals, well, the answer lies in their chemical activity.
![Trabajo de oficina y trabajo de campo en la isla Española. Foto: Andrea Carvajal Román, Paul Mayorga/FCD](/media/images/Trabajo_de_oficina_y_trabajo_de_ca.max-1000x1000.png)
During the field trip, we visited Punta Manzanillo and Las Tunas sites. Our expedition had the following objectives: 1) Identify the terrestrial invertebrates present in the study areas and 2) Analyze the ecological interactions between terrestrial invertebrates and the plant species Lecocarpus lecocarpoides.
Española represents a physical challenge for any researcher stepping on the island, especially at Las Tunas, which represents a 45-minute walk at a park ranger's pace over volcanic rocks with different shapes. Once at the study site, I could observe a desolate and dry environment - it was September 2022. Sometimes we had a few drops of rain and sometimes a sunny day. You can’t help but wonder, who can survive here? What can they feed on?
![Camino a Las Tunas y con el acompañamiento por parte de Freddy y Ángel, Guardaparques del DPNG. Fotos: Andrea Carvajal Román, Patricia Jaramillo y Anna Calle/FCD.](/media/images/Camino_a_Las_Tunas_y_con_el_acompanamiento.max-1000x1000.png)
Some clues appeared in the first days of the expedition, when I observed the Galapagos carpenter bee Xylocopa darwini, several individuals of the mantis species Galapagia solitaria, as well as a great variety of spiders and flies, that used dry twigs as camouflage. I found lots of bug wings (elytra) in the trees, live bugs in the trees’ roots, and some ants inside dry branches. This led to more questions: What survival strategies are these different organisms using during the dry season?
After Las Tunas, we walked to Punta Manzanillo point. Here I found valuable information while observing the only adult Lecocarpus lecocarpoides plant at the site. First, this plant can produce an "anti-herbivore" substance. Second, its seeds have scales. Third, there were active ants in the roots and the branches. And finally, I found caterpillar silk in some seeds. This finding is interesting because it generates questions such as: Is this caterpillar from a moth? Is it an endemic species? Is there any close relationship between these species?
![Lecocarpus lecocarpoides y las semillas con escamas. Foto: Patricia Jaramillo/FCD](/media/images/Lecocarpus_lecocarpoides_y_las_semillas_co.max-1000x1000.jpg)
Punta Manzanillo is also a challenging site because of the insect traps. The traps, called ‘pitfall traps’, consist of deep cups containing a solution of alcohol, water and a pinch of soap. The Galapagos Mockingbirds are famous for their ability and tenacity to get leftover food. They discovered that the installed traps could also be a good food source, especially those that contained bait. So, I leave this warning for future researchers wishing to conduct their studies there: 'beware of Mockingbirds'…
What did we find in Punta Manzanillo and Las Tunas? What is the identity of the caterpillar found in the seeds? Could the scale be a big problem for our restoration objectives? I am trying to answer these questions and hope to tell you more soon… stay tuned!
![Parte del equipo GV2050, ICCDRS y Guardaparques del DPNG que realizaron la salida a la isla Española. Foto: David Ceballos.](/media/images/Parte_del_equipo_GV2050_ICCDRS_y_Guardapar.max-1000x1000.jpg)
Bibliography
- Adsersen, A., Adsersen, H., & Brimer, L. (1988). Cyanogenic constituents in plants from the Galapagos Islands. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 16(1), 65-77.
- GV2050 (2022, 12 de octubre). Española. http://www.galapagosverde2050.com/islas/espanola