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 Giant Tortoises Gain a Foothold on a Galapagos Island 
 
 Ecosystem needs further repair 
 
 10/28/2014 
 
 A population of endangered giant tortoises, which once dwindled to just over a dozen, has recovered on the Galapagos island of Española, a finding described as "a true story of success and hope in conservation" by the ESF professor who is the lead author of a study published today (Oct. 28). The tortoise population on the island of Española dwindled to just 15 animals in the 1960s, because of damage to their habitat caused by feral goats. It's a rare example of how biologists and managers can collaborate to recover a species from the brink of extinction, " said James P. Gibbs, a professor of vertebrate conservation biology at ESF and lead author of the paper published in the journal "PLOS ONE." Some 40 years after the first captive-bred tortoises were reintroduced to the island by the Galapagos National Park Service, the endemic Española giant tortoises are reproducing and restoring some of the ecological damage caused by feral goats that were brought to the island in the late 19th century. Gibbs and his collaborators assessed the tortoise population using 40 years of data from tortoises marked and recaptured repeatedly for measurement and monitoring by members of the Galapagos National Park Service, Charles Darwin Foundation, and visiting scientists. Now there are some 1,000 tortoises breeding on their own. The tortoise population is "very secure," he said, and probably doesn't need further human intervention. After the goats devoured all the grassy vegetation and were subsequently removed from the island, more shrubs and small trees have grown on Española. These woody plants prevent the growth of cacti, which are staples of the tortoise's diet, and make it harder for the animals to move around, the researchers said. "This is a miraculous conservation success accomplished by the Galapagos National Park Service," said Gibbs, " but there is yet more work to fully recover the ecosystem upon which the tortoises and other rare species depend."
– A welcome piece of news for an endangered species: Giant tortoises' population on the Galapagos island of Española is now "very secure," researchers say. "The global population was down to just 15 tortoises by the 1960s. Now there are some 1,000 tortoises breeding on their own," says James P. Gibbs, a professor at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and the lead author of a study on the animals, calling the success "miraculous." "It's a rare example of how biologists and managers can collaborate to recover a species from the brink of extinction." The research covers 40 years of tracking tagged tortoises, notes SUNY ESF. Feral goats were introduced to the island in the 1800s, and they munched their way through much of its vegetation. As the threat to tortoises grew, the goats were killed off by gunmen in helicopters, LiveScience reports. Tortoises bred in captivity were introduced four decades ago, and scientists are now finding animals that were born in the wild. Humans can likely step aside now, says Gibbs. But hurdles remain: Goats ate the island's grassy plants, and the vegetation that has sprung up since has tended to be more woody. They block the tortoises' cactus meals from growing, and they make moving around a challenge. "Population restoration is one thing, but ecological restoration is going to take a lot longer," Gibbs notes. (Meanwhile, closer to home, debate has raged over tortoises' iPads.)