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september galapagos griller

They are where Darwin started to develop his theories of natural selection because the different sub species of finches that lived there had all evoled with separate adaptations to help them with their individual island environments. Well worth a quiz!

If you get all the answers right you go into the draw to win a cudddly Galapagos tortoise http://berlinbear.com/wildturtles.html and a map of the islands.

Galapaready?
Galapaset?
GalapaGOs!

Click here for the answers...

01
 Straddling the equator, the first Galapagos Island bubbled from an undersea volcano 5 to 10 million years ago. The islands are now a World Heritage Site. What former site of volcanic activity in the UK is also a World Heritage Site?
White Cliffs of Dover
Loch Ness
Giants Causeway

02
 Which ocean current brings cold water from the Antarctic up the coast of Chile towards the Galapagos Islands?
The Chilly Current
The Humboldt Current
The Alternating Current

03
 The closest relative of the giant Galapogos tortoise is a species of tortoise from Chile. How might these tortoises have arrived on the islands, 600 miles from mainland South America?
One pregnant female floated there in the cold ocean currents
They were escaped pets from the earliest settlers
A few were carried over by vultures

04
 Early visitors to the islands ate the giant Galapogos tortoises. Of the 14 subspecies, 3 are now extinct. Lonesome George is the last known Pinta tortoise, and a £10,000 reward has now been offered for what for George?
A new home
Plastic surgery
A mate

05
 What makes the Galapogos penguin unique in the penguin world?
It lives north of the equator (just)
It can't swim
It can fly

06
 The 13 species of Darwin's finches that live on the islands each have different shaped beaks depending on what they eat. Which of these is NOT a species of Darwin Finch?
Vegetarian Finch
Bacon Finch
Mangrove Finch

07
 The land iguanas and giant tortoises have learned to stretch up their heads when they see a finch, allowing it to pick off and eat irratating grubs from their bodies. This mutually helpful behaviour is called what?
Parasitism
Symbiosis
Vacuuming

08
 Introduced to the islands over 100 years ago, which of these animals has caused so much damage that there is now a project to remove them?
Hummingbirds
Goats
Kangaroos

09
 Every few years El Nino causes warm water to surround the Galapagos Islands. Many sea creatures face starvation as a result of it, but the plants on the island love it. Why?
The tourists all head to the beach so less feet trample on them
El Nino brings huge rainstorms to the islands
The warm water releases carbon dioxide and more CO2 means more plant food

10
 When their algae diet is in short supply, what amazing thing can marine iguanas do to help them survive starvation?
They eat their own legs, knowing they will regrow
They make soup from rock pools
They can digest their own bones, becoming smaller, not just thinner

Answers

1= The Giants Causeway • 2= The Humboldt Current • 3= One pregnant female floated there • 4= A mate • 5= It lives north of the equator (just) • 6= Bacon Finch • 7= Symbiosis • 8= Goats • 9= El Nino brings huge rainstorms • 10= They can digest their own bones

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