ISRA FACTSHEETS
ISRA FACTSHEETS
CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN PACIFIC REGION
Galápagos Nursery Complex
Summary
Galápagos Nursery Complex is located in shallow coastal waters of the Galápagos islands in Ecuador. These islands are situated ~950 km from the Central and South American mainland. The area is situated within the Galápagos Marine Reserve, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, and within two Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas. Galápagos Nursery Complex includes multiple disjunct areas distributed along the coasts of five islands of the archipelago. These areas are generally shallow with sandy bottoms or a combination of sand and rock, often within mangrove-fringed bays. Within this area there are: threatened species (e.g., Blacktip Shark Carcharhinus limbatus); range-restricted species (Galápagos Bullhead Shark Heterodontus quoyi); and reproductive areas (e.g., Diamond Stingray Hypanus dipterurus).
Download factsheet
Galápagos Nursery Complex
DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT
Galápagos Nursery Complex is located in shallow coastal waters of the Galápagos islands in Ecuador. The Galápagos Archipelago is located ~950 km west of continental Ecuador, situated in an area of confluence of three major currents of the Eastern Pacific. The Galápagos platform contains all the main islands of the archipelago, except Darwin and Wolf (which are located further north off the Galápagos platform) and includes over 100 islets and emergent rocks encompassing a variety of marine habitats. The Galápagos platform ranges from 0 to 400 meters deep descending rapidly to 3,000 meters on the southern and western aspects of the platform break (Peñaherrera et al. 2018).
Galápagos Nursery Complex is situated within the Galápagos Marine Reserve, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, and within two Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas, the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor and the Galápagos Archipelago and Western Extension. The area consists of 12 disjunct portions of insular coastal marine habitat over five islands located on the Galápagos platform, with a combination of rocky shores, vertical walls, sandy beaches, and mangroves. Mangroves (which cover about 35% of the archipelago’s coastline) form a narrow peripheral zone of high productivity between the sea and the arid zones of the islands. They are sporadically distributed in sheltered bays, lava crevices, and occasionally behind the beach line on hard substrates, and within lagoons which remain connected to the sea (Moity et al. 2019). Mangroves in the Galápagos are important habitats that contain a great diversity of species and are considered as nursery areas for several species of fishes (Jaening 2010; Llerena et al. 2015; Llerena et al. 2018; Goodman 2020; Páez & Córdova 2020; Fierro-Arcos et al. 2021.)
This Important Shark and Ray Area is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to a depth of 30 m based on the maximum depth of the Qualifying Species within the area.
CRITERION A
VULNERABILITY
Three Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM regularly occur in the area. These comprise two shark species, the Critically Endangered Scalloped Hammerhead (Rigby et al. 2019) and the Vulnerable Blacktip Shark (Rigby et al. 2021), and one ray, the Vulnerable Diamond Stingray (Pollom et al. 2020).
CRITERION B
RANGE RESTRICTED
Galápagos Nursery Complex holds the regular presence of Galápagos Bullhead Shark as a resident range-restricted species. It is likely that this species is endemic to the area. Although this species is reported to occur in Peru, populations of horned sharks in mainland Ecuador and Colombia previously thought to be Galápagos Bullhead Shark were found to be Horn Shark Heterodontus francisci (Kyne et al. 2020). Moreover, there is genetic variation among islands within the Galápagos, likely due to the benthic lifestyle and limited depth range at which the Galápagos Bullhead Shark is found (Hirschfeld 2021). This species is most commonly found on the western side of Isabela Island (Acuña Marrero et al. 2018).
CRITERION C
SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS
Galápagos Nursery Complex is used as a reproductive area for three shark and three ray species: Blacktip Shark, Scalloped Hammerhead, Galápagos Bullhead Shark, Pacific Eagle Ray, Pacific Cownose Ray, and Diamond Stingray.
Several studies, including periods of standardised monitoring, have been conducted on Blacktip Shark since the discovery of large abundance of juveniles at San Cristobal Island in 2009 (Llerena 2009). At Santa Cruz, 972 Blacktip Sharks were recorded between January 2010 and January 2012, with ~60% of individuals classed as neonates (open umbilical scar) or young-of-the-year (semi-enclosed umbilical scar) (Database-DPNG 2008–2022; Llerena et al. 2015). Acoustic tagging of individuals has shown movement of neonate Blacktip Sharks is restricted to inner mangrove bays (Hirschfeld 2013; Goodman 2020).
A Scalloped Hammerhead nursery has recently been discovered at San Cristobal Island. Fifteen gillnet surveys between 2017 and 2019 caught 66 individuals identified as recently pupped and young-of-the-year (mean = 52 cm total length [TL]), with every survey recording at least one individual. Acoustic and conventional tagging, along with Baited Remote Underwater Video Surveys (BRUVS), revealed a high residency index of 89% showing juveniles remain for extended periods of time (Chiriboga 2018; Páez & Córdova 2020; Chiriboga et al. 2022).
Galápagos Bullhead Shark is an endemic species restricted to cool, coastal waters on the western margins of the islands (Acuña Marrero et al. 2018). Significant genetic variation has been found in this species among islands within the Galápagos suggesting limited dispersal capacity from natal sites (Hirschfeld 2021). Galápagos Bullhead Shark egg cases and juveniles have been found on the western bioregion between the Bolivar Channel and Punta Vicente Roca (Hirschfeld et al. submitted).
Recently, shark nursery monitoring in the area has expanded to encompass rays (Galápagos Conservation Trust 2021). Since 2019, 125 Pacific Eagle Rays have been sampled (with many more observed) ranging from 32 to 150 cm disc width (DW). Five bays on San Cristobal Island and three bays on Isabela Island are considered potential nursery areas based on the presence of neonates and young-of the-year over multiple years (Diana Pazmiño unpubl. data 2022).
Similarly, 120 Diamond Stingrays have been sampled (with many more observed) ranging from 22 to 80 cm DW. Five bays on San Cristobal Island and three bays on Isabela Island are considered as potential nursery areas based on the presence of neonates and young-of the-year over multiple years (Diana Pazmiño unpubl. data 2022).
Hundreds of Pacific Cownose Rays have been observed and 33 individuals been sampled ranging from 45 to 100 cm DW. One bay on San Cristobal Island and one on Isabela Island are considered potential nursery areas based on the presence of neonates and young-of the-year over multiple years (Diana Pazmiño unpubl. data 2022).
Download factsheet
SUBMIT A REQUEST
ISRA SPATIAL LAYER REQUEST
To make a request to download the ISRA Layer in either a GIS compatible Shapefile (.shp) or Google Earth compatible Keyhole Markup Language Zipped file (.kmz) please complete the following form. We will review your request and send the download details to you. We will endeavor to send you the requested files as soon as we can. However, please note that this is not an automated process, and before requests are responded to, they undergo internal review and authorization. As such, requests normally take 5–10 working days to process.
Should you have questions about the data or process, please do not hesitate to contact us.
