The 1982-83 El Niño: some of its consequences for Galápagos wildlife
Noticias de Galápagos
1985
Journal Article
41
8-15
Amblyrhynchus cristatus
Noticias has published several reports on the effects of the phenomenal EI Niño event of 1982-83. These have been written by scientists and have mostly been concerned with the particular section of the flora or fauna which the author was studying. Godfrey Merlen has been serving as a Naturalist Guide in the Galapagos National Park for over four years and his occupation, which involves much travelling around the scattered islands of the archipelago, has given him an unequalled opportunity to gain an overall view of the consequences of the most catastrophic EI Nino for at least a century. He has assembled his impressions in this article, which has already appeared in ORYX, the very distinguished journal of the Fauna & Flora Preservation Society. Because it provides a more complete picture of the consequences of the extraordinary event, we have thought it of interest to our readers to reproduce it here and Godfrey Merlen has very kindly added a postscript, bringing the story up to January 1985. As mentioned in Noticias 40, page 23, he is also selling prints of his watercolours in aid of the conservation work of the Darwin Research Station.