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The Galápagos: Lessons in natural selection

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    A living laboratory

    The Galápagos Islands, an archipelago some 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador, is still nearly as wild as the day Charles Darwin stepped ashore in 1835. It was here, observing many of the same species and walking on the same soil as travellers do today, that the scientist developed his theory of evolution by natural selection – a concept that would change evolutionary science forever.

    Though the landscape has shifted over the years, with some islands thriving and others succumbing to the forces of erosion, the 13 islands of the Galápagos are still a living laboratory where wildlife is a prime illustrator of how only the strongest survive. Pictured here is a marine iguana, an endemic species that Darwin affectionately called the “imps of darkness”. (Dan Belmont)

A living laboratory

The Galápagos Islands, an archipelago some 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador, is still nearly as wild as the day Charles Darwin stepped ashore in 1835. It was here, observing many of the same species and walking on the same soil as travellers do today, that the scientist developed his theory of evolution by natural selection – a concept that would change evolutionary science forever.

Though the landscape has shifted over the years, with some islands thriving and others succumbing to the forces of erosion, the 13 islands of the Galápagos are still a living laboratory where wildlife is a prime illustrator of how only the strongest survive. Pictured here is a marine iguana, an endemic species that Darwin affectionately called the “imps of darkness”. (Dan Belmont)

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