Scientists Warn Strong El Niño Could Harm Galápagos Wildlife
Forecasts of a stronger-than-normal El Niño indicate the Galápagos could face significant ecological stress as sea temperatures rise about 2.2°C above average, threatening both marine food chains and terrestrial forests. The impact endangers iconic wildlife such as penguins, boobies, petrels, albatrosses, sea lions, and key habitat like Scalesia forests, with invasive plants compounding the risk and prompting a coordinated mitigation effort including invasive-plant removal and seed preservation.
Environment · 6 sources · Sep 10, 2026Read itThe journal
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About Galapagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, 485 nautical miles west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of slightly over 33,000 in 2020. The province is divided into the cantons of San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela, the three most populated islands in the chain. The Galápagos are famous for their large number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin in the 1830s and inspired his theory of evolution by means of natural selection. All of these islands are protected as part of Ecuador's Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve.
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- http://www.galapagos.today, https://marcaecuador.com, https://galapagoscharterson.com