Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz is the island where one can observe and admire the Galapagos giant tortoises on our trip through this magical archipelago. In the morning we visited the world-famous Charles Darwin Research Station. Here we could appreciate the titanic efforts that are being made to save and increase the populations of the emblem of the Galapagos Islands. In the afternoon many of us had the chance to enjoy these magnificent reptiles once again but this time in the wild! A real expedition that included the intermittent drizzly rain typical of this time of the year and the consequent muddy terrain. These just added more excitement to our adventure.
Well, but you dear reader may wonder: What is the point of using a picture of tomatoes to illustrate this report? Here comes the explanation… There is a very close relationship between Galapagos giant tortoises and the Galapagos tomatoes. Yes, this species of tomato is endemic to the archipelago. The Galapagos tomato (Lycopersicum cheesmanii Riley) is a short perennial and branched herb that holds characteristic small round and red fruits, 8 to 12 mm in diameter, that resemble in some extent the well known cherry or salad tomatoes. They taste much better, let me tell you. Galapagos tomatoes have a very strong and delicious taste despite their small size. Giant tortoises like to eat them as well. Studies by Rick and Bowman (1961) suggested that giant tortoises use Galapagos tomatoes as a food source and in turn act as a major dispersal agent for them. As seeds may remain in a tortoise’s digestive tract for up to four weeks, this assures dissemination far from the parent plant. These scientists demonstrated as well that passage through the gut of a tortoise increased the frequency of seed germination of the tomatoes. Consequently, whilst enjoying this delicious food giant tortoises unwittingly act as seed dispersals at the same time, thus helping to propagate Galapagos tomatoes. I found this symbiotic relationship that involves a giant reptile and a small tomato simply fascinating. Don’t you agree with me?
Santa Cruz is the island where one can observe and admire the Galapagos giant tortoises on our trip through this magical archipelago. In the morning we visited the world-famous Charles Darwin Research Station. Here we could appreciate the titanic efforts that are being made to save and increase the populations of the emblem of the Galapagos Islands. In the afternoon many of us had the chance to enjoy these magnificent reptiles once again but this time in the wild! A real expedition that included the intermittent drizzly rain typical of this time of the year and the consequent muddy terrain. These just added more excitement to our adventure.
Well, but you dear reader may wonder: What is the point of using a picture of tomatoes to illustrate this report? Here comes the explanation… There is a very close relationship between Galapagos giant tortoises and the Galapagos tomatoes. Yes, this species of tomato is endemic to the archipelago. The Galapagos tomato (Lycopersicum cheesmanii Riley) is a short perennial and branched herb that holds characteristic small round and red fruits, 8 to 12 mm in diameter, that resemble in some extent the well known cherry or salad tomatoes. They taste much better, let me tell you. Galapagos tomatoes have a very strong and delicious taste despite their small size. Giant tortoises like to eat them as well. Studies by Rick and Bowman (1961) suggested that giant tortoises use Galapagos tomatoes as a food source and in turn act as a major dispersal agent for them. As seeds may remain in a tortoise’s digestive tract for up to four weeks, this assures dissemination far from the parent plant. These scientists demonstrated as well that passage through the gut of a tortoise increased the frequency of seed germination of the tomatoes. Consequently, whilst enjoying this delicious food giant tortoises unwittingly act as seed dispersals at the same time, thus helping to propagate Galapagos tomatoes. I found this symbiotic relationship that involves a giant reptile and a small tomato simply fascinating. Don’t you agree with me?
