2013) the remaining nine taxa are all presently threatened with extinction (IUCN). ![]() since AD 1535, but prior to the development of modern conservation programmes) and another in 2012 with the death of Lonesome George, the only surviving Pinta Island tortoise (although see Edwards et al. 2012), four became extinct during the historical period (i.e. Of the 14 generally recognised Galápagos tortoise taxa (Poulakakis et al. Populations declined further throughout the 19th–20th centuries with the impacts of introduced non-native animal species. Historically, tortoises were captured by buccaneers and whalers to provide fresh meat aboard ship, hunted for their oil, eaten by settlers and collected during early scientific expeditions. 1974), although population numbers have increased in recent years as a result of a successful captive breeding and repatriation programme. Tortoise populations throughout the archipelago are estimated to have declined from levels of between 100 000 and 250 000 individuals to a low of 8000–14 000 in the 1970s (Townsend 1925 MacFarland et al. Since European discovery, Galápagos tortoises have been greatly impacted by people. Significant conservation programmes have been developed in the Galápagos with emphases on three key areas: eradication of invasive species, controlling the introduction and spread of non-native species and preservation of populations of keystone taxa, notably the iconic Galápagos giant tortoise. This seeming dichotomy is likely the result of the short duration of human presence which did not begin until European discovery in AD 1535. The Galápagos, however, currently exhibit some of the highest extinction rates in the world (Snell et al. 2002) making them one of the few remaining options for the maintenance and restoration of a relatively intact archipelago biota, ecosystems which have been severely impacted worldwide. An estimated 95% of the native biological diversity of the Islands is still extant (Bensted-Smith et al. ![]() The Galápagos Islands are globally renowned both for their ecological value and as a world symbol of scientific discovery. Former freshwater wetlands, a now limited habitat-type, were found to have converted to Sphagnum bogs concomitant with tortoise loss, subsequently leading to the decline of several now-rare or extinct plant species. Upland tortoise populations on Santa Cruz declined 500–700 years ago, likely the result of human impact or possible climatic change. We report the first evidence from palaeoecological records of coprophilous fungal spores of the formerly more extensive geographical range of giant tortoises in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island. Successful tortoise conservation efforts have focused on species recovery, but ecosystem conservation and restoration requires a better understanding of the wider ecological consequences of this drastic reduction in the archipelago's only large native herbivore. The giant tortoises of the Galápagos have become greatly depleted since European discovery of the islands in the 16th Century, with populations declining from an estimated 250 000 to between 8000 and 14 000 in the 1970s.
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