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Guadalupe
Island
Fund
About Guadalupe
Resource Links
Vivanatura.org
Instituto Nacional
de Ecologia
Reserva de la
Biosfera Isla
Guadalupe
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Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island, or Isla Guadalupe, ( 28°53'N, 118°18'W) is a volcanic
island located 241 kilometers (150 miles) off the west coast of Mexico's
Baja California peninsula and some 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest
of the border city of Tijuana in Baja California state, in the Pacific
Ocean. The two other Mexican island groups in the Pacific Ocean that are
not on the continental shelf are Revillagigedo Islands and Rocas Alijos.
Settlements and population
The census of 2005 recorded a population of
15 persons on Guadalupe Island.
Campo Oeste (West Camp, also called Campo Tepeyác, with 15 buildings) is
a small community of abalone and lobster fishermen, located on the
western coast, specifically on the north side of West Anchorage, a bay
that provides protection from the strong winds and swells that whip the
islands during winter. Generators provide electricity, and a military
vessel brings 20,000 liters of fresh water. The number of fishermen
varies annually depending on the fishing season. Nevertheless, during 10
months of the year the 30 families of the fishing cooperative "Abuloneros
and Langosteros of the Guadalupe Island" are present.
Further temporary fishing camps are Campo Norte (four buildings), Campo
Lima (Campo Corrals) (one building) and Arroyitos (four buildings). An
abandoned fishermen community, Campo Este (East Camp) is located near a
cove at on the eastern shore. At the southern tip, on Melpómene Cove,
there is a weather station, staffed by a detachment from the Mexican
Ministry of the Navy. The site is called Campamento Sur.
Campo Bosque has been established as a temporary camp in 1999 in the
cypress forest in the north, which houses members of the Cooperative
Farming Society "Francisco Javier Maytorena, S.C. of R.L.", that removes
goats from the island and sells them in the State of Sonora, with
permission of SEMARNAT and the support of the Ministry of the Navy.
Campo Pista is located at the small airstrip (1200 m) near the center of
the island.
Environment
Guadalupe shares the California chaparral and woodlands
ecoregion with the Channel Islands of California in the United States,
but the island has been practically denuded of all plants higher than a
few centimetres due to tens of thousands of goats. |
Donate to ongoing
White Shark Research
Donations will help fund valuable white shark research efforts at Isla
Guadalupe. Since 2000, privately funded efforts have supported the collection of
critical white shark data.
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Originally brought
there in the early 19th century by primarily Russian whalers and sealers
for provisions when stopping over, the population eventually eliminated
most vegetation; the number of goats declined to a few thousand.
Eradication of the goats was long envisioned, but logistical
difficulties such as island size and lack of suitable spots for landing
and encamping hunters and material prevented this. As of June 2005,
after many years of false starts, the Mexican government has almost
completed a round-up and evacuation of the remaining goat population; it
has
been designated a biosphere reserve. The island had been a nature
conservancy
area since August 16, 1928, making it one of the oldest
reserves in Mexico.
Of the tree species there were only old individuals left. As the goats
ate any seedlings that managed to germinate, no regeneration of trees
was possible. Water, formerly plentiful as the common fogs condensed in
the forests of the northern end
of the island, today only occurs in a
few scattered pools and springs. Because the springs were a critical
emergency water supply for the human inhabitants,
protective measures
including goat fences were installed beginning in 2000,
allowing new
seedlings of many species to survive for the first time in 150 years.
Climate
The islands two major climate zones: a very arid,
semi-hot climate between 0 and 800 meters elevation, with mean annual
temperature between 18-22°C, and a very arid, temperate climate above
800 meters elevation with temperatures over 22°C in the hottest month of
the year.
Most precipitation occurs over the winter months with strong influence
of northwestern winds and cyclones.
Wildlife
Many unique island or marine species that reside on or
near Guadalupe also frequent the Channel Islands, and vice-versa.
Guadalupe is considered one of the best spots
in the world for sightings
of the Great White Shark, possibly because of its large population of pinnipeds. A joint team from the USA and Mexico (U.C Davis and CICIMAR)
are working in tandem with eco-tour operators Horizon Charters, Islander
Charters and Shark Diver to tag and study these sharks. It was the last
refuge for the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) and the
Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi). The island has been a
pinniped sanctuary since 1975.
Current Species List:
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Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi)
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Guadalupe Junco (Junco insularis)
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Guadalupe Cypress (Cupressus guadalupensis)
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Guadalupe Island Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata var. binata)
Numerous species and subspecies have gone extinct due to the habitat
destruction by the goats, which in turn rendered the endemic fauna
vulnerable to predation by introduced cats and to adverse weather by
depriving them of shelter. There have been 5-6 extinctions of birds
alone:
Extinct Species List:
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Guadalupe Storm Petrel (Oceanodroma macrodactyla), 1911
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Guadalupe Flicker (Colaptes cafer rufipileus), 1906 - the island was later recolonized by individuals of the nominate subspecies
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Guadalupe Bewick's Wren (Thyromanes bewickii brevicauda), 1903
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Guadalupe Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus consobrinus), 1897
The Guadalupe Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula obscurus) is close
to extinction, if it indeed still exists. It was not observed in 2000
despite thorough searches.
The Guadalupe Caracara (Polyborus lutosus) was intentionally made
extinct by humans around 1901, ironically because it occasionally preyed
on young goats.
Seacology, a non-profit environmental group located in Berkeley, CA,
provided
funding to the Island Conservation & Ecology Group for the
construction of ten fenced enclosures to keep goats out of the most
sensitive areas of Guadalupe Island.
Geography and Geology
Guadalupe has a rugged landscape. It consists of two
ancient overlapping shield volcanoes, of which the northern and higher
volcano (Mount Augusta) is the younger. The island measures 35 km
north-south and up to 9.5 km east-west, with a total area of 243.988 km²
(94.2 square miles). It features a chain of high volcanic mountain
ridges which rises to a height of 1298 meters (4257 feet) at its
northern end (Mount Augusta).
The southern part of the island is barren, but there are fertile valleys
and trees in
the northern part. The coast generally consists of rocky
bluffs with detached rocks fronting some of them. Two high and prominent
islets are within 3 km of the southwestern end of the island, separated
from one another by a gap called Tuna Alley.
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