BSW - CAA - Darwin's Galapagos Travels Research

 Darwin's Galapagos Travels

Charles Darwin was 22 years old when he visited the Galapagos Islands on September 1835. He was there for 5 weeks out of his almost 5 year voyage. This voyage was the second survey expedition of the HMS Beagle under captain Robert FitzRoy. FitzRoy had thought of the advantages of having someone who could investigate geology. So when this opportunity arose, Darwin who hoped to see the tropics before coming a parson accepted. A parson is an ordained Christian who is responsible for a small area. 

The Beagle sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and around the coasts of south America. He returned to England via Australia after circumnavigating the Earth. Initially The offer to Darwin was for a 2 year expedition, but it actually lasted almost 5. Almost a whole quarter of Darwin's notes and field book are dedicated to the islands which shows how much they amazed him!

San Cristobal, also named Chatham Island was the first island they encountered in 1835 on September 16th . The Beagle spent 8 days surveying the coast and Darwin landed 5 times because of his interest in the volcanic and cratered island. He thought the dry coast would be deserted and isolated, not the tropics he was imagining. He came across desert plains almost all in flower and some reptiles. On this island is where he picked up his first specie of that would later be the base and foundation to his theory of evolution, the San Cristobal Mockingbird.

The second island was Floreana also know as Charles Island. Darwin had 3 days to collect species and the second bird to lead him the important conclusions. He recognised the differences in the previous species that he found in San Cristobal and paid closer attention to the species. Later he discovered a pattern of evolution in the species due to the environmental features of each island.

The Third island was Isabela and they arrived on the 29th of September. The island was mostly deserted and volcanically active. This is where he found marine and terrestrial iguanas that to him were ancient creatures. After Isabela he they sailed around Pinta, Marchena and Genovesa offering Darwin to see the different land formations.

The Final island they stopped at was Santiago, also named James Island. This is where Darwin stayed the longest. He spent a whole 2 weeks walking around the island with a crew who helped him carry all the species he collected. Also all the species he found were also different to the other islands giving enough evidence to theorise that species change and this is related to their food sources and surroundings. He collected finches that helped him to understand the resolution. The Beagle left the Galapagos Islands on the 20th of October 1835.

The most important differences between species are in the size and shape of their beaks, which are highly adapted to different food sources on the different islands.

Upon return from the voyage, Darwin presented the finches along with various other specimens he collected to the Zoological Society of London. Those specimens were handed to John Gould, who was a famous English ornithologist. Ornithology is a branch of zoology that is the study of birds and everything about them. Gould found that what Darwin thought were finches were actually ground finches and he found 12 different species in the specimens he brought. The conclusions supported his idea of the transmutation of species.