Galapagos giant tortoises (Geochelone nigra vandenburghi) gather at night under moonlight on the rim of a volcano to sleep in volcanically heated thermal pools. It keeps them warm overnight at altitude and allows them to start grazing earlier in the day. The pools are found on the rim of volcano Alcedo on the island of Isabela of the Galapagos archipelago. Local vegetation is poisoned by volcanic minerals in the soil. Alcedo is the site of succesfull efforts to remove invasive introduced species (principally goats) which threaten the stable ecology of the caldera and the tortoises long-term future | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / Stewart, Paul D. |
Taille de l’image : | 5222 px × 3482 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |