Fascinating article in BMC Evolutionary Biology on the role of humans in helping the expansion of the Egyptian Vulture (Alimoche in Spanish, guirre in the Canaries) and its remarkably fast evolution into a sub-species (Neophron percnopterus majorensis).

Archaeological remains show that first colonizers were Berber people from northern Africa who imported goats. This new and abundant food source could have allowed vultures to colonize, expand and adapt to the island environment. Our results suggest that anthropogenic environmental change can induce diversification and that this process may take place on an ecological time scale (less than 200 generations), even in the case of a long-lived species. Full article here

Found on Crónica Verde: Los buitres llegaron a Canarias siguiendo a los hombres y sus cabras

Wikipedia on the Canarian vulture (above photo not the Canarian sub-species)

• N. p. majorensis, the Canarian Egyptian Vulture, the largest subspecies with by far the smallest and most restricted population, is found only in the eastern Canary Islands where they are known by the name of guirre. Described as a new subspecies only in 2002, studies suggest that it is more genetically distant from N. p. percnopterus than N. p. ginginianus is. Unlike neighbouring populations in Africa and southern Europe, they are not migratory and are consistently larger in size. The name majorensis is derived from “Majorata”, the ancient name for the island of Fuerteventura. The island was named by Spanish conquerors in the 15th century after the “Majos”, the main native Guanche tribe there^. A study suggests that the species colonized the island around 2500 years ago and the establishment of the population may have been aided by human colonization.
• The population in the Canary Islands have been isolated from populations in Europe and Africa for a significant period of time and have declined greatly and are of particular concern due to their genetic distinctiveness. The Canarian Egyptian Vulture was historically common, occurring on the islands of La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. It is now restricted to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, the two easternmost islands. The total population in 2000 was estimated at about 130 individuals, including 25–30 breeding pairs^. The island birds appear to be more susceptible to infections^. Island birds appear to accumulate significant amounts of lead from scavenging on hunted animal carcasses and the long-term effect of this poison at a sublethal level is not known although it alters the mineralization of their bones^. In order to provide safe and uncontaminated food for nesting birds, attempts have been made to create “vulture restaurants” where carcasses are made available. These interventions however may also encourage opportunist predators and scavengers to concentrate at the site and pose a threat to nesting birds in the vicinity

One of the weirdest trees growing naturally in Spain is the Dracaena draco, the Canary Islands Dragon Tree (Drago in Spanish). Reports of one thousand-year old specimens are somewhat exagerrated. The tree, shown above at Icod de los Vino, is thought to be the oldest in the islands at a sprightly 650 years.

The tree ‘s name has mythical origins: for his 11th labour, Hercules had to bring back three golden apples from the garden of the Hespérides, which is guarded by Landon, the hundred-headed dragon. Hercules killed Landon and his blood flowed out over the land, which began to sprout ‘dragon’ trees. Arkive. The origin of this tale lies in the tree’s resin: When the bark or leaves are cut they secrete a reddish resin, one of the sources of the substance known as Dragon’s blood.

Cory’s Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) an endangered seabird, is under threat in Lanzarote, a World Biosphere Reserve, from unscrupulous restaurant-owning rogues selling them as “special chicken”. Thousands of shearwater chicks are being taken in Lanzarote and to a lesser extent Fuerteventura. The chicks are then being sold for as much 100 euros a go to punters wanting to try their “exotic” flesh”. Lanzarote is home to the second largest colony of Cory’s shearwaters in the world, and despite being a natural park, there is a woeful lack of suverlance, allowing the bird thieves to take their fill. Crónica Verde

California kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getulus) released or escaped on Gran Canary are threatening the island’s biodiversity including the rare giant lizard of Gran Canary. Although 334 have been captured in the last two years, there are thought to be a population of some 1,000 still slithering around the island. It is now considered virtually impossible to extinguish them and efforts are limited to controlling their expansion. They are harmless to humans. More here

No snakes are native to the Canary Islands.

Spectacular image of a lizard impaled on a branch by a Great Southern Shrike (Lanius meridionalis Alcaudón Real in Spanish), in the La Geria region of Lanzarote. Lizards and small mammals are occassionally impaled by shrikes, though invertebrates are much more frequent victims. Photo by Yummifruitbat on Wikipedia.

Distribution in Spain “Reproductora en la mayor parte de la Península, pero
con distribución más laxa en las regiones de influencia atlántica y
cantábrica.” More here

Spain has been awarded with two new Biosphere Reserves: the island of Fuerteventura and its surrounding waters and Gerês-Xures, a natural area straddling Portugal and Orense, Spain. Spain now has 40 such reserves. In the photo, Dunas de Corrajeo, in northern Fuerteventura.

El Mundo

The first loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from eggs brought from Cabo Verde have hatched in Fuerteventura, in the Playa de Cofete in the Parque Natural de Jandía. More are expected to hatch from a total of 781 eggs. The project is planned to last ten years as it will take at least a decade to be able to begin to measure its success when hopefully some of those turtles hatched will return to the same beach as adults.

800 Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta – tortuga boba) eggs are to be buried today in La Playa de Cofete de Fuerteventura in an attempt to reintroduce the species in the Canary Islands. The eggs have been brought from the Cape Verde. 200 more are to be sent to the Centro de Recuperación de Especies in Taliarte, in Gran Canaria, and 400 to the Estación Biológica in Doñana, Andalucia. Loggerhead turtles disappeared from the Canary Islands some 300 years ago. It wil take at least 15 years to be able to begin to measure the success of the project when hopefully some of those turtles hatched will return to the same beach as adults. Terra

More on loggerhead turtles (Wikipedia – above photo) which notes that the genus name “Caretta” is a latinization of the French “caret”, meaning turtle, tortoise, or sea turtle.  Small populations of loggerhead turtle in the Mediterranean exist in the Turkey and Greece.

See also: Loggerhead turtles hatch in Almeria (October 21st, 2007)

29/04/2008 Latest news: fire appears to be moving away and is under control.

A fire is threatening the laurel forest of Garajonay National Park on Gomera, one of the last remaining Tertiary habitats to survive in Europe. The humid subtropical forest of Laurisilva covered almost all of Europe during the Tertiary, but disappeared due to climate changes . More soon. El Pais

Our understanding of the reptile world is in a constant state of flux as advances in DNA techniques continue. The latest is the promotion of a species of skink on La Gomera to full species. The joint study by researchers from France, UK and Spain is published in the latest issue of Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. They have baptised the new reptile Chalcides coeruleopunctatus, Lisa de Salvador in Spanish (Salvador’s or the Gomeran Skink in English), in honour of Alfredo Salvador, researcher at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales de Madrid, who described it for the first time in 1975 El Mundo.

The La Palma Giant Lizard (Gallotia auaritae) has remarkably been rediscovered on the Island of La Palma. The photo of a male was taken by Canarian reptile expert José Antonio Mateo, who notes that it is probably an animal in dispersion, from a population some 500-1000m away. The task is now to find it. El Mundo

Wikipedia notes (written prior to this news) “Its decline started 2000 years ago with the arrival of humans on La Palma. It appears to have become extinct in the last 500 years. The main causes of extinction appear to have been introduced cats, consumption by people, and habitat destruction for agriculture. Although the species is believed to be extinct, there is a small chance that it could be rediscovered in a remote or inaccessible location. This happened with other giant lizards of the Canary Islands, like the El Hierro and La Gomera Giant Lizards (rediscovered 1974 and 1999, respectively); the somewhat smaller Tenerife Speckled Lizard was only discovered for the first time in 1996. ”
More here on the species from Wikipedia (English)

Photo of beached Fin whale (rorcual común – Balaenoptera physalus) in Las Palmas

 More on Wikipedia El_Hierro_Giant_Lizard

Original story: 30/01/2007: Worst storms in El Hierro’s history with 500mm in 36 hours decimates population of highly endangered El Hierro Giant Lizard. Only 102 survive of world pop. of 282 have survived (El Pais) 31/1 WWF classify disaster as internationally important (WWF)

Tenerife president Ricardo Melchior noted “Hemos tenido suerte dentro de la catástrofe porque no ha afectado a la zona de flora endémica y esperamos tenerlo recuperado en breve”

Icod de Los Vinos, Tenerife, August 2007. El Pais

Blue chaffinch photo from SEO

Tellingly, the EU Action plan for the Blue chaffinch warned several years that “Forest fires have in the past played an important role in the destruction of Gran Canaria’s pinewoods. At present, a fire in one of the critical Blue Chaffinch areas could have catastrophic results due to the small areas and population involved.”

They also note “The Blue Chaffinch Fringilla teydea is endemic to the Canary Islands and comprises two subspecies, one found on Tenerife (F. t. teydea) and the other on Gran Canaria (F. t. polatzeki). Its habitat is Canary pine Pinus canariensis woodland which is listed in Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive. Although there has not been a census of the Tenerife population, its situation is thought to be stable, while the estimated population on Gran Canaria is 185–260 birds (Moreno 1991), which means that the latter subspecies is classified as Endangered both nationally and internationally.”

Nasa satellite Canary Islands Fire

More on forest fires

BBC report here

“The fires have burnt at least 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) of land on the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife.

Spain’s Environment Minister Cristina Narbona called a state of “maximum alert” and ordered more water-bombing planes to help douse the fires. Hundreds of firefighters are working with planes to quell the blaze. On Saturday, police arrested a forest ranger who admitted to starting one of the fires. The 37-year-old man told police his job contract was about to expire and he wanted to keep working, according to the AP news agency.

Local officials said that 5,200 people had been taken to safety on Gran Canaria and at least 5,700 people were evacuated from homes in Tenerife as the four-day blaze continued to burn.

Hazards Previously, dozens of people had been evacuated from seven areas since Friday. Paulino Rivero, head of the regional government said: “The rugged landscape of these islands makes firefighting very complicated, except from the air. “But while there is a lot of wind and very high temperatures, helicopters generally cannot operate.” A spokesman for Gran Canaria’s authorities said fires were burning on four fronts but attention was being focused on two in the central Fataga area. He added that only two helicopters were able to drop water there because of the “terrible” wind. The fire has damaged 65% of the Palmitos bird sanctuary park. There are fears that toucans and other exotic birds may have been killed. A spokeswoman from Tenerife’s island authorities said some 300 members of fire and other emergency services were fighting the blazes, with the support of 34 lorries, four helicopters and a water-bomber airplane.

Meanwhile, officials in southern Portugal said a major forest fire that broke out on Monday had now been brought under control.” (BBC)

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