Isabel A. Jimenez
1*
Patricio A. Vega-Mariño
2,3*
Tamia Villacres
4
Emma Houck
5The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.
REVIEW article
Front. Conserv. Sci.
Sec. Human-Wildlife Interactions
Volume 5 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2024.1351707
This article is part of the Research Topic Ecosystem and Planetary Health and Emerging/Re-emerging Zoonoses View all 5 articles
Review of One Health in the Galapagos Islands (Part 1): Historical Perspective, Invasive Species, and Emerging Infectious Diseases
Provisionally accepted- 1 Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
- 2 University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
- 3 Agency for the Regulation and Control of Biosafety and Quarantine for Galapagos (ABG), Santa Cruz, Ecuador
- 4 Other, Santa Cruz, Ecuador
- 5 College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States
The Galápagos archipelago is a vast reservoir of terrestrial and marine biodiversity, owing in large part to its relatively recent volcanic genesis and colonization by humans. This unique ecological system is particularly susceptible to human, animal, and environmental impacts. Climate change, globalization, and the blurring of human-domestic animal-wildlife interfaces are poised to bring new threats and challenges to the region. A One Health perspective that simultaneously considers human, animal, and environmental health is imperative in assessing and mitigating the challenges facing the Galápagos Islands. In Part I of this review, we provide the historical context for biodiversity in the archipelago; discuss the role of invasive species in habitat destruction, fragmentation, and competition with endemic species; and summarize the established and emerging infectious disease threats. We also discuss the imperative to implement research, surveillance, and preventative measures to identify and manage future threats from a One Health perspective, with a specific emphasis on implications for wildlife health. In Part II of this review, we outline the socioeconomic context of life in the Galápagos Islands, evaluate the current and predicted effects of climate change, and discuss direct anthropogenic factors affecting Galápagos biodiversity, such as tourism, fishing, pollution, and the illegal wildlife trade. We also examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. We build a cohesive picture of One Health in the Galápagos Islands by integrating past work, current needs, and emerging threats. We also consider overarching goals for conservation, ecosystem management, and socioeconomic sustainability that have been previously defined by both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, and we identify discrete, implementable, and interdisciplinary recommendations that will facilitate achievement of those goals.
Keywords: Galapagos, One Health, Planetary health, wildlife, conservation, Endemic species, invasive species
Received: 06 Dec 2023; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Jimenez, Vega-Mariño, Villacres and Houck. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Isabel A. Jimenez, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
Patricio A. Vega-Mariño, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain
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