North Seymour Island
{{Short description|Island in the Galápagos Archipelago}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = North Seymour Island
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| map = Ecuador Galápagos Islands
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| label = North Seymour Island
| label_position = right
| coordinates = {{coord|-0.395592|-90.287327|display=inline,title}}
| location = Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
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| archipelago = Galápagos Islands
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| elevation_m = 28
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| country = Ecuador
}}
File:Isla Seymour Norte, islas Galápagos, Ecuador, 2015-07-23, DD 01.JPG
North Seymour Island ({{langx|es|Isla Seymour Norte}}) is a small island near Baltra Island in the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. It was formed by uplift of a submarine lava formation and is now covered with low, bushy vegetation. It has an area of {{convert|1.9|sqkm|abbr=on}} and a maximum elevation of {{convert|28|m|ft|sp=us}}. There is no permanent population but a visitor trail has been established approximately {{convert|2|km|abbr=on}} in length for guided tours crossing the interior of the island and exploring the rocky coast.
{{anchor|Names|Etymology|Toponymy}}
Name
Seymour Island was named after George Francis Seymour, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific Station (1844-1847), and was given by John James Onslow, captain of HMS Daphne (1838) which spent a month in Galapagos in February-March 1845.{{cite journal |last1=Grant |first1=K. Thalia |title=HMS Daphne In Galapagos: Its Visit And Legacy |journal=Galapagos Research |date=December 2024 |volume=71 |pages=4-19 |url=https://www.darwinfoundation.org/en/resources/galapagos-research/galapagos-research-vol-71}} Its present name North Seymour distinguishes it from nearby Baltra Island, also known as South Seymour.{{sfnp|McEwen|1988|p=238}} Together with Baltra, North Seymour is considered to be part of the Seymours or the Seymour Group.
Geography
North Seymour is an islet near Baltra in Ecuador's Galápagos Islands.{{cite web|title=North Seymour|url=https://www.galapagos.org/about_galapagos/about-galapagos/the-islands/north-seymour/|website=Galapagos Conservancy|publisher=galapagos.org|accessdate=2 June 2017}} It was formed by seismic uplift of a submarine lava formation rather than directly created by volcanism. The island has a flat profile with cliffs only a few meters from the shoreline.
Flora
All of North Seymour is covered with low, bushy vegetation.{{cite web|title=NORTH SEYMOUR ISLAND, GALAPAGOS|url=https://animalcorner.co.uk/north-seymour-island/|website=Animal Corner|publisher=animalcorner.co.|accessdate=2 June 2017}} A tiny forest of silver-grey Palo Santo trees stand just above the landing, usually without leaves.
Wildlife
North Seymour is home to a large population of blue-footed boobies and swallow-tailed gulls. Flocks of pelicans and swallow-tailed gulls feed off shore, and seasonally, Nazca boobies can also be seen.
There is a slowly growing population of Galápagos land iguanas ({{lang|la|Conolophus subcristatus}}). The stock for the captive breeding program of the Galápagos land iguana is descended from iguanas which Captain G. Allan Hancock moved from nearby Baltra Island in the 1930s. This helped preserve the species when Baltra became the site of an American airbase during World War II. The population swelled to over 5,000 by the 21st century, beginning to reach the limits of the island's food availability. The Directorate of the Galápagos National Park and Island Conservation took 1,436 of the iguanas from the North Seymour population to Santiago Island on 4 January 2019, restoring them to Santiago after a 180-year absence in an effort to restore that island's ecological health and to provide the both groups of iguanas more resources to thrive. Darwin had noted Santiago's iguanas in 1835, but they were last found there by Abel-Nicolas Bergasse du Petit-Thouars in 1838.{{cite web|url=https://www.islandconservation.org/galapagos-land-iguanas-return-santiago-island-180-year-absence/ |title=Threatened Galápagos Land Iguanas Return to Santiago Island En-Masse After 180-Year Absence|publisher=Island Conservation|accessdate=9 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/08/galapagos-island-gets-its-first-iguanas-since-darwin-after-mass-release |title=Galápagos island gets its first iguanas since Darwin after mass-release|work=The Guardian|accessdate=9 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/galapagos-island-iguanas-scli-intl/index.html |title=Iguanas reintroduced to Galapagos island after 200 years|publisher=CNN.com|accessdate=9 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://time.com/5496466/galapagos-island-iguanas-reintroduced/ |title=Iguanas Are Being Reintroduced to a Galapagos Island Two Centuries After They Disappeared|publisher=TIME|access-date=9 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/iguanas-galapagos-island-national-park-santiago-island-charles-darwin-a8718246.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220621/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/iguanas-galapagos-island-national-park-santiago-island-charles-darwin-a8718246.html |archive-date=21 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Iguanas reintroduced to Galapagos island after almost 200 years|work=The Independent|accessdate=9 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://earther.gizmodo.com/iguanas-reintroduced-to-the-largest-galapagos-island-af-1831584615 |title=Iguanas Reintroduced to the Largest Galapagos Island After Nearly 200 Year Absence|publisher=Earther|accessdate=9 January 2019}}
On January 12, 2019, the park directorate began using aerial drones to eradicate black and brown rats ({{lang|la|Rattus rattus}} and {{lang|la|R. norvegicus}}) from North Seymour, the first time such an approach had been used on vertebrates in the wild. The expectation is that this innovation will pave the way for faster and cheaper eradications of invasive species in the future on small and mid-sized islands.{{cite web|url=https://www.islandconservation.org/ecological-restoration-north-seymour-island-drone-rat-removal/ |title=Ecological Restoration of North Seymour Island Underway Thanks to Rat Removal|publisher=Island Conservation|accessdate=23 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00176-z |title=Drones unleashed against invasive rats in the Galápagos|publisher=Nature|accessdate=23 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/technology-47071513 |title=Drones help Galapagos tackle rat infestation|publisher=BBC|accessdate=31 January 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/story/drones-drop-poison-bombs-to-fight-one-islands-rat-invasion/ |title=Drones drop poison bombs to fight one island's rat invasions|publisher=Wired|accessdate=23 January 2019}}
Gallery
File:A Galapagos Land Iguana on the North Seymour Island in the Galapagos photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|A Galápagos land iguana on the North Seymour Island in the Galápagos
File:Blue footed Booby on North Seymour Island Galapagos photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|(Sula nebouxii) blue footed booby on North Seymour Island Galápagos
File:At the beach in North Seymour Island Galapagos photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|Beach in North Seymour Island, Galápagos
File:Beach in North Seymour Island Galapagos photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design..JPG|Long view of the beach on North Seymour Island, Galápagos
File:Zalophus wollebaeki juvenil.jpg|Galápagos sea lion (Zalophus wollebaeki)
File:North Seymour Island Galapagos photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|North Seymour Island in the Galápagos
File:North Seymour Island Galapagos Seal photo with baby by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|North Seymour Island Galápagos seal with baby
File:North Seymour Island in the Galapagos about to land on shore photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|North Seymour Island in the Galápagos about to land on shore. Daphne Island is in the distance.
File:North Seymour Island in the Galapagos photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|North Seymour Island in the Galápagos, Daphne Island is in the distance.
File:North Seymour Island in the Galapagos bird in flight photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|North Seymour Island in the Galápagos, a bird in flight
File:North Seymour Island Galapagos bird photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|North Seymour Island in the Galápagos
File:North Seymour Island in the Galapagos a small bird photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|A baby bird at North Seymour Island in the Galápagos
File:Coast of North Seymour Island in the Galapagos with a bird in flight in a blue sky photo by Alvaro Sevilla Design.JPG|Magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) in flight on the coast of North Seymour Island in the Galápagos
File:The Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) North Seymour Island Galapagos.JPG|Magnificent frigatebird, North Seymour Island
File:North Seymour Island in the Galapagos.JPG|North Seymour Island
File:The beach at North Seymour Island in the Galapagos.jpeg|The beach at North Seymour Island in the Galápagos North. Daphne Island is in the distance.
File:Noseyiguana.jpg|North Seymour, Galapagos, land iguana
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist|30em}}
=Bibliography=
{{refbegin}}
- {{citation |last=McEwen |first=Alec |contribution-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/633849 |contribution=The English Place-Names of the Galápagos |title=The Geographical Journal |volume=154 |issue=2 |date=July 1988 |pages=234–242 |publisher=Royal Geographical Society |location=London |doi=10.2307/633849 |jstor=633849 }}.
{{refend}}
External links
{{Commons category|Seymour Norte|North Seymour Island}}
- [https://archive.today/20121216064122/http://www.galapagosonline.com/Islands/islands/North_Seymour/North_Seymour.html North Seymour Information]
- [https://people.rit.edu/rhrsbi/GalapagosPages/LandIguana.html North Seymour Land Iguana History]
{{Galápagos Islands}}