On the front deck, just above the bow, Francisco Cruz, 28, holds his binoculars searching for seabirds. He records each one in his orange field notebook, indicating their species and our location. This is his first research expedition at sea. Two months ago he was studying the genetic diversity of lava lizards on South Plaza Island, just east of Santa Cruz, a research project that lasted eight days.

Francisco’s Galápagos companion on this expedition is Jules Paredes, a ranger with the Galápagos National Park. While Francisco, a volunteer of the Charles Darwin Research Station, looks for seabirds, Jules, 21, keeps watch over the Galápagos Marine Reserve and helps us comply with all Park regulations.

“The scientific party has always worked closely with the National Park and Charles Darwin Research Station and we support their mission to preserve and protect the animals and the islands themselves,” Denny Geist says. “We provide the institutions that manage the area an opportunity to access part of the Marine Reserve they don't normally see.”

Keeping up with the distribution of seabirds around the islands is a non-stop task. When at Santa Cruz, Francisco compiles data from previous years into computers. Much of what is known comes from the interior of the archipelago and on the islands themselves. “We have information about nesting sites and distributions on the islands, but not out at sea,” Francisco says. “It would be difficult to study the area we are in now without the Roger Revelle.”

We are happy that Francisco and Jules were able to join the expedition. They are both well versed in the local natural history of the islands. Jules worked as a guide before joining the National Park and has also studied Galápagos mangroves while on an Ecuadorian expedition to Genovesa.

“I think it’s a terrific opportunity to work with observers in the Marine Reserve,” Denny says. "The National Park and Charles Darwin Research Station do top-notch research with few resources, so when they work with us it’s mutually beneficial.”

Please link to the Charles Darwin Research Station and The Galapagos National Park Web Site at http://www.galapagos.org.

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