ECUADOR

PresentationTushar Shah

EcuadorGalapagos Islands

- an inspiration for the Theory of Evolution ; Nature’s laboratory

Agenda

• Brief Overview: Location, Places, History, Politics , food, people

• Places: • Quito: Old charming colonial town • Cotopaxi volcano, • Quiltoa laguna, • Guyyaquil: Malecon 2000

• Galepgos Islands and sailing trip • Slideshow , Videos • References

Location• Located on the West coast of South

America, borders Pacific Ocean• Bordered by Columbia and Peru• Mostly in the Southern Hemisphere

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• Andes mountain range runs the length of Ecuador

• 4 geographical regions: Andes highlands, coastal lowlands, jungles of the Amazon basin and the Galapagos Islands

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ECUADOR

A Brief Overview• Population: ~14M • Official language is Spanish but Quichua

is spoken by the Indigenous population• Ten native languages spoken• Currency: US dollar• GDP per capita: $3,927 (2008 estimate)• Religion: approximately 95% of the

population is Catholic, about 4% are protestant

• 4/17/16 : Ecuador earthquake: 272 people killed, 2,527 injured;

• Sea Sickness: Dramamine , Scopolamine patch, Ginger pills

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Economy• 2 main industries:

– Oil – Agriculture: fruits and vegetables, flowers

• Primary exports are oil, bananas, shrimp, coffee and cocoa

• Ecuador has  has become a popular place for U.S. and Canadian retirees, based on its very low cost of living and warm weather http://media.lonelyplanet.com/lpi/17724/17724-26/681x454.jpg

• Ecuador has a democratically elected president . Rafael Correra, Election in Feb 2017.

Government

Food• Primarily eat rice, potatoes and meat

(beef or chicken are most common)• Roasted guinea pig (cuy)• Aji – a traditional hot sauce• Patacones – “squashed, fried, green

bananas”• At street vendors: La Ronda

– Tortillas de maiz (thin corn pancakes) – choclo (barbecued Andean corn)

• restaurants: – for a $1.50 canelazo, an alcoholic cinnamon

drink– seco de pollo (a stew made of chicken,

accompanied by rice and avocado slices) – lomo salteado (thin beef steaks smothered

in onions and tomatoes) – seco de chivo (goat stew served with rice)

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Quito, city in northern Ecuador, capital of Ecuador and of Pichincha Province. The city is picturesquely situated on the lower slopes of Pichincha volcano in a narrow, fertile valley of the Andes Mountains at an elevation of 2850 m (9350 ft) above sea level. Because of its elevation it has a pleasant, moderate climate despite being just south of the equator.

Second highest capitol in the world

Equator Marker North of Quito

Equator Marker on Main Highway

QUITO – la capital• Quito has little heavy industry. Its chief

manufactures include textiles, processed food, beverages, leather, cement, furniture, and gold and silver handicrafts. The city is linked with the Pacific Ocean by roads and a railroad (opened 1908), and is on the Pan-American Highway

• Quito is the oldest South American capital and retains much of its colonial aspect. The city is laid out mainly according to a rectangular plan and has an expansive central plaza, many quiet parks and flower gardens, and numerous steep, narrow streets.

much of the wealth went into the churches

LA SIERRA

This church is one of the best known in the city of Quito, and the plaza in front bear the same name, San Francisco

Cotopaxi

To climb to the top of Cotopaxi is one of the special motivations to come to Ecuador, also because it`s the highest active volcano in the world. What It's Like Living Near Cotopaxi, Ecuador's Very Active Volcano; Vice; Errupted Sept 9 15

Tungurahua Volcano

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/tungurahua/news.html; Expected to soon; July ‘16

The skyline of Guayaquil

Conference between José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar, to discuss the future of Perú(and South America in general).

Quechua woman

Dos ecuatorianas nativas

Meat market in Otavalo

The distinctive ethnic costumes which are worn in these villages signify the group and location.

Men carrying shrine at Otavalo Market

Straw Hats on women at market in Southern Highlands

Flower market in Cuenca

Weaver of Ikat material 

back strap loom

El Poncho

Traditional dance in the market town of Otavalo

Chola Cuencana making a Panama

hat.

Panama hats made in Ecuador

Precolumbian period:Ecuador was inhabited by groups of uncertain origin. Later these groups developed into cultures like Chorrera, Jama Coaque, Bahia, Tolita, Machalilla, Valdivia.

Eventually these cultures located in the northern Inter-Andean region, merged and the alliance became the Kingdom of Quito.

Inca Empire:By the early 1500's the Inca Huayna capac divided the Empire between his two sons: Atahualpa from Quito and Atahualpa's half brother Huascar from Cuzco following their father's death. Athualpa's defeated Huscar and became master of Quito as well as Cuzco. The struggle however weakened the Incan forces and facilitated the Spanish Conquest. The conquerors were able to

surprise a capture Atahualpa, the Son of the Sun God, put him to death.Film: Atahualpa "The Fall Of The Inca Empire"◄ The First Peruvian Film In 3D

Organization of the Incas (1.000 AD) The Central highlands of the Andes was the seat of the Inca empire. It stretched from the south of Colombia to the north of Chile, over an area of more than four thousand square kilometers, across a land known as Tahuantinsuyo. The Incas were thus made up of a vast population of dozens of different ethnic groups with their own languages, customs and economies based on cultivation of the land. In Ecuador, these people spread out along the Andes, occupying some coastal regions and exercising a significant influence on Quito.Colonial Period:Quito was not conquered until Benacazar took possession of the kingdom of Quito. On December 6, 1534 Benaicazar took possession of the kingdom of Quito. Gonzalo Pizarro, Francisco's brother, Gobenor, sent an expedition under the command of Francisco de Orellena who eventually discovered the Amazon River.

Pre-Columbian Period10000 - 3600 B.C.-Human societies develop living on hunting, fishing, and gathering3600 - 1800 B. C.-Societies continue to develop, subsiding on hunting, fishing, and rudimentary agricultural production. 1800 - 1500 B. C.-More extensive agricultural production begins to develop. 1500 - 500 B. C.-As agricultural pratices are refined and become more heavily relied upon, the economy shifts towards an agrarian model. 500 B.C. - 500 A.D.-Agriculture becomes increasingly important and urban development increases.500 - 1500 A.D.-Agricultural continues to spread and become increasingly important. Society becomes more complex.

Inca Period1450-Tupac Yupanqui begins the conquest of the Andean.1485-Huayna-Cápac is proclamed Inca.1525-Tahuantinsuyo is divided between Atahualpa and Huáscar. The Conquest1534-Sebastián de Benalcázar begins the Conquest of Quito.1563-Felipe II issues a Cédula Real creating the Real Audiencia and Cancillería of San Francisco of Quito.Independence1809 – 1812-Independence was declared but not obtained1820 – 1822-The patriotic forces are finally victorious.1822-Ecuador becomes part of Gran Colombia with the name Distrito del Sur.1830-The independent state called Ecuador is formed. Republican life begins in the country.

Natural resources/imports & exports•Some widely known natural resources of Ecuador are fish, oil, gold, timber, and a variety of minerals. •The main exports of this country are fish, timber, oil, & bananas. •The main imports are wheat, consumer goods, machinery & transport equipment.

Physical characteristics•There are three regions in Ecuador. •The total land area of Ecuador is 276,840 square km. •The capital is Quito. •Ecuador has many native wildlife and animals.

•Location•The absolute location of Ecuador is 2 degrees south and 77 degrees west. •It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, and between Colombia and Peru.

History of Ecuador- Wars & conflicts•In 1941 Peru and Ecuador battled over a piece of land in Southern Amazon. Their peace treaty was signed in 1942. •A border dispute was led to war in 1941 also. In that year Peru seized Ecuador's claimed land in the Amazon Basin. •In 1970, Clemente Yerovi Indabura, suspended Ecuador's constitution and began as a dictator. Military leaders over-threw him in 1972. In 1979 new elections were established.

- Leaders of the past•The rulers of Ecuador date back to where the Inca Empire ruled the land until an internal power struggle. •Military ruled again in 1963 and they alternated back and forth with the civilian governments until 1979 when they removed government from the state and began governing themselves. •In 1948 Galo Plaza Lasso became the first freely- elected President.

- What's going on in Ecuador today?•Today in Ecuador there are about 75% Natives. These natives are divided into two groups, the Indians and the Mestizos. •There are also 10% Spaniards, 10% Blacks, and about 741,000 people in Ecuador.

The Good People of Ecuador- Population•80 percent of Ecuadorians are Indian, 10 percent are Spanish, and 10 are african american. •About 10,000,000 people live in this small country. •There are about 104 people per square feet. •The birth rate is 26 die of every 1,000 babies born. - Religion•The major religion is Roman Catholic. •Churches aren't supported by the government. •The Protestant missionaries have built schools, medical clinics, toilets, and other beneficial structures.

Edited byTushar Shah

Galapagos Islands - an inspiration for the Theory of Evolution

Location of the Galapagos Islands

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Galapagos Islands

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Galapagos Islands

• The Galapagos Islands are located in the eastern Pacific Ocean approximately 600 miles (1000 km) off the west coast of South America. The closest land mass is the mainland of Ecuador to the east (the country to which they belong), to the North are the Cocos Islands 432 miles (720 km) and to the South is Easter Island and San Felix Island at 1920 miles (3200 km).

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Charles Darwin1809 - 1882

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Darwin’s Journeys

In 1831 Darwin accepted the offer of Commander Robert FitzRoy of travelling on a survey ship, HMS Beagle, as a "scientific person" or naturalist. The round-the-world journey lasted five years

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Darwin’s Journeys

Darwin spent most of these years investigating the geology and zoology of the lands he visited, especially South America, Pacific Oceanic islands and the Galapagos islands .

Darwin was exploring the Galapagos archipelago from 16 September to 20 October of 1835.

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HMS Beagle

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Most important works

• In 1859 On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life was published in London on 24 November by John Murray.

• 1871 The Descent of Man, and Selection in relation to Sex.

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Charles Darwin

• Darwin's most famous book, was published in 1859. Within 20 years it convinced most of the international scientific community that evolution was a fact

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Richard Dawkins

• Ethologist and Evolutionary Biologist

• Emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford University

• Oxford University Professor for Public Understanding of Science from 1995 until 2008

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Richard Dawkins Books

• The Selfish Gene, 1976 and 2006 • The Extended Phenotype. 1982• The Blind Watchmaker 1986• The God Delusion, 2006• The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, 2009 ……and many more

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Galapagos finches

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GALAPAGOS TORTOISES

Naturalists believe tortoises arrived in the islands clinging to a piece of driftwood from a river mouth along the Pacific Coast. A relatively large tortoise, related to the Galapagos tortoise lives on the South American mainland. The tortoises arrived in San Cristobal then spread throughout the archipelago. Those on individual islands or in isolated parts of the larger islands developed into its own sub-species.

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GALAPAGOS TORTOISES

• The Galapagos was once home to 15 sub-species of which 11 sub-species still exists. The smallest tortoises like those on Española and Pinta have "saddle backs”.

• The largest of the tortoises, those on Santa Cruz and from the Alcedo Volcano on Isabela have "dome backs". In this isolated habitat these giant tortoises fill the niche occupied by larger vegetarian mammals in continental regions.

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GALAPAGOS IGUANAS

• The Galapagos Islands are home to Marine Iguanas, Land Iguanas, and a hybrid mix whose father's are marine iguanas and mother's are land iguanas as well as the newly discovered pink iguanas.

• Land iguanas grow to a bulky girth and 3 ft (1 m) in length. Their yellowish-orange belly and brownish red back make them more colorfull then their cousins, the marine iguana. The land iguana lives in the arid portion of the islands.

• The cactus provides both food and water for the land iguana, who can go without fresh water for a year. Part of the adaptation to the drier environment includes a conservation of energy by slow movement

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Land iguana

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Land iguana on Santa Cruz

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Marine iguanas

• Marine iguanas exist only in the Galapagos Islands. Living on the black lava shore rocks they have developed into efficient swimmers feeding off shore mostly on marine algae and seaweed.

• The cold waters of the Galapagos provide both the necessary food for the marine iguanas and its most deadly threats. Until the arrival of man, marine iguanas only threats were that of larger fish and sharks encountered while swimming.

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Marine iguanas on Espanola

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Marine iguanas on

Isabela

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The Galapagos Penguin

• The only penguin living exclusively in equatorial region• Second smallest of all penguins,• Nest mainly inside lava tubes, underneath big boulders

or in crevices offering a cool environment• 95% occurs around Fernandina• Lives in small colonies of 2 to 12 birds• Feed mainly in inshore waters

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The Galapagos Pinguin

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THE GALAPAGOS CORMORANT

• The only flightless cormorant;• Unique mating behaviour – female initiate and

play more active role in courtship than male;• Male choses from the competing females;• Female deserts its mate and offspring and goes

off to find a new mate, while the male alone raises the young until they attend full independence.

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THE FLIGHTLESS CORMORANT

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Sexual selection

• Supported by sexual dimorphism – traits that differ between males and females of a species (tails, color)

• Reduces chances of male survival by wasting a lot of energy and exposure to predators

• Exists in two forms – direct competition between males for access to females and female chooseness among possible males

• Support natural selection by increasing rate of reproduction of winning or chosen males

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Sea lions of Galapagos

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Sea lions of Galapagos

Sea lions form colonies at their hauling-out areas. Adult males known as bulls are the head of the colony, growing up to 7 ft (2 m) long and weighing up to 800 lb (363 kg). As males grow larger, they fight to win dominance of a harem of between 5 and 25 cows and the surrounding territory. Swimming from border to border of his colony, the dominant bull jealously defends his coastline against all other adult males. While patrolling his area, he frequently rears his head out of the water and barks, as an indication of his territorial ownership

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Frigate Birds of Galapagos

• Frigate birds are large seabirds, about the size of a hen and have extremely long, slender wings.

• They are large (almost 6 feet/1.8 m. wingspan), lightweight and have a long, hooked beak to catch fish without getting wet.

• Male frigates have shiny green or purple plumage (depending on the species) and a resplendent scarlet pouch, which is displayed in courtship.

• There are two species of frigates in Galapagos: the Magnificent Frigate Bird and the Great Frigate Bird.

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Frigate Birds of Galapagos

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Courtship of Frigate birds

• During courtship display, the male forces air into the pouch, causing it to inflate over a period of 20 minutes into a startling red balloon.

• As males tend to display in groups, the effect is magnified. Then the males sit quietly in the low shrubs watching for a female to fly overhead.

• At this, the males waggle their heads from side to side, shake their wings and call. If the display is attractive enough, then the female will land and sit beside her amour

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Conclusion

• The Galapagos Islands provided Charles Darwin an inspiration to creation of the theory of evolution.

• Many of Darwin’s ideas were just good guesses, he did not explain some

aspects of evolution, like e.g. speciation. However the following research by others

made the theory of evolution a proven fact. 71

References

• National Geographic website, travel and cultures: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/countries/country_ecuador.html

• InfoEcuador website: http://www.hacienda-ecuador.com/Ecuador/Ecuador_3.html

• Encyclopedia of the Nations website: http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Americas/Ecuador-OVERVIEW-OF-ECONOMY.html

• Lonely Planet website: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ecuador

• Ecuador Travel.info website: http://www.ecuador-travel-guide.org/

• The Ecuador Channel: http://www.ecuador.com/cuisine/

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador• https://internationalliving.com/2015/01/ecuador-the-worlds-best-retirement-haven-in-2015/• Film : Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World