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Volcanic island in the Galapagos Archipelago
Daphne Major
is a
volcanic
island
just north of
Santa Cruz Island
and just west of the Baltra Airport in the Archipelago of Colon, commonly known as the
Galapagos Islands
.
[1]
[2]
It consists of a
tuff
crater
, devoid of trees, whose rim rises 120 m (394 ft) above the sea.
Though easily accessible to most visitors to the Galapagos, the national park service has highly restricted visits to this island, and it is primarily used for scientific research.
Daphne Major finches
are the main source of the understanding of animal evolution in the Galapagos.
[3]
[4]
An intensive study of
Darwin's finches
was conducted here by biologists
Peter and Rosemary Grant
over a period of 20 years. They examined the behaviour and life cycles of the finches, demonstrating the role of natural selection in producing biological
evolution
.
[5]
Their efforts were documented in the Pulitzer Prize?winning book
The Beak of the Finch
.
Daphne is home to a variety of other birds including
Galapagos martins
,
blue-footed booby
,
Nazca booby
,
short-eared owls
,
red-billed tropicbirds
and
magnificent frigatebirds
.
References
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External links
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