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updated October 16, 2009
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Applied Biology Student Retraces Darwin’s Steps by Studying Galapagos
Islands’ Tortoises
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Just as the Galapagos Islands served to inspire Charles Darwin’s theory of
evolution, the Pacific Ocean paradise has motivated Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology applied biology student Johanna Moore toward a career in studying
animal behavior.
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Exploring Animal Science: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
junior applied biology student Johanna Moore is surrounded by some
of the many tortoises that she helped study during an internship at
the Tortoise Breeding Center in the Galapagos National Park’s
Charles Darwin Research Station. |
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Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands to study the many species of the
tortoise during his five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle which established him
as an eminent biologist.
Moore spent an internship on the same islands during the summer, working at
the Tortoise Breeding Center in the Galapagos National Park’s Charles Darwin
Research Station. She helped feed and study more than 1,000 young tortoises,
which are being raised until their shells become strong and they can
withstand the threat of the introduced predators. She also assisted with
research data collection.
“The Galapagos Islands are like Disney World for biology majors,” Moore
stated during a recent interview. “I felt as though visiting the islands was
a rite of passage every biologist should experience at some point in their
life.”
Rose-Hulman Applied Biology and Biomedical Engineering Professor Ella Ingram
refers to Moore’s trip as an “amazing” journey and adds that the Rose-Hulman
student will have firsthand images about many important observations in
ecology and evolution.
“Visiting the Galapagos Islands gives Johanna a special look at Darwin's
experiences in the 1800s. Can you imagine seeing with your own eyes one of
the biological settings that was so important to him?” the professor stated.
“This journey will provide a baseline for her development as a biologist.”
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Well Rounded: Johanna Moore is quite busy at Rose-Hulman, being
a resident assistant and a member of several student groups. |
It is believed that the islands’ tortoises played an important role in
Darwin’s theory of evolution. Naturalists assert tortoises arrived in the
islands clinging to a piece of driftwood from a river mouth along the
Pacific Coast.
The islands were once home to 15 sub-species of which 11 sub-species still
exist. The smallest tortoises are known as "saddle backs” for their shell
shape, while larger species with “dome backs” are among the largest on
earth, weighing over 500 pounds with shells measuring 59 inches.
During her four-week journey, Moore also had the opportunity to observe rare
wildlife species, such as blue-footed booby birds, lava lizards, frigate
birds, sea lions, marine and land iguanas, penguins and flamingos.
“The amount of wildlife contained within that small islands chain was
incredible. There was something to see around every corner,” she said.
Moore, a junior from Brazil, Ind., is no stranger to animals. The veteran
4-H member earned grand champion blue ribbons for raising dairy goats at
county fairs during the past 10 years. She is hoping to have an internship
in zoological research, studying large mammals, before attending graduate
school for animal science or animal behavior.
At Rose-Hulman, Moore is a resident assistant for the Baur-Sames-Bogart
residence hall, and a member of the Student Alumni Association, Residence
Hall Association and Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. She was named Rose-Hulman’s
homecoming queen earlier this fall.
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