Daphne Major 2845297 209461594 2008-05-01T14:29:50Z GregManninLB 6686032 [[Image:DaphneMajor.jpg|thumb|Daphne Major]] '''Daphne Major''' is an [[island]] just north of [[Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos)|Santa Cruz Island]] and just west of the Baltra Airport in the archipelago Colon, commonly known as the [[Galápagos Islands]]. It consists of a [[tuff]] [[volcanic crater|crater]], devoid of trees, whose rim rises 120 metres above the sea. Though easily accessible to most visitors to the Galapagos, the national park has highly restricted visits to this island and it is primarily used as a scientific research spot. 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 finches, with the results strongly supporting [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]]'s theory of [[evolution]] 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 [[Galápagos Martin]]s, [[Blue-footed Booby]], [[Masked Booby]], [[Short-eared Owl]]s, [[Red-billed Tropicbird]]s and [[Magnificent Frigatebird]]s. ==References== *[http://cwx.prenhall.com/bookbind/pubbooks/stiling4/chapter1/essay13/deluxe-content.html Drought and the Demography of Darwin’s Medium Ground Finches on Isla Daphne Major], Wendy E. Sera, Baylor University. Accessed [[2007-04-21]]. *Peter R. Grant and B. Rosemary Grant. 1992. Demography and the genetically effective sizes of two populations of Darwin’s finches. ''Ecology'' 73(3): 766–784. *[[Jonathan Weiner]]. 1994. ''[[The Beak of the Finch|The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time]]''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 0-679-40003-6. ==External links== * [http://www.galapagosonline.com/Islands/islands/Daphne/Daphne.html Daphne Island Information] [[Category:Volcanoes of Ecuador]] [[Category:Volcanoes of the Pacific Ocean]] [[Category:Galápagos Islands]] {{Ecuador-geo-stub}} [[qu:Hatun Daphne wat'a]]