Thanks to Barbara Holmes and her 5th grade class at Park Place Middle School for sending in these questions.

Trina Litchendorf and Byron Aguirre, a naturalist from the Galapagos Islands, teamed together to provide these answers.

How do the flightless cormorants get their food?

The flightless comorants get their food by swimming for it in the water. They are much like penguins who have also lost the ability to fly.  There is a species of penguin here in the Galapagos, but we haven't seen any yet.  The comorants are a water bird but unlike other water birds, their feathers are not water proof so after they go swimming you will see the standing on rocks with their tiny wings open letting them dry. The cormoronats main diet consists of fish, octopuses and lobster.

What do the iguanas eat?

The marine iguanas eat seaweed and algae that they sometimes go under water to find. The land iguanas eat cactuses and other land plants. One thing that is really neat is that the marine iguanas go underwater to find seaweed and algae to eat and then they sneeze the salt out of their noses. That is why they have white salt encrusted on their heads.

How safe is it to walk on the recently uplifted land with the brain coral?

It is safe, there are trails going around the site.  Sometimes you have to walk over lava rocks so you have to be careful.

Is that still an active site?

The volcanoes are still active, though I'm sure one never knows when they may erupt.

How friendly are the cormorants?

Cormorants are very friendly and are not afraid of people.  I was sitting not far from them and a mother comorant walked by being followed by her hungry baby who was holloring for his dinner about 10 feet from me.  Of course no one is allowed to touch the animals.

How are the students researching their projects without impacting the fragile Galapogas environment?

We are conducting our experiments at sea.  We are not allowed to bring anything back from this trip so all of our water samples must be returned to the sea when we are done.  Other students are not collecting samples at all, they instead are using instruments to measure current or to map the ocean floor.  We have been very careful to create as little impact as possible on the environment while here.

Thanks for the questions! I am getting off the ship today, but a new group of students is arriving, so keep the questions coming. Your new web host will be Jaqui.

-- Trina