Studies of lentic inland water ecosystems in the Galapagos Archipelago: current state of knowledge and bibliometric analysis

The Galapagos Archipelago - due to its remoteness, isolation, recent volcanic origin, and endemic fauna and flora - is iconic for inspiring Darwin's evolutionary theory. Since Darwin's day researchers have focused on the Archipelago's terrestrial and marine species. Its location in an important climate regulating body of water, coupled with a low level of human activity for most of its history, attracted several paleolimnologists to the inland waters of the Archipelago. Studies of the many lagoons, crater lakes, and other inland waters were mainly in support of paleolimnological research and are therefore limited in scope. Because of the presence of permanent human settlements on four of the Archipelago's islands, plus increased tourism, the limited number of permanent freshwater bodies are under unprecedented environmental stress. This bibliometric analysis assembles what is known about Galapagos lentic inland water bodies. It shows that studies on biodiversity, water quality, and threats to these ecosystems are few and fragmented across time and space.