TraceRouda/Getty Images Pinnacle Rock, Island of Bartolome, Galapagos

Wildlife on the Galpagos is under a new threat. The scientific group that has helped to preserve the islands giant tortoises and other unique creatures is on the brink of closure because of a row about a gift shop.

Local traders have objected to the Charles Darwin Foundation running a souvenir shop at its research station at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz island. They claim it was siphoning business from their own shops and in July local officials, backed by the government of Ecuador which owns the Galpagos, ordered the stations shops to be shut.

The impact for the foundation which carries out wildlife research in the Galpagos and provides key scientific advice on protecting wildlife there has been devastating, its executive director Swen Lorenz told the Observer.

The shop provides us with about $8,000 a week in income from the sale of souvenirs to tourists. Losing that key source of funds was bad enough but it has also affected other donations. People dont see why they should give us money if the Ecuador government will not support us by letting us run a gift shop.

There has been a dreadful chain reaction following the shops closure and we have run out of cash. The foundation is now two-and-a-half months late with salaries for its staff and some projects have had to be suspended. One key staff member has already left.

We are now on the brink, added Lorenz. Its going to be touch and go. The Ecuador government has since said it supports us, but unless we get some money from them and are allowed to reopen our shop in the next few weeks we will have to close.

The Galpagos are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Pacific, 560 miles west of the coast of Ecuador, and are renowned for the species of birds and reptiles unique to the islands. These creatures include the marine iguana, the only species of iguana that can forage at sea; the Galpagos giant tortoise, the worlds largest tortoise species; and the Galpagos hawk.

The islands also played a key role in helping Charles Darwin to formulate his theory of natural selection. On his round-the world voyage on the Beagle, the young biologist stayed on the islands for a month in 1835, noting the subtle variations in species from each of the islands.

In particular, Darwin was fascinated by differences in colour and beak shape in the islands mockingbirds and finches (now known as Darwins finches), observations that played a critical role in developing his evolutionary theory.

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New threat to Galpagos wildlife