SMP was funded by the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). Scalesia sampling was performed in compliance with the research permit no. MAATE-DBI-CM-2021-0174 granted by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE). The contribution of the expedition members was financially supported by their respective institutes listed in the affiliations above. We thank the Barcode Galápagos project, supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Newton Fund: Agile Response call to address COVID-19, as a joint venture between the Galápagos Science Center (GSC), Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), University of Exeter, Agency of Regulation and Control of the Biosecurity and Quarantine for Galápagos (ABG), Galápagos Conservation Trust and the Municipal Government of Isabela Island. We thank the Galápagos National Park Directorate (DPNG) for their support and permit approval. We thank C. Mena, S. Tacle, A. León-Reyes, D. Ramírez, N. Barriga, L. Zurita, I. Astudillo-Estévez, C. Vintimilla, G. Gavilanes, S. Escobar, P. Yépez, A. Carrión and G. Bautista for their support during the preparation for the expedition and help processing part of the samples. We thank R. Kolter for his inspiring ideas and his book Microbes and Evolution: the World that Darwin Never Saw. We also thank the ‘Yualka’ crew members for assisting with the daily logistics and team spirit during the expedition. We thank C. Gavela and M. Davila for helping with designing the map, and F. Rienks for assisting with the SMP outreach activities.