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 TOMOYA AKIHAMA Though water is a necessity for our lives, water shortage problems are the first problem that human beings have encountered in the 21st century. Examples of such problems are too many to enumerate: the large scale draft of groundwater at granaries in the US, the anticipation of ecological change caused by the construction of the world's largest dam in China, catastrophic droughts or floods in Africa and India, and so on. What is the situation in Japan, you may ask? Fortunately, our country is surrounded by the sea, and rainfall is abundant. However, the water preservation system and the self-purification function of water are being lost, because mountains and forests are being ruined, village forests and rice terraces are being destroyed, and the extinction of animals is occuring, due to the artificial remodeling of rivers. In this issue, we would like to teach you something about how deeply the lives of all creatures depend on water. (1/1)
Water and Butterflies Populations of butterflies gather at waterfronts in search of water. At first there are variable species in a population group, but as time passes, the population becomes a colony of a single species. Is this related to the preservation of species? The sight of a single colony is mysterious. Butterflies at a waterfront of Borneo Butterflies in Nepal Butterflies in Western Thailand Butterflies in Western Thailand Photo: Shuhei Yamaguchi (The Research Institute of Evolutionary Biology) Large Catfish in the Mekong This kind of catfish is known as the largest freshwater fish in the world. Their body weight reaches 300 kg (ca. 660 lb). These photos show young fish of 10 kg (22 lb), which were successfully reproduced artificially. Catfish have spread all over the world, and are an important protein source for people in the 21st century. As commonly known, Imperial Prince Fumihito researches catfish. Aquatic Vegetables of Vietnam There are many kinds of vegetables that are cultivated in rivers, marshes, ponds, and along the edges of rice fields, all over Southeastern Asia. Water temperatures in marshes or ponds in the tropics reach 30 degrees centigrade (86 degrees Fahrenheit), and these aquatic vegetables seem to control the quality of the water. Arrowheads Water mimosa Water spinach (kangkong) Young buds and stems of lotuses Photo: Yoshitaka Tanaka (The Foundation of Agricultural Development and Education) Rivers and Medicinal Herbs in Nepal Only a few unexplored frontiers are left on earth. People continue to hold expeditions in search of unknown medical herbs. Mountain streams in the Himalayas yield various medicinal alpine plants. ランタンヒマラヤの渓流 A mountain stream at Lantang Himalaya(加藤注：これはもとの日本語が間違えています。ランタシではなく、ランタンです。) バラ科 Rosaceae サクラソウ科 Primulaceae ゴマノハグサ科 Scrophulariaceae 主に、 These plants are used mainly for feminine reproductive problems, and for detoxification. Photo: Takashi Watanabe (Kitasato University) Aquatic Insects -- Endangered Species and Indicator Species Aquatic insects that were seen everywhere in the past served as sensors to measure the qualities of their habitats. (1/1)  |
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