Week10 The Solutions

Hello, everyone. This is the last week.

In this week, I will talk about the solutions of problems in the Galapagos Islands.I said that there were an overhunting problem in fishing, a problem of the alien species which threatens unique animals and plants and a waste problem in the Galapagos Islands last week. In addition, various problems exist in the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Islands escaped from World Heritage in Danger, but There are also many unsolved problems. Then, what should people of the Galapagos Islands, the Ecuador people and people of the foreign countries do in order to solve those problems?


First, I consider that people of the Galapagos Islands must do. There are many people who have emigrated in connection with the sightseeing boom to the Galapagos Islands for the tourist industry. Therefore, much garbage from all the commercial establishment of an island came to be discharged. Environmental pollution has not still stopped. If they love the Galapagos Islands and want to do business for a long time in Galapagos from now on, they should make an effort to reduce garbage. Moreover, also when acting as a tourist's partner, about garbage, they should make it severe. Moreover, also when acting as a tourist's partner, they should make it severe about garbage.


Second, I will talk about The Ecuador government which has to try hard most, in order to keep the nature of Galapagos. For Ecuador in which single plantations, such as coffee, are main means to obtain the foreign currency, the tourist industry of Galapagos is very attractive. Therefore, though the Galapagos Islands cannot accept many tourists, Ecuador had invited the tourist rapidly. The problem of a lot of garbage has occurred as a result. Now, the Ecuador government has to establish disposal centers. Moreover, although the tourist industry is very attractive, they should consider the future and the tourist's quantity should be reduced.


Third, what should foreign people just take care? Galapagos is a very attractive tourist resort. Therefore, we should protect the beautiful Galapagos. The foreign company overhunted marine resources such as a sea cucumber. The fishing season and the landing quantity of the sea cucumber in the Galapagos Islands were restricted in 1994, but there are many poachers. We all must have the consciousness which keeps nature.


Last, I will introduce the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park. They undertake the large role in order to keep the nature of Galapagos. The Charles Darwin Foundation educates the children of the Galapagos Island and it is protecting endangered species. The Galapagos National Park is an organization of Ecuador. It surveillants the national park and the marine sanctuary, and educates the guide and has given qualification and so on. Moreover, their activity increases whenever　a problem occurs in the Galapagos Islands.


The preservation activities of Galapagos are various. The problems become more difficult every year. Moreover, cooperation of international society is indispensable by the economic crisis of Ecuador.


That’s all in this term.
Thank you for your reading.
Take care of yourself. See you.

Week9 The Problems

Hello, everyone.
In this week, I will talk about the problems in the Galapagos Islands.
The Galapagos Islands have very difficult environmental problems. Most of them are by human beings.

First, I will talk about the problems about the superfluous fish catch and the illegal fishing.
Overhunting of the sea cucumber in the ocean space of the Galapagos Islands coast became a problem at the middle of the 1990s.
Moreover, the social dispute involving this problem also became a problem.
At this time, Asian contractors came to get the dry sea cucumber for ingredients in Chinese cooking.
Therefore, a lot of sea cucumber fisheries came to be performed in Galapagos.
Not only the influence on the ecosystem by overhunting of a sea cucumber but also many mangroves which was used as fuel those days was cut down to dry the sea cucumber.
The fishing season and the landing quantity of the sea cucumber in the Galapagos Islands were restricted in 1994. However, a fisherman opposes and they cause a riot.
The large-scale industrial fishing by overseas capital etc. has been a problem.
Therefore, local fishermen's dissatisfaction has collected. Now, this overhunting and the poaching of sea cucumber still continue.

Second, I will talk about the problems with the increase in population and tourists.
But in 1535 that Galapagos was discovered by Spanish people, it was after the 19th century that migration of human beings started completely.
However, this migration activity went wrong in many cases and people hardly lived in the Galapagos Islands at the middle of the 20th century. It had a population of 1346 in 1950.
However, after that, population increased quickly, and it become 6119 persons in 1982, 9785 persons in 1990 and 16109 persons in 1998.
This rapid cause of an increase in population is because the Galapagos Islands came to attract attention as a tourist resort and, as a result, the migrants from the Ecuador mainland increased in number for the tourist industry.
However, the forest was cut down for a migrant's house and environmental destruction was performed. Moreover, the car which a tourist drives may hit and kill an iguana.

Finally, there is garbage problem in the Galapagos Islands.
Although the rapid increase in population happened in the Galapagos Islands, the society's infrastructure was not fixed enough. Having appeared notably as the evil was a garbage problem.
The poor waste treatment facility was not able to process the garbage increased by the increased population. Moreover, in order to process forcibly, burn off a field of garbage was performed. Countermeasures against dioxin are not performed in that case. Galapagos finches pick food through garbage and Galapagos Yellow Warbler is making the nest for garbage with asbestos.

There are more problems in the Galapagos Islands. And all of them are difficult problem. Neither is immediately solved. However, it cannot ignore. The natives are continuing efforts now.

That’s all in this week.
Next week, I will introduce the solutions of these problems.
Thank you for your reading. See you then.

Week8 The Darwin's Finches

Hello, everyone.
In this week, I will introduce about the Darwin’s Finches which have different beak according to their food.






14 kinds of Darwin's Finches inhabit the Galapagos Islands which contain more than 10 islands and locate about 900km west from mainland of Ecuador. After Charles Robert Darwin treated Darwin's Finches as an object of the theory of evolution, it was investigated in detail for 20 years from 1973. They conducted follow-up survey about the kind, the figure and the food o more than 1000 Darwin's Finches which live one island continuously. Then, they discovered that the height of the beak changes little by little with individuals also in the same kind of the same group. For example, on the Daphne Island, the range of the height of a beak of Medium Ground Finch which is a kind of Darwin's Finches is 7 to 11 mm and the average is 9 mm generally.




The difference in the height of the beak between these individuals can be divided into an environment difference and the difference arising from heredity. I will talk about the difference arising from heredity. The difference in the beak between Finch's individuals is closely related to what kind of food the individual eats. As a result of researchers investigating, it is suitable for breaking hard food as an individual with a high beak. However, it is not suitable for eating a small seed as an individual with a large and high beak. The drought happened in the Galapagos Islands in 1977. Therefore, large and hard fruits, for example tribulus and cactus, and increased, and small and soft seeds have decreased. As a result of it, the individuals with a high beak survived more than the individual with low beak. And the surviving individual with high height of a beak bred. Then the children which were born after the drought also have high beak. Their beak become 1 mm higher on the average. The difference in the height of a beak made the difference of the probability of survival and, as a result, the natural selection that an individual with a high beak spread happened. (The natural selection was introduced in last week.) Several years later, the climate of Galapagos Islands has changed into heavy rain and high temperature by El Nino. Therefore, small and soft seeds have increased, and large and hard fruits have decreased. Then, a small individual with the beak with which the point sharpened came to increase because they were advantageous to eating a small seed. The natural selection was happened again.

The difference in the size of beak or body by Darwin’s Finches’ food is also happen by distribution of the animals and plants of each Island. Among Darwin’s Finches, there are a kind which eats seeds, a kind which eats the skin of iguana, a kind which eats insects and, surprisingly, a kind which suck blood of other birds. Darwin's finches can teach the mystery of natural selection.




That’s all in this week.
Next week, I will talk about the problems the Galapagos Islands have.
Thank you for your reading. See you then.

Week7 Charles Robert Darwin

Hello, everyone.
In this week, I will introduce Charles Robert Darwin, a scientist, who is related to the Galapagos Islands very much.





First, I will talk about Charles Robert Darwin himself. Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) is a British physical philosopher. He is a wonderful geologist and biologist. He thank that all the living things have a common ancestor and they have evolved based on the process which he called natural selection. The fact of evolution was accepted in scientific circles and the general public during his subsistence. On the other hand, it is the 1930s that it came to be considered that the theory of natural selection is the prime mover of evolution, and the theory of natural selection is one of the bases of evolutionary biology even now. Although he tends to be considered to be a biologist, the society considers him to be a geologist. His work in 1859 "The Origin of Species" established the theory of evolution.




Next, I will introduce his work. The "The Origin of Species" is the writing about the theory of evolution published by Charles Robert Darwin on November 24, 1859. He claimed that a living thing changes so that it may always be adapted for environment. He also claimed that a seed branched and various kinds arose from it. And this process was explained using some phrases. A struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest, for example. Natural selection is the mechanism that an advantageous individual survives because a difference is in the capability to leave a child to the next generation by the difference in character. He hardly explained how each kind would be born against its name, "The Origin of Species". He could not able to explain the structure of variation or heredity well because it was known about neither DNA nor the laws of heredity those days. This book is written readable for non-specialists, and attracted many interests. Because biology of those days was religious, it caused religious war.




Finally, I will talk about the relation between Charles Robert Darwin and the Galapagos Islands. Charles Robert Darwin boarded the surveying ship "HMS Beagle", and visited to the Galapagos Islands. Darwin stayed there in the second half of a voyage from September 15, 1835 to October 20, 1835. The HMS Beagle did geography investigation of islands precisely in the meantime. Record of those days can be read in his "Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the World." The fauna observed in the Galapagos Islands became a hint of the theory of evolution with experience of investigation in South America. He said that the animals and plants in the Galapagos Islands likes in South America as a strong resemblance thing in the voyage. The research institute "Charles Darwin Research Station" was established there in 1964 and it is conducting protection and investigation of wildlife.




That’s all in this week.
Next week, I will talk about Darwin’s Finches. They have different beak according to their food.
Thank you for your reading. See you next week.