GEOGRAPHY IN THE NEWS:

This recent article from The New York Times science section highlights pivotal shifts taking place in the planet's lakes and rivers, including some of its most productive inland fisheries, like the Mekong, the Amazon, and Tonle Sap. Freshwater megafauna have declined by 88% in recent years, with numbers reaching 99% in southern China and south and southeast Asia. "Some of the most astonishing creatures on Earth hide deep in rivers and lakes: giant catfish weighing over 600 pounds, stingrays the length of Volkswagen Beetles, six-foot-long trout that can swallow a mouse whole. There are about 200 species of so-called freshwater megafauna, but compared to their terrestrial and marine counterparts, they are poorly studied by scientists and little known to the public. And they are quietly disappearing." The photos that accompany this article are themselves are worth a look for anyone interested in seeing something of this largely out-of-view world. www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/science/freshwater-megafauna-endangered.html