This division carries out various aspects of research and education in basic biology such as taxonomy, evolutionary biology, developmental biology, physiological ecology and biogeography from the molecular level to the ecosystem level using mainly temperate marine invertebrates as materials. Moreover, through extension of research fields into the global scale from tropical to boreal regions, the division also covers biology that has applied aspects such as environmental and conservation biology as subjects of research and education.
The main research subject of this laboratory is the systematics and taxonomy for marine organisms, which have been studied without interruption, since the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory was founded in 1922. Diversity of marine organisms is extremely high, and still remains to be studied. We aim at understanding comprehensively of this diversity, especially, on Cnidaria and Crustacea.
Associate Professor
KUBOTA, Shin, D. Sc. (Hokkaido Univ.),Invertebrate Zoology; Systematics, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Life History, Natural History
E-mail : shkubota
medusanpolyp.mbox.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Assistant Professor
YAMATO, Shigeyuki, D. Sc. (Hiroshima Univ.), Invertebrate Zoology; Taxonomy, Crustacea, Natural History
E-mail : syamatosmbl.mbox.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp
The main research subject of this laboratory is comparative and evolutionary morphology and embryology of marine invertebrates especially arthropods. Traditional anatomical and histological as well as recently advanced molecular and biochemical methods are applied to the research. The laboratory also covers a wide range of fields of research related to the evolutionary morphology, e.g. taxonomy, ecology, and physiology.
Lecturer
MIYAZAKI, Katsumi, D. Sc. (Univ. of Tsukuba), Invertebrate Zoology; Comparative Morphology and Embryology
E-mail : kmiyazakismbl.mbox.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp
To maintain marine organisms, it is necessary both to recognize its biodiversity and to understand how diversified fauna and flora will respond to the environmental fluctuation. For this purpose, it is prerequisite to monitor for a long-term the natural environment as well as the state and change of marine community. As a head quarter of an international field project named NaGISA (http://www.nagisa.coml.org/), this division has carried out mon-itoring of benthic fauna in Hatake Jima Is. In addition, utilizing the aquarium facility, long-term experiments to find the impact of global environmental change on marine organisms have been performed.
Professor
SHIRAYAMA, Yoshihisa, D. Sc. (Univ. of Tokyo), Marine Biology; Taxonomy and Ecology of Meiobenthos
E-mail : yshirabigfoot.com
The elucidation of biogeography of near shore benthic communities rests on the clarification of the scale(s) of variability and the establishment of a global baseline of coastal biodiversity. Discovering `where what lives`, `what lives where` and how these change over time is vital to the current issues of habitat resilience, species invasion and climate change. By working across scientific and national boundaries to improve the current state of marine knowledge at all levels NaGISA is attempting to form a network from which answers to these (and many more) questions will come. By creating and promoting standardized methods (protocol handbook available, Kyoto University Press) that have been adopted by research groups around the world the project is set to complete a habitat specific, qualitative survey of the world's ocean shores by 2010 and to repeat it over and over again during a 50-year time frame. As these global standards continue to be used to answer local questions NaGISA participants (researchers, managers and students) will be producing the worlds first ongoing near shore habitat specific global census while playing the vital role of coastal community ambassadors, increasing marine awareness and improving the state of benthic taxonomy.
