Bioscience Group
Our main goal is to establish how organisms adapt and survive in the extremely harsh environment of polar regions. We are also interested in the response mechanisms of the polar biotic community to global environmental changes. We are conducting surveys and researches in three fields: ocean producers, large marine top predators and terrestrial ecosystem.
Biological Oceanography: Together with the Meteorology and Glaciology Group, studies on lower atmosphere and surface ocean productivity are conducted, using the TRV UMITAKA MARU, the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. Specifically, we are investigating the biological production processes and mechanisms that generate the gases involved in global warming.
Ecology of top predators: We are trying to identify their foraging strategies, energy balances, and biomechanisms. We are tagging these marine predators with various data logging devices that can record depth, temperature, acceleration, swimming velocity, and geomagnetic data.
Terrestrial Biology: Mainly focused on Antarctic lake ecosystem, studies on the origin and establishment process of lives, reconstruction of paleo-environment, and the biological responses to global environmental change are conducted.
