春雨直播app

春雨直播app’s marine laboratories

The presence of a center of activity near the sea is of critical value in pursuing marine research and education activities. 春雨直播app’s three laboratories in Misaki, Hiratsuka and Hamamatsu have long served as sites for promoting marine research at the University. We asked scientists most familiar with the sites to introduce them to us.
 

“Learning about life from marine wildlife” at a lab in Misaki

By Manabu Yoshida Associate Professor,

The Graduate School of Science’s Marine Biological Station (known as the Misaki Marine Biological Station, or MMBS) was set up in 1886, only ten years after the founding of the University of Tokyo, in the area of Misaki on the southwestern tip of the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture. The Miura Peninsula faces the Sagami Bay, home to some of the world’s richest animal diversity in terms of both quantity and number of species. Back in those days, biology was taxonomy. The observation of a wide variety of marine life contributed to the understanding of the classification system of living organisms, and in turn to the understanding of the process of animal evolution. Subsequently, the focus of research at the laboratory shifted from taxonomy to embryology, physiology and molecular biology, but MMBS has consistently pursued research aimed at understanding the evolution and diversity of animals based on our understanding of a wide variety of marine organisms. MMBS serves as an important hub for the study of marine organisms, not only for research by its staff, but as a facility for joint usage, supplying experimental materials and accepting visiting researchers widely. The observation of an extensive variety of marine organisms contributes to education in systematic taxonomy. To this end, MMBS annually accepts more than 20,000 users outside the Station for both research and educational purposes, including university and high school students for practical training. In cooperation with Miura City, MMBS also conducts outreach activities including nature observation classes for the general public and pearl cultivation projects for elementary school students. In 2020, the former main building (the Memorial Building) and the aquarium, which had been symbols of MMBS for more than 80 years, were demolished due to age, and a new educational building was built to replace them. In addition to state-of-the-art laboratories, the new building houses an exhibition room, conference rooms, collaborative laboratories and a water tank room, setting the stage for the open use of the Station. With the motto “Learning about life from marine wildlife,” MMBS will continue to pursue research and educational activities on a diverse range of marine animals.  

Offshore platform for ocean research

By Changkyu Rheem Professor,

The Hiratsuka Oceanographic Experiment Station consists of the Hiratsuka Offshore Experiment Tower (Hiratsuka Tower), which is a research facility for oceanographic observation located 1 km off Hiratsuka in Sagami Bay with a depth of 20 m, and support facilities on land.
 
Built in 1965, the Hiratsuka Tower (then known as the Marine Observation Tower) is one of the few rare offshore platforms in Japan. The tower has played a key role in collecting oceanographic data for more than 55 years, mainly in the area of wave observation. It was transferred from the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention to the University of Tokyo in 2009 as a facility to advance new marine research. The Ocean Alliance Collaborative Research Organization launched the Hiratsuka Offshore Experiment Tower Program and manages the site. The organization effectively leverages the tower as a platform for ocean experiments and as a research and education facility for equipment development and oceanographic observation. Inside the tower, there is space for installing observation equipment and for conducting observation work. It also comes equipped with electricity and communication facilities. On land, there are facilities for the management and analysis of observation data, laboratories, conference rooms, etc., and a boat that operates between land and the tower.
 
Since its establishment, the Hiratsuka Tower has been observing oceanographic phenomena (such as waves, water level, water temperature and currents) and meteorological phenomena (such as wind, air pressure, air temperature, humidity and rainfall). The tower has also used image data from live cameras and consolidated them into a database. In cooperation with Kanagawa Prefecture, the observation data is distributed in real time on the Internet (). The data is used for the fisheries industry, marine leisure, weather analysis, marine accident analysis and the design of coastal structures. Operating costs are funded by contributions from users of the facilities and data. Anyone can use the facilities and data as long as their activities are in line with the purpose of the establishment of the facility, and users are invited widely.  

Located by the side of Lake Hamana

By Kiyoshi Kikuchi Professor,

The Fisheries Laboratory is an affiliated facility of the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, located on the shore of Lake Hamana in Shizuoka Prefecture. For many years, the University of Tokyo had a coastal facility in Misaki-cho, Kanagawa Prefecture, but because the topography of the area was not suitable for research on aquaculture and inner bay marine life, two fisheries laboratories were constructed in Aichi Prefecture around the time of the February 26 Incident (1936). In the midst of high economic growth in Japan (1950s to 1970s), the two laboratories were moved to their current location and integrated. The laboratory is said to have been very popular in those days as it allowed breeding experiments of marine life, attracting many students from Tokyo. Apparently, it was a time when Japan’s research on fisheries, including that at the University of Tokyo, was world-leading.  

Lake Hamana is located right next to the Fisheries Laboratory. Despite being called a lake, it is mostly filled with seawater. It is said to be the tenth largest lake in Japan in terms of size. The lake also serves as a “cradle” for baby fish and shellfish, and the young of fish often found offshore can be spotted here. The climate is mild (although the winds in winter are quite strong), and the area is spacious and pleasant.  

The Fisheries Laboratory currently has three faculty members (Kiyoshi Kikuchi, Sho Hosoya and Shotaro Hirase), and we cooperate with each other in our research work. We share a common interest in studying aquatic organisms and analyzing them using genomic and genetic approaches. There are also three technical staff members who are in charge of assisting with student training, operating the research boat, collecting, breeding and raising marine organisms and maintaining the facilities.  

Breakdown of specialties of marine researchers at 春雨直播app

The above is a list of the specialty areas of researchers who are members of the Ocean Alliance Collaborative Research Organization of the University of Tokyo. The list is limited to those who include the Chinese character “海” (meaning “marine,” “ocean,” “water” or “coast”) in the name of their academic specialty. Although it is difficult to capture the entire picture of the marine studies being conducted at 春雨直播app, this list attests to the diversity of such activities.
 

* This article was originally printed in Tansei 43 (Japanese language only). All information in this article is as of September 2021.