•   November 25 2023

Award

Joshua Heitzman, a graduate student in the Agostini laboratory, was awarded the Best Student Presentation Award at the 2023 (26th) Annual Meeting of The Japanese Coral Reef Society. His presentation was entitled 'Coral skeleton dissolution is accelerated by turf algal settlement under ocean acidification'.

→ Agostini Laboratory homepage

•   November 22 2023

Media Coverage

An announcer from NHK Shizuoka wrote an article about the disappearance of sea urchins and their food source, seaweed, from the seas of Izu. The article discusses the drastic reduction in the number of a Sea Urchin (Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus), which are used as research materials, over the past few years. It also covers the disappearance of large seaweeds like Kajime and Arame, which serve as their food, as one of the causes. Associate Professor Shunsuke Yaguchi and Assistant Professor Shigeki Wada have been interviewed on this matter.

→ The link is available here.

•   September 8 2023

Award

Prof. Kazuo Inaba, SMRC was awarded the Zoological Society of Japan Award 2023. The award ceremony and the award winners' lectures were held in the annual conference of the Zoological Society of Japan at Yamagata University.

→ Inaba Laboratory homepage

•   June 28 2023

Student Award

Makiko Hayashi, a graduate student in the Nakano laboratory, was awarded the Best Student Presentation Award at the 2023 Annual Meeting of The Malacological Society of Japan. Her presentation was entitled 'Growth and staging in juveniles of the nudibranch Hypselodoris festiva'.

→ Nakano Laboratory homepage

•   June 13 2023

New Publication

Sylvain Agostini, an assistant professor at the University of Tsukuba, has published multiple papers on the achievements of the Tara Pacific project. The project, initiated by the Tara Ocean Foundation and international partners, explores the biodiversity of coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean. Over 100 scientists from 8 countries and 23 research institutes participated in a 2.5-year exploration on the scientific vessel "Tara" (2016-2018), collecting samples from 30+ islands. Published papers in Springer Nature focus on coral microbiomes, viruses, and adaptive mechanisms using high-speed sequencing technology. Scientific Data papers by Fabien Lombard et al. and Caroline Belser et al. describe the project's sampling methods and data framework. These papers offer new insights into Pacific coral reef health and biodiversity.

→ Click here for information about the project

→ Click here for the Article Collection

•   May 8 2023

New Publication

In collaboration with the research group in Shizuoka Prefectural Research Institute of Fishery and Ocean, Izu Branch, Prof. Kazuo Inaba, SMRC developed an extender solution for short-term sperm storage in alfonsino Beryx splendens. These results were published online in NIPPON SUISAN GAKKAISHI (an official journal of the Japanese Society of Fisheries Science) on May 3rd, 2023.

→ “Development of an extender solution for short-term sperm storage to promote seed production in alfonsino Beryx splendens”

•   April 19 2023

New Publication

An international research group led by Professor James Davis Reimer of the University of the Ryukyus, in collaboration with Assistant Professors Sylvain Agostini, Ben Harvey and Shigeki Wada, alongside other members of the ICONA network, have synthesised information on the high abundance of zooxanthellate zoantharians (Palythoa and Zoanthus) at multiple natural analogues across the Pacific. These results were published online in Coral Reefs on April 19th, 2023.

→ High abundances of zooxanthellate zoantharians (Palythoa and Zoanthus) at multiple natural analogues: potential model anthozoans?

•   April 6 2023

New Publication

Assistant Professor Ben Harvey, in collaboration with an international working group, has highlighted the importance of crustose coralline algae in coral reef carbonate production, alongside recommendations for their inclusion in carbonate budgets under the ongoing climate crisis. These results were published online in Communications Earth &Environment on April 6th, 2023.

→ Crustose coralline algae can contribute more than corals to coral reef carbonate production