Project

Understanding marine resources based on the JAMBIO Coastal Organism Joint Surveys

Summary

In order to conserve marine organisms and other coastal resources and use them in a sustainable manner, it is vital that we understand the composition and density of the biome in the area. Japan is a country surrounded by sea, and therefore a considerable number of biome surveys have been conducted in the past, mainly with regards to seafood and other food-related marine resources. However, the marine environment is comprised of diverse interactions between both living and non-living matter, so resource preservation and use in a sustainable manner are difficult with information only on limited marine life. Furthermore, some species not currently considered as marine resources may prove valuable in the future.

 

The Japanese Association for Marine Biology (JAMBIO) is an organization established with the goal of promoting cooperative utilization and research in the field of marine biology in Japan. One of its core strategic projects is the JAMBIO Coastal Organism Joint Surveys, a biome survey mainly targeting coastal organisms no bigger than a few cm that had largely been overlooked until now. This project is conducted at marine research facilities across Japan, with its core at the Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, and the Misaki Marine Biological Station, The University of Tokyo.

 

This survey has been held a total of 20 times over five years through May, 2019 with the cooperation of 380 participants from 34 facilities, with further surveys planned for the future. In the first six surveys, approximately 50 previously undescribed species were collected, confirming the existence of previously undiscovered coastal biodiversity. Some species were reported from Japan or the Pacific Ocean for the first time, and important phylogeographic and ecological discoveries were made. Information of organisms collected in this survey is published in the JAMBIO Regionally Integrated Marine Database (RINKAI).

 

Reference 1: Information on past JAMBIO Coastal Organism Joint Surveys
http://www.shimoda.tsukuba.ac.jp/~jambio/joint-research.html

Reference 2: JAMBIO Regionally Integrated Marine Database (RINKAI)
http://www.shimoda.tsukuba.ac.jp/~marinelife-db/

Company

Shimoda Marine Research Center

Main member