Type: INT 97-14 NSF/Tokyo Report: **Research Report: The Ecological
Roles of Soft-Bodied Zooplankton: Bottom Up and Top Down Feeding**

Exposure: Public NSF

Org: INT

Date: 4/28/97

Replaces: None

The National Science Foundation\'s offices in Tokyo and in Paris
periodically report on developments abroad that are related to the
Foundation\'s mission. These documents present facts for the use of NSF
program managers and policy makers; they are not statements of NSF
policy.

Special Scientific Report #97-09 (April 16, 1997)

**Research Report: The Ecological Roles of Soft-Bodied Zooplankton:
Bottom Up and Top Down Feeding**

The following report was prepared by ***Dr. Marsh J. Youngbluth***,
Associate Program Director for Biological Oceanography at the National
Science Foundation. ***Dr. Youngbluth*** visited Japan from January 15 -
February 5, 1997 as a **Visiting Research Fellow (short-term) under the
sponsorship of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).**
Professor Makoto Omori of the Tokyo University of Fisheries served as
host scientist for ***Dr. Youngbluth***. ***Dr. Youngbluth*** may be
reached via email at: **myoungbl@nsf.gov** until June 30, 1997.
Thereafter, ***Dr. Youngbluth*** will be at the Division of Marine
Science, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, 5600 U.S. 1, North,
Ft. Pierce, FL 34936.

**I. Outline of Academic Activities during 3 weeks in Japan**

A. Visited 4 Universities and 2 Research Institutions

Tokyo University of Fisheries

University of Tokyo

Hokkaido University

Hiroshima University

Japan Marine Science and Technology Center

Akajima Marine Science Laboratory

B. Presented 6 Seminars (Titles noted below in section titled

Itinerary of Visit to Japan.)

C. Identified at least three topics for collaborations with my

counterparts in Japan

1\. Importance of demersal zooplankton in the diets of stony

coral species

2\. Impact of predation by gelatinous zooplankton in coastal

and midwater habitats

3\. Contribution of appendicularian houses to particle

transport in Arctic waters

D. Itinerary of Visit to Japan

Date Destination/Host/Activity

\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\--

January 15 - Depart Washington Dulles Airport for Tokyo Narita

Airport

16 - Arrive Tokyo Narita Airport, Commute to Tokyo

17 - Tokyo University of Fisheries/Professor Makoto

Omori/Orientation

National Science Foundation Office, US Embassy/Dr.

Edward Murdy

18-19 - Weekend

20-21 - Tokyo University of Fisheries/Professor Makoto

Omori/Met Faculty (Hidekatsu Yamazaki, Takashi

Ishimaru) and Students (L Tsui Hua, K. Hashizume,

T. Terasaka, A. Katsumoto, M. Iada, T. Watanabe, H.

Fukami, T. Kaneko, S. Chiba, R. Satho)

Presented Seminar: Water Column Biology: Expecting the

Unexpected

22-23 - University of Tokyo/Professor Kouichi Kawaguchi/ Met

Faculty (Shuhei Nishida, Jun Nishikawa, Taro Hirose,

Kazuhiro Kogure, Tomohiko Kikuchi, Susumu Ohtsuka,

Hiroaki Somiya, Tatsuki Toda) and Students (D. Lindsay,

H. Watanabe, M. Moku, K. Hidaka)

Presented Seminar: Ecological Roles of Mesopelagic

Zooplankton

24 - Depart from Tokyo Haneda Airport for Naha, Okinawa

25-26 - Akajima Marine Research Laboratory/ Professor Makoto

Omori/Met Staff (Kazuyuki Shimoike, Kenji Iwao)

Presented Seminar: Gelatinous Zooplankton: An

Understudied Fauna

27 - Depart from Naha Airport for Hiroshima

28-29 - Hiroshima University/Professor Shin-ichi Uye/Met

Faculty and Students

Presented Seminar: Adaptive Strategies of Fragile

Zooplankton

D. Itinerary of Visit to Japan (Continued)

January 29 - Depart From Hiroshima Airport for Tokyo

Haneda Airport , Commute to Yokosuka

30-31 - Japan Marine Science and Technology Center/Dr. Jun

Hashimoto/Met Scientists (Hajimu Kinoshita, Hiroshi

Hotta, Shinji Tsuchida), Engineers, Postdoctoral

Fellows (Katsunori Fujikura, Jay Hunt), and Technicians

Presented Seminar: Midwater Ecology: An In Situ

Approach

February 1 - Depart for Tokyo, Weekend

2 - Depart from Tokyo Haneda Airport for Hakodate

3-4 - Hokkaido University/Professor Tsutomu Ikeda/ Met

Faculty (Naonobu Shiga, Syuhei Ban, Takeshi Naganuma)

and Students (K. Nishiuchi, T. Yoshida, K. Ozaki,

A. Shinada, M. Makino, K. Shiotani, T. Oonishi, U.

Karashita, Y. Yamada, T. Kbari, A. Yamaguchi, K.

Masumoto, T. Aono, M. Tomita, Y. Kurata, J. Bower)

Presented Seminar: The Trophic Impacts of Deep-Living

Appendicularians, Ctenophores and

Siphonophores

4 - Depart for Tokyo Haneda Airport, Commute to Tokyo

5 - Depart from Tokyo Narita Airport for Dulles

International Airport

**II. Impressions and thoughts on the present state of science in
Japan**

**in my field**

A. Roundtable discussions with scientists and students were
well-organized at each facility that I visited. We typically exchanged
ideas that resulted from our respective research programs; we inquired
about opportunities for collaborative interactions. Conversations were
always lively, regardless of whether my exposure was one-on-one or with
a group. I would have learned more if I had been fluent in Japanese but
I think that my overall impressions would be the same. The science
programs in marine ecology and biological oceanography that are
currently ongoing at the institutions I visited were focused largely on
studies of taxonomic diversity of crustaceans and their life histories,
specifically distribution and abundance. By contrast, in the United
States process-related research on a wider spectrum of planktonic fauna
is the norm, e.g., investigations of dispersal and recruitment are
typical. These differences in approach occur principally, it appears to
me, because scientific collaboration in Japan is mainly by groups within
a given university or research facility. In the United States
cooperation between individual scientists from various universities,
research institutions, and government agencies is more common and
provides the basis for addressing a broader scope for a given project.
In any event, my informal talks with faculty and students suggested to
me that everyone is eager for more outside stimulation.

B. The research projects of students (senior and graduate levels) appear
to be established by senior faculty and staff at a given location. This
kind of guidance also occurs in the United States but more often, a
student is expected to independently develop a program of study. It
seems to me that the top-down strategy, so prevalent in Japan, provides
a kind of consistency. However, the independent approach preferred in
the United States appears to promote innovation at an early stage in
graduate education. In other words, there is a trade off. For example,
is it important to examine all species at a particular location over a
long time period? Or, is it more useful to examine how certain key
species have adapted to respond to biotic and environmental factors?
Also, the design of field research programs and the statistical analyses
of data appeared to be less rigorous in Japan.

C. I met few doctoral students. This fact was puzzling at first but then
it was explained to me that most job opportunities within Japan are in
industry. Industry prefers to train their own staff. Apparently, this
practice is considered to be more economical by business interests
because less experienced persons can be hired at lower salaries.
Furthermore, doctoral level graduates do not command substantially
higher salaries. Thus there is considerably less incentive to pursue an
extended graduate education in Japan. There are probably other
economical factors that should be considered, so it is hard to judge
whether the relatively few doctoral students among the younger
generation will suffice to provide the scientific leadership needed in
the future. One suggestion for the future would be to increase the
stipend for PhD level students.

D. I did notice that facilities and instrumentation were often newer at
the research laboratories than at the academic institutions. I wondered
whether this disparity effects the extent and quality of basic ocean
research. Would renovation of the older buildings at universities
provide a better atmosphere for teaching and research? Would shared use
of equipment, like that available at a national laboratory such as
JAMSTEC, serve to optimize science projects conducted by university
staff?

E. I was very pleased for the chance to visit the Akajima Marine Science
Laboratory (on Aka Island in the Kerama Islands complex). This facility
is ideally situated and well-equipped to provide easy access to coral
reef environments that are remarkably pristine. I learned that the
diverse coral species at this location are likely to be primary sources
for coral larvae that drift, settle and grow elsewhere in the Ryuku
Islands. This fact makes the site an extremely valuable natural
resource, i.e., the Akajima reefs have economical and ecological
significance for the coastal ecosystems. I am very interested in
returning to this island in order to collaboratively examine the extent
to which the growth and spawning rates of stony coral species are
related to their consumption of demersal zooplankton stocks.

**III. Comments and suggestions to JSPS, especially concerning the
Fellowship program**

A. I benefited greatly from the meetings with colleagues in Japan. I
think the JSPS fellowship program provides an excellent opportunity for
a cross cultural exchange of scientific ideas and current practices. I
thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the cultural experiences. I very much
appreciated the excellent treatment and planning by JSPS and my host,
Professor Makoto Omori. The Japanese tradition of courtesy and
hospitality were obvious everywhere I visited.

Very shortly after my visit to Japan I participated in a major
oceanographic meeting in the United States (American Society for
Limnology and Oceanography). Consequently, I had the chance to describe
my experiences in Japan to many American and European scientists. One
evening I presided at a session that addressed opportunities for
developing international partnerships. I highly recommended the JSPS
fellowship program.

B. It is interesting to note that many of the Japanese professors and
senior staff with whom I interacted had studied, worked or visited in
the United States and other nations. Those persons who had such
multi-national experience appeared to be more enthusiastic about the
nature and scope of their scientific work. I would recommend that JSPS
continue to support science programs that allow Japanese scientists and
students to travel and work outside Japan. This experience will
certainly serve to increase the possibility of international
collaboration on projects of mutual interest.

C. Scientists at universities and those at research institutions in
Japan do not appear to collaborate very often. I gather that such
limited interaction between these groups stems from the fact that JSPS
and STA are supported by separate governmental agencies, each with
different goals. Consequently, the practice of sharing resources is
uncommon. There are similar situations in the United States but they are
less pronounced. In regard to this matter I understand, from discussions
with NSF (National Science Foundation) colleagues who visit Japan
regularly and with senior Japanese administrators who presided at a
recent JSPS meeting in Washington DC, that a relatively new governmental
mandate may galvanize more interaction between JSPS and STA. This policy
is encouraging and may be especially important in respect to water
column ecology, a discipline in which I am deeply involved.

For example, during my discussions with ocean scientists at the
University of Tokyo and their counterparts at JAMSTEC, I learned that
there is mutual interest by these groups to study the ecology of
mesopelagic fauna. I am hopeful that when a midwater program is
established in Japan that I and my American cohorts may be able to
collaborate with our Japanese colleagues at both institutions.
Specifically, I would like to quantify the impact of predation by
coastal and deep-water fauna such as siphonophores and ctenophores.
Utilization of some of the unique deep-diving resources (available at
JAMSTEC) in the vast habitat above the seafloor would contribute
significantly to understanding the biogeochemical phenomena that can
effect topics such as fishery production and particle transport.

There is another factor that should be contemplated. Technology transfer
from institutions in the United States and Europe could facilitate this
emerging field of midwater investigation in Japan. For example, several
kinds of collection devices and optical instruments are used routinely
on manned and robotic submersibles operated by other nations. These
tools do not exist at JAMSTEC but are available. Adaptation of these
packages for use on Japanese undersea vehicles would save many years of
trial and error and ensure more rapid scientific progress.