■ Introduction to Research〓 Research Area : Conservation of Aquatic Biodiversity

Taxonomy, nomenclature and conservation ofmolluscan taxa
Molluscs including shellfish, snails, slugs and so on are a very diversified animal group andconsist of more than 80,000 Recent species in the world, but their taxonomy and recognitionof species are still poorly understood. For example, Turbo sazae is one of the most well-known
marine snails in Japan since ancient age, but neverthelessthe species has long been misidentified with Turbo cornutus,
a species endemic to China, until recently and documented to
be unnamed in 2017. Another edible species Tegula kusairo
exhibited the similar case and it was described as a newspecies in 2020. Furthermore, many species become extinct
or critically endangered by artificial environmental changes
before recognizing their presences by human beings. The
alpha-taxonomy of this group is thus highly important and an
urgent matter in terms of biodiversity conservation.
Turbo sazae Fukuda, 2017.

Collection and databasing of molluscan specimens〓 Assoc. Prof.
FUKUDA Hiroshi

Molluscs live in most habitats on land and in water. Because they have poor migration ability, they are closely
linked to the environmental conditions of the place thanany other organisms, and are useful for understanding thehistorical transition and current status of environment. It isthe best as an environmental indicator. We are collecting
molluscs from all over Japan, preparing specimens, andmaking a database. As of June 2021, about 30,000 lots ofspecimens have been registered.
Sunetta beni Fukuda, Ishida, Watanabe,
Yoshimatsu & Haga, 2021.

〓 Research Area : Evolutionary Ecology

Study on evolutionary ecology using insects
All of organisms including agricultural products of material areproduct of evolution. All of them are influenced from environmental
and ecological factors. Therefore, understanding of evolutionary
ecological mechanisms is important to consider all living thing. We
are grappling with researches in the mechanism of evolutionary
ecology using mainly insect species. We focus on insect behaviors
including anti-predator behavior, courtship and mating systems,
biological interactions of insect species. Concretely, there are specialized research theme concerning mating system, sexual selection, sperm competition, insect immobility, dispersal tactics, interaction between environments and insect behaviors, using insects.

Research on insect behaviors for applied entomologicaltechniques〓 Prof.
MIYATAKE Takahisa

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In addition to the basic researches in evolutionary
ecology, we can apply these results to output concerning applied entomology and insect pest control.
Understanding insect behavior connect to some
applied entomological techniques; for example,
monitoring and detecting the beetles using lights
and/or pheromone in a laboratory and a storehouse,
attraction methods using ultra violet l or blue lights
and lure, or breeding of flightless beetles. In addition
to these researches, we concern some relationships
between native and invasion insects from the world
including common pill bug, sweet potato weevils,
fruit flies, and broad-horned flour beetles.