Research
Conservation ecology in coastal habitats
Human-induced habitat degradation has caused major changes in the global distribution of organisms, including species extinctions and biological invasions. Recently, the use of de-embankments to recreate coastal habitats has been promoted, and many rehabilitation programs have been carried out in the world; however, most of these programs have not yet achieved their goals. In order to provide rational guidelines for habitat conservation and/or rehabilitation, we examine human-impacts on faunal communities in coastal habitats.
Keywords | degradation, disturbance, habitat rehabilitation, waste water
aquaculture pond
mangrove forest
Habitat connectivity
Coastal habitats interact with each other through the flow of nutrients and organic materials across habitat boundaries. Faunal community can use such allochthonous resources, in addition to the in situ autochthonous resources. The community structure would thus be affected by the allochthonous inputs; however, little is known about the functions of allochthonous resources. We determine the role of these inputs on benthic faunal communities by conducting field surveys and adopting an experimental approach.
Keywords | allochthonous resources, ecotone, estuary
Alteration of species interactions
Species interactions are not stable, but can be altered by the ambient biological/abiotic environment. In particular, phenotypic plasticity (the ability of an organism to change its phenotype in response to changes in the environment) causes alteration of species interactions. We aim to estimate the impacts of phenotypic plasticity on species interactions by conducting field surveys and laboratory experiments.
Keywords | phenotypic plasticity, species interaction
Rocky shore
