Research Staff

 

Director General

    Animal ecology
Specialty
  1. Environmental changes in Lake Biwa and its watershed over the past 150 years (based on social changes from the late Edo period to the Meiji period)
  2. Environmental history of the Great Cormorants and people through the forests based on the nutrient supply by the cormorants
  3. Historical relationship between the Great Cormorants and people and modern management of the conflicts between them
  4. Behavior and ecology of the Japanese Cormorants bred for cormorant fishing

Keywords of Research
    Birds, nutrient transportation, ecosystem functions, ecosystem services, relationship between cormorants and people.

Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • Kameda KO (2020) 7.2.4 Population increase of the Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo and measures taken to reduce its damage to the fisheries and forests of Lake Biwa. Kawanabe H, Nishino M, Maehata M (eds). Lake Biwa: Interactions between Nature and People 2: 603-608. Springer.
  • Hashimoto H, Sugawa H, Kameda KO (2020) 2.9 Characteristics of avifauna of Lake Biwa and its long-term trends. Kawanabe H, Nishino M, Maehata M (eds). Lake Biwa: Interactions between Nature and People 2: 237-242. Springer.
  • Fujii H, Kameda KO, Makino A, Maesako Y (2019) Traditional Custom of the Utilization of Herons and Great Cormorants at Lake Biwa ̶ the Culture of Bird Utilization from the Edo Period to the Present Day. Journal of Yamashina Institute for Ornithology 51: 1-28. (Japanese with English Abstract) https://doi.org/10.3312/jyio.51.1
  • Fujita MS and Kameda KO (2016) Nutrient Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling by Birds. Sekercioglu ÇH, Wenny DG, and Whelan CJ (eds). Why Birds Matter: Avian Ecological Function and Ecosystem Services.The University of Chicago Press, pp271-297.
  • Mulder CPH, Jones HP, Kameda K, Palmborg C, Schmidt S, Ellis JC, Orrock JL, Wait DA, Wardle DA, Yang L, Young H, Croll DA, and Vidal E (2011) Impacts of Seabirds on Plant and Soil Properties. Mulder CPH, Anderson WB, Towns DR, and Bellingham PJ eds. Seabird Islands: Ecology, Invasion, and Restoration, Oxford University Press :135-176.
Email: kameda-kayoko△biwahaku.jp
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Vice Director

    Palaeobotany
Specialty
  1. Palaeoclimate and floral changes during the Pliocene.
  2. Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Pliocene using fossil flora.

Keywords of Research
    Fossil plants, fossil forests, paleobotany, paleoenvironmental reconstruction.

Email: yamakawa-chiyomi△biwahaku.jp
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Head of Research

    Limnology
Specialty
  1. Biogeochemical processes in Lake Biwa.
  2. Quantitative monitoring of submerged macrophytes using a echo-sounding technique in the southern sub-basin of Lake Biwa.

Keywords of Research
    Limnology, physical circulation, eutrophication, monitoring.

Email: haga-hiroki△biwahaku.jp
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Cultural History and Geoscience Research Group

    Geology
Specialty
  1. Pliocene-Pleistocene five million year history of volcanic eruptions based on volcanic ash.
  2. Japan's Pliocene-Pleistocene tephrostratigraphy and establishment of age.
  3. Palaeoenvironmental changes of the Lake Biwa region.

Keywords of Research
    Tephra, volcanic ash stratigraphy, Pliocene-Pleistocene, explosive volcanic eruption activity, palaeoenvironments.

Email: satoguchi-yasufumi△biwahaku.jp
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    History
Specialty
  1. Elucidation of the social and economic restructuring of Japan during the 13th century.
  2. Development of fishing in inland waters, especially Lake Biwa, during Japan's Medieval Period.
  3. Influences of human activity on swamp and lake shore habitats during Japan's Medieval Period

Keywords of Research
    Medieval Period of Japan, villages, communities, disputes, fishing.

Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • Hashimoto, M. 1999. A 13th-Century turning point of fishing rights and endemic fish-trap ('eri') technology in Lake Biwa, in relation to the role of village communities. Ancient Lakes: Their Cultural and Biological Diversity. Kenobi Productions Belgium, pp.147-159.
Email: hashimoto-michinori△biwahaku.jp
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    Environmental sociology
Specialty
  1. Environmental sociology research into the relationships between nature and humans.
  2. Water facilities of lakeshore areas.
  3. Utilization of nature and environmental preservation of lakeshores.

Keywords of Research
    Lakes, environmental preservation, nature utilization, regionalization

Email: you-hei△biwahaku.jp
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    Paleo-microbiology
Specialty
  1. Vegetation response to glacial-interglacial cycles based on pollen analysis from Lake Biwa sediments.
  2. The history of vegetation changes and forest fires through pollen and charcoal analyses.
  3. Past changes during the last 100 years in the floral landscape and the dispersal of pollen.

Keywords of Research
    Paleo-ecology, vegetation change, climate change, pollen analysis, Lake Biwa sediments.

Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • Hayashi, R., Inoue, J., Makino, M., Takahara, H. (2012) Vegetation history during the last 17,000 years around Sonenuma Swamp in the eastern shore area of Lake Biwa, western Japan: with special reference to changes in species composition of Quercus subgenus Lepidobalanus trees based on SEM pollen morphology. Quaternary International 254, 99-106.
  • Hayashi, R., Takahara, H., Hayashida, A., Takemura, K. (2010) Millennial-scale vegetation changes during the last 40,000 years based on a pollen record from Lake Biwa, Japan. Quaternary Research 74, 91-99.
  • Hayashi, R., Takahara, H., Yoshikawa, S., Inouchi, Y. (2010) Orbital-scale variability of vegetation during MIS 6, 5, 4, and 3 based on a pollen record from the Takashima-oki core in Lake Biwa, western Japan. Japanese Journal of Palynology 56, 5-12.
  • Hayashi, R., Takahara, H., Tanida, K., Danhara, T. (2009) Vegetation response to East Asian monsoon fluctuations from the penultimate to last glacial period based on a terrestrial pollen record from the inland Kamiyoshi Basin, western Japan. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 284, 246-256.
Email: hayashi-ryoma△biwahaku.jp
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    Regional environmental sociology
Specialty
  1. Transformation of lifestyles in rural communities.
  2. Use and maintenance of traditional landraces.

Keywords of Research
    Villages, depopulation, commons, communities, traditional landraces.

Email: okubo-mika△biwahaku.jp
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    Archaeology
Specialty
  1. Development of the Yayoi culture in western Japan.
  2. Development of the relationships between lake environments and farming communities.
  3. Lake transportation and group relationships during the Jomon and Yayoi periods.

Keywords of Research
    Jomon, Yayoi, earthenware, styles, western Japan, Hokuriku region.

Email: senoo-yusuke△biwahaku.jp
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    Ichthyology
Specialty
  1. Origin and history of Lake Biwa fishes based on molecular phylogenetic and population genetic analyses.
  2. Natural selection in the mitochondrial genome of Lake Biwa fishes and adaptation to the lake environment.

Keywords of Research
    Freshwater fish, evolution, genetic analysis, multi-species comparisons, mitochondrial genome

Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • Tabata, R., Kakioka, R., Tominaga, K., Komiya, T. & Watanabe, K. (2016) Phylogeny and historical demography of endemic fishes in Lake Biwa: the ancient lake as a promoter of evolution and diversification of freshwater fishes in western Japan. Evolution and Ecology 6: 2601-2623.
  • Tabata, R. & Watanabe, K. (2013) Hidden mitochondrial DNA divergence in the Lake Biwa endemic goby Gymnogobius isaza: implications for its evolutionary history. Environmental Biology of Fishes 96: 701-712.
Email: tabata-ryoichi△biwahaku.jp
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    History
Specialty
  1. History of maps with a focus on the early modern period of Japan.
  2. Landscape history of river basins, based on ideology and practice of flood control in civil engineering.
  3. History of the natural environment and regional images expressed in the media.

Keywords of Research
    Spatial representation, geographical knowledge, landscape transition, river management, publishing culture.

Email: shimamoto-kazuyuki△biwahaku.jp
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    Folklore
Specialty
  1. Folklore in the living world of wetlands and lakes.
  2. Relationship between folklore and autonomy in the living world.
  3. Memory and experience related to objects.

Keywords of Research
    Tradition, autonomy, co-ownership, the living world

Email: kato-hideo△biwahaku.jp
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    Vertebrate Palaeontology
Specialty
  1. Changes in the terrestrial mammalian fauna of Japan, especially around Lake Biwa.
  2. Taxonomy and phylogeny of African terrestrial mammals.
  3. Asian mammalian fossil fauna and paleobiogeographic changes.

Keywords of Research
    Vertebrate palaeontology, mammals, fossils.

Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • Handa, N., Izuho, M., Takahashi,K. Iizuka, F., Tsogtbaatar, B., Gunchinsuren, B., Odouren, D., and Ishitseren, L. (2022) The woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) from Ondorkhaan, eastern Mongolia. Boreas, 51 (3), 584-605.
  • Handa, N. and Tsubamoto, T . (2021) Reappraisal of a supposed chalicotheriid perissodactyl femur from the Pliocene of Yenangyoung, central Myanmar. Journal of Fossil Research, 54 (1), 11-14.
  • Handa, N., Nakatsukasa, M., Kunimatsu, Y., Tsubamoto T. and Nakaya, H. (2021) The Chalicotheriidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the upper Miocene Nakali Formation, Kenya. Historical Biology, 33 (12), 3522-3529.
  • Handa, N. (2020) Reappraisal of a rhinocerotid (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the lower Miocene Yotsuyaku Formation, Northeast Japan, with an overview of the early Miocene Japanese rhinocerotids. Paleontological Research, 23, 183-191.
  • Handa, N. and Kato, T. (2020) A Pliocene rhinocerotid (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from Ajimu, Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan, with comments on the Japanese Pliocene rhinocerotid fossil records. Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 94 (4), 759-768.
  • Handa, N., Nishioka, Y., Duangkrayom, J., Jintasakul, P. (2020) Brachypotherium perimense (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) from the Miocene of Nakhon Ratchasima, Northeastern Thailand, with comments on fossil records of Brachypotherium . Historical Biology, 33 (9), 1642-1660.
Email: handa-naoto△biwahaku.jp
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Biotic and Human Interaction Research Group

    Aquatic insects
Specialty
  1. Phylogenetic systematics of the Japanese flies.
  2. Classification of Shiga Prefecture's aquatic insects.
  3. The evolution of flies.

Keywords of Research
    Aquatic insects, taxonomy, systematics, evolution, biogeography, DNA

Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • K. Masunaga, T. Saigusa & P. Grootaert. (2005) Revision of the genus Thambemyia Oldroyd (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) with description of a new subgenus. Entomological Science. 8(4) : 439-455.
  • K. Masunaga, T. Saigusa & D. Yang (2005) Taxonomy of the genus Acymatopus Takagi (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Entomological Science. 8(3) : 301-311.
Email: masunaga-kazuhiro△biwahaku.jp
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    Microbiology
Specialty
  1. Pattern analysis of diatom communities using multivariate analysis techniques.
  2. Diatom taxonomy.
  3. Development of quantitative analytical techniques for taxonomy.

Keywords of Research
    Diatoms, multivariate analysis, rice-fields, rivers

Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • Ohtsuka, T., Kudoh, S., Imura, S. & Ohtani, S. (2006) Diatoms composing benthic microbial mats in freshwater lakes of Skarvsnes ice-free area, East Antarctica. Polar Bioscience 20: 113-130.
Email: ohtsuka-taisuke△biwahaku.jp
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    Aquatic microfauna

• Personal Web Page

• ResearchGate Profile

Specialty
  1. Development and phylogeny of ostracods (Crustacea).
  2. Taxonomy of Asian lacustrine ostracods.
  3. Taxonomy and ecology of rice field ostracods.

Keywords of Research
    Ostracoda, taxonomy, ecology, phylogeny, evolution.

Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • Smith, R. J., Zhai, D., Savatenalinton, S., Kamiya, T. & Yu, N. 2018. A review of rice field ostracods (Crustacea) with a checklist of species. Journal of Limnology, 77, 1-16.
  • Smith, R. J., Zhai, D. & Chang, C. Y. 2019. Ilyocypris (Crustacea: Ostracoda) species in North East Asian rice fields; description of one new species, and redescriptions of Ilyocypris dentifera Sars, 1903 and Ilyocypris japonica Okubo, 1990. Zootaxa, 4652, 56-92.
  • Smith, R. J. & Chang, C. Y. 2020. Taxonomic assessments of some Cyprinotinae Bronstein, 1947 species (Crustacea: Ostracoda) from Japanese and Korean rice fields, including (re-) descriptions of six species and a review of the type species of the subfamily. Zootaxa, 4795, 1-69.
Email: robin-james-smith△biwahaku.jp
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    Microbiology
Specialty
  1. Taxonomy of plankton.
  2. Benthic microorganisms, especially gastrotrich ecology, taxonomy and phylogeny.
  3. Microorganisms in rice fields.

Keywords of Research
    Rice fields, microorganisms, benthos, plankton, gastrotrichs.

Email: suzuki-takahito△biwahaku.jp
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    Plant taxonomy
Specialty
  1. Biogeography of shoreline plants.
  2. Conservation of beach plants growing around Lake Biwa.
  3. Research on vegetation in Shiga Prefecture.

Keywords of Research
    Shore plants, biological geography, conservation biology, evolutionary ecology

Email: ohtsuki-tatsuo△biwahaku.jp
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    Fisheries science
Specialty
  1. Fisheries science
  2. Research on stock trends of fishery target species
  3. Diurnal ring analysis of otoliths

Keywords of Research
    Fisheries resources, fish reproduction, initial decrease, otoliths

Email: yoneda-kazuki△biwahaku.jp
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    Aquarium conservation biology
Specialty
  1. Elucidation of the origin of Lake Biwa and Yodogawa fish based on anatomical traits
  2. Systematic study of Cyprinidae
  3. Research on conservation and phylogenetic conservation of endangered freshwater fish
  4. Specimen-based restoration of past fish faunas

Keywords of Research
    East Asia, Lake Biwa / Yodo River system, Cyprinidae, systematic classification, biodiversity conservation
Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • Tominaga, K. & Kawase, S. (2019) Two new species of Pseudogobio pike gudgeon (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae: Gobioninae) from Japan, and redescription of P.esocinus (Temminck and Schlegel 1846). Ichthyological Research 66, 488-508.
  • Kawase, S. & Hosoya, K. (2015) Pseudorasbora pugnax, a new species of minnow from Japan, and redescription of P.pumila (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 25, 289-298.

Email: kawase-seigo△biwahaku.jp
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    Benthic biology
Specialty
  1. Examination of measures against blue-green algae using bivalves of the mussel family.
  2. Evaluation of food utilization in mussel bivalves using stable isotope ratio and fatty acid analyses.
  3. Establishment of a distribution survey method of mussels using environmental DNA.

Keywords of Research
    Freshwater bivalves, blue-green algae, fatty acids, stable isotope ratios, environmental DNA.
Readily Accessible Research Contributions
  • Sugawara, K., Sasaki, Y., Okano, K., Watanabe, M., & Miyata, N. (2022) Application of eDNA for monitoring freshwater bivalve Nodularia nipponensis and its glochidium larvae. Environmental DNA, 4(4), 908-919.
  • Sugawara, K., Fujibayashi, M., Okano, K., Enda, Y., Ichinoseki, S., Taniguchi, Y., & Miyata, N. (2021) Assimilation of cyanobacteria by the freshwater bivalve Nodularia douglasiae: Insights from long-term laboratory and field feeding experiments. Journal of Water and Environment Technology, 19 (2), 74-84.

Email: sugawara-kotaro△biwahaku.jp
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Museum Studies Research Group

    Aquatic botany
Specialty
  1. Aquatic plant ecology.
  2. Museum Studies.

Keywords of Research
    Bladderwort, spiny naiad, exhibition, users.

Email: ashiya-minako△biwahaku.jp
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    Aquatic propagation
Specialty
  1. Ecology and conservation of fish that use rice fields.
  2. The distribution patterns of fish and bivalves in Shiga Prefecture.
  3. Habitats of rare freshwater fish and bivalve species, and the links to conservation activities.
  4. Wildlife conservation and environmental education that utilize the museum.

Keywords of Research
    Paddy fields, shore network, conservation, fish, and freshwater bivalves.

Email: kanao-shigefumi△biwahaku.jp
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    Museology
Specialty
  1. Museum regional cooperation through participation type of investigation using the biota of tall grasslands (kayahara) as a theme.
  2. Determining the current state of interaction between grasslands and human activities through the distribution of harvest mice.
  3. The current conditions and conservation of mammals on the Karasuma Peninsula and in the Prefecture - environmental education activities.

Keywords of Research
    Museology, regional cooperation, mammals, tall grasslands (kayahara), conservation, environmental education.

Email: nakamura-kumiko△biwahaku.jp
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    Aquatic fauna
Specialty
  1. Physiological and ecological studies on captive Baikal seals.
  2. Breeding physiology in pinnipeds.
  3. Disease and treatment of aquatic mammals.

Keywords of Research
    Museum studies, aquatic mammals, ecology, disease.

Email: matsuoka-yuko△biwahaku.jp
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    Terrestrial entomology
Specialty
  1. Diversity and evolution of herbivorous insects, mainly weevils.
  2. Diets of weevils.
  3. The insect fauna of Shiga Prefecture and its origin.

Keywords of Research
    Weevils, taxonomy, phylogeny, evolution, diet.

Email: imada-shunsuke△biwahaku.jp
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    School cooperation
Specialty
  1. School cooperation

Keywords of Research
    Erudition collaboration, experiential learning, science education, improving the qualifications of teachers.

Email: watanabe-toshihiro△biwahaku.jp
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