2013

News Letter No.28

Announcement from DIVERSITAS:

bioGENESIS workshop: Evolutionary Approaches to Biodiversity Science

  • The workshop will take place on 16-17 March 2013, Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia. It will be co-hosted by DIVERSITAS-bioGENESIS and the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) Asia Pacific Chapter.For more information, please visit the website.

    • >> Web site

DIVERSITAS Newsletter - 2013 #01

  • This issue was issued on 6th February, 2013. It highlights the activities of DIVERSITA related to Future Earth, IPBES-1, and GEO BON. For more information, visit the DIVERSITAS website.

    • >> Web site

IPBES e-news - 1st February 2013

  • From 21th to 26th January 2013, the first session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES-1) was held in Bonn, Germany. Please check the e-news at the following site for details.

    >> Web site

2012

2012 DIWPA International Field Biology Course in Japan:
Summer monitoring program for young scientists in Kiso River

17th-24th August, 2012

Kiso Biological Station, Kiso-fukushima, Nagano

Monitoring and sampling works in the field

International workshop was held as a part of Joint-Use and Cooperative Research Program by Center for Ecological Research and also as a curriculum in Kyoto University. This workshop aims to monitor the long-term dynamics of riparian ecosystems under ongoing anthropogenic disturbances, such as eutrophication, river improvement and global climate changes. It was also intended to train young researchers as new-generation leading ecologists who can manage international projects.

This is the first time to organize our routine program as an international workshop in collaboration with DIWPA, which is supporting the capacity building for young researchers in Asian developing countries to promote research networks in this region. Prior to the workshop, we called for participation extensively though DIWPA News Letter and web site. After careful screening, we decided to invite two persons, one from Malaysia and another from Vietnam. A Korean high school teacher applied for the participation as an observer to learn the knowhow of environmental education through this workshop. Three undergraduate students also joined it to take Field Biology Course as a curriculum in Faculty of Science, Kyoto University. At first, they hesitated to communicate with foreign participants because of inexperience in English conversation but it did not take long to come out of their shells. I guess that delicious and healthy home cooking Japanese dishes provided by a housekeeper, Mrs. Yamada, relaxed them and promoted their communication.

Sorting works in the laboratory

In the first half of workshop, participants learned some of standard limnological methods, taking a lecture on basic stream ecology. We practiced routine monitoring at each site in Kuro River and Akashio Stream, located in the middle stream of Kiso River, which was registered to JaLTER (Japan Long-Term Ecological Research Network) two years ago. Beginning with physico-chemical environmental measurements, we collected epilithon and benthic macroinvertebrates from the riffle and pool habitats to measure algal biomass and identify macroinbertebrate taxa in the laboratory (see photos). All of our monitoring data were summarized to leave them open to the public through the web site (see below). In the latter half, participants practiced specific short-term researches which were individually designed. It might have been a terribly tough work for beginners to complete the basic learning and short-term research within less than one week, as one participant pessimistically complained that we can't do it. Contrary to such a negative opinion, however, it is praiseworthy that all of them successfully completed their own researches, working late at night. To get a research position, non-career young researchers are requested to show the highest performance under constraints of limiting research resources, such as time, money and man-power. I believe that the foremost fruit of this workshop is that all participants learned "If you try to do, it can be achieved".

Participants of this workshop

We also enjoyed a tour of Sake brewery and Soba (Japanese traditional noodle) restaurant around the downtown of Kiso-fukushima. This city was developed as the post-town located on Nakasen Road, an arterial road in the Edo Era of Japan, and is famous for Sake and Soba, both of which have been preferred by travelers throughout the ages. Good Sake and Soba need clear water, cool weather and diversity of native organisms living in their surroundings. Needless to say, one of covert objectives in this workshop is to realize how local biodiversity provides us with ecosystem services as food culture.

As stated in the introduction, it is meaningful for this monitoring program to go on forever. We will hereafter make great effort for invitation of young researchers from Asian countries. We would also like a member of DIWPA to recommend excellent young researchers for this workshop and provide generous support and consideration for our activities.

Our monitoring data and workshop reports are available from the following sites. The use of our database will be permitted only for educational and/or research purposes after reviewing by Specimen Committee and Joint-Use Committee.

>> Database of Kiso basin research site

>> Workshop reports by participants

    Staffs:

  • Noboru Okuda (Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University)
  • Shin-ichi Nakano (Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University)
  • Ichiro Tayasu (Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University)
  • Aya Murakami (Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University)


    • Participants:

  • Wong Yun Yun (INTI International College Penang, Malaysia)
  • Nguyen Duc The (Institute of Marine Environment and Resources, Vietnam)
  • Yuma Shirakawa (Faculty of Science, Kyoto University)
  • Tomoko Matsuda (Faculty of Science, Kyoto University)
  • Takeaki Honda (Faculty of Science, Kyoto University)
  • Eun-Gyu Kim (Environmental Science Class, Jukjeon Highschool, South Korea)

reported by Noboru Okuda (Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University)

Workshop:

  • International Workshop on Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation in Asia was held on 26-27 November 2012 in Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

    >> Web site

  • On 30th November, subsequently, "International workshop on status quo of Asian freshwater biodiversity" was held at Center for Ecological Research of Kyoto University, Otsu, Japan. Dr. Li Jianhua (Tongji University, China) and Ms. Dina Muthmainnah (Research Institute for Inland Water Fisheries, Indonesia) have been invited as speakers.

    >> Web site

News Letter No.27

  • We published DIWPA News Letter No. 27 on November, 2012. This issue contains essays by participants on International Field Biology Course, reports on the conferences, an article of new observatory site and information about AsiaFlux network.

    >>DIWPA News Letter No.27

Announcement:

  • GWSP International Conference "Water in the Anthropocene", Bonn, 21-24 May 2013

    Deadline of abstract submission extended until 15 November 2012 (Application CLOSED)

    • >> Web site

  • First issue of the newsletter on the new programme Future Earth was published online in October 2012. Please visit the following website to read the newsletter.

    According to the Future Earth website, "Future Earth will build on the critical knowledge, scientific and warning capabilities that global change research programmes have developed over the past decades, and enhance them further". DIVERSITAS, which is DIWPA's mother program, is one of those programmes.

    >> Web site

  • Symposium:Role of Botanical Gardens in Addressing Social and Environmental Challenges of 21st Century

    This symposium is part of the 13th Conference of International Association of Botanical Gardens (IABG), which will be held in Guangzhou, China, from 13 to 15 November, 2012. Dr. Chandrakant Salunkhe, who is one of the DIWPA members, has been invited to organize it. If you have an interest in presenting your talk at this symposium, please visit the following website and contact him with e-mail. (Application CLOSED)

    >> Web site

News Letter No.26

  • We published DIWPA News Letter No. 26 on March, 2012. This issue contains information on International Field Biology Course 2012 in Kiso River, Japan.

    >>DIWPA News Letter No.26

Application for International Field Biology Course 2012 in Kiso River, Japan.

  • International Field Biology Course 2012 will be held in Kiso River, Japan from August 17th - 24th. We are looking forward your application. See the details on DIWPA News Letter no.26. (Application CLOSED)