Unit name:Mountainous Area ATBI (All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory) Project

Keywords: biodiversity, evolution, interaction, ecosystem, environment

http://www.sugadaira.tsukuba.ac.jp/english/e_summary.html

       Biodiversity, from which human beings significantly benefit, is on the brink of collapse, although it still remains almost unexplained. The research unit examines all biota that inhabit specific areas in superior natural environments and exhaustively analyzes interactive networks developed among all organisms, with the aim of establishing a field for mountain research and education based on the world’s largest volume of aggregated biodiversity information.

Comprehension of all organisms present in specific areas

       The research unit has significant volumes of data on prairie/forest fields representative of cool-temperature zones and biota over the past 80 years, and comprehensively analyzes all biota that inhabit specific areas in Sugadaira Montane Research Center ^(*1) (Figure 1) surrounded by a superior natural environment and interactive networks developed among all organisms in these areas. Members of the unit specialize in a variety of organism-related fields, including insects, other arthropods, fungi, algae, plant, pathology, and protists. In addition, unit members specializing in plant ecology and molecular ecology conduct research on interactions among many different organisms. It is significantly difficult to understand all organisms living in even a small area of Sugadaira Montane Research Center. The center is the only research institution in the world that conducts research to clarify the characteristics of all organisms, including ones that are so small they are invisible to the naked eye. The research unit aims to collect and organize all types of data on all organisms in collaboration with more than 100 researchers specializing in a variety of organisms. The aggregation of advanced data on biodiversity is conducted to establish foundations for developmental research, including the discovery of new biological resources, research on sustainable methods for their utilization, and the development of methods for the utilization of land in harmony with nature.

^{*1: Sugadaira Montane Research Center has Changed to “Sugadaira Research Station, Mountain Research Center” since April 1st, 2017.}

Figure 1: A bird’s eye view of Sugadaira Montane Research Center (area within the line)

 Education on biodiversity for all people, from citizens to researchers

       Aggregated information on biodiversity is used for biodiversity education provided for people of all generations including the general public. Based on the philosophy that many clues to new discoveries are hidden in nature, the research unit provides students other than those who wish to specialize in fields such as biology and applied biology with opportunities to interact with real organisms. Sugadaira Montane Research Center has been designated as a Joint Usage/Education Center of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology: “Center for education on biodiversity in forests and on grassland based on natural history”, based on the results of research conducted by the research unit. We hope that the utilization of information on biodiversity by universities and research institutions across Japan will further promote information collection as a synergistic effect.

Figure 2: Animals and plants on Sugadaira Plateau (clockwise from upper left: pheasant’s eye [Adonis ramosa], fly agaric [Amanita muscaria], male bees [Bombus ardens] sucking honey from Russian comfrey, [Parus montanus] (top) and Great tit [Pilobolus sp.] (bottom), Pilobolus grown on the droppings of deer, lichen [Cladonia macilenta])

Interviewed on June 27, 2014