国際島嶼教育研究センター
Toppage
Record of activities in 2022 at KURCPI

  • Research Seminar No.225, 19 December 2022
    16:30-, The Interdivisional Education and Research Building, 5th Floorbr

    「Biodiversity and biogeography of obligate plant parasites-Rust fungi in the Ryukyu Archipelago」
    OKANE Izumi
    (Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba)

    　Rust fungi (Pucciniales, Basidiomycota) are biotrophic obligate parasites, and ca. 6,000 species in approved 130 genera, 18 families (Cummins & Hiratsuka, 2003; Aime & McTaggart, 2020) have been reported globally. Rust fungi are characterized by 1) unidirectional formation of up to five morphologically and functionally different spore stages (spermogonial, aecial, uredinial, telial, and basidial stages), 2) including heteroecious species in which two phylogenetically different host plants are required to complete their life cycle, and 3) high host specificity. In Japan, ca. 760 species have been reported (Ono, 2008), of which about 90 species have been reported only from the Ryukyu Archipelago and Kyushu (Hiratsuka et al., 1993). In field surveys conducted mainly by the University of Tsukuba and Ibaraki University, more than 160 species (including many unidentified species of the genus Puccinia) have been collected in this region. Of these, ca. 40 species are known to be distributed in the Ryukyu Archipelago and Kyushu. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have confirmed that Uredo yuwandakensis (found uredinial stage only), previously reported only from Amami-Oshima, is parasitic on several Smilax spp. in addition to Himekakara (Smilax biflora) and is distributed in Chiba Pref. Furthermore, this species was revealed to be assigned to the genus Puccinia (Gibu, 2022) . Chrysocelis gynostemmatis, which had been reported only from Amami-Oshima and Nakanoshima islands, was found on the Amachazuru (Gynostemma pentaphyllum) collected in Thailand. It suggests that this species may occur universally on Amachaduru in East and South Asia (Unartngam et al., 2020). Puccinia kraussiana, which had not been previously reported in Japan, was found on Sarutoriibara (S. china), Satsuma-sankirai (S. bracteate), and Karasukiba-sankirai (Heterosmilax japonicum) from Amami-Oshima, Tokunojima, and Okinawa Pref.It is required to reconfirm the distribution of Hamaspora okinawaensis, a new species reported on Okinawa-urajiroichigo (Rubus utchinensi), which is listed as an endangered species and Hamaspora acutissima, which has also been reported on Kuwanoha-ichigo (Rubus nesiotes: an endemic species) distributing in Okinawa, and to compare them based on molecular phylogenetic analyses. Further investigation of the flora of rust fungi in the Ryukyu Archipelago will be very important in elucidating the biogeography and speciation of rust fungi in East, Southeast, and South Asia.



  • Research Seminar No.224, 7 November 2022
    16:30-, The Interdivisional Education and Research Building, 5th Floorbr

    「Diversity of Banana Cultivars and their Usages in Papua New Guinea」
    ODANI Shingo
    (Faculty of Letters, Chiba University)

    　Banana cultivation in New Guinea is important subject to explore the origin of agriculture in human history and the distribution pattern of banana cultivars in the contemporary world. However, studies on bananas in New Guinea have been less numerous than those on sweet potatoes or sago palms. The purpose of this study is to clarify the classification of banana cultivars and usage in the areas where banana is a staple food; the Markham River basin of Morobe Province and the coastal area of Central Province.
    　This study focused on the kalapua group, which is generally regarded as a distinct group by local people in both areas; its usage is different from that of the other groups. kalapua is the name of this group in Melanesian Pidgin and some local languages. The genome type of the kalapua group is ABB, and the shape of its fingers is unique; they are short and angled, with a thick peel. Local people regarded the kalapua group as having tolerance to both drying and flood. Categorizations of this group were not conducted in previous studies on the Highlands fringe region; therefore, it is supposed that local people in the lowland regions where banana is staple food especially regard them as indispensable for their subsistence.
    　We observed that the kalapua group and other group were planted in separate gardens, because informants assess that the growth rate and tolerance to climate differ between kalapua and other cultivars. A nutritional status assessment showed that nutrient levels, except for carbohydrate, are comparatively low in kalapua. It is concluded that farmers classify and produce kalapua and other cultivars separately. kalapua, for their tolerance to both drying and flood, are cultivated for a sustainable staple food. Other bananas may be grown because of their nutritional compositions, preference, and means of a cash income.



  • Research Seminar No.223, 24 October 2022
    16:30-, The Interdivisional Education and Research Building, 5th Floorbr

    「Heirloom island radishes on the verge of extinction — Amami-Oshima island “Koshi radish” and Kikai-jima island “Onotsu radish”」
    NAKANO Hatsunori
    (Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagoshima University)

    　Heirloom crops have been maintained and developed by adapting to the climate unique to the region, building regional culture through the life of residents and developing human resources. However, as the heirloom crops unique to the region disappear one after another, diversity of genetic resources is disappearing, due to rise of commercial varieties, changing cultivation form, decrease in farmers, and disappearance of villages caused by declining birthrate and aging population. In recent years, the diverse food culture and education rooted in the region are being reconsidered. With the growth of local production for local consumption and health consciousness, these vegetables with regional diversity have been recognized. On the other hand, preserving and enlightening the heirloom crops is an urgent issue.
    　I surveyed the entire Kagoshima prefecture and collected more than 100 varieties of crops. In almost all regions, heirloom vegetables are replaced by commercial varieties. Moreover, in areas where heirloom vegetables remain, it was only left by elderly people producing their own seeds. In this way, it is necessary to leave these crops with their stories to future generations, since crops have supported the local food culture and people through a long history have value as cultural assets.
    　In this presentation, I introduce heirloom radishes of south Amami-Oshima island (Setouchi town) and Kikai-jima island.



  • Research Seminar No.222, 26 September 2022
    16:30-, The Interdivisional Education and Research Building, 5th Floorbr

    「Physicians from Okinoerabu Island, the 'Island of Education'」
    HIDAKA Yusuke
    (Regional Management Research Center, Kagoshima University)

    　This presentation focuses on physicians from Okinoerabu Island, located in the Nansei Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture.
    　In previous research on Okinoerabu Island, it is possible to confirm the discourse on Okinoerabu Island as an 'island of education.' It can also be confirmed that Saigo Takamori, Kawaguchi Seppo, Kihira Uemon and other exiles from the Edo period had an influence on the education on Okinoerabu Island. Based on such discourses, narratives such as "there are many teachers and physicians from Okinoerabu Island" can also be confirmed.
    　However, it has not been confirmed, as far as we know, whether there are actually 'many' of these professions.
    　In this presentation, we focus on " physicians " specifically among these professions and present the results of a verification based on the Amami Meikan , a social register published by the Amamisha. Through comparison with the number of physicians from other Amami Islands, it will be clarified whether there were "many physicians from Okinoerabu Island" in the Showa period.
    　In the situation of islands with various restrictions on education and mobility, the physicians from the island of Okinoerabu moved vertically in society (changes in social status) and horizontally in space (continuation of careers outside the island). The conditions that produced such physicians from Okinoerabu Island are also examined from the perspective of the island's social, political and cultural contact with YAMATO (mainland Japan).



  • Research Seminar No.221, 19 July 2022
    16:30-, The Interdivisional Education and Research Building, 5th Floorbr

    「High-pressure experiment and observation of chlorite in the area where inter-mediate earthquakes occur」
    YAMAUCHI Sachiko
    (International Center for Island Studies, Kagoshima University)

    　Inter-mediate earthquakes occur in the interior of the subduction zone plate (at depths of about 60 to 300 km). These occur in areas where earthquakes should not theoretically occur, and their causes have not yet been clarified. The islands of Kagoshima Prefecture are located along the Philippine Sea Plate. In 1911, an earthquake with a magnitude estimated to be 8.0 occurred there. They have not been verified and cannot be predicted, although there are some strong hypotheses. Since the area where chlorite exists and the area where inter-mediate earthquakes occur are almost the same, we hypothesized that the behavior of chlorite is the cause and conducted an experiment. In this presentation, I want to introduce the structural change of chlorite in the area where inter-mediate earthquake occurs.
    　Chlorite is a layered mineral. Chlorite is classified into polytypes, which have slightly different properties depending on the way they are layered. It is known that under high pressure conditions, chlorite undergoes a sudden change in the way each layer overlaps one another. Some of these changes are accompanied by polytype changes. Acoustic Emission, a wave similar to seismic waves, occurs more frequently and its energy magnitude increases with this polytype change. In other words, the behavior of chlorite is generating waves like seismic waves. However, since these data were obtained at room temperature, we verified whether this change also occurs under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions.



  • Research Seminar No.220, 27 June 2022
    16:30-, The Interdivisional Education and Research Building, 5th Floorbr

    「Maintenance mechanism of fruit dimorphism related to seed dispersal of coastal plant, Scaevola taccada」
    EMURA Naoko
    (Faculty of Agriculture, Kagoshima University)

    　For sessile plants, seed dispersal is the only way to colonize new sites and expand their ranges. The seeds of individual plants have suitable fruit traits for specific dispersal vectors such as wind, water and animals. The environment in which seeds are dispersed tends to vary depending on the dispersal vector. A phenomenon has been observed in some plant species that they would have speciated with the acquisition of fruit morphology to adapt to a new dispersal vector when they invaded a new habitat environment where the original dispersal vector was absent. However, the process of this phenomenon is mostly unknown.
    　I found the fruit dimorphism (inter-individual variation) of a coastal shrub, Scaevola taccada (Goodeniaceae), individual plants produce either cork-morph or pulp-morph fruits. The former is buoyant and common on sandy beaches, whereas the latter does not float, is bird-dispersed, and is common on sea cliffs. This plant can be expected to be a suitable study material for understanding the early processes of speciation resulting from the evolution of seed dispersal traits. In this presentation, I will introduce my research conducted so far with the aim of understanding the maintenance mechanism in which the two morphs of S. taccada exist.



  • Research Seminar No.219, 30 May 2022
    16:30-, The Interdivisional Education and Research Building, 5th Floorbr

    「Plant diversity of Kagoshima to Southeast Asia」
    TAGANE Shuichiro
    (The Kagoshima University Museum, Kagoshima University)

    　Vascular plants, with ca. 400,000 species, have diversified and adapted to the various environments in the world and are an important element in our life and ecosystem. Despite its importance, our knowledge on the local flora is still poor, and ca. 2,000 new plants are discovered or described every year.
    　In this presentation, I will introduce plant diversity of the Kagoshima Prefecture and Southeast Asia, both of which are known as diversity hotspots, and some activities to elucidate the local flora there.



  • Research Seminar No.218, 18 April 2022
    16:30-, The Interdivisional Education and Research Building, 5th Floorbr

    「Efforts to protect the health of remote island residents as a university」
    TAKEZAKI Toshiro
    (Community Medicine Support Center, Kagoshima University Hospital)

    　Health, medical and welfare organizations and the government are responsible for direct efforts to “protect the health of remote island residents”. This lecture will introduce the efforts to protect the health of remote island residents conducted through education and research while I was enrolled in the Department of International Island and Community Medicine.
    　As an education, we started to let all medical students learn community medicine in islands. As a result, the community medicine in islands that had been special has become one that everyone knows. In addition, the students who entered the school with the obligation to take charge of community medical care had the experience on additional training in island, and the practices in islands spread to nurse and dentistry students. In terms of research, we started population-based epidemiological research in 2005 to prevent lifestyle-related diseases on five islands in Amami, continue until 2035. By conducting ongoing research on remote islands, we have established data and human networks that will be the basis for solving health issues faced by the region, and have gained knowledge that is of interest to academically. In addition, research on islands has become an attractive place to train researchers, and we were able to attract and nurture young researchers who are interested in community medicine in islands. The research base on the remote island also led to a place where universities can contribute academically to solving the health issues of residents, and received many commissioned research, and the analysis results were fed back to the administration and residents of the remote islands. In addition, the remote islands have become a place for international human resource development for health care.



  • Research Seminar No.217, 7 March 2022
    16:30-, Online (Zoom)

    「Recent Archaeological Research of Ancient Human Evidence in the Southern Ryukyu Islands, Southwestern Part of Japan Archipelago」
    YAMAGIWA Kaishi
    (Research Institute of Islands and Sustainability, University of the Ryukyus)

    　This presentation will introduce the recent archaeological research of ancient human and material culture in the Southern Ryukyu Islands. The Southern Ryukyu Islands (also called Sakishima or Miyako and Yaeyama Islands) is southwestern part of Ryukyu Islands, the southern region of Japan archipelago. This region has a different culture and history from the Ryukyu Islands north of the Okinawa Islands, and has been shown to have regional characteristics in language and genetic traits. In recent years, human bone fossils from a very old period (approximately 30,000 years ago) have been discovered in this area, some morphological and genetic analyses have shown that these people have a population origin different from that of the Japanese archipelago. Since the Southern Ryukyus is adjacent to mainland China; Taiwan; and the Philippines; most archaeological and anthropological studies have been focusing on human migration and cultural interaction with these surrounding areas since such older period, and considered that such diverse origin caused the regional character of this region. On the other hand, cultural characteristics that are difficult to explain by simple origin relationships have been identified in the southern Ryukyu Islands, and in recent years, new research has also been conducted to approach the process and mechanism of the formation of unique cultures in the region, such as environmental uniqueness and diversity and adaptive behavior to them. This multifaceted research movement shows the possibility of developing comparative studies with various island regions, and is expected to lead to more extensive and advanced island research.



  • Research Seminar No.216, 24 January 2022
    16:30-, Online (Zoom)

    「Shell Utilization and Larval Release by Land Hermit Crabs in Iriomotejima Island」
    DOI Wataru
    (Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University)

    　As with aquatic hermit crabs such as Paguroidea, Coenobita crabs (Family: Coenobitae) carry gastropod shells as a mobile home. The shells protect the spirally curved and less calcified abdomen of the crab from mechanical damage and desiccation. They are adversely affected by a shortage of shells. Therefore, the availability of the shell resources can determine the abundance and size structure of Coenobita crabs in terrestrial environments. Because of their terrestrial life, availability of shell resources is strongly influenced by human activities. I review the relationship between the crabs and the humans by introducing the ecological studies of C. brevinamus in two abandoned villages on Iriomotejima Island. Similarly to most semi terrestrial crustaceans with pelagic larval stages, the land hermit crabs expand their geographical distributions through their initial stage of life history. Coenobitid crabs have been found to release their larvae on various types of substrates and with varying degrees of exposure to the open sea (e.g., sandy beaches, rocky shores, coastal cliffs in inlets, semi-closed bays, and areas exposed to the sea). Coenobita violascens in the Urauchi River showed discriminating reproductive behavior. Tree climbing took two consecutive days when larvae were released on tree roots and swept into the river water. Adaptive significance of tree-climbing behavior associated with reproduction will be discussed in the latter half.













Webmaster: YAMAMOTO Sota sotayamacpi.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
(c) Copyright KURCPI