SFC Open Research Forum 2016

Our activities are based on developing and maintaining the Nursing Campus Biotope (located behind the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care). While this area has problems with overgrowth and invasive plants, it also has high biodiversity. The main aim of this project is to suggest an improvement plan so that this biotope contributes to regional biodiversity. At present, to better understand the animals and plants in the area, our main activity conducts regional biodiversity surveys. We also remove invasive plants, run water quality surveys, and set camera traps. Through trial and error, we aim to improve our management and development of this biotope.

In many species of songbirds, population in different places have distinctive and characteristic songs (Krebs 1979). These differences of the song may cause a factor of reproductive isolation or obstruction of communication between individuals. My hypothesis is that many of ecological factor such as peripheral avifauna and habitation density affect the variation of birdsong. In this research, I verify this hypothesis by comparing differences in the song of the Japanese tit (Parus minor) between main lands (Kanagawa and Shizuoka Prefecture) and Island (Miyake Island, Tokyo).

The Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis has been at risk of extinction in Japan. However, the species population and distribution have recently expanded, including in urban areas. Even in the special wards of Tokyo, representing the metropolises of Japan, the goshawk population has increased. One of the factors of urban colonization were the increase in avian prey abundance. However, urban breeding Goshawk diet has not been reported in japan. Fortunately, I had a good opportunity to study prey items delivered to nestlings by a pair of goshawks at Meiji shrine in central Tokyo. I reported the results obtained through video recordings, pellet and plucking scanning.

This project has proposed and implemented the environmental education program which uses butterflies and dragonflies at the elementary school in Kawasaki. The object of this project is to bring up the school child's hearts which have respects for living things and interests to a natural environment.

My friends said, "Urban Greening? Uh...I'm not interested in because I have unrefined image about this." It was unexpected reaction for me. Urban greening is good for improvement the landscape design and approach of global warming. However, I think that young generation's indifference to greening is just problem in modern society. So, I started this project. I try for gather interest of youth in urban greening through the word "Greeture" which means green culture.

It is important to accumulate, marshal, share and inherit local information for the town reconstruction. We derive information as local resource, issue, citizen's intention and so on, which was lost by disaster and is hoarded in the process of reconstruction, by means of Oral History. This project is conducted in Moune district, Kesennnuma City, which is one of an afflicted area of The Great East Japan Earthquake. We edit and feedback these information for to carry those into future ages and to support the citizen's self-active creating and achieving the vision of reconstruction.

We analyzed land use changes in the huge disasters affected area by using old topographical maps and vegetation maps, and the cost damaged and lost were calculated on the basis of habitat-loss. The disasters that we can precaution such as floods, high tides, the Tsunami and landslides were intended for analyzing. We evaluated the function of disaster risk reduction as economic estimation supposed the then damage and spending for disaster prevention that did not work. We are finally developing measures to estimate the function of ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) of natural or semi-natural habitat as buffer zone against disasters based on those analyzing.

https://www.facebook.com/EcoDRR/