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| Attempt to establish aquaculture techniques for spiny and slipper lobsters, one of
the most valuable fishery resources
in the world |
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Dr. Wakabayashi currently focuses on research for the realization of
aquaculture of spiny and slipper lobsters. She
says: “In particular, aquaculture techniques for those lobsters, which are known as
one of the most expensive seafoods,
have in fact not been fully established, and the current production of them 100
percent relies on natural resources. I
aim to advance the techniques as much as possible so that we can produce what we
consume.” For this purpose, she
conducts basic research.
Commercial aquaculture for black tiger shrimp and white leg shrimp, which we
commonly see at supermarkets, was
established in the 1990s. Since then, Japan imports these shrimps farmed in
Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand,
Vietnam, and Indonesia. In contrast, the aquaculture of spiny and slipper lobsters
is our challenge for the future. |
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According to Dr. Wakabayashi, the attempted aquaculture of these
lobsters is a challenge with a long history, more than
a century in fact, for which our forerunners invested enormous effort. Despite that,
no practical development has been
achieved. For this reason, research on this subject is now regarded as a reckless
and difficult endeavor, and few
researchers are currently involved in it.
“Baby lobster is called “juvenile,” and the preceding stage is called “larva.” And
rearing at the larval stage is very
difficult. Therefore, we are now trying to clarify many factors required to rear
larvae, such as appropriate feed and
water environment, so that we can improve techniques and produce as many juveniles
as efficiently as possible,” Dr.
Wakabayashi says.
The goal of this research is to raise their techniques up to the level of practical
implementation. The subject of her
research is mainly fan lobsters, a relative of spiny lobsters.
“Fan lobster larvae are comparatively easy to rear. Therefore, if we can establish
an aquaculture technique for fan
lobsters as a role model in the first place, we may be able to apply it to spiny
lobsters and other slipper lobsters,
which larvae are said to be very difficult to rear. That is why we adopted fan
lobsters as the research subject,” Dr.
Wakabayashi says. |
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| Attracted by “jellyfish riders,” fan lobster larvae showing surprising behavior |
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This research started with an inquiry from an underwater photographer.
“The photographs sent by the photographer showed
the figures of a slipper lobster larva, called “phyllosoma,” riding on a jellyfish.
It is often called “jellyfish rider”
by divers. My boss at that time was interested in this behavior and started a
research project to explore its ecological
meaning. I was involved in this project as a post-doc researcher, and that was the
beginning of my involvement in this
subject,” Dr. Wakabayashi says.
Even after the project finished, Dr. Wakabayashi continued the research and made
various findings. |
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“Fan lobster larvae riding on a jellyfish under the sea were first
observed in 1963. At that time, the reason for this
strange behavior was unknown. Assuming that fan lobster larvae may be eating
jellyfish, we put them both in an aquarium
to confirm it. Then, the larvae ravenously ate the jellyfish,” She says.
Succeeding in observing this eating behavior for the first time, Dr. Wakabayashi’s
team began researches for the
realization of aquaculture with the thought of making use of this finding. To
confirm what kind of jellyfish are
preferred by fan lobster larvae, the team tried experiments with various kinds of
jellyfish. As a result, it was found
that they eat “any kind of jellyfish.” The team also experimentally confirmed that
fan lobster larvae can be reared by
feeding them only jellyfish throughout the larval period, from hatching from eggs
until settlement as juveniles that
have finished metamorphosis. |
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Although it has not been verified whether fan lobster larvae can
develop healthily by obtaining sufficient nourishment
from any kind of jellyfish, her research team conducts research toward the
utilization of jellyfish, which often impede
fishermen by forming huge clusters, as feed for lobsters.
“The state of “jellyfish riders” represents a symbiotic relationship between
lobsters and jellyfish, and we are also
interested in this point. As a major characteristic of this research, basic research
on marine biology could develop
into aquaculture scientific research and technical development,” Dr. Wakabayashi
says.
“I think that theoretical interpretation of natural phenomena leads to technical
development. In other words, if we can
clarify the true reason and mechanism of fan lobsters’ exploitation of jellyfish, we
should be naturally able to develop
aquaculture techniques,” Dr. Wakabayashi says with a strong conviction. |
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| Actively involved in collaborative research and the creation of a pictorial field
guide. “Do not hesitate to try
interesting things!” |
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Since Dr. Wakabayashi’s unique research has attracted much interest,
several collaborative research projects are ongoing
both within and outside Japan. One of them is conducted as a part of the project of
Tokyo University of Marine Science
and Technology that became the first step of her research in collaboration with the
Vietnamese Government. In a
collaborative research project in Taiwan, the successful production of lobster
juveniles for the first time in Taiwan
received a lot of media coverage.
In addition, Dr. Wakabayashi created a pictorial field guide together with the said
underwater photographer and
published “Utsukusii Umino Fuyuu Seibutsu Zukan” (Field Guide to Marine Plankton) as
the world’s first field guide book
featuring only photographs of living planktonic organisms.
Dr. Wakabayashi says about the fun part of her research as follows: “We can often
learn things associated with our own
lives from the lives of organisms, and sometimes apply them to our own lives. This
kind of research is unique to
agriculture and fishery sciences and one of fun parts of our research. Pure academic
research on organisms is of course
fun, however, we can also conduct research from other perspectives, such as
technical establishment and practical
implementation.”
With the hope that young people experience the fun of her research, she gives the
following advice: “If you are
interested in something even a little, do not hesitate to try it.”
“Students of the School of Applied Biological Science are assigned to each
laboratory before the second semester of the
third grade. However, if you are interested in our laboratory even a little, you do
not need to wait until then. Please
feel free to visit our laboratory and see what we are doing. We do not care if you
are first grade or second grade
students, or even high-school students or elementary school students. If you see our
laboratory in person, you may
become more interested, or conversely, it may be different from what you imagined.
In fact, there are some students who
came to be interested in jellyfish by seeing them at our laboratory. One of the best
parts of being an academic is that
we have a fair chance to succeed regardless of our age or gender as long as we have
passion and make efforts,” Dr.
Wakabayashi says.
She finally added: “Visitors with intense curiosity are welcome anytime!” |
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| Kaori Wakabayashi |
| Associate Professor, Laboratory of Aquaculture
October 1, 2009~March 31, 2013 Post-doc, School of Marine Science, Tokyo
University of
Marine Science and Technology
April 1, 2013~June 30, 2015 JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow, Graduate School of Marine Science and
Technology,
Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology
July 1, 2014~December 31, 2015 Visiting Researcher, Department of Environment and
Agriculture,
Curtin University
July 1, 2015~March 31, 2019 Assistant Professor, School of Applied Biological Science,
Hiroshima
University
April 1, 2019~ Associate Professor, Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life,
Hiroshima University
Posted on Mar 11, 2020
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