Workshop: "Science for a Changing World: Advancing Research and Innovation in Invasive Species Control, Protected Area Design, and Biodiversity Monitoring"

Environmental Science and Informatics Section of OIST will hold the following workshop.

Title

Science for a Changing World: Advancing Research and Innovation in Invasive Species Control, Protected Area Design, and Biodiversity Monitoring

Date

Tuesday, September 9, 2025 - 10:00 to 15:00

Location

OIST Main Campus Seminar Room B250

Description:

In recent years, the need for science and technology to work together has become increasingly urgent as we face the combined challenges of climate change, ecosystem transformation, and socioeconomic uncertainty.

This workshop highlights three key and practice-oriented research domains—invasive species control, protected area design, and biodiversity monitoring—and introduces the latest developments in research and technological innovation that support these fields.
 

Timetable:

10:00 Opening

10:05-11:10 Session 1: Invasive Species Management

This session focuses on the prediction and control of invasive alien species such as fire ants, highlighting the development of effective, science-based countermeasures and technological tools.

10:05-10:25 Kazuki Tsuji (University of the Ryukyus)
'Combating invasive species, including the red imported fire ant, through advanced scientific approaches'

10:25-10:45 Evan P Economo (OIST, University of Maryland)
'Tracking and forecasting the spread of alien ants around the globe'

10:45-11:05 Koichi Goka (National Institute for Environmental Studies)
' Chemical Control Strategies for Invasive Insects: Case Studies of Invasive Ants and the Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina)'

11:10-11:55 Session 2: Designing Protected Areas under Uncertainty

In this session, we will discuss approaches to establishing protected areas to address the uncertainty of future ecosystem changes.

11:10-11:30 Nao Takashina (The University of Tokyo)
'Designing Protected Areas to Maximize Conservation Impact: A Modeling Approach'

11:30-11:50 Yoshiki Wakamatsu (Okinawa Amami Nature Conservation Office of the Ministry of the Environment)
'Protected Areas in Japan'

11:55-12:10 Q&A and discussion

12:10-13:30 Lunch break

13:30-14:40 Session 3: Biodiversity Monitoring

In this session, we will explain long-term data sets obtained from biodiversity monitoring and their utilization, using the latest case studies from the OKEON project.

13:30-13:40 Masako Ogasawara (OIST)
'Outline of OKEON Churamori Project'

13:40-13:50 Samuel RPJ Ross (OIST)
'Acoustic monitoring of Okinawan biodiversity'

13:50-14:00 Jamie M Kass (Tohoku University)
'Investigating effects of land-use change on insect community seasonality with high-frequency biodiversity monitoring data'

14:00-14:10 Kosmas Deligkaris (OIST)
'Acoustic Monitoring and Detection of Anuran Species'

14:10-14:20 Takumi Akasaka (Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine)
'Camera Trap and AI-Based Species Identification for Biodiversity Monitoring'

14:20-14:35 David W Armitage (OIST)
'Beyond biodiversity: OKEON as a model for next-generation ecology'

14:40-15:00 Q&A and discussion

15:00 Closing