Main

The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund

Introduction to Grant Projects

Satoshi Yamada, Principal Investigtor, Aichi Fisheries Research Institute

Tidal flat production mechanism of the juvenile Japanese littleneck clam and measures to secure a healthy bay and restore clam catch size

Research grant

Project Description

As the Japanese littleneck clam catch continues to decrease, the population of juvenile clams in Mikawa Bay, which comprises 60% of Japan's total littleneck clam catch, is facing destablization as a result of upwelling-driven hypoxic conditions. In this study, we elucidate the mechanism of the mass production of littleneck clam through on-site observation and experimentation in the Rokujo tidal flats, the sole known location for mass production of the juvenile clams. We also present a new basic outline on the structure of artificial tidal flats and locations for their deployment.

Grant year
FY2013 Research Grants
Grant term
3 years
April 2014 - March 2017
Grant amount
7,987,000 yen
Activity region
Rokujo tidal flats (Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture), Japan
Investigating the population of juvenile Japanese littleneck clams at the Rokujo tidal flats

Overview of the Organization

Satoshi Yamada, Principal Investigtor
Representative
Satoshi Yamada, Principal Investigtor
Profile
Specialist field
Marine biology
Affiliated academic societies
The Oceanographic society of Japan, The Plankton Society of Japan, The Japanese Association of Benthology
Background
Graduated from Hokkaido University School of Fisheries Sciences in 1983. Withdrew from Hokkaido University Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences Doctoral Research Program during the latter half of the program and worked as a lab technician at the Aichi Fisheries Research Institute Owari Fisheries Research Lab in 1990. Worked as a lab technician at the Aichi Fisheries Research Institute Inland Fisheries Research Lab in 1997. Worked as principal investigator of the crustacean team at the Aichi Fisheries Development Fund in 2003. Worked as head researcher of Oceanic Resource Research Team G at the Aichi Fisheries Research Institute and obtained graduate degree in fisheries science from Hokkaido University in 2006. Worked as head researcher for the Fisheries Environment Research Division at the Aichi Fisheries Research Institute in 2009.
WEB site
http://www.pref.aichi.jp/suisanshiken/
Affiliated researchers
Shinichi Aoki (Professor, Division of Global Architecture, Osaka University Graduate School of Engineering), Shigeru Kato (Professor, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology Graduate School), Takumi Okabe (Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology Graduate School)
Research record
  • (1) Yamada et al. (2014) The effect of hypoxic conditions on the free-floating larvae of Portunus trituberculatus, Marsupenaeus japonicus, and Metapenaeus ensis. Fisheries Science, 78, 45-53.
  • (2) Kambara et al. (2013) The lethal effect of hypoxic conditions on free-floating littleneck clam larvae after substrate precipitation. Fisheries Science, 77, 282-289.
  • (3) Aoki K., S. Yamada, M. Toyokawa and A. Yasuda and T. Kikuchi (2012) Horizontal distribution and growth of jellyfish, Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus 1758) sensu lato, in Mikawa Bay. Coastal Marine Science, 35, 103-111.
  • (4) Tang D., A. Yasuda, S. Yamada and K. Nagasawa (2012) A new species of Pseudomacrochiron Reddiah, 1969 (Crustacea: Copepoda: Macrochironidae) associated with scyphistomae of the moon jellyfish Aurelia sp. (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) off Japan. Syst Parasitol, 81, 125-134.