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Forest Zoology Lab
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The lab explores the ecology and evolution of insects and soil fauna living in forests.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring the ecology and evolution of diverse forest animals
The Forest Zoology Lab studies the ecology and evolution of animals living in forests and in forest-related environments.
The lab works with insects and soil fauna, using field surveys and experiments as well as laboratory experiments and analyses.
Its scope is broad, covering evolution and adaptation, interactions among organisms, communities, and links to ecosystems and human activities.
In graduate school, students choose their own research topics, make plans, and carry out their research.
Key terms
- Soil fauna
- Small animals that live under fallen leaves and in the soil, such as earthworms, mites, and springtails
- Adaptation
- The process by which organisms come to have traits that make them more likely to survive and leave offspring in their surrounding environment
- Symbiotic microbes
- Bacteria and fungi that live together with animals or plants and influence each other
NewsLab news
A student received the Best Poster Presentation Award
Joint research with Hirosaki University and others reveals north–south differences in earthworm diversity in Japan
A student received the Best Poster Award at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan
A student received the Best Undergraduate Thesis Award from the Major in Forest Life Science
Joint research with Hirosaki University and others shows that the effectiveness of gall defenses depends on predator learning
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies insects and soil fauna living in forests and forest-related environments, investigating evolution and adaptation, interactions among organisms, and links to ecosystems and human activities. Using field surveys and experiments as well as laboratory experiments and analyses, it conducts a wide range of ecological research.
*Illustrative imageMechanisms behind flightless insects
Some insects have lost the ability to fly through evolutionary reduction of their flight capacity. The lab seeks to uncover the genetic mechanisms that brought about this loss.
*Illustrative imageEvolution of genital morphology and behavior
The lab investigates what shape insect genitalia take, how insects behave during mating, and how that morphology and behavior have evolved.
*Illustrative imageInteractions between insects and symbiotic microbes
The lab investigates how insects and the microbes that live with them (symbiotic microbes) influence each other.
*Illustrative imageColor patterns of aquatic insects
The lab studies the color patterns on the bodies of aquatic insects living in mountain streams, examining both their camouflage effect (crypsis), which blends the insects into their surroundings and makes them harder to spot, and the variation in patterns within a single species.
MembersFaculty
The lab's members consist of faculty, researchers, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHiroshi Ikeda
- Assistant ProfessorTakashi Kagaya
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
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On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
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RelatedLabs similar to Forest Zoology Lab
Silviculture Lab (Muraoka Lab / Silva)Faculty of Agriculture, Major in Forest Life ScienceSilviculture (plant ecophysiology, environmental responses o…
Forest Botany LabFaculty of Agriculture, Major in Forest Life ScienceContributing to maintaining forest health through research o…
Terrestrial Conservation Biology Lab (Nara Lab)Faculty of Agriculture, Forest Biological Science Course / Forest Environment and Resource Science CourseScientific approaches to the conservation of endangered plan…
Conservation Ecology LabFaculty of Agriculture, Major in Landscape Ecology and PlanningImpacts of human activities on ecosystems and biodiversity, …The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Stag Beetle, Ceruchus striatus” Lindsey Holm / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Mechanisms behind flightless insects: “Cape Flightless Dung Beetle (Circellium bacchus) ( )” Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Evolution of genital morphology and behavior: “Scarlet lily beetles (Lilioceris lilii) mating” Charles J. Sharp / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Interactions between insects and symbiotic microbes: “Baking yeast cells under 40x microscope objective” ~delta / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Color patterns of aquatic insects: “Lepidostomatid caddisfly larva ( )” Bob Henricks from Charlottesville, United States / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (造林学研究室
（村岡裕由研究室／Silva） ): “Looking up into a dense green forest canopy” Krishna k. sahh / CC0 (cropped) - Related lab (森林植物学研究室): “Beech forest in Nyuto Onsenkyo (3)” 掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (陸域保全生物学研究室(奈良研究室)): “Rhizopogon re soil” Retama / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (保全生態学研究室): “Satoyama, utilize plant layer” Namazu-tron / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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