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Aquatic Ecology Lab
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A lab that explores how ecosystems work through the aquatic microbes of lakes, oceans, and snow and ice.
AboutAbout the lab
Unraveling the mysteries hidden in the world of aquatic microbes.
The Aquatic Ecology Lab focuses on aquatic ecosystems such as lakes, oceans, and snow and ice, and aims to clarify the ecology of microbes and their functions in material cycles.
Based on fieldwork, the lab investigates the world of aquatic microbes by combining microscopy, DNA analysis, chemical analysis, and culture experiments.
Ecosystems are changing rapidly due to climate change and human impacts, and it is still difficult to predict what changes environmental change will bring in the future.
The lab also studies the role of chytrids, fungi that parasitize algae and other organisms.
Key terms
- Chytrids
- A group of fungi, including some that parasitize algae. They produce zoospores, which are cells that swim in water.
- Snow and ice algae
- Special algae that live on glaciers and snow cover and can multiply even at low temperatures. When they multiply, they darken the snow and ice surface and accelerate melting.
- Land-sea linkage
- An approach that views land and ocean as a single connected system, looking at everything from forest to sea at the watershed level.
NewsLab news
A paper based on a master's thesis was accepted by Landscape Ecology and Engineering
A student received an Outstanding Presentation Award
A paper based on a master's thesis was published in the international journal Fungal Ecology
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies aquatic ecosystems such as lakes, oceans, rivers, and snow and ice, investigating the diversity of aquatic microbes, the interactions among organisms, and their roles in material cycles. Research is based on fieldwork and combines microscopy, DNA analysis, chemical analysis, and culture experiments.
*Illustrative imageMeasuring Carbon and Biodiversity Across the Land-Sea Linkage
In the basins of the Sakawa and Sagami Rivers, which flow into Sagami Bay, the lab investigates the role that carbon and nutrients transported from land play in coastal ecosystems. By integrating observational data from forest to sea at the watershed level, it aims to develop methods for assessing carbon and biodiversity.
*Illustrative imageChytrid Infections in Snow and Ice Algae
The lab discovered that when chytrids parasitize snow and ice algae living on glaciers and snow cover, they can cause mass mortality. It investigates the relationship between the two and the dynamics of the infection, and tests whether warming may cause the infection to spread.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Aquatic Ecology Lab consist of faculty, a Project Assistant Professor, postdoctoral researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, administrative assistants, and technical assistants.As of 2026
- ProfessorMaiko Kagami
- Project Assistant ProfessorKensuke Seto
VoicesStudent voices
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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: “Snow Algae Textures” Iwona Erskine-Kellie from Vancouver, Canada / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Measuring Carbon and Biodiversity Across the Land-Sea Linkage: “Posidonia oceanica (L)” Frédéric Ducarme / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Chytrid Infections in Snow and Ice Algae: “Watermelon Snow - King George Island” Tsy1980 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Biological Oceanography Lab): “Lion Pods Live Copepods – Macro Microscope Photography from Thailand” Lion Pods Live Copepods / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Plankton Ecological Engineering Lab): “SagamiBay” P. Hughes / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Geology and Earth System Science Lab): “Gneiss (Joshimath Formation, Proterozoic; outcrop at Joshimath, Uttarakhand State, Indian Himalayas) )” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Environmental Safety Chemistry Lab): “USAID Dioxin Contamination Project Progress Soil Sampling ( )” USAID Vietnam / Public domain (cropped)
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