LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Marine Ecosystem Variability Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab explores the links between the ocean environment and marine ecosystems through observation and modeling.
AboutAbout the lab
Taking on the mysteries of how marine ecosystems work and change
Itoh Lab studies how changes in the ocean environment affect ecosystems and fishery resources.
Photosynthesis in the ocean is supported by nutrients carried up from deeper layers, and the survival of fish eggs and larvae varies greatly depending on where ocean currents carry them.
The lab combines observations made from research vessels in Japan's coastal waters and the North Pacific with computer-based ecosystem modeling and data analysis.
Students can also join research cruises and learn while experiencing the ocean as a field site.
Key terms
- Nutrients
- Nutrients dissolved in seawater, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, that phytoplankton need in order to grow
- Ocean front
- A boundary where seawater masses with different properties meet. Also known as a tide rip (shiome), it is a place where fish and birds tend to gather
- Numerical model
- A method of representing natural processes with mathematical equations and calculating them on a computer to reproduce or predict phenomena
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies how the ocean environment, including water temperature, salinity, and currents, together with processes such as transport and mixing by ocean currents, affects the distribution of plankton and fish and changes in fishery resource abundance. By integrating observation and modeling, it aims to understand the structure of marine ecosystems and clarify the dynamics of marine living resources.
*Illustrative imageOcean Fronts in the Kuroshio and Oyashio Regions
The lab studies the many small-scale ocean fronts that form in the Kuroshio and Oyashio regions, examining their structure, how seawater mixes vertically, nutrient transport, and their effects on ecosystems.
*Illustrative imageModeling Suspended Matter from Rivers
The lab uses numerical models to study how suspended matter in river water changes coastal currents and biological production. In several coastal areas of Japan, it works to understand the physics and material cycling during floods.
*Illustrative imageModeling the Growth and Migration of Pacific Saury
The lab builds numerical models of the growth, migration, and survival processes of Pacific saury, an important international fishery resource in East Asia, using environmental information obtained from satellites.
*Illustrative imageTransport of Jack Mackerel Eggs and Larvae
To find out where the jack mackerel along Japan's coast come from, the lab analyzes catch data from prefectures along the Pacific coast and buoy water temperature data, and uses numerical simulations of the transport of eggs and larvae.
MembersFaculty
Itoh Lab members consist of faculty (including a Project Assistant Professor), doctoral and master's students, and research assistants.
- ProfessorSachihiko ItohPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorToshimi NakajimaPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Marine Ecosystem Variability Lab
Saito LabFaculty of Agriculture, Major in Aquatic Life SciencesStudying microscopic plankton to understand Earth's ecosyste…
Sakamoto LabFaculty of Agriculture, Major in Aquatic Life SciencesResearch using biologging to record and analyze the natural …
Resource Ecology LabFaculty of Agriculture, Major in Aquatic Life SciencesStudies of animals used by humans as resources, elucidating …
Sato Lab (Behavior, Ecology and Observation Systems)Faculty of Agriculture, Major in Aquatic Life SciencesBehavioral ecology and biologging science (behavioral ecolog…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: “SHINSEI-MARU” Pointerseven / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Ocean Fronts in the Kuroshio and Oyashio Regions: “Spring Bloom Colors the Pacific Near Hokkaido” Norman Kuring / Public domain (cropped)
- Modeling Suspended Matter from Rivers: “Sediment in the Strait of Tartary (MODIS )” MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain (cropped)
- Modeling the Growth and Migration of Pacific Saury: “Cololabis saira in a tank” 出羽雀台 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Transport of Jack Mackerel Eggs and Larvae: “MaAji” Izuzuki / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
- Related lab (Saito Lab): “Calanus finmarchicus” Leïla Brunner / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Sakamoto Lab): “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) ( )” Cliff from Arlington, Virginia, USA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Resource Ecology Lab): “Golden Cuttlefish (Sepia esculenta) ( )” Rickard Zerpe / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Sato Lab (Behavior, Ecology and Observation Systems)): “Weddell Seal ( )” David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.