LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Sakamoto Lab
Machine-translated · View original
A lab that attaches data loggers to animals to explore the true lives of marine animals.
AboutAbout the lab
Recording the natural lives of marine animals
The Sakamoto Lab studies how marine animals such as seabirds and sea turtles behave and live in the wild.
The lab uses biologging, a method in which small data recorders with sensors are attached to animals to record the behavior of freely moving animals.
The lab conducts field surveys along the Sanriku coast in Iwate Prefecture, studying streaked shearwaters that gather on uninhabited islands and sea turtles that arrive in summer.
The large amount of recorded measurement data is analyzed by computer to interpret animal behavior.
Key terms
- Biologging
- A method in which small recorders are attached to animals to record the behavior of freely moving animals and their surrounding environment
- Data logger
- A small device that combines sensors measuring things such as temperature and acceleration with a recording unit
- Machine learning
- A technology that lets computers learn patterns from large amounts of data and perform classification or prediction
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates the behavior of animals that live in the sea through biologging with data loggers. Currently focusing mainly on seabirds and sea turtles, it studies the physiological state and surrounding environment that give rise to behavior, as well as measurement technologies for capturing complex behavior.
*Illustrative imageThe body mechanisms that generate behavior
When recording behavior through biologging, the lab also attaches devices that measure physiological state, such as electrocardiogram loggers, to investigate the causal relationship between physiological state and behavior.
*Illustrative imageThe surrounding environment that influences behavior
Animal behavior changes depending on water temperature, prey distribution, and, for seabirds, wind and wave conditions. The lab observes the surrounding environment together with behavior to study how behavior responds to the environment.
*Illustrative imageMeasurement technologies for capturing complex behavior
The lab aims to combine records from multiple sensors and develop new analytical methods using machine learning and other approaches, in order to discover complex behaviors that were previously unknown.
MembersFaculty
The Sakamoto Lab's members include faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorKentaro SakamotoPublications ↗
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 Sakamoto Lab
Sato Lab (Behavior, Ecology and Observation Systems)Faculty of Agriculture, Major in Aquatic Life SciencesBehavioral ecology and biologging science (behavioral ecolog…
Resource Ecology LabFaculty of Agriculture, Major in Aquatic Life SciencesStudies of animals used by humans as resources, elucidating …
Marine Ecosystem Variability LabFaculty of Agriculture, Major in Aquatic Life SciencesUnderstanding the structure of marine ecosystems and elucida…
Aquatic Physiology LabFaculty of Agriculture, Major in Aquatic Life SciencesElucidation of the mechanisms that regulate physiological fu…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: “Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) ( )” Cliff from Arlington, Virginia, USA / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- The body mechanisms that generate behavior: “Green Sea Turtle - Chelonia mydas - Poipu beach, Kauai” E bailey / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- The surrounding environment that influences behavior: “Calonectris leucomelas iNaturalist photo” WATANABE Hitoshi 渡辺仁 (tbc_watanabe) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Measurement technologies for capturing complex behavior: “Loggerhead Sea Turtle with Satellite Transmitter - DPLA - cf50c37c5c2e8cd28bc04e72ba56b6f8” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Tom MacKenzie) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Sato Lab (Behavior, Ecology and Observation Systems)): “Weddell Seal ( )” David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Resource Ecology Lab): “Golden Cuttlefish (Sepia esculenta) ( )” Rickard Zerpe / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Marine Ecosystem Variability Lab): “SHINSEI-MARU” Pointerseven / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Aquatic Physiology Lab): “Nihon Medaka in Medaka World of Higashiyama Zoo - 2” KKPCW / CC BY-SA 4.0 (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.