Published papers

Conservation is often operationalized as a minimization of human intervention in nature. However, many social-ecological systems depend on human interventions to maintain characteristics of biological diversity. Therefore, reduced use or full abandonment of such systems can diminish rather than enhance biological diversity and its related cultural diversity (biocultural diversity). We link the definition of “underuse” with the extinction rate used in the planetary boundaries framework to support a more objective use of the term. We execute a structured cross-continental review of underuse in social-ecological systems of regions that contain more affluent countries to frame a global research agenda on underuse. Our working approach delineates causes, consequences, and strategies concerning underuse. Based on this comparative review, we identify causes of underuse that are similar in different continents, including globalization, and demographic or structural change in Europe, Japan and Oceania. Conservation paradigms emphasizing wilderness ideals in policies are characteristic of underuse in North America, whereas post-socialist transformation processes characterize underuse in Eastern Europe. Land abandonment and de-intensification of use are a common result, particularly in marginal and protected areas. Consequences of the loss of biocultural diversity include the loss of ecosystem services, traditional knowledge, or landscape amenities. We identified a pervasive gap in transcontinental comparative research that stymies the development of effective strategies to reduce underuse of biological diversity and thereby maintain related cultural diversity. We advocate for a global research agenda on governance approaches that address the challenges of underuse. Within this agenda, we emphasize the need for an international cross-case synthesis and a trans-continental mapping of state and civil society-based interventions and co-management approaches to re-establish humans as parts of ecological systems. Such comparative work on best practice cases in a real-world context should enhance adaptive management of biocultural diversity and prevent extinction caused by underuse. Thus, this innovative connection between underuse and the planetary boundary extinction rate, along with our new global research agenda on underuse, should initiate much needed support for policy makers and natural resource managers who must decide on appropriate types and levels of human intervention to implement, both inside and outside of protected areas.

The Oriental White Stork (Ciconia boyciana) is one of the species threatened by mainly anthropogenic factor and their habitats are considered to be conserved. The first reintroduction of the species in Japan occurred in 2005. But as the species' natural wetland habitats are declining, the birds now prefer to forage in rice paddies. Thus, restoring the paddy-dominated landscape is key for further success in the reintroduction program. In addition, a quantitative method is urgently needed to assess how much suitable habitat is available and where it is located. In this study, we identified environmental factors that affect the distribution of the Oriental White Stork and produced the first predictive spatial distribution map using 2-year satellite tracking data of reintroduced individuals. The maximum entropy (MaxEnt) approach was used to model the species' distribution at the landscape scale (1 kmx1 km grid cells). We identified six relevant environmental variables. Our results highlight the proportion of area of rice paddies as alternative wetland habitat as the most influential variable affecting the distribution positively. Landscape diversity represented by a complex mosaic of paddies and forest is also important for the species, as total length of paddy-forest edge also had a positive effect on habitat suitability. Our predictive distribution map cannot entirely provide distribution; however, it may be valuable information when considering where should be conserved as habitat to maintain the Oriental White Stork population in Japan.

Urban and rural areas are situated in contrasting physical and social settings, which influence their levels of exposure as well as their preventive behaviors in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The study investigated whether there were differences between the areas regarding the levels of difficulty and anxiety felt by the general public during the first wave of COVID-19 in April and May 2020. We conducted an online questionnaire in Fukuoka and Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan via a private research company and collected a total of 913 valid responses from individuals whose conditions of employment were affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Although urban areas experienced higher case rates compared to rural areas, ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed no significant differences between urban and rural respondents concerning the level of difficulty in routine life. The daily-life contents which made them feel difficult during the first wave also did not differ largely between the contrasting areas. Urban respondents appeared to have experienced a higher level of difficulty in finding an alternative job, but how respondents found one, if successful, did not differ between urban and rural areas. The area of residence played a role in explaining the level of anxiety toward being infected, especially when the anxiety-related questions involved relationships with neighbors. Rural respondents showed a significantly higher level of anxiety toward causing neighbors trouble and being criticized if infected. Respondents who were better embedded in their communities generally felt more anxious about being infected, regardless of whether they lived in urban or rural areas. Women and respondents with children were more likely affected by abnormal situations caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Our study highlights the prevailing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general public regardless of whether in urban or rural settings, as well as the potential contribution of social ties among people to protecting communities from infectious pathogens.

Determining animal abundance is crucial for assessing the effectiveness of management measures against pest animals. Meanwhile, investigating animal movements has become important for conducting abundance estimations of unmarked animals since the random encounter model (REM) was published. REM is a camera trapping method that derives animal density by using contact ratio between camera traps and targeted animals that randomly move at a certain speed in a given area. However, it requires an independent value, which is animal speed. For investigating animal speed, camera traps with video recording and GPS tagging are the commonly used tools. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are currently used in wildlife monitoring to investigate the abundance of target species. It is evaluated as a tool that is non-invasive and suitable for surveys in inaccessible landscapes. Considering these characteristics, we regarded a distant survey using this technology as suitable for investigating animal movements. Therefore, we proposed a method for estimating animal movements using UAVs and conducted a case study that aimed to investigate wild boars' movements. We collected 11 video samples that successfully followed the movements of wild boars from 26 UAV flights in total, and the average speed of their movements derived from all the samples was 1.54 km/24 hr. We found that issues can be improved, including species identification, video sample length, and animal behaviours or activity patterns. On the other hand, our method showed potential for applying to species with specific characteristics in their body size, shape or activity patterns. With improvements in the issues mentioned above, UAVs would become an alternative tool for investigating animal movements.

Ongoing global change makes it ever more urgent to find creative solutions for biodiversity preservation, but prioritizing sites for protection can be challenging. One shortcut lies in mapping the habitat requirements of well-established biodiversity indicators, such as top predators, to identify high-biodiversity sites. Here, we planned site protection for biodiversity conservation by developing a multi-scale species distribution model (SDM) for the raptorial Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis; goshawk) breeding in an extensive megacity region of Japan. Specifically, we: (1) examined the determinants of top predator occurrence and thus of high-biodiversity value in this megacity setting, (2) identified the biodiversity hotspots, (3) validated whether they actually held higher biodiversity through an independent dataset, and (4) evaluated their current protection by environmental laws. The SDM revealed that goshawks preferred secluded sites far from roads, with abundant forest within a 100 m radius and extensive forest ecotones suitable for hunting within a 900 m radius. This multi-scale landscape configuration was independently confirmed to hold higher biodiversity, yet covered only 3.2% of the study area, with only 44.0% of these sites legally protected. Thus, a rapid biodiversity assessment mediated by a top predator quickly highlighted: (1) the poor development of biodiversity-friendly urban planning in this megacity complex, an aspect overlooked for decades of rapid urban sprawl, and (2) the extreme urgency of extending legal protection to the sites missed by the current protected area network. Exigent biodiversity indicators, such as top predators, could be employed in the early or late stages of anthropogenic impacts in order to proactively incorporate biodiversity protection into planning or flag key biodiversity relics. Our results confirm and validate the applied reliability of top predatory species as biodiversity conservation tools.

Bird communities on the 20 fragmented woodlots in a suburban area were surveyed in the Tokorozawa City, Central Japan, to analyze the factors that influenced the distribution of birds. Our results showed that woodlot area is an important predictor of the number of individuals and the species richness of birds in each woodlot. Based on the species composition of birds in wintering season, the fragmented woodlots were classified into four types by TWINSPAN: those are core woodlots, woodlots surrounding core ones, isolated and small woodlots, and isolated and middle-sized woodlots. By canonical discriminant analysis, it was indicated that the connectivity between woodlots and the vegetation structure are also important factors influencing bird communities. The necessity of controlling these factors for avian conservation was pointed out.

The Himalaya holds the world record in terms of range and elevation. It is one of the most extensively glacierized regions in the world except the Polar Regions. The Himalaya is a region sensitive to climate change. Changes in the glacial regime are indicators of global climate changes. Since the second half of the last century, most Himalayan glaciers have melted due to climate change. These changes directly affected the changes of glacial lakes in the Himalayan region due to the glacier retreat. New glacial lakes are formed, and a number of them have expanded in the Everest region of the Himalayas. This paper focuses on the two glacial lakes which are Imja Lake, located at the southern slope, and Rongbuk Lake, located at the northern slope in the Mt. Everest region, Himalaya to present the spatio-temporal changes from 1976 to 2008. Topographical conditions between two lakes were different (Kruskal-Wallis test, p < 0.05). Rongbuk Lake was located at 623 m higher than Imja Lake, and radiation of Rongbuk Lake was higher than the Imja Lake. Although size of Imja Lake was larger than the Rongbuk Lake in 2008, the growth speed of Rongbuk Lake was accelerating since 2000 and exceeds Imja Lake in 2000-2008. This trend of expansion of Rongbuk Lake is anticipated to be continued in the 21st century. Rongbuk Lake would be the biggest potential risk of glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) at the Everest region of Himalaya in the future.

Limited flood disaster information causes insufficient justification for public awareness, therefore, improving flood practice management is needed. This paper applies the flood forecasting model and atmospheric model to identify rainfall distribution and to investigate the threshold values for alert system. The entire system aims to improve flood monitoring, information distribution and an alert system. The geospatial web based system is established to facilitate public awareness by allocating information in timely manner without cumbersome software installation.The process to obtain rainfall and river discharge data, input and transfer data, through the database can be launched after other parameters i.e. elevation, soil, land cover, and basin boundary are set. The entire process takes approximately 15 minutes. The flood warning system and the geospatial web based system are connected to the database and promptly alert in the case of emergency.The yields prove promising results, based on the amount of time and viable function. The existing rainfall spatial based pattern, received from the atmospheric model, takes about 72 minutes to achieve one hourly image. It is a suitable model for observing regional rainfall distribution. It does not serve immediate alert purpose in the emergency situation due to it is too time consuming.

The Japanese National Biodiversity Strategy 2010 calls for the creation of ecological networks as a biodiversity conservation policy. However, there is an obvious lack of information on the spatial distribution of many species and a lack of scientific methods for examining habitat requirements to establish the need for constructing these networks for target species. This study presents a quantitative method for assessing the need for ecological networks through modeling the potential geographic distributions of species based on a case study of local populations of Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus japonicus) in Fuji and Tanzawa, Japan. A total of 1541 point records of occurrences of Asiatic black bears and 11 potential predictors were analyzed in a GIS environment. After a predictive distributional map was obtained using the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) algorithm, a gap analysis was carried out and population size was estimated. Approximately 24% of the bear's predicted habitat area fell within a wildlife protection area, 2% within a nature reserve, and 37% within natural parks. Conservation forest comprised 54% of the total area of predicted habitat; of this, national forest comprised 2%, and private and communal forest comprised 37%. The total estimated Asiatic black bear population in this region was 242, with 179 individuals in the Fuji local population, 26 in the Tanzawa local population, and 37 in the corridor patch between the two local populations. Our study also found a potential corridor connecting the Fuji and Tanzawa local populations, as well as potential habitat corridors in the Fuji region containing subpopulations on Mt. Fuji (119 individuals) and Mt. Kenashi (53 individuals). An additional subpopulation on Mt. Ashitaka (7 individuals) is isolated and not fully protected by a zoning plan. Mt. Furo's subpopulation is considered to be almost extinct, although black bears were observed here until 2002 based on the report by Mochizuki et al. (2005). The total black bear population of the Fuji-Tanzawa region is considered to be "endangered"; thus, an adequate population size might be difficult to maintain even if this region were to be internally connected by means of an ecological network. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Based on the survey data from 190 affected residents from Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban, Leyte, Philippines, we explored (1) how the disaster changed the people's social connections, and (2) how their trusts in various social actors contribute to their response to the disaster. Comparing the identified engagements before, during and after the disaster, we found (1) contact with their family, neighbor and relatives, are consistently present throughout the three phases of the disaster; (2) these changes were possible due to fatality and disappearances, the presence of emergent groups, change of residence, and perception of the disaster as a shared experience; and (3) there is stronger trust in their connections with relatives after the disaster. We concluded that the disaster impacts the interactions and contact with the different social actors in their network.

Urbanization has increased with human population growth and the responses from raptor species are gaining more attention from both researchers and the public. Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) now breed in urban areas in Japan and Europe; however, there are few studies examining the factors that influence their reproductive rate in urban areas. We investigated the reproductive rate (number of fledglings per nest) of the Northern Goshawk population in an urbanized area of Japan from 2014 to 2016, and used a binomial mixture model to examine the relationship between the number of fledglings per nest and environmental factors such as nesting and foraging environments, anthropogenic disturbance, predation risk, and intraspecific competition. The goshawk nesting success rate from 2014 to 2016 was 71.6%, with an average reproductive rate of 1.7 fledglings per occupied nest. The percentage of canopy cover of nesting stands had a significant positive effect on fledgling numbers, and the number of adjacent occupied nests had a significant negative effect on fledgling numbers. The positive effects of canopy coverage may be explained by the protection offered by canopy against direct sunlight, wind, and rain. The negative effect of the adjacent occupied nests may result from an increase in the amount of time and energy goshawks spent in territory defense, and a decrease in available foraging habitat due to intraspecific competition.

Agriculture provides a wide range of ecosystem services and has the potential to contribute to biodiversity conservation. In Japan, many of the resources associated with agroecosystems are threatened by farmland abandonment. Identifying where and to what extent agricultural ecosystem services and farmland biodiversity are affected by farmland abandonment is essential for developing effective strategies to counter the potential loss of these services and the biological communities that support them. Our study aimed to examine how a set of indicators for ecosystem services and biodiversity linked to agroecosystems (proportions of land dedicated to rice production and other agricultural production, proportion of agricultural land on slopes potentially providing landscape aesthetics, proportion of villages promoting rural tourism, and densities of forest edges and irrigation ponds in agricultural land) are distributed at the municipal level across the Japanese Archipelago, and to analyze their spatial patterns in relation to the distribution of farmland abandonment. It was hypothesized that hotspots of agricultural ecosystem services and farmland biodiversity occur in areas at risk of farmland abandonment owing to shared drivers. The cluster analysis identified four distinct ecosystem service bundle types, two of them representing areas specializing in agricultural production, while the other two provided high levels of cultural services and habitats for diverse biological communities. The latter two bundles were located in hilly and mountainous areas and accounted for 58% of rice production, 27% of other agricultural production, 77% of landscape aesthetics, 77% of rural tourism, 64% of forest edges, and 87% of irrigation ponds in Japan. In support of the hypothesis, farmland abandonment was pronounced in these areas, with 64% of recently abandoned fields located where 44% of agricultural land was found. This spatial overlap suggests that substantial losses of ecosystem services and biodiversity may occur if current patterns of farmland abandonment continue. In order to prevent large-scale losses of agricultural ecosystem services and farmland biodiversity, measures to counteract the ongoing abandonment trends should prioritize hilly and mountainous areas, and future studies should further evaluate the multiple functions of agricultural areas to improve policies that aim to ensure sustainable development of rural areas in Japan.