Toda Lab Project Soka University Faculty of Engineering
Overview
Laboratory of Restoration Ecology studies the conservation and restoration of destructed aquatic environments and develops the technologies having a minimal environmental impact on aquatic ecosystems. Our study ranges from aquatic ecology and planktology to ecological engineering, wastewater science, and waste engineering.
- Conserve ecosystems and restore destructed environments
To restore environments, we have to understand the structures and functions of natural aquatic ecosystems at first. Our laboratory investigate the food web structures and material cycles in temperate coastal waters of Sagami Bay and tropical coral reef waters of Malaysia form various aspects. Especially, we focus on the organisms of lower trophic levels such as phytoplankton and zooplankton due to their significant contribution to maintaining aquatic ecosystems and conduct various researches on their distribution, vertical movement, and reproductive ecology. These studies are required to predict the response of ecosystems to global environmental changes. In coastal areas of Sagami Bay, we have conducted the monitoring of marine environments for 20 years, investigating the long-term variations in physico-chemical environments, plankton abundance and diversity, phytoplankton blooms, and the effect of episodic typhoons.
- The coexistence of nature and humans
It is estimated that there are more than 10 million species on Earth, and we humans are just one of them. Because our lives heavily depend on natural organisms, we have to conserve and use ecosystems in a sustainable way.
Therefore, our laboratory also studies how to properly treat wastes from human activities to reduce the environmental load on aquatic ecosystems. These researches are mainly studied in the field of ecological engineering and wastewater science, and we are conducting the researches on wastewater treatment using microorganisms such as bacteria and phytoplankton, the processes of the appropriate disposal of organic wastes, and the evaluation of their environmental impact. We are conducting collaborative researches with various research institutes in Southeast Asia to apply these environmental technologies to developing countries due to their cost-effectiveness. Further, our study includes the effective use of the excessive growth of submerged aquatic weeds and the experimental investigation of seaweed bed in Shin-kamigoto town in Nagasaki, aiming at the establishment of new recycle-based society and the coexistence with nature.
Professor
Tatsuki Toda
Current Title:
Professor, Dean, Graduate School of Engineering, Soka University