生物最大の種多様性を誇る昆虫は、捕食や共生、寄生などを介した他の生物との関わり方も極めて多様です。私たちの研究室では、シロアリの巣に紛れ込んで生活する好白蟻性昆虫を対象に、国内外の野外調査に基づく種多様性の解明やDNA情報を用いた進化史の推定、飼育や行動実験による生態の解明を目的として研究を行っています。また、近年は山形県の蔵王温泉のように強酸性温泉が湧出する地点の多様性調査にも着手し、独特な生物群集が見られることが分かってきました。このような特殊な環境に生息する昆虫類には未だ多くの新種が含まれ、その生態も謎に包まれている一方で、その環境への適応や共進化、同所的空間における棲み分けなど、生物の多様化を考える上で重要な要素が凝縮されています。このような特殊な環境に生息する生物のありさまを解明することで、地球上の生物多様性の創出とその維持機構の理解に貢献したいと考えています。

助教　金尾太輔（専門分野：分類学・系統学）

Insects, which boast the largest species diversity of any living organism, are also extremely diverse in the way they interact with other organisms through predation, symbiosis, and parasitism. Our laboratory conducts research on termitophilic insects that live among termite nests, aiming to elucidate species diversity based on field surveys in Japan and overseas, to estimate their evolutionary history using DNA information, and to elucidate their ecology through breeding and behavioral experiments. In recent years, we have also begun diversity surveys at sites where highly acidic hot springs, such as Zao Onsen in Yamagata Prefecture, gush forth, and have discovered unique communities of organisms. Insects living in such unique environments include many new species, and their ecology is still shrouded in mystery, but their adaptation to their environment, coevolution, and segregation in a sympatric space are all important elements in considering the diversification of organisms. By elucidating the nature of organisms that inhabit these unique environments, I hope to contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms that create and maintain biodiversity on Earth.

Assistant Professor Taisuke KANAO (Specialty: Taxonomy and Systematics)