We did an eDNA survey on Hachijojima!
On Friday, February 3, 2023, members of the Institute of Freshwater Biology (Professor Hiroshi Hakoyama, Research Assistant Chiaki Okamoto, Research Assistant Ishmerai Galang) conducted an environmental DNA survey on Hachijojima. There is a record of Japanese eels living on Hachijojima, and we are considering it as a new candidate site for future downstream eel spawning migration surveys. This time, we first decided to study the habitat and fish fauna of Japanese eels in two rivers on Hachijojima, and collected water samples from the Kamo River and the Karataki River to collect environmental DNA. Unfortunately, it was raining, but by choosing Hachijojima, which is south of the Kuroshio Current, as a research site, we hope to make a new breakthrough in the study of spawning migration to spawning grounds off the coast of Guam. On Hachijojima, we received support from the Hachijo Office of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Island Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Center and the Hachijo Botanical Garden Visitor Center and confirmed future cooperation plans.