Research Adventures in Japan Chapter 7: Fish and Chimps

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Konichiwa and welcome to week 7! 

Research Update 
This week I started collecting data from chimpanzees with the help of Dr. Tomonaga. Chimps are our closest living relative and have been seen -- both in the wild and captivity -- with some of the most extraordinary "advanced" behaviors so I was really excited to work with them for the first time. In the wild, chimps have been seen to use sticks as termite dip-sticks, use "spears" when hunting smaller primates, and have border patrols between their and other chimp groups' territories. Additionally, not a behavior unique to chimps, but seen more in captive chimps than other primates, is feces throwing. This can be used to communicate a variety of things including social status or just trying to get some one's attention. I experienced this behavior firsthand for the first time this week and was very lucky the chimp trying to get my attention missed me!

One of the chimps at JMC showing off his lettuce -- I know it's a repeat but I think he's too cute. He also now follows me around the enclosure anytime I walk by!


Ukai Cormorant Fishing

I went on a ukai fishing tour on the Kiso River near Inuyama Castle. Ukai is a traditional fishing method in Japan that uses cormorants to dive for fish. The birds are harnessed so the fishermen can keep hold of the them and can pull them out of the water once they've caught fish. The fishermen have a traditional outfit which includes a wrap-type hat, sandals, a grass skirt, and shirt. All of this is fire-proofed as much as possible so during nighttime expeditions, sparks from the guide fire don't harm them.


Left: View of Inuyama Castle from our boat. Center: Our Ukai fisherman talking about the cormorants and showing one off. Right: The flock I had the pleasure of watching fish!


Gifu Freshwater Aquarium
I went to another aquarium this week but it focused on freshwater species and included a lot of none-aquatic species that you'll find near streams and rivers. It was four floors of really nice enclosures with lots of species I've never seen. You start on floor four with species native to Japan -- the infographics talk you through the portions of a river and how animals take advantage of these various habitats. Moving to the third floor you see species from across Asia and learn about comparative studies researchers can do by looking at similarities and differences of species in similar habitats. The second floor has tropical species from Africa and Asia. The first floor has a couple larger species such as tortoises and capybara which you can feed. I really liked the set up of this aquarium and the infographics about what it's like to be a field biologist and species concepts were great!

Left: Japanese field mouse. Center: Large-headed turtle. Right: An arapaima making the face I will if you ask why there's not more pictures of fish for an aquarium visit.

Next week: More chimp data collection; adventures TBD

Research is funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

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