[Topics] Assistant Professor KOYAMA Akihiko has been awarded the Research Encouragement Award by the Society of Applied Ecology and Engineering.

Assistant Professor KOYAMA Akihiko from Kyushu University's Faculty of Agriculture, has been awarded the 1st Research Encouragement Award by the Society of Applied Ecology and Engineering.

---

The Research Encouragement Award by the Society of Applied Ecology and Engineering

The Hirose Award was established to realize the development of applied ecological engineering, a vision of the late Mr. HIROSE Toshio, former president of the Society of Applied Ecology and Engineering. The award consists of three categories: the Hirose Award, the Research Encouragement Award, and the Social Practice Award.
The Research Encouragement Award is given to researchers who are expected to make outstanding research advancements in the field of applied ecological engineering.
(Source:Society of Applied Ecology and Engineering website )

---

Research Summary

Estuarine and coastal areas are located at the boundary between land and sea, and are home to a variety of natural landscapes, such as tidal flats, salt marshes, and seaweed beds. Although we receive multiple ecosystem services from these areas, human activities have had a negative impact on these ecosystems. I have conducted various fieldworks for their conservation and restoration. I have contributed to the development of the applied ecological engineering by accumulating ecological knowledge of threatened organisms, simplifying conventional surveys using small unmanned aerial vehicle and environmental DNA, and evaluating artificially created estuarine environments.
In the past, I has mainly focused on fish and arthropods, but in recent years, also focused on bivalves, gastropods, and polychaetes.

---

Benefit

Since most of us live and work in low-land areas, we are closely interacted with the estuarine and coastal ecosystems. The development of research on conservation and restoration of these areas from the perspective of applied ecological engineering is an important issue for coexistence of humans and natural ecosystems. It is expected that our efforts to date will partly help to resolve these issues and eventually contribute to the achievement of a global goal for nature, such as Nature Positive.

---

Comments from the Award Winner

Although my findings from field works were encouraged as the field of applied ecological engineering, aiming for a society that can sustainably utilize ecosystem services from the aquatic environment is one of the important themes in the field of fisheries and agricultural science. I hope you will take some interest in the current status of estuarine and coastal ecosystems and their conservation and restoration.

---

Research-related inquiries

KOYAMA Akihiro,Assistant Professor