Life in the ocean should be understood at many different spatial and temporal scales, and in terms of various levels of complexity such as chemical, cellular, behavioral, or community interactions. Therefore we designated the four groups of “Evolution, Function, Interaction, and Population” to conduct interdisciplinary research on many aspects of marine biological phenomena. The integration group will evaluate and synthesize the findings of all the research groups to provide an overall understanding of ocean biosystems. This new information can also be used to formulate a new “view of life in the ocean”. This type of new scientific understanding and philosophy of life in the ocean is of critical importance to humanity because of the widespread impacts of pollution, overfishing, and global changes in the ocean-atmosphere system.

1．Dynamics of Evolution

　“How has the life in the sea evolved?”

The aim of our research is to elucidate how life has evolved in the sea and to understand the present state of marine biodiversity from an evolutionary point of view. A molecular phylogenetic approach is used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of marine organisms, such as microbes, algae, invertebrates, and vertebrates. Processes producing the present patterns of distribution of marine populations are examined through molecular population genetic and phylogeographic approaches.
On the basis of those studies, our group also directs our attention to examining the nature and dynamics of biodiversity in the sea.

2．Dynamics of Functions

　“How does the life in the sea adapt to diverse environments?”

Our group aims to investigate the mechanisms of adaptation to diverse marine environments using various approaches from molecular to organismal, and even at the population level. The themes of researchers include the genetic control of populations, biodefense mechanisms, biomineralization, and strategies for adaptation to unique marine environment.

3．Dynamics of Interactions

　“What kind of structure and interactions do marine ecosystems maintain?”

The ocean biosystem is composed of numerous networks of interactions. For instance, there are interactions among living organisms through signal exchange and also through prey-predator relationships. Living organisms are also contributing to the formation or destruction of non-living particles. The different ecosystems such as coastal and off-shore areas, or surface and deep layers also interact through the flow of materials and energy. The goal of our group is to clarify the detailed structures, the rate of flux, and also the mechanisms controlling those interactions in the ocean. This will be attained by extensive fieldwork using research vessels in combination with modern approaches, such as molecular techniques, optical devices for particle analyses, stable isotopes analyses, and satellite image analyses etc.

4．Dynamics of Populations

　“What will be brought about to human beings by the dynamics of marine populations?”

Reproduction, dispersal, growth, migration and other ecological traits of living marine resources will be investigated based on detailed field observations, and the mechanisms of marine population dynamics will be clarified. Biological accumulation of chemical pollutants in marine ecosystems will also be investigated using advanced analytical technologies. Global changes in marine environments and anthropogenic impacts on marine biosystems will be incorporated into an ecosystem model in order to predict fluctuations and variations of the marine biosystem.