Research
Evaluation of Rodenticide Susceptibility of Endemic Wildlife in "Galapagos of the Orient" the Bonin Islands
The Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands are also known as the Galapagos of the Orient because of their unique ecosystem, and in 2011 they were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, the disturbance of the ecosystem by alien species such as rats that have invaded the islands due to human migration has become a problem.
Rodenticide (diphacinone) has been sprayed to exterminate rats, but the impact of these on the ecosystem is uncertain. Fortunately, no poisoning deaths of wildlife have been confirmed to date, but it is necessary to investigate the susceptibility of the endemic species of the Ogasawara Islands to these rodenticides for safer extermination.
Therefore, in collaboration with the Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University and the National Institute for Environmental Studies, our laboratory is working on the evaluation of the susceptibility of endemic species in the Ogasawara Islands and the construction of a new evaluation method for the susceptibility of rare species to chemical substances using cultured cells.
Photos by
Ogasawara Village Tourism Bureau
https://www.visitogasawara.com/photolibrary/
Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan