The Website for the OKEON Churamori project has officially launched!
The website will allow all the project partners to stay informed and outsiders to learn about the project with frequent updates in the blog section.
The research page describes in detail the various components of the project, including arthropod sampling, acoustic monitoring, ecological genomics, camera trapping, physical parameter monitoring and GIS.
The map page includes an interactive map displaying the 24 sites / 72 traps established across Okinawa, where user can click on each trap to obtain detailed information about the site. The map also allows the users to select their preferred base map as well as toggle custom features.
The collaborators page includes a comprehensive list of people whose support was vital for the success of the project.
Month: December 2016
December 2016 Joint Lab Meeting with Tsuji Lab
On December 5, arilab had another joint lab meeting with the Tsuji lab from the University of the Ryukyus.
Yoshi, the coordinator of the OKEON Churamori Project, gave a presentation on the current status of the project. Compared to a year ago, the project has made great progress, with 72 SLAM traps, 24 weather stations, and some camera traps and acoustic traps set up. Specimens are being sorted and ant species are being identified, the database is up and running and already holds a lot of data, much GIS data has been compiled and many models created, and the website is also complete.
From the Tsuji lab side, Dr. Kaori Tsurui, part of the Center for Strategic Research Project, gave a presentation titled “Interactions between guppies and mosquitofish: a good system for studying evolutionary ecology”.
After the talks, both labs went out together and continued discussion.
The Wonder of Ants and the OKEON Churamori Project – Open Campus 2016
On Sunday, November 27th, guests from all parts of Okinawa gathered at OIST to attend the Open Campus Science Festival. This event was OIST’s biggest Open Campus to date, with over 5200 attendees, 250 volunteers, 20 food vendors and 35 booths featuring hands-on science activities.
The arilab booth attracted many visitors. Per usual, the Wonder of Ants is an essential part of the exhibition: there were ant specimens displayed, microscopes set up that allowed visitors to look at macroscopic ants, 3D-printed ants, 3D ants and ant structure that can be visualized by wearing 3D glasses, and an educational video about ants.
On top of that, the OKEON project had its own area, with various posters set up about the project, a SLAM trap and a camera trap set up as demonstrations, a video created by Nick that documents various sounds recorded from acoustic traps at OKEON sites, and finally the famous Okinawan ant specialist Takamine san was also present to educate people about ants.
