Activities

2026.7.2

Exploring the Changing Seas Through Environmental DNA: Public Events Across Japan (FY2025 Report) 

In FY2025, WPI-AIMEC held public events that used the results of environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis as a starting point for thinking together about changes in fish species and their connection to our own lives. Held at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai and Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium, the events provided opportunities for WPI-AIMEC to engage with people from a wide range of regions, backgrounds, and interests.

WPI-AIMEC will continue to work with stakeholders to share scientific knowledge and create opportunities to think together about the future of marine ecosystems and society.

For details about each event, please see below.

“Messages from the Sea: How Environmental DNA Reveals Fish Distributions and Our Future” at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai

From Thursday, August 14 to Tuesday, August 19, 2025, WPI-AIMEC presented a booth exhibition on environmental DNA and changes in fish species at “Science: Connecting You to the Future,” an event organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.

Environmental DNA, or eDNA, is DNA released by organisms into the surrounding environment, such as water. By analyzing eDNA in seawater, researchers can estimate what kinds of organisms are present and how their distribution may vary. Through this event, WPI-AIMEC aimed to help visitors learn about eDNA analysis and changes in marine ecosystems, and to encourage interest in marine ecosystems and citizen science.

At the booth, visitors, including junior and senior high school students and children, explored species distribution data estimated from eDNA analysis and future projection data through a touch-panel exhibit developed in collaboration with partners. Panel displays also introduced the mechanisms of eDNA analysis and climate change. Visitors were invited to share their views on the possible impacts of changes in fish species.

The overall “Science: Connecting You to the Future” event welcomed approximately 70,000 visitors during the exhibition period. The WPI-AIMEC booth provided opportunities to talk with people who relate to the ocean in many different ways, and it also helped connect people involved in environmental education.

Views collected at this event were later reported at the 4th Annual Meeting of the Minamisanriku Inochi Meguru Machi Society, held in November 2025 in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture.

“The Present and Future of Fish in Tohoku: Could DNA in the Sea Hold the Clues?”

On Saturday, October 18 and Sunday, October 19, 2025, WPI-AIMEC held a public talk event and booth exhibition with Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium on changes in familiar fish species and eDNA analysis.

Using the aquarium’s exhibits as an entry point, the event aimed to help visitors think not only about marine organisms themselves, but also about the changes taking place in marine ecosystems and the people involved in research and aquarium care.

At the talk event, aquarium staff and researchers discussed changes in the catch of familiar fish species, the potential of eDNA analysis, and points to look for when observing the fish introduced during the discussion. The speakers also interacted with participants during the event.

Speakers
Tohoku University:
Satoshi Katayama, WPI-AIMEC Researcher, Graduate School of Agricultural Science
Tsunaki Iida, Specially Appointed Associate Professor and Science Communicator, WPI-AIMEC
Chisato Kobayashi, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Life Sciences / Nature Positive Sustainable Development Hub
Kaito Shin, first-year doctoral student, Graduate School of Life Sciences and selected by the JST-ASPIRE Graduate Student Program.

Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium, Fish Team:
Masatetsu Aizawa, Leader
Akinori Otani, Sub-Leader
Hiroaki Kakubari
Kei Nakao

The event also featured panels and a touch-panel device on eDNA, which were related to the exhibit presented at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. Aquarium staff and WPI-AIMEC members used these exhibits to engage in dialogue with visitors.

More than 200 visitors participated in the booth exhibition, and more than 100 visitors joined the talk event. Questionnaire responses included comments from participants who said that the event deepened their interest in marine organisms and helped them feel a stronger connection between marine life and their own lives.

Through collaboration among an aquarium, a Nature Positive initiative, and a research institute studying marine ecosystems, the event created an opportunity for people in the Tohoku region to discuss marine ecosystems based on scientific knowledge.

These events were held in collaboration with Tohoku University COI-NEXT Nature Positive Sustainable Development Hub (NP Hub). Professor Michio Kondoh, Principal Investigator at WPI-AIMEC and Professor at the Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, serves as Project Leader of the NP Hub. Professor Toshio Suga, Director of WPI-AIMEC, also contributes to NP Hub as a leader.