SUNY Students

Study Sea Life

Of Japanese Isles

Amy Shultis, Oneonta, traveled to Japan for the class, Biology 271/Global Studies in Conservation & Sustainability, taught by Dr. Kiyoko Yokota. A biology student at SUNY Oneonta, Shultis visited Tokyo and the islands of Chichijima and Hahajima. The locals of Chichijima and Hahajima work with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to remove invasive species and prevent the transfer of new invasive species onto the island. They also work to protect the populations of indigenous species like the Japanese wood pigeon and the Bonin flying fox.
Additionally, students learned about sustainable ecotourism during a lecture by a researcher from the Ogasawara Whale Watching Association and went on a whale/dolphin watching cruise in a glass-bottom boat; and participated in service learning at the Ogasawara Marine Center, where they cleaned algae off of sea turtles’ bodies and shells. If you’d like to go whale watching to witness these breathtaking animals in person, look at whale watching California companies.