NAKAKUNI, Masatoshi

Research Area:　Environmental and Ecological Sciences　
Research Specialization:　Coastal Biogeochemistry

Name:　NAKAKUNI, Masatoshi

Key ward：Seto Inland Sea, material cycling, marine plastics, fatty acids, science and art

1．Seto Inland Sea: Science in a sea close to people’s lives

　The Seto Inland Sea lies right next to where many people live. This makes it especially vulnerable to human activities, and understanding its changes is crucial. Our research covers a wide range of topics in this “sea close to everyday life”—from how nutrients cycle through the water, to the role of phytoplankton that sustains marine ecosystems, to the fate of plastic debris that has become a growing concern in recent years.

2．Tracking the nutrition of plankton

The richness of the sea is not determined by the amount of phytoplankton alone. Fatty acids such as EPA and DHA produced by phytoplankton are passed along to zooplankton, fish, and ultimately to us. We analyze the fatty acids of plankton in the Seto Inland Sea to reveal how the “nutritional quality” underpinning the food web is changing.

3．Where science meets art

　Changes in the sea are difficult to communicate through data alone. By collaborating with artists, we transform seafloor sediments, observational data, and plankton into artworks and exhibitions. We explore ways to convey invisible changes in the sea as something people can feel, think about, and act upon.

Publications