The faculty of the Biology Program are divided into the three groups (large lecture-style groups); 1) Ecology and Systematics, 2) Cell and Functional Biology, and 3) Marine Biology and Coral Reef Studies—for both research and educational purposes. Faculty members of the University’s Tropical Biosphere Research Center are also engaged in education and research projects with the Biology Program.
Ancestry and evolution of grasses and trees of the Ryukyu Archipelago
Biodiversity maintenance mechanisms of plant associations
Climate change impacts on coral reef ecosystem
Fundamentals of coral biology and ecological physiology of coral reef life
Animal ecology / Pollination ecology
Evolutionary ecology, conservation, and taxonomy of mollusks
Biodiversity science, Macroecology
Forms and modes of existence of marine invertebrates (especially sea squirts)
Stress tolerability and adaptive mechanisms of living organisms
Butterfly color pattern formation, olfactory reception, and protein science.
Plastid differentiation and morphogenesis
Algal cell biology and physiology
Phycology
Behavior and natural history of cephalopods (squid, octopus, etc.)
Reproduction and use of environment by coral reef life
Discovery of the life modes of fish and shellfish/conservation based on genetic information
Ecology, taxonomy, and diversity of cnidarians and coral reef invertebrates
Ecology, taxonomy, and diversity of fish