Report Challenge for Junior and Senior High School Students

[Selector's Comments]
Moon Jellyfish exhibit variability in the number of stomachs (gastric cavities), typically four. Research clarifying the morphological, physiological, and metabolic differences between individuals with different gastric cavities requires specially set up breeding environments and the preparation of test specimens. However, Ms. Inoue conducted detailed observations and analyses of the exhibit tanks at Tokyo Sea Life Park as a regular visitor. In measuring feeding and digestion efficiency, she observed the digestion process of food taken into the gastric cavities for more than two hours, concluding that the normal number of four gastric cavities is the most appropriate. If Ms. Inoue's dream of working at an aquarium comes true, we hope she will become animal keeper who conveys the fascination of living creatures through exhibits.

[Selector's Comments]
Ms. Iisaka, interested in the daytime behavior of Ural Owl, which are generally perceived as nocturnal, conducted observations of two different Ural Owl species during zoo opening hours on two days in July and August. Normally, observations are only possible during daylight hours at this time of year, but the August observations were conducted on a special day with extended opening hours, allowing for analysis of behavior during dark hours as well. The observation results supported two hypotheses Ms. Iisaka had formulated regarding the differences between Snowy Owl and Ural Owl. In her report, she also mentioned the significance of observation at the zoo, which she felt through this research. We hope that Ms. Iisaka will continue her observations in the future.

[Selector's Comments]
Ikeda probably doesn't know that about 20 years ago, a video of Red Panda at a certain zoo standing up went viral. The fact that an animal that normally lives on four legs stood on two legs attracted attention as something special, and Ikeda, who chose this behavior as the theme for her report, was able to analyze it scientifically. To address the skeletal structure, which is lacking in observations of live animals, she cited data and clarified the differences in bipedal standing between Meerkat and a meerkat. I hope she will also tackle remaining issues such as muscle usage and the expanded field of vision gained by standing up.

[Selector's Comments]
In the report challenge, there seem to be certain species and themes that are more likely to be chosen. Perhaps many students set their themes based on topics that came up when they did an internet search for the name of a creature they vaguely knew. On the other hand, Ms. Suezawa deepened her research on the unique vertical swimming style she discovered when she first observed Flapnose Ray. Themes set from actual observations tend to yield better results in observations at the exhibit and lead to highly original reports. From Ms. Suezawa's report, it was clear that she enjoyed the process of considering observation methods to solve the problem and researching materials for her analysis. We hope to see more reports like this.

[Selector's Comments]
Until now, the number of entries from high school students has been small compared to those from junior high school students, and no high school student had ever been selected as the best entry. This time, Ashiya's work became the first to win an award from a high school student. We had to consider the difference in level between high school and junior high school students, but Ashiya's report first caught our eye with its well-organized, book-like design. Of course, that wasn't all; she noticed that Spiny Red Gurnard uses its free soft rays like legs, and logically demonstrated that there are differences in movement other than moving forward along the seabed, such as turning, taking off, landing, and exploring. Furthermore, she compared the leg movements of various animals using the same method and even considered them from an evolutionary perspective. In her final summary, she cited the latest genetic-level research that is not available at aquariums, and discussed the possibility of discoveries that could have a significant impact on biological evolution. We hope that she will pursue a related research field and produce results that can contribute to aquarium exhibits.

[Selector's Comments]
Ms. Otawara has been gathering and compiling information about Little Grebe she encountered at Inokashira Park Zoo, following her interests as she went. It's almost as if she's surfing the internet, but her knowledge isn't gained through mouse operations or screen touches; she's actually observed live Little Grebe right in front of her and recorded it by drawing many illustrations on paper. I'm personally impressed that she visited the zoo at least twice to observe the grebes and that she revised her illustrations herself while referring to literature. There is still room for improvement in the structure of the report and the data analysis. I hope she continues her research while cherishing her enjoyment of observing living creatures. If you're going to use Inokashira Park Zoo as your setting, I recommend observing both the captive grebes and the wild ones living in Inokashira Pond.

[Selector's Comments]
Following its selection in 2022, Ms. Kimura's report has been chosen as the best work of the year for the second time. Starting with observations at Ueno Zoo, which earned her the first award, her second year's observations at Chiba City Zoological Park involved tracking a different individual to resolve questions raised at the first year. Her third year's observations went beyond the simple question of "do Shoebill move or not?", classifying and recording various behaviors. In addition, she conducted further observations and interviews to resolve questions that arose during her analysis, resulting in a rich and insightful report. While Shoebill are relatively familiar in Japan, their numbers in zoos worldwide are not large. This is due to the harsh conditions faced by wild Shoebill and the difficulty of breeding them in captivity. We hope that Ms. Kimura will continue to be an active supporter of Shoebill species.

[Selector's Comments]
This report compares the behavior of young Giraffe at Tama Zoo (group keeping) and Ueno Zoo (small-group keeping). This is a difficult topic, and any clear differences found would be extremely interesting. Mr. Watari continuously observed and recorded the behavior of one Giraffe throughout the entire time it was on public display at each zoo, from opening to closing. This must have been a tremendous challenge for him, having just entered junior high school. As we expected, the data from this study was still too weak to link the differences in the two giraffes' behavior to their respective environments, but through observation, we were able to discover the individuality of each giraffe. Not limited to these two, continuing to observe individual Giraffe may deepen our understanding of their lives and ultimately reveal differences between zoos.

[Selector's Comments]
This study addressed a question about the differences in swimming styles between seabirds (Common Murre and Tufted Puffin) and penguins observed at Tokyo Sea Life Park following the researcher's process: ① closely observing the swimming behavior of the two bird species, ② predicting the reasons for the differences, and ③ reviewing previous research to verify and consider the hypothesis. During the aquarium observations, the characteristics of the swimming behavior were scientifically reported using images, and missing morphological information was supplemented with literature. In addition to wing shape, body density related to buoyancy, which is closely related to swimming behavior, was also investigated and considered. Many questions remain that could be further developed from this report, so we hope that the student will continue observations at aquariums and also attempt field research.

[Selector's Comments]
This year, Tokyo Sea Life Park received many submissions for its report on the swimming styles of fish, including Pacific Bluefin Tuna. Among them, this particular report concisely summarized the characteristics of Scalloped Hammerhead Scalloped Hammerhead swimming style by comparing its form and function to that of an airplane flying through the air. While it attempted to find the functions of an airplane (a human invention) in Scalloped Hammerhead, conversely, many forms and functions created by nature have been adapted and put into practical use by humans. Perhaps in the future, an airplane with a shape even closer to that Scalloped Hammerhead will be developed. Exploring the various ingenious innovations created by nature that benefit our lives at zoos and aquariums is an interesting observation topic.

[Selector's Comments]
Starting with a simple question that arose at the familiar Inokashira Park Zoo, the author spent time observing the thrush, not only exploring the mysterious nature of its call, which is said to resemble that of a mythical creature, but also identifying and developing new research topics. In addition to observation, the author supplements their research with interviews with staff and information gathering using the internet, but above all, they always value and summarize the results obtained from their own observations. Their interest in the differences in exhibit facilities for different bird species in the latter half of the book is a unique perspective. We hope that they will continue to cherish their own questions and continue their observations at zoos and aquariums.

[Selector's Comments]
The widely held belief that Shoebill immobile bird served as the starting point for this investigation. However, many also hypothesize that even if the bird is immobile, it cannot live entirely without movement. What was most outstanding about this report was that, in order to answer this question, the author continuously observed a single Shoebill from the opening to closing time of Ueno Zoo. The analysis of the number of movements every 30 minutes revealed trends in changes over time through statistical processing. Further analysis of the behavior should be developed to create a more detailed description of Shoebill 's diurnal behavior.

[Selector's Comments]
The student visited Ueno Zoo and Tokyo Sea Life Park, observed penguins and waterfowl (Common Murre and Tufted Puffin), and compiled a report. The report compares several aspects, including flight and swimming patterns, identifying similarities and differences, and offering insightful analysis. Regarding ecology, the student supplemented previously learned knowledge with research using field guides and other resources, resulting in a comprehensive report. The thorough analysis from an observational perspective is commendable.