New article: New record of Caulerpa andamanensis and Caulerpa minuta from Japan

Please take a look at our new article reporting two newly recorded species of Caulerpa (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) from Japan: Caulerpa andamanensis and C. minuta. Can you identify the two species occurring together in the photo? The species with umbrella-like erect branches is C. andamanensis, whereas the species with small blade-like erect branches is C. minuta. These two species were discovered and collected during a marine algal flora survey on Okinoerabu-jima Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago. Although these species closely resemble Caulerpa filicoides and C. parvifolia, respectively, they were distinguished based on morphological characteristics and confirmed through DNA phylogenetic analyses.

 

Suzuki, Ohashi, Hasegawa, Namba, Kosugi, Terada 2026. New records of Caulerpa andamanensis and C. minuta (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) from Okinoerabujima Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan.

Phycological Research 74:
DOI: 10.1111/pre.70045

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pre.70045

 

Caulerpa andamanensis and Caulerpa minuta

New article: Coralline diversity of mesophotic rhodoliths in subtropical Japan

Congratulations to Dr. Min-Khant-Kyaw, Dr. Aki Kato, and the other distinguished co-authors on this excellent article on the coralline diversity of mesophotic rhodoliths in subtropical Japan, including the description of new species of Sporolithon and the emended genera Orientalilithon and Roseolithon. We are very proud and delighted to have contributed to this study.

 

Min-Khant-Kyaw, Masasuke Baba, Ryuta Terada, Aki Kato 2026. Unveiling coralline diversity of mesophotic rhodoliths in subtropical Japan, including new species of Sporolithon, emended genera Orientalilithon and Roseolithon (Corallinophycidae, Rhodophyta). 

Journal of Phycology 

DOI:10.1111/jpy.70176

 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpy.70176

Longterm monitoring survey

The phycology laboratories at Kobe University and Kagoshima University have participated for many years in a nationwide long-term monitoring survey of macroalgal communities in Japan. As part of the collaboration between the two laboratories, Professor Ryuta Terada, head of the Marine Botany Laboratory, Kagoshima University, participated this week in field surveys at Awajishima Island, facing the Kitan Strait (part of the Pacific Ocean), and at Takeno, facing the Sea of Japan, which were conducted by the Kobe University Research Center for Inland Seas. A phycologist from the Fisheries Research Agency of Japan also participated in the survey. During the survey, dense communities of Ecklonia cava and Sargassum species were confirmed. Recent studies have reported characteristic changes in these algal communities in Japan, and the article is freely available at the following link: DOI:10.1111/pre.70019

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pre.70019

 

Ecklonia cava (Yura, Awajishima island)

Sargassum macrocarpum (Takeno, Toyooka)

New article: Gayralia kuroshiensis (Ulvophyceae), from Fukushima, Japan

Congratulations to Dr. Koja and the distinguished co-authors on their interesting article on the ecophysiology of the cultivated green alga Gayralia kuroshiensis from Fukushima, Japan. From the Marine Botany Laboratory, Professor Ryuta Terada, the head of the laboratory, participated in this project and conducted part of the photosynthetic experiments.

Koja, Sato, Nishihara, Terada 2026. The effects of four environmental stressors, temperature, irradiance, desiccation, and salinity on the photosynthesis of a cultivated green alga, Gayralia kuroshiensis (Ulvophyceae), from Fukushima, Japan. Algal Research 96: Article 104664
DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2026.104664

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211926426001499

 

 

New article: Humidity-dependent variation in photochemical efficiency during aerial exposure in sporophytes of the cultivated red alga Pyropia yezoensis

Please take a look at our new article on the red alga Pyropia yezoensis. We report humidity-dependent variation in photochemical efficiency during aerial exposure in the sporophytes of the cultivated Pyropia yezoensis f. narawaensis from Saga, Japan. The microscopic sporophyte that grows on dead oyster shells is known to be less tolerant of dehydration, with its photochemical efficiency declining within a few minutes under dry conditions. However, this decline can be mitigated under high or saturated humidity, suggesting that careful humidity management may improve nori cultivation.

Terada, Iwanaga, Nakahara 2026.

Humidity-dependent variation in photochemical efficiency during aerial exposure in sporophytes of the cultivated red alga Pyropia yezoensis f. narawaensis (=Neopyropia yezoensis f. narawaensis; Bangiaceae) from Saga, Japan.

Algal Research 96: Article 104699

DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2026.104699

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211926426001840 

新刊：奄美の生物多様性と人々の暮らし

 

奄美の生物多様性と人々の暮らしに関する書籍が刊行されました。研究室の寺田が奄美の海藻と海草について執筆しています。

寺田竜太 2026．奄美の海藻・海草．

鈴木英治，久米元，髙山耕二，山城徹，山本宗立（編）

奄美の生物多様性と人々の暮らし．pp. 36–43，南方新社，鹿児島

ISBN: 978-4-86124-559-6（2026年3月25日）

https://www.nanpou.com/?pid=190553688

 

The 50th anniversary meeting of the Japanese Society of Phycology

The 50th anniversary meeting of the Japanese Society of Phycology was held at the University of Tsukuba, near Tokyo, Japan, from March 20 to 22, 2026. From the Marine Botany Lab, three faculty members and eight students attended and presented their research achievements. The next meeting will be held in March 2027 at Kagoshima University. We look forward to seeing you in Kagoshima in 2027!

 

 

New article: Significant changes in the southernmost temperate canopy-forming macroalgal communities in Japan

We are pleased to introduce our new article revealing significant changes in the southernmost temperate canopy-forming macroalgal communities in Japan. To assess the decline and species shifts in macroalgal communities over the past decade in Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, we investigated the spatial distribution of kelp and fucoid communities at nine sites in early summer 2024, where data from previous surveys (conducted in the late 2000s and early 2010s) were available. We then compared the current status with that of a decade ago.

 

Zemba, Takasugi, Yunokuchi, Terada (2026). Significant changes in the southernmost temperate canopy-forming macroalgal communities in Japan: A comparison of their status in 2024 with that a decade ago. 

Journal of Applied Phycology.

 

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-025-03780-x

 

This article is open access and can be downloaded free of charge.

 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10811-025-03780-x

 

 

New article: Nemalionopsis shawii (formerly known as Nemalionopsis tortuosa in Japan)

Please take a look at our latest article, currently available as an article in press (journal pre-proof), on the ecophysiology of the freshwater endangered red alga Nemalionopsis shawii from Japan. Although the proofs have not yet been corrected, the article has been available online since February 10, 2026. This study reports on light spectral availability and photoinhibition, temperature adaptation, and desiccation and salinity tolerances of this alga. Once the article is officially published online, it will be freely available to download as open access.

Terada, Makino, and Nishihara (2026). The effects of irradiance, temperature, desiccation, and salinity on the photosynthesis of the freshwater red alga Nemalionopsis shawii (Thoreales) from Japan. Algal Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2026.104584

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221192642600069X

 

 

Nemalionopsis shawii