Knowledge Exchange & Specimen Examination at the national Museum of Nature & Science, Tsukuba, Japan

During our second trip to Japan this year, the TEE Lab visited the collections at the National Museum of Nature and Science, which is situated in the Science City of Tsukuba. Hosted by Dr Showtaro Kakizoe, we spent two fulfilling days examining and imaging dung beetle specimens held in the museum's collections.

Group photo with Dr Showtaro Kakizoe and Hiroshima University PhD student Aiman Aiman Luhkman.

These important collections help us to verify species identifications and revise species descriptions, which contributes towards taxonomic accuracy and capacity building for future dung beetle research in Southeast Asia.

Examining and imaging important dung beetle specimens in the museum's collections.

We also had the privilege of presenting our work to the Japan Initiative for Biodiversity Information (JBIF - Japan GBIF) team. We shared our ongoing efforts in using integrative taxonomy approaches, applying novel technologies, mobilising data and conducting active outreach to address knowledge and capacity gaps in tropical insect research.

Prof Eleanor Slade presenting our ongoing research to address taxonomic and capacity impediments in tropical entomology.

A series of presentations by TEE Lab members.

This work is part of the project "Building capacity for biodiversity identification and monitoring an ecologically important insect taxa in Southeast Asian ecosystems", which is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) through the Government of Japan.

Delicious dinner with our collaborators.