Welcoming visitors from japan: A week of Science and field observation

The TEE Lab had the pleasure of hosting our visitors from Hiroshima University, Japan in Singapore. Their visit brought exciting opportunities for knowledge exchange, collaboration, and plenty of good conversations about future research opportunities. We conducted a tour of our lab spaces and shared what goes on behind the scenes: digitizing dung beetle specimens, using molecular techniques for species delimitation, and showcasing our ongoing projects on insect biodiversity and conservation.

Our PhD student, Calvin Leung showed our visitors a closer look at our lab spaces and ongoing research projects. Photo 2025, Chiew Li Yuen

We took a trip to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, where we had exciting conversations and accessing specimens in the collection. Photo 2025, Aiman.

During the exchange, our visitors also shared their fascinating research. Prof. Hosaka delivered an insightful talk on mass flowering of dipterocarps and their insect seed predators. His PhD students, Mr Aiman and Mr Tomohiro, presented their ongoing projects on the effects of livestock grazing in oil palm plantations and plant-pollinator relationships in natural wetlands. In addition, Dr. Ong Xin Rui shared her work on the IUCN Red List for the dung beetles of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, highlighting the importance of conservation efforts and challenges faced in tropical ecosystems.

Our visitors shared their fascinating research during the knowledge exchange. Top left: Prof Hosaka delivered a talk on mass flowering of dipterocarps and their insect seed predators. Top right: Our TEELab member, Dr. Ong Xin Rui introduced her work on the IUCN Red List for tropical insects. Bottom left & right: Mr. Aiman and Mr. Tomohiro, PhD students of Prof. Hosaka presented their ongoing projects including livestock grazing in oil palm plantations and plabt-pollinator relationships in natural wetlands. Photo 2025, Chiew Li Yuen.

To wrap up the trip, our PhD student, Calvin Leung led the team on a nature walk through Central Catchment Nature Reserve, where we spotted fascinating arthropods in tropical rainforests.

It was an inspiring knowledge exchange, and we are excited for the potential collaborations ahead!