Hiji River Sampling

The team from left: Tetsu Kuzukawa, Yayoi Ikenaga, Dan Logronio, and Jomel Limbago

PhD students, Dan Joseph Logronio and Jomel Limbago, along with lab technician Yayoi Ikenaga and undergraduate student, Tetsu Kuzukawa from MECOH have concluded their collection of environmental DNA (eDNA) and macroinvertebtrates from Hiji River, a river at 103km in length and has a basin area of 1,210km2 which runs near the Ozu Basin at the upper part of the stream and flows into the Seto Inland Sea.  It is the largest first class river in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. 

The sampling campaign lasted from 27th March to 25th April 2024 and the research team travelled by road through the cities of Iyo, Ozu, Seiyo, Tobe, and Uchiko. In total, 59 river sites were sampled for eDNA while 20 sites included bulk macroinvertebrate samples. 

Traversing into the sampling sites can be an adventure on its own

The purpose of this sampling is to monitor the eDNA found in Hiji River using a model that can predict the metacommunity structure by using realistic ecological and environmental processes. The development of the model may help in the exploration of fundamental scientific questions and form management strategies for rivers like Hiji. 

So, the research team had covered different habitat types with varying environmental conditions.

How's your office view?

Together, macroinvertebrates were collected in bulk via the kick-net method and preserved in ethanol.

​The team had completed all sites and analysis on the biodiversity of Hiji River will be used to correlate with other environmental factors such as water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen levels, turbidity, water velocity, etc. .

The riverine environment is an important part of our ecosystem and much more could be done to uncover its ecology. Although it is no easy feat to sample such a large sampling area, yet the team spirit is always high. Thank you, MECOH Biodiversity team, for giving your best!

For those who enjoy being close to nature, we hope to see you together with us in a future sampling trip like this!