Dr Yasuaki Tanaka
yasuaki.tanaka@ubd.edu.bn
Dec 2018 - present: Senior Assistant Professor, Environment and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam
May 2015 – Dec 2018: Assistant Professor, Environment and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam
May 2013 – Mar 2015: Research fellow of The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Oct 2012 – May 2013: Visiting scholar, School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, USA
Apr 2012 – Sep 2012: Research fellow of The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Apr 2011 – Mar 2012: Postdoctoral research fellow, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, Japan
Apr 2009 – Apr 2010: Postdoctoral research fellow, Graduate School of Information Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan
Apr 2007 – Mar 2009: Research fellow of The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Japan
Apr 2005 – Mar 2008: Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan (Doctoral degree of Natural Environmental Studies)
Apr 2003 – Mar 2005: Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan (Master degree of Natural Environmental Studies)
Apr 1998 – Mar 2003: Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Nagoya University, Japan (Bachelor degree of Engineering)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Biological Oceanography
Aquatic Biology
Biogeochemistry
FUTURE PROJECTS
Effects of local and global environmental changes on aquatic ecosystems
Aquatic ecosystems are at risk of ecological deterioration due to increasing local environmental changes and/or global climate changes. Brunei Darussalam has various unique marine and freshwater ecosystems throughout the country (e.g., coral reefs, estuaries, rivers, lakes) but many of the environments have not been explored and monitored in details. This research project aims (1) to study biological (e.g., diversity and physiology of primary producers), chemical (e.g., organic matter, nutrients), and physical (e.g., temperature, salinity) conditions of the aquatic ecosystems in Brunei, (2) to understand biogeochemical cycles of major biological elements (e.g., C, N, P), and (3) to develop a strategy for the conservation and management of the ecosystem.
Applications Invited
Diversity of seaweeds in Brunei Darussalam and the search for useful substances toward commercialization
Seaweeds (marine macroalgae) have been globally receiving attention from many industrial areas (e.g, food, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, biofuel). Brunei Darussalam has a rich diversity of marine life but the diversity of seaweeds and their potentials as an economic source have never been studied. This research project aims (1) to identify seaweed species in Brunei and make a database of the diversity for conservation, (2) to study physiological and ecological characteristics of local seaweeds, and (3) to search for useful substances for industry and commercialization.
Applications Invited
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Yasuaki Tanaka, Atsushi Suzuki, Kazuhiko Sakai (2018) The stoichiometry of coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis: carbon and nitrogen cycles are balanced in the recycling and double translocation system. The ISME Journal 12:860-868
Yasuaki Tanaka, Ryota Nakajima (2018) Dissolved organic matter in coral reefs: distribution, production, and bacterial consumption. In Akira Iguchi and Chuki Hongo (eds), Coral Reef Studies of Japan. Springer, pp. 7-27.
Nadhirah Lamit, Yasuaki Tanaka, Haji Mohamed Bin Abdul Majid (2017) Seagrass diversity in Brunei Darussalam: first records of three species. Scientia Bruneiana 16:48-52
Ryota Nakajima, Yasuaki Tanaka, Ryan Guillemette, Haruko Kurihara (2017) Effects of coral-derived organic matter on the growth of bacterioplankton and heterotrophic nanoflagellates. Coral Reefs 36:1171-1179
Yasuaki Tanaka, Andréa G. Grottoli, Yohei Matsui, Atsushi Suzuki, Kazuhiko Sakai (2017) Effects of nitrate and phosphate availability on the tissues and carbonate skeleton of scleractinian corals. Marine Ecology Progress Series 570:101-112
TOP PUBLICATIONS
Yasuaki Tanaka, Atsushi Suzuki, Kazuhiko Sakai (2018) The stoichiometry of coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis: carbon and nitrogen cycles are balanced in the recycling and double translocation system. The ISME Journal 12:860-868
Yasuaki Tanaka, Andréa G. Grottoli, Yohei Matsui, Atsushi Suzuki, Kazuhiko Sakai (2017) Effects of nitrate and phosphate availability on the tissues and carbonate skeleton of scleractinian corals. Marine Ecology Progress Series 570:101-112
Yasuaki Tanaka, Andréa G. Grottoli, Yohei Matsui, Atsushi Suzuki, Kazuhiko Sakai (2015) Partitioning of nitrogen sources to algal endosymbionts of corals with long-term 15N-labelling and a mixing model. Ecological Modelling 309−310:163−169
Yasuaki Tanaka, Akira Iguchi, Kozue Nishida, Mayuri Inoue, Takashi Nakamura, Atsushi Suzuki, Kazuhiko Sakai (2014) Nutrient availability affects the response of juvenile corals and the endosymbionts to ocean acidification. Limnology and Oceanography 59:1468−1476
Yasuaki Tanaka, Toshihiro Miyajima, Atsushi Watanabe, Kazuo Nadaoka, Takahiro Yamamoto, Hiroshi Ogawa (2011) Distribution of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen in a coral reef. Coral Reefs 30:533−541
GRANT DETAILS
Grant type: CRG, Grant Number: UBD/OAVCRI/CRGWG(013)/170601
Title: The diversity of seaweeds in Brunei Darussalam and the search for useful substances toward commercialization
Principle Investigator (PI): Dr. Yasuaki Tanaka
Start Date: 1/6/2017, End Date: 31/5/2020
Grant type: CRG, Grant Number: UBD/OAVCRI/CRGWG(010)/170501
Title: Studying the microbial diversity in Brunei for applications in bioremediation and biotechnology
Principle Investigator (PI): Dr. Pooja Shivanand
Start Date: 1/5/2017, End Date: 40/4/2020
Grant type: BRC, Grant Number: S&T-14
Project Title: Scleractinian Coral Diversity, Reproduction, Growth Processes and Reef Accretion in Relation to Ocean and Coastal Regimes in Bruneian Waters
Principle Investigator (PI): Dr. Yasuaki Tanaka
Start Date: 25/10/2010, End Date: 25/10/2016
CONSULTANCY
Public Works Department, Ministry of Development, Brunei Darussalam
Project title: Protection of Brunei bluff and control of beach erosion at Meragang