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Tsutomu TAMURA, Head virologist | Cited by 164 | | Read 28 publications | Contact Tsutomu TAMURA
Mar 13, 2024 · Go to: Author contributions Tomohiro Oishi conceptualized the study and drafted the original manuscript. Satoshi Hasegawa, Tokushi Nakano, Shoji Sudo, Hiroaki Kuwajima, and Shuko Tokuriki took samples and supervised the study. Tsutomu Tamura contributed to data analysis and interpretation.
- 10.1080/21645515.2024.2322202
- 2024
- Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2024; 20(1): 2322202.
Tsutomu Tamura. Position: Relief Pitcher. Bats: Left • Throws: Left. 5-10 , 167lb (178cm, 75kg) Born: August 18, 1965 in Haibara-gun, Japan. High School: Shimada HS (Japan) School: Komazawa University (Japan) Full Name: Tsutomu Tamura. View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen.
- Estimating Age, Reproductivity, Feeding Habits
- Strenuous Research with Incredible Trips to The Antarctic
- Learning Whales Eat KRILL, Fish, and Even Birds!
- Figuring Out The Foods Whales Consume
- Impacts of Global Warming: Changing Diet, Warming Waters
- Cleaner Research, Same Sustainability Goals Continue with Commercial Whaling
- Advances Help Deduce What Whales Eat from Skin Samples
To begin with, what can you tell us about the work of the Ecosystem Studies and Population Biology Divisions?
Our main job is to conduct research based on samples taken from whales caught at sea. Specifically, we estimate the animals’ ages based on earplugs and eye lens samples, or their reproductive status based on samples from reproductive organs. We also investigate their nutritional status and feeding habits based on their stomach content, which has been my responsibility for many years.
The contents of whale stomachs seem like they would be quite heavy, and quite pungent as well.
That’s true. I first became involved in this type of study when I was in university. It is what we call a ‘3K job’ in Japanese, with the three K’s standing for the Japanese words meaning dirty, demanding, and dangerous. They told me ‘You’re young, so you’ll be able to work hard,’ and signed me up as a temporary researcher. That way, I was able to ride along on the ships. Actually, it wasn’t like I had any particular interest in researching stomach contents. My real motivation was getting a ch...
It sounds like you really wanted to go to the Antarctic?
Yes I did. I even went to Hokkaido University to study Plankton Biology, because I thought that would be the quickest way to get on an Antarctic research trip. I went all the way to graduate school, but at the time I wasn’t thinking about jobs related to whales. I was thinking I would do research on seals. Just as I was about to travel to Russia for seal research, the Gorbachev government collapsed and my visa application was rejected. I was already taking a leave of absence from my studies a...
Wasn’t your path a rather unique one?
First I finished my master’s thesis on krill, but then moved on to assisting a researcher at what was then called the National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries. That’s when I first got involved in genuine research. The research was challenging, because it involved actually capturing whales. Antarctic minke whale stomach contents weigh several hundred kilograms, but those of sei whales weigh close to a ton. It’s a big challenge just to investigate what is in their stomachs. And of cour...
Is there a difference in what whales consumed in the past and what they eat now?
For whales that inhabit the southern hemisphere, there is very little change. There is an abundance of krill in the Antarctic, so that is mainly what they eat, although it also depends on the species. On the other hand, there have been big changes in the feeding habits of whales in the Northern Hemisphere. As an example, in the period from 1990 to 2000, the discovery that minke whales eat saury (known in Japanese as sanma), Japanese squid, and Japanese anchovy was sometimes even picked up in...
Are there any differences in how research was carried out during the research whaling era, compared to now in the commercial whaling era?
It is very different. For research whaling, when we did coastal research we weren’t allowed to cut up whales onboard ships. We would bring the entire whale back to shore, then dissect it as we conducted our research. Now the stomach contents are investigated on board, so we can dispose of most of the contents at sea, which is much more sanitary. If you bring it to shore it becomes waste material, and that is a lot more expensive to dispose of.
Now that your research is done mainly onboard the ships rather than onshore, do you have trouble collecting enough data?
We have to come up with new ways to carry out our research. Because even now that commercial whaling has returned, the goal of sustainable use has not changed. It is still important to carry out proper research and set quotas based on science. Also, while visual surveys are widely conducted in anti-whaling countries, there are few countries that can perform research with whales that can be captured and analyzed. From this perspective, Japan plays a big role. Technology advances every day, and...
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Tsutomu Tamura 1 , Makoto Nishikawa , Dang Duc Anh , Hiroshi Suzuki. Affiliation. 1 Department of Virology, Niigata Prefectural Institute of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, Niigata 950-2144, Japan. tamura.tsutomu@pref.niigata.lg.jp. PMID: 21099090. Abstract.
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