Project Mission

Establish an observation network to measure, monitor, and understand the terrestrial environment of Okinawa, in a collaboration between scientists and the people of Okinawa.

Project Description

The OKEON Churamori project is an initiative led by researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST). The primary goal is to develop a network of Universities, Museums, schools, and citizen scientists who are interested in research on the environment of Okinawa. In particular, we are developing long-term space-time observation series from a network of locations in Okinawa Prefecture, combining field, informatics, and molecular approaches. In the last two years, the OKEON team has initiated long-term data sampling at 24 sites across Okinawa. Each site currently has instruments to log weather data, arthropod traps, camera/video traps, and acoustic recorders. In the lab, we have constructed a high-throughput ecological genomics pipeline, including automated molecular and bioinformatics pipeline. We hope to expand this network scientifically and geographically as more partners come on board.

Funding

OKEON is currently funded by the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University.