Fieldwork
During my time in Dr. Sheng-Feng Shen's lab, I led international field research studying burying beetle populations across Okinawa, Amami (Japan), and Wulai (Taiwan). Our team investigated how these geographically neighboring, low-altitude islands develop distinct breeding patterns and their vulnerability to climate change. We tracked beetles' reproductive dynamics through breeding experiments along altitudinal gradients, using burial pots with soil and mouse carcasses, video recordings, and temperature loggers. Stay tuned for our findings!
Amami Ōshima, Japan
Apr 22, 2024 – Jun 27, 2024
This spring, my team and I deployed 185 burial pots for a two-month breeding experiments on Amami Ōshima, studying burying beetles' spring breeding phenology. We work in Amami Guntō National Park (奄美群島国立公園), establishing three research plots along a latitudinal gradient: forests in northern Kasari Area (183m, 28.4710°N, 129.6872°E), central Tatsugō Town (293m, 28.4416°N, 129.5841°E), and our primary site, Mt. Yuwan(694m), covering forests in both Yamato and Uken Villages.
Wulai, Taiwan
Oct 02, 2023 – Sep 13, 2024
Since October 2023, my team and I have been conducting monthly monitoring of population density, reproductive performance, and temperature along the elevational gradient in this area. Our primary focus is on two main sites: the forest near Sikanshui (535 m) and the forest near Mt. Zhulu (944 m). Over the course of a year, we have accumulated a total of 308 burial pots.
Okinawa, Japan
Oct 19, 2022 – Jan 16, 2023
My team and I conducted a three-month field study in Okinawa to uncover the breeding phenology of burying beetles here. With a research permit from Japan's Ministry of the Environment, we conducted our study in Yambaru National Park (やんばる国立公園). We surveyed five forests along a latitudinal gradient from north to south on Okinawa Island: Mt. Nishime(420m) and Mt. Yonaha (503m) in Kunigami Village, Mt. Tano (385m) in Nago City, Mt. Yae (453m) in Motobu Town, and forests near the Okinawa Prefectural People's Forest in Onna Village (70m, 26.5001°N, 127.9043°E), with a total of 217 burial pots. The hatched third-instar larvae were transported to our collaborator, Professor Kazuki Tsuji’s (辻 瑞樹) lab at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of the Ryukyus, for body weight measurements.
Mt. Hehuan, Taiwan
Jan-Apr, 2022
In early 2022, I assisted with a research project on Mt. Hehuan (3422 m) in central Taiwan, where we set up experimental sites across elevational gradient that allowed us to manipulate the group size of beetles and observe their social behaviors. I also took on the responsibility of mentoring incoming master's students, ensuring the sustainable development of our lab's fieldwork through knowledge transfer.
Sichuan, China
Jul, 2019
In the summer of 2019, I participated in a short course on behavioral ecology and climate change biology, jointly organized by Dr. Sheng-Feng Shen and Dr. Dustin R. Rubenstein. During my three-week field training at Mt. Jiajin (4930 m) in Sichuan, I assisted the research team with field studies on burying beetle social behavior. Additionally, I led a class project studying the impact of deforestation on interspecies competition in burying beetles.