The Graduate School of Agricultural Science's Field Science Center (FSC) has been hosting an online luncheon seminar series aimed at sharing knowledge and introducing the research activities of its six laboratories.

In this 5th installment, Assistant Professor Yuki Nagai from the Advanced Institute for Marine Ecosystem Science (WPI-AIMEC) will give a lecture on "Polychaetes Crossing the Oceans with Mollusks: Bioerosion of Shells and Intriguing Reproductive Strategies."

With the globalization of molluscan aquaculture, many commercially important molluscan species have been transported beyond their native ranges. This movement has also raised concerns about the unintentional introduction of harmful organisms associated with host molluscs. Among these, shell-boring spionid polychaetes polydorids, which bore into shells and cause reduced growth and mortality in their hosts, have been reported to cause damage in molluscan aquaculture worldwide.

In this lecture, Nagai will report on the infestation of cultured and wild molluscs by polydorids in Japan, France and South Africa. He will also introduce the larval developmental mode of poecilogony observed in several species, characterized by the production of larvae with different developmental modes within the same population.

This Japanese language event is free and open to all.

Date: November 11, 2026
Time: 12 noon - 1 p.m.
Venue: Online via Google Meet
Link: meet.google.com/gps-fqvq-yaw
Language: Japanese