Medaka (Oryzias latipes), an indigenous species in Japan, has decreased in population size in many areas since the first introduction of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) in 1916. It is known that predation and aggressive attacks by mosquitofish cause damage to the fins of medaka as well as direct mortality. By experimentally manipulating fin size, we examined the potential effects of damaged anal and caudal fins in male medaka on reproduction. Decreased size of anal fin resulted in a decrease in the number of eggs spawned and the proportion of eggs fertilized. By contrast, decreased size of caudal fin decreased the number of eggs spawned but did not affect fertilization rate. Our results show that damaged anal and caudal fins may give rise to different effects on reproduction in medaka, probably due to the different roles in reproductive behavior.

Registered hunters in Shimane Prefecture decreased from 7,200 to 3,300 between 1976 and 1990, although the numbers stabilized thereafter. In 2002, one third of Shimane hunters were "new" (possessed hunting license 5 years or less), as opposed to "existing" hunters. We surveyed license applicants in 2001 (response rate 89.0%, 330 respondents), compared results with a 2001 survey of existing hunters (Ueda et al. 2004), and considered how changing hunter composition will affect wildlife management. License applicants were regarded as new hunters because of their high success rates on hunting examinations (89.5%). Most new hunters seek wild boar (95.8%), the ratio being larger than existing hunters (61.6%). The new hunters' objective was mainly to reduce agricultural damage (81.0%), and most sought only licenses to use traps (90.8%). These ratios were larger than existing hunters. One third of new hunters had no intention to hunt during hunting season. Traps require frequent patrolling, but more than half intended to hunt only one or two days a week. Recent recruitment of new hunters could further increase the ratio of wild boar hunters who use traps for nuisance control, although their activity does not appear to have a major impact on wild boar populations.

The Peoples' Republic of China started to establish nature reserves in 1956, at the same time the country aimed to increase industrial production and promote national unification. This policy was affected by Chinese ideas of traditional resource management and by Soviet socialist ideas of resource management and national education. After the failure of the Great Leap Forward and during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1978), the political idea of human predominance over nature gained strength, resulting in a retreat for policies that promoted nature reserve establishment. In Yunnan Province, several reserves that had already been established were partly or entirely destroyed. Since 1972, abrupt increases in environmental pollution domestically and development of the international environmental movement stimulated the government to actively promote anti-pollution policies and to establish various institutional arrangements for environmental conservation. Consequently, the establishment of nature reserves was resumed and the idea of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve was newly introduced. These trends have been bolstered by the government's Open Reform Policy since 1978. The government has promoted sustainable development strategies since 1996, consequently increasing the number of nature reserves as well as conducting nature restoration projects.

We studied the fauna and the seasonal and diel activities of dung beetles that utilize the feces of the sika deer (Cervus nippon) at two sites of different altitude in the Tanzawa Mountains of central Japan. We recorded 16 species of dung beetles that are widely distributed in Japan and have been recorded in the feces of other mammals. Adults of 7 species were observed continuously for several months, 3 observed for several months but not continuously, and 5 were observed only during a specific period. We divided the 16 species into 2 functional groups: dwellers (9 species) and tunnellers (7 species). The number of individuals and species captured by traps differed with altitude, and we assumed that differences were caused by the density of the sika deer population. At both altitudes, more tunnellers were captured than dwellers, and tunnellers were captured continuously at all times of day and night. It is known that tunnellers bore from the dung directly into the soil. We conclude that for efficient decomposition of feces in the ecosystem, it is important that many tunnellers are attracted to the feces of the sika deer throughout the day and night.

Parnassius eversmanni daisetsuzanus is on the Japanese Red List (Near Threatened) and considered a special natural monument in Japan. To elucidate the yearly population changes of this species, transect surveys were carried out on Komakusa-daira mountain (1,840m) in Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido, Japan over six years (2000-2005). The transect route (280 m) was fixed along a mountain trail, and the surveys were carried out hourly from 06:00 to 13:00. The yearly maximum counts were 5 (2000), 9 (2001), 7 (2002), 18 (2003), 22 (2004) and 24 (2005). The results suggest that the population density of P. e. daisetsuzanus has been on an increasing trend in recent years in this area. The study also examined hourly flight activity, indicating that it peaks between 10:00 and 11:00.