Honshu Research Articles

Winter diet of Japanese macaques from Chubu Sangaku National Park, Japan incorporates freshwater biota

The Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) is native to the main islands of Japan, except Hokkaido, and is the most northerly living non-human primate. In the Chubu Sangaku National Park of the Japanese Alps, macaques live in one of the coldest areas of the world, with snow cover limiting the availability of preferred food sources. Winter is typically a bottleneck for food availability potentially resulting in marked energy deficits, and mortality may result from famine. However, streams with groundwater upwelling flow during the winter with a constant water temperature of about 5 °C are easily accessible for Japanese macaques to search for riverine biota. We used metabarcoding (Cytochrome c oxidase I) of fecal samples from Japanese macaques to determine their wintertime diet. Here we provide the first robust evidence that Japanese macaques feed on freshwater biota, including brown trout, riverine insects and molluscs, in Chubu Sangaku National Park. These additional food sources likely aid their winter survival.

The onset, dispersal and crop preferences of early agriculture in the Japanese archipelago as derived from seed impressions in pottery

This paper summarises the results of 225 studies of seed impressions in pottery assemblages from 182 archaeological sites across Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu islands covering the Late/Final Jomon–Middle Yayoi period (ca. 2000–1 BCE). Focussing on rice, foxtail millet and broomcorn millet impressions, this archaeobotanical dataset was used to reconstruct when and where these crops arrived from the Eurasian mainland on these islands, how they dispersed and whether there were changes in crop preferences over time. While it is generally accepted that crop cultivation started during the Initial Yayoi period (ca. 800/700–500/400 BCE) in northern Kyushu, a limited number of seed impressions in Tottaimon phase 1 pottery suggests that rice and millet were present at different sites on Kyushu and in the Chugoku region even before this period. The earliest impression records also corroborate the hypothesis that rice arrived along with both millet crops, which for a long time have not been considered in research on early agriculture. The earliest crop records from eastern Japan (here Central Highlands to northern Honshu) come from early Fusenmon pottery, which was mainly used in the Central Highlands (central Honshu) and some adjacent areas, dating to the End of Final Jomon period (concurrent with the Initial Yayoi period in northern Kyushu). While the records from western Japan (here Kyushu to Kinki region) associated with Tottaimon pottery suggest mixed rice/millet cultivation during the Initial Yayoi and early part of the Early Yayoi (ca. 800/700–300 BCE) period, Fusenmon groups appear to have preferred millet. In western Japan, related to the spread of Ongagawa pottery, rice became the dominant crop during the late Early Yayoi period. This shift happened later (i.e., during the Middle Yayoi period; ca. 300–1 BCE) in eastern Japan. This ‘delay’ is manifested in impression records from the Tokai region representing a transitional area between eastern and western Japan. Rice-centred agriculture begun with the arrival of Ongagawa pottery on the Nobi Plain during the Early Yayoi period. In regions east of the plain settled by Jokonmon pottery groups a more rice-oriented agriculture is not evident before the Middle Yayoi period. An exceptional development is indicated for northern Tohoku (northernmost Honshu). Impression records from Sunazawa pottery suggest that local groups adopted only rice during the Early Yayoi period. The rice preference apparently continued into the Middle Yayoi period, but crop cultivation was abandoned by the beginning of the Late Yayoi period.

Comparing the genetic diversity and population structure of sister marine snails having contrasting habitat specificity

To grasp the processes of spatial genetic structuring in open and connectable marine environments is the principal study goal in molecular biological studies. Comparative seascape genetics using multiple species are a powerful approach to understand the physical geographic and oceanographic effects on genetic variation. Besides, species-specific ecological traits such as dispersal abilities and habitat specificity are important factors for spatial genetic structuring. We focused on the sister marine snail species Tegula kusairo and T. xanthostigma around the Japanese mainland, which have contrasting habitat specificities for wave strength. Tegula kusairo only inhabits sheltered coastal environments, while T. xanthostigma is found mainly on wave-exposed rocky shores facing the open sea. We estimated their genetic diversity indices and levels of population differentiation based on mtDNA. We found that the genetic diversity of T. kusairo was lower than that of T. xanthostigma, while their level of population genetic differentiation was higher than that of T. xanthostigma. Namely, the species specific to weak wave environments had a higher level of population genetic differentiation than the species specific to strong wave action. Ecological traits linked not only to dispersal abilities but also to habitat specificity can influence genetic variation in a pair of closely related sister species distributed in the same seascape.

Fukushima as Australia's nuclear heritage

Abstract. On 11 March 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and resultant tsunami caused a full meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant located on the island of Honshu, on the east coast of Japan. It took 4 weeks for the radionuclides to circumnavigate the Earth and descend into the Southern hemisphere. Although scholarly activity has continued apace in relation to different aspects of Fukushima as an event and site, very little of this work has examined the implications of Australian uranium being found inside several of Fukushima Daiichi's reactors at the time of the disaster. This paper explores Fukushima as a central, yet heretofore neglected, artefact of Australia's cultural and environmental heritage.

Multiple introductions of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.214 lineages from mainland Japan preceded the third wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Hokkaido

BackgroundThe third wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in the island of Hokkaido, the second largest island in Japan, began abruptly in October 2020. MethodsWe conducted a phylodynamic analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences obtained from tertiary medical centers in the Greater Tokyo Area and Sapporo, the largest city in the island of Hokkaido, and genome sequences published by GISAID, an international SARS-CoV-2 genome database. We also analyzed the statistics on the person-nights of travelers in the island of Hokkaido from the Greater Tokyo Area in 2019 versus 2020. ResultsAt least eight sub-lineages belonging to the B.1.1.214 lineage were introduced to the island of Hokkaido from the island of Honshu, the mainland of Japan from late July to November 2020, during the governmental travel promotion program. Five of the eight sub-lineages originated from the Greater Tokyo Area. Comparison of the monthly ratios of the person-nights of travelers in the island of Hokkaido from the Greater Tokyo Area in 2019 and 2020 revealed that the highest value occurred in October 2020. ConclusionWe contend that the Japanese governmental travel promotion program contributed to the introduction of the B.1.1.214 sub-lineages from the main island of Honshu to the island of Hokkaido, and drove the third wave in Hokkaido, even if we are unable to establish the causality.

Unique host effect of Tilia japonica on ectomycorrhizal fungal communities independent of the tree’s dominance: A rare example of a generalist host?

Trees of the genus Tilia (Malvaceae) are known to establish symbiosis with ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi, however, most of what is known about their EM relations is based on few European Tilia species, despite the highest diversity of the genus found in the Asian subcontinent. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report on EM fungal communities hosted by Tilia in Japan. Three study sites, on Hokkaido (H) where Tilia was a dominant forest component, Honshu (C) and Kyushu (K) islands where Tilia was extremely rare, were established. From each site 30 root samples of T. japonica were collected after tracing from the trunk, and additional 30 random soil core samples near the traced trees. EM root tips in the samples were subjected to molecular identification of EM fungal species and hosts. The study identified 30 EM fungal lineages (246 OTUs), with 28 lineages (164 OTUs) recorded from T. japonica EM communities. In sites H, C, and K, Tilia communities comprised of 19, 20, and 15 lineages, respectively. 127 EM fungal OTUs were never reported from Japan, and 69 OTUs had no previous records in the UNITE database. Contrarily, about 25% of the recorded OTUs have been exclusively reported from Japan. The observed EM richness hosted by T. japonica exceeded those of cooccurring EM trees as identified from the random soil samples and of other previously studied Tilia species. In each study site, T. japonica was found to exert a consistent “generalist” host effect on its EM fungal communities. About 36% of the EM fungal taxa found in random soil samples were also confirmed in T. japonica root samples, indicating a high connectance of Tilia in the local EM networks. The studied EM communities showed nested structure, with T. japonica as the main contributor to the local community nestedness.

Le Paléolithique supérieur dans l’ouest de l’île principale du Japon

The Kinki, Chugoku and Shikoku regions are located in the western part of the Japanese mainland. This area lacks the Pleistocene volcanic soil except a part of Chugoku Mountains. For this reason, the chronology of the late Paleolithic stone industries has been mainly studied by technology and typology of the fields excavated. However, after the late 1980s, the analysis of volcanic ash that contained the Paleolithic sediments had remarkable development. As a result, the cultural layer between the distant Paleolithic sites is compared by several widespread volcanic ashes such as Aira-Tanzawa (in short AT) as key bed. In this paper, we offered chronological order of the late Paleolithic culture in these regions by comparing cultural layers on the basis of the widespread volcanic ashes, referring to typological analysis of industries. The Sétoüchi technique and Ku industry characterize the late Paleolithic culture in these regions. The Sétoüchi technique is the unique one to produce the Ku type backed knife blunting on only one side, using the particular side-blow flaking technology based on physical characteristics of sanukite stone which is a kind of andesite. However, a hypothesis named the “Sétoüchi concept” was proposed in 2001, and it has been used as a substitute of the “Sétoüchi technique” by a few Japanese researchers. So we point out the mistake of the Sétoüchi concept relying on the fact which yielded stratigraphically two different industries in the Suncheon site.

Factors controlling dissolved 137Cs activities in coastal waters on the eastern and western sides of Honshu, Japan

The distributions of dissolved 137Cs in river, nearshore, and offshore waters on the east and west coasts of the Japanese island of Honshu were studied in 2018–2021, 7–10 years after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident. On the east side along the north western North Pacific (Fukushima Prefecture), estuarine processes, including desorption from riverine particles and dissolution into pore water from riverine particles that had settled to the seafloor, contributed to the maintenance of high dissolved 137Cs activities in nearshore and offshore waters. A survey and mass-balance calculation in a semi-enclosed estuarine area, the Matsukawa-ura, in the northern part of Fukushima, provided convincing evidence that rivers contributed to the influx of 137Cs to coastal waters. In contrast, the extremely low activities of dissolved and particulate 137Cs in the Tedori River of Ishikawa Prefecture on the western side of Japan along the Japan Sea suggested that inputs of riverine 137Cs made a negligible contribution to the increase of dissolved 137Cs activities in the nearshore and offshore waters. The relatively high dissolved 137Cs activities observed in the offshore waters of the Japan Sea were due to movement of FDNPP-derived 137Cs into the Japan Sea via the Tsushima Warm Current. Mechanisms controlling the distributions of 137Cs activities in coastal waters of the eastern and western sides of Japan therefore differ.

Time-Slip Journey to Jomon Period: A Case Study of Heritage Tourism in Aomori Prefecture, Japan

This study focuses on Aomori, a prefecture situated in the northern part of the Japanese main island Honshu. Riding on the popularity of time-slip-themed entertainment, Aomori began to brand itself as a place where people can experience a time-travel journey to the Jomon, the Japanese prehistoric era. Through this study, we investigated the practice of Aomori to incorporate fantasy in its heritage tourism. Mixed-method research was used to retrieve and analyze information about Aomori and its Jomon-themed time-slip tourism, including desk research and word frequency analysis. While selling fantasy in tourism is a not-so-new topic, the Aomori case shed light on the alternative strategy that regional areas can consider. The prefecture showed us the prospect to combine fantasy and the local culture to attract younger tourists and dedicated pop-culture fans to visit the local attractions. It also demonstrated the potential of thematic fantasy in heritage tourism, especially archaeotourism, often perceived as boring by the younger generation. Additionally, the Aomori case indicated the importance of tourism infrastructure, creative marketing, and innovation in heritage tourism. It further signifies the importance of speeding up digital transformation for the future of heritage tourism.

총력전과 바다 : 전시체제기 인천항 연안의 변용

To Imperial Japan, the sea was an integral part of its total war efforts. Being a state of islands itself, it was imperative for Japan to secure stable means of transportation to the Japanese mainland on the sea, in order to win the World War Ⅱ. Japan was also in need of resources that can be obtained from the sea, so the sea of colonized Korea was perceived and used as a network connecting Japan and China, as well as a pool of usable assets.<BR> Because it has been a region that served as a gateway to Seoul for a long time, development of Incheon and its coastal area began fairly early on, ever since the country was opened to the outer world. Yet its status started to buckle after 1904 when the Capital-Busan Railway service was initiated, and after the Korean sovereignty was lost to Imperial Japan, development of the Incheon region slowed down and fell behind other cities like Busan. Then, the breakout of the China-Japan war was perceived in the eyes of the concerned as an opportunity to restart Incheon’s arrested development. The importance of Incheon was newly evaluated, under the notion that the ‘Yellow Sea’ could connect China, the Korean peninsula and Japan as a “virtual lake.”<BR> Examined in this article is how the development of Incheon progressed under the ‘Making the Yellow Sea a lake’ since the beginning of the China-Japan war, and how the war itself served as a deterrent to such expected development. During wartime the necessity to develop the resourceful Gyeonggi Harbor did surface, but efforts to launch a plan to support that vision in a viable fashion eventually failed due to insufficient financial investments, which shows us that all propaganda for development shouted in the wake of Imperial Japan’s total war were nothing but empty slogans.

&lt;i&gt;Pictorials&lt;/i&gt; The processes of isolation of the Japanese main islands, and the history of the Tokai earthquake

&lt;i&gt;Pictorials&lt;/i&gt; The processes of isolation of the Japanese main islands, and the history of the Tokai earthquake

The processes of isolation of the Japanese main islands based on stratigraphic analysis of both molluscan and foraminiferal fossils, and the history of the Tokai earthquake

The processes of isolation of the Japanese main islands based on stratigraphic analysis of both molluscan and foraminiferal fossils, and the history of the Tokai earthquake

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES AND METHODS OF OVERCOMING THE 2011&#x0D; MAN-GENERAL DISASTER IN JAPAN

Annotation: the work is devoted to the study of the economic consequences of the earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011 off the eastern coast of the Japanese island of Honshu and the subsequent accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. The features of the disaster of 2011 and the specific economic problems that the country faced, as well as the methods by which the government resolved them were considered. They touched upon the attitude of mankind to nuclear energy in the context of such man-made disasters. The work is valuable both for considering both the economic and cultural features of the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Orbital-scale vegetation-ocean-atmosphere linkages in western Japan during the last 550 ka based on a pollen record from the IODP site U1427 in the Japan Sea

Climate and vegetation in Japan are strongly influenced by the East Asian Monsoon (EAM) and the ocean environment of the Japan Sea. This study discusses the findings from a new pollen record from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1427, situated off the northern coast of the Honshu Island in western Japan, which allows for direct comparisons with other oceanographic proxies from this area. Our findings demonstrate the orbital-scale vegetation changes in this area and their land-ocean-atmosphere linkages during the last 550 ka. During surface-water freshening events in the Japan Sea, likely associated with colder water temperatures caused by the very low eustatic sea levels and the consequent isolation from the surrounding seas during the full-glacial periods, cold-cool conifer forests became dominant under the extremely dry pseudo-continental conditions in the Japanese islands. In contrast, temperate broadleaf forests increased rapidly when the surface-freshening events ended and a weak inflow of warm water began at the onset of deglaciation, in addition to the rapid atmospheric climate warming during termination periods. During the intermediate periods between the full interglacial to the full-glacial, the Tp ratio (pollen temperature index) increased in association with the summer insolation maxima caused by the Earth's precession cycle that coincide with Chinese stalagmite negative δ18O peaks, whereas Cryptomeria pollen abundance (high-precipitation index) increased in association with the winter insolation maxima. Those orbital-scale vegetation fluctuations were attributed to the changes in seasonal temperature and precipitation patterns, where were influenced by the EAM changes that were associated with seasonal insolation changes around the Japanese archipelago. Cryptomeria forests likely developed under cool and wet conditions throughout a year with low seasonal contrasts, whereas deciduous broadleaf forests increased under condition of high seasonality with cool summers and colder, drier winters. Alternating fluctuations between the Tp ratio and Cryptomeria pollen abundance following the insolation changes were typically observed after MIS 9 and are thought to have been affected by the periodicity shift in the EAM fluctuations across the Mid-Brunhes Event.

A new species of Orobdella (Hirudinida, Arhynchobdellida, Orobdellidae) from the Tsukuba Mountains in Japan

A small-type quadrannulate leech species, Orobdella montipumila sp. nov., from the Tsukuba Mountains in central Honshu island, Japan, is described. Phylogenetic analyses using nuclear 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, histone H3, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, tRNACys, tRNAMet, 12S rRNA, tRNAVal, 16S rRNA, tRNALeu and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 markers revealed that O. montipumila formed a monophyletic lineage with seven congeners that include the small-type quadrannulate O. masaakikuroiwai Nakano, 2014, which is endemic to montane regions of central Honshu. However, the present phylogenies showed that O. montipumila and O. masaakikuroiwai are not sister species, which confirms that reduction of body length has arisen independently in Orobdella leeches indigenous to central Honshu.

Molecular phylogenetic assessment of Spirobranchus kraussii-complex (Annelida: Serpulidae) from the Japanese Archipelago.

Spirobranchus kraussii (Annelida: Serpulidae) was recognized as being widely distributed both in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. However, the sampling records far from its type locality (South Africa) have been questioned. Actually, recent molecular phylogenetic studies showed that S. kraussii contains genetically distinct species. In this study, we performed molecular phylogenetic analyses of S. cf. kraussii collected from Japan using the nucleotide sequences of a mitochondrial gene and two nuclear genes. Three lineages were recovered within Spirobranchus kraussii-complex in Japan, and one (Spirobranchus sp. 6) showed moderate genetic difference (approximately 4%) in the mitochondrial cytb gene sequence from Spirobranchus sp. 1, an undescribed sequenced species from Honshu Island, Japan. However, the nucleotide sequences of the 18S rRNA gene and ITS2 region were nearly indistinguishable. The other lineage was clearly distinct from the other previously sequenced species and is thus considered to be another distinct species of this species complex (Spirobranchus sp. 5). Although detailed morphological assessment of these lineages is necessary to define their taxonomic status, the present study provided further implications for the species diversity within the S. kraussii-complex.

New Insights Into Dietary Toxin Metabolism: Diversity in the Ability of the Natricine Snake Rhabdophis tigrinus to Convert Toad-Derived Bufadienolides.

The Japanese natricine snake Rhabdophis tigrinus sequesters cardiotonic steroids, bufadienolides (BDs), from ingested toads in the nuchal glands as defensive toxins. A previous study showed that R. tigrinus in captivity converts dietary BDs when it sequesters them. However, it is unknown whether the dietary BDs are actually converted and the modified products accumulated under natural conditions. It is also unknown to what extent the BD profile of ingested toads is reflected in that of the snake. We collected 123 snakes from throughout Japan, analyzed their BD profiles by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, and identified 15 BDs from R. tigrinus by nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. We also compared their BD profiles using hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). HCA exhibited two main clusters associated with their collection locations: eastern and western regions of the Japanese main islands. These results, coupled with previous findings on the BDs of Japanese toads, suggest that 1) R. tigrinus converts toad-derived BDs into other compounds under natural conditions; 2) there are both universal and regionally-specific conversions of dietary BDs by R. tigrinus; and 3) geographic variation in toad BD profiles is partially reflected in the variation of snake BD profiles.

Atmospheric response to the North Pacific hotspot in idealized simulations: Application to explosive and binary cyclogenesis

AbstractMarginal seas of the western North Pacific Ocean act as a hotspot in winter, warming the marine atmosphere. The atmospheric response to lower‐level (below 700 hPa altitude) heating localized around this hotspot was studied using an idealized general circulation model with an assumed triangular hotspot. As simulated in previous studies, localized atmospheric heating over the mid‐latitude hotspot enhances the westerly jet core, forming a stationary Rossby wave north of the core. This study found that the hotspot remotely influences the Rossby wave source (the sum of vortex stretching and vorticity advection caused by the divergent flow) and temperature deviations at upper levels (200–300 hPa). These results are qualitatively consistent with the winter climatology. The idealized experiment was applied to explosive and binary extratropical cyclones (pairs of surface cyclones located north and south of the main Japanese islands). The active area of transient eddies at lower levels splits into two in the hotspot, leading to regional explosive development and the formation of binary cyclones through an enhanced meridionally elongated trough. The hotspot is an essential factor driving the bifurcation of cyclone tracks into the southern and northern areas of Japan, leading to binary cyclones.

Long-term dynamics for stocks of sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria in the western Bering Sea and prospects for their fishery

Sablefish is an endemic species of the North Pacific. Its range extends from California Peninsula, along the Pacific coast of the US and Canada to Aleutian Islands and further, along the Pacific coast of Kamchatka and the Kuriles to the central part of Honshu Island. They dwell also in the Bering Sea and southeastern Okhotsk Sea. Sablefish are the most abundant in the southeastern Bering Sea and in the Gulf of Alaska, that is conditioned by favorable conditions for their larvae and juveniles. In the Asian part of the range, the environments are generally more severe, and reproduction of sablefish is rather risky. Following to the results of modern genetic studies, the sablefish stocks are distinguished by high genetic homogeneity that suggests a common population with the main spawning grounds in the southeastern Bering Sea, at the Pacific coasts of Aleutian Islands, in the Gulf of Alaska, and at the coasts of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California. Dynamics of the sablefish biomass is considered on the data of bottom and midwater trawl surveys conducted by TINRO in 2003–2020, fishery statistics, and accessible data of NOAA (USA). Sharp increasing of the biomass and annual catches is noted both in the eastern and western Bering Sea in the last few years because of appearance of several strong year-classes. Western Bering Sea stock depends on migration of recruits from the common spawning grounds in the southeastern Bering Sea. For the western Bering Sea, two main ways of such migration are possible: i) active migration of juveniles with benthic habitat; and ii) passive transfer of pelagic larvae and early juveniles across the Bering Sea through the system of surface currents. The latter mechanism supports the sablefish recruitment in the bays of the western Bering Sea and, to a lesser extent, at the eastern coast of Kamchatka. Sablefish in the West Bering Sea fishery zone were caught in 2010–2020 mostly as by-catch for trawling and longline fishery (93 %), other 7 % were landed by specialized longline fishery. The basic points for managing the sablefish fishery in the West Bering Sea zone are defined. About 400 t of sablefish is permissible to catch annually in the West Bering Sea fishery zone in conditions of modern high stock of this species. This value includes 100–120 t that will inevitably be caught as by-catch and the rest of 280–300 t is a foreseeable resource for organization of specialized fishery.

Distribution and Genetic Diversity of the Amphibian Chytrid in Japan.

While research on frog chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), an infectious disease that threatens amphibian diversity, continues to advance worldwide, little progress has been made in Japan since around 2010. The reason for this is, which we pointed out in 2009, that the origin of frog chytrid fungus may be in the East Asian region, including Japan based on the Bd ITS-DNA variation, and as few cases of mass mortality caused by this fungus have been observed in wild amphibian populations in Japan, the interest of the Japanese government and the general public in Bd has waned. However, we believe that organizing the data obtained so far in Japan and distributing the status of frog chytrid fungus in Japan to the world will provide useful insight for future risk management of this pathogen. We collected more than 5500 swab samples from wild amphibians throughout Japan from 2009 to 2010. Then, we investigated the infection status using the Nested-PCR method. We sequenced the obtained DNA samples and constructed a maximum-parsimony (MP) tree to clarify the phylogenetic diversity of Bd. We detected Bd infection in 11 (nine native and two alien) amphibian species in Japan and obtained 44 haplotypes of Bd ITS-DNA. The MP tree showed a high diversity of Bd strains in Japan, suggesting that some strains belong to Bd-GPL and Bd-Brazil. Except for local populations of the Japanese giant salamanders Andrias japonicus in Honshu Island and the sword tail newts Cynops ensicauda in Okinawa Island, the Bd infection prevalence in native amphibian species was very low. The alien bullfrog Aquarana catesbeiana had high Bd infection rates in all areas where they were sampled. No Bd infection was detected in other native amphibians in the areas where giant salamanders, sword tail newts, and bullfrogs were collected, suggesting that many native amphibians are resistant to Bd infection. The sword tail newt of Okinawa Island had both the highest infectious incidence and greatest number of haplotypes. The giant salamanders also showed relatively high infection prevalence, but the infected strains were limited to those specific to this species. These two Caudata species are endemic to a limited area of Japan, and it was thought that they may have been refugia for Bd, which had been distributed in Japan Islands for a long time.