My research was entitled "Environmental factors influencing differences in dung beetle fauna". Dung beetles are insects in the superfamily Dictyoptera that use animal dung as food. One of the most famous dung beetles is the dung beetle, which is found in Europe and Africa. They are also found throughout Japan, with a variety of species appearing throughout the year. However, their thick forelimbs, which allow them to burrow into the soil and feces, are massive, and their stocky shape and slow movements are very attractive.

Dung beetles are highly sensitive to dung. They are therefore closely related to human society, having been introduced in some cases as a countermeasure to dung pollution caused by livestock farming. However, in recent years, the diversity of dung beetle species in Japan has been diminishing and needs to be conserved. For this reason, we focused on dung beetles as the theme of our research.

The survey was carried out at the Ishikura-yama pasture in Shichinohe. The pasture is rich in nature, with clean air and a beautiful view of Mount Hakkouda from the pasture. With the help of my lab mates, I enjoyed the field research, but was disappointed that the weather was not good enough to produce much data. As this was my first research topic, I sometimes had difficulties in understanding the research methods and how to proceed with the research. I was also not very good at communicating my ideas in a simple way, and often lacked the words to explain my findings and thoughts accurately.

My thesis research has given me a lot of experience. I learned the importance of teamwork by working together with my labmates. I also learnt how to prepare materials and the importance of meetings, and through seminars I got used to giving presentations and developed a logical way of thinking. There were times when it was difficult and painful, but I was able to overcome these difficulties thanks to the teachers who guided me and my colleagues in the laboratory who supported me. With this enriching experience in mind, I would like to work even harder after entering the workforce.