5. Haruna Okabe
Okinawa Churashima Foundation RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Research on marine organisms

Research staff profile

Haruna Okabe

Haruna Okabe

(Chief Research Scientist)

Area of
expertise		 Cetacean Ecology
Research
content		 Life history and behavioral science on cetacean.
Research on cetacean fauna
Management of zoological collection

Background

  • 2014-present: Research Scientist at Okinawa Churashima Foundation Research Institute
  • 2002: Diploma (Postsecondary Course(Culture and General Education)) in Fukuoka Communication Arts College, Japan.

Research papers, publications

  • Marwood M, Eichenberger F, Kobayashi N, Okabe H, Ozawa S, Rendell L, Garland E (2025). Humpback whale song complexity and evolution on a northwestern Pacific breeding ground: Okinawa, Japan. Royal Society Open Science 12(2): 241388.
  • Cheeseman T, Barlow J, Acebes JM, Audley K, Bejder L, Birdsall C,...Kobayashi N, Lammers M, Lyman E, …Okabe H,…Clapham P. (2024). Bellwethers of change: population modelling of North Pacific humpback whales from 2002 through 2021 reveals shift from recovery to climate response. Royal Society Open Science, 11(2), 231462.
  • Okabe H, Mitani Y, Saino S, Sugita C, Furumaki S, Ozawa S, Kobayashi N. (2024). The resightings of a same individual of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in different years off Rausu, Hokkaido, Japan. Mammalian Science.
  • Cheeseman T, Southerland K, Acebes JM, Audley K, Barlow J, Bejder L, Birdsall C, Bradford A,…Kobayashi N, Lyman E, Malleson M,…Okabe H,…Clapham P. (2023). A collaborative and comprehensive photo-ID dataset. Scientific reports, 13(1), 10237.
  • Stephanie S, Kobayashi N, Okabe H, Ozawa S. Studying the behavioral impacts of commercial whale watch and swim-with-whale tours on humpback whales in Okinawa, Japan. IWC scientific committee report, SC/69A/WW/04
  • Kobayashi N, Kondo S, Tsujii K, Oki K, Hida M, Okabe H, Yoshikawa T, Ogawa R, Lee C, Higashi N, Okamoto R, Ozawa S, Uchida S, Mitani Y. (2022) Interchanges and movements of humpback whales in Japanese waters: Okinawa, Ogasawara, Amami, and Hokkaido, using an automated matching system. PLoS ONE 17(11): e0277761.
  • Yoshikawa T, Hida M, Lee C, Okabe H, Kobayashi N, Ozawa S, Saito H, Kan M, Date S, Shimojo S. 2021. Identification of over one thousand individual wild humpback whales using fluke photos. Proceedings of the 17th International Joint Conference on Computer Vision, Imaging and Computer Graphics Theory and Applications. 4: ISBN 978-989-758-555-5, ISSN 2184-4321, 957-967.
  • Kobayashi N, Okabe H, Higashi N, Miyahara H, Uchida S. 2021. Diel patterns in singing activity of humpback whales in a winter breeding area in Okinawa (Ryukyuan) waters. Marine Mammal Science. 2021: 1-11.
  • Kobayashi N, Ozawa S, Hanahara N, Tokutake K, Kaneshi T, Inoue K, Okabe H, Miyamoto K, Ueda K. 2021. The first record of a Longman’s beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus) newborn neonate found on Miyako Island, Okinawa, Japan. Marine Biodiversity Records. 14:4.
  • Kobayashi N, Tokutake K, Yoshida H, Okabe H, Miyamoto K, Ito H, Kawazu I, Ueda K. 2021. The First Stranding Record of Longman’s Beaked Whale (Indopacetus pacificus) in Okinawa, Japan. Aquatic Mammals. 47(2): 153-174.
  • Acebes J. M. V, Okabe H, Kobayashi N, Nakagun S, Sakamoto T, Hirney B, Higashi N, Uchida S. 2021. Interchange and movements of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) between western North Pacific winter breeding grounds in northern Luzon, Philippines and Okinawa, Japan. Journal of cetacean research and management. 22(1): 39-53.
  • Mitani Y, Kobayashi N, Okabe H. 2020. The North-South migration of humpback whales: Photo-identification match of an individual from the Pacific coast of eastern Hokkaido and breeding areas in Okinawa. Mammalian Science. 60(2): 170.
  • Hill M. C, Bradford A. L, Steele D, Baker C. S, Ligon A. D, Acebes J. M. V, Filatova O. A, Hakala S, Kobayashi N, Morimoto Y, Okabe H, Okamoto R, Rivers J, Sato T, Titova O. V, Uyeyama R. K, Oleson E. M. 2020. Found: a missing breeding ground for endangered western North Pacific humpback whales in the Mariana Archipelago. Endangered Species Research. 41: 91-103.
  • Okabe H, Kobayashi N, Higashi N, Tokutake K, Miyahara H, Uchida S. 2019. Strandings and bycatches of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) between 1996 and 2018 around Okinawa Island, Japan. Fauna Ryukyuana. 49: 13-22.
  • Kawazu I, Fukada S, Okabe H, Maeda K, Kino M, Maeda K, Miyamoto K, Omata M, Kobuchi T, Makabe M. 2019. Comparison of the emergence success between wild and captive loggerhead turtles. Umigame Newsletter of Japan 108: 2–5. (in Japanese with English abstract)
  • Kawazu I, Okabe H, Kobayashi N. 2019. Observation of a Loggerhead Turtle with a Shark Bite Injury. Umigame Newsletter of Japan 108: 6–7. (in Japanese with English abstract)
  • Titova O. V, Filatova O. A, Fedutin I. D, Ovsyanikova E. N, Okabe H, Kobayashi N, Acebes J. M. V, Burdin A. M, Hoyt E. 2018. Photo-identification matches of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from feeding areas in Russian Far East seas and breeding grounds in the North Pacific. Marine Mammal Science. 34: 100-112.
  • Kawazu I, Okabe H, Kobayashi N. 2017. Direct observation of mating behavior between one female and two male loggerhead turtles in the wild. Current Herpetology 35: 69–72.
  • Kobayashi N, Okabe H, Kawazu I, Higashi N, Kato K, Miyahara H, Nakamura G, Kato H, Uchida S. 2017. Distribution and local movement of humpback whales in Okinawan waters depend on their sex and reproductive status. Zoological Science 34: 58–63.
  • Funasaka N, Okabe H, Oki K, Tokutake K, Kawazu I, Yoshioka M. 2016. The occurrence and individual identification study of indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins Tursiops aduncus in the waters around Amami Oshima Island, Southern Japan: a preliminary report. Mammal Study　41: 163–169.
  • Kobayashi N, Okabe H, Kawazu I, Higashi N, Miyahara H, Kato H, Uchida S. 2016. Peak mating and breeding period of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Okinawa Island Region in Japan. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 6: 169–179.
  • Kobayashi N, Okabe H, Kawazu I, Higashi N, Miyahara H, Kato H, Uchida S. 2016. Spatial distribution and habitat use patterns of humpback whales in Okinawa, Japan. Mammal Study 41: 207–214.
  • Nakashima T, Kobayashi N, Yamada H, Katsumata T, Yoshida R, Kato H, Okabe H, Kawazu I, Yanase Y, Omine M, Terada M, Sugioka H, Kyo M. 2015. Repellence Effect of the New Sound for Underwater Speaker of Hydrofoil. TransNav, the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation 9: 207–211.
  • Kawazu I, Okabe H. 2014. Mating Season of Loggerhead Turtles in Western Waters of Okinawa Island. Umigame Newsletter of Japan 100: 2–7. (in Japanese with English abstract)

Grants and Awards

  • 2021: Prize of Award for Excellence (Innovation Category) at Okinawan area Conference of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2021 on “Stranded sperm whale at Naha Airport -The process of decomposition and disposal of a whale carcass-.”
  • 2017: Prize of Best Paper Award of Mammal study on “Spatial distribution and habitat use patterns of humpback whales in Okinawa, Japan.”

Affiliated academic society

  • The Mammal Society of Japan

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