Published on June 11, 2011

Upon receiving recommendations from the Editorial Board of ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE and conducting deliberations, the Board of Directors of the Zoological Society of Japan has decided to present the ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE Award 2011 to the following eight papers. Since these eight papers are simultaneously recipients of the "Fujii Award," 40,000 yen per paper will also be presented this year.

The Zoological Society of Japan Secretariat

ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE Award 2011
(In order of appearance)

ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 27: 91-95
Tom Humphreys, Akane Sasaki, Gene Uenishi, Kekoa Taparra, Asuka Arimoto and Kuni Tagawa
Regeneration in the Hemichordate Ptychodera flava
This paper describing the regeneration process of the hemichordate Ptychodera flava will continue to be cited for a long time as a fundamental research resource for studying hemichordate regeneration and development. With the future publication of hemichordate genomic analysis data and the development of research tools such as cDNA clones, it is expected that the regeneration process described in this paper will serve as a valuable resource not only for understanding its evolutionary aspects, but also for comprehending the very principles of biological regeneration.

ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 27: 279-284
Daisuke Takao and Shinji Kamimura
Single-Cell Electroporation of Fluorescent Probes into Sea Urchin Sperm Cells and Subsequent FRAP Analysis
An axoneme, which is a microtubule cytoskeleton, runs through the center of the sperm flagellum. ATP, the energy source for movement, is synthesized in the mitochondria located at the base of the flagellum, but how ATP diffuses to the tip of the long flagellum and supplies energy has been unknown. This paper developed electroporation to introduce fluorescent dyes into sperm and used that system to determine diffusion constants within the sperm flagellum by FRAP. This paper is highly regarded not only for the insights gained regarding the physicochemical properties of the cytoplasm between the flagellar axoneme and the cell membrane, but also for establishing a system to introduce substances into the flagellum. Cell models using detergents are frequently used in the study of flagellar movement. By further improving the method developed by the authors, it has become possible to perform more physiological analyses using living sperm.

ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 27: 427-432
Hideki Endo, Daisuke Koyabu, Junpei Kimura, Felix Rakotondraparany, Atsushi Matsui, Takahiro Yonezawa, Akio Shinohara and Masami Hasegawa
A Quill Vibrating Mechanism for a Sounding Apparatus in the Streaked Tenrec (Hemicentetes semispinosus)
A species of tenrec, Hemicentetes semispinosus, vibrates specialized quills on its back to use them as an acoustic communication device. Regarding this unique sound-production system, the authors conducted a detailed morphological analysis and concluded that the apparatus for moving the quills is a modified form of the cutaneous trunkis muscle, naming it the quill vibrator disc. This peculiar sound-production system is of great zoological interest, and the research attitude that explores such phenomena is highly commendable.

ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 27: 559-564
Eiji Motohashi, Takeshi Yoshihara, Hiroyuki Doi and Hironori Ando
Aggregating Behavior of the Grass Puffer, Takifugu niphobles, Observed in Aquarium During the Spawning Period
A paper that successfully reproduced in an aquarium the spawning rhythm of grass puffers, which gather on the coast and spawn on spring tide days. By combining behavioral analysis in this aquarium with field observations, the study elucidated that spawning is driven by an endogenous circalunar rhythm. It presents a useful experimental system for analyzing the circalunar clock, which has remained largely unknown.

ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 27: 673-677
Tomonari Kaji
Ontogeny and Function of the Fifth Limb in Cypridocopain Ostracods
In arthropods, the morphology of their appendages changes with each molt. Depending on the species, their functions may also change accordingly. In this study, focusing on the morphology of the legs during the metamorphic stage in Ostracods, we analyzed the morphology of the exoskeleton and muscles of the fifth appendage. As a result, we concluded that leg changes in females are mainly due to cell proliferation of the exoskeleton, whereas in males, both the exoskeleton and muscles are involved in the morphological changes. This is an extremely original and ambitious study that tackles the unique theme of changes in the morphology and function of arthropod appendages.

ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 27: 723-728
Sumire Hojito, Norio Kobayashi and Haruo Katakura
Population Structure of Aegialites Beetles (Coleoptera, Salpingidae) on the Coasts of Hokkaido, Northern Japan
This is a painstaking work of molecular phylogeography using beetles known as rocky-shore beetles, which inhabit only crevices in coastal rocks, as material. Based on detailed distribution surveys and population genetic analyses of this species, which was previously known only fragmentarily from northern Japan, it reveals that two genetically distinct populations inhabit the coasts of Hokkaido, and further discusses taxonomic considerations and scenarios for the formation of its distribution patterns from the Pliocene and Pleistocene to the present.

ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 27: 842-850
Naoyuki Ohta, Takeo Horie, Nori Satoh and Yasunori Sasakura
Transposon-Mediated Enhancer Detection Reveals the Location, Morphology and Development of the Cupular Organs, which are Putative Hydrodynamic Sensors, in the Ascidian Ciona intestinalis
This is a detailed research paper describing the developmental process and adult structure of the cupular organs in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis using enhancer trap lines. The cupular organ of urochordates is a mechanoreceptor that senses water pressure, providing crucial insights for discussing its homology with the lateral line system of vertebrates. While much of the research using ascidians focuses on embryogenesis from early development to organogenesis, this paper is also of great interest as a description of the adult ascidian phenotype. As our understanding of the evolution of the chordate sensory system advances in the future, the importance of this paper will only continue to grow.

ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 27: 888-894
Yuji Ise and Jean Vacelet
New Carnivorous Sponges of the Genus Abyssocladia (Demospongiae, Poecilosclerida, Cladorhizidae) from Myojin Knoll, Izu-Ogasawara Arc, Southern Japan
This paper describes two new species of carnivorous sponges belonging to the genus Chondrocladia, discovered from the seafloor at a depth of approximately 870 meters off the Ogasawara Islands, based on detailed electron microscopic observation of their spicules. The morphological data of the living specimens in their habitat are valuable data that could only be obtained using an unmanned submersible. It can be said to be an important study that contributes to elucidating the biodiversity of benthic organisms in oligotrophic rocky deep-sea floors, a habitat that has rarely received attention in the past.