This book reviews and summarizes the studies on the fish diversity of Japan. It covers the present knowledge of ichthyofauna, habitat distribution, phylogeography, ecology, morphology, and conservation, as well as the history of ichthyology and fish collections in Japan. The book comprises five parts: I. Fish Diversity and Ichthyology of Japan, II. Habitat Distribution and Species Diversity, III. Diversity within Species: Phylogeographic Perspective on Japanese Fishes, IV. Morphological and Ecological Diversifications, and V. Conservation of Fish Diversity in Japan. The Japanese Archipelago is surrounded by two major warm and one cold currents. It is located in the western North Pacific and encompasses several climatic regimes from north to south. Although the land area of Japan is small, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Japan ranks as the sixth largest in the world, including several marginal seas (Sea of Okhotsk, Sea of Japan, and East China Sea), and deep trenches (Izu-Ogasawara, Japan, and Kurile Trenches). Owing to a variety of marine habitats and a complex geological history, Japan has a rich fish species diversity, representing over 4,500 species in 370 families. The richness of fish species diversity has attracted many scientists since the late 1700s, and continuous studies have led to the development of ichthyology in Japan. With chapters written by leading experts in the field, the book will provide a stimulating and reliable resource for future research and contribute to the progress of ichthyology of the world.

This volume is a collection of papers assembled to honor Hiroya Kawanabe, an eminent Japanese ecologist who studied fishes and other organisms. Kawanabe retired from his position as Professor at Kyoto University in March 1996. In the first section of the volume his career is highlighted by a biography describing his life and work, a bibliography of his more than 750 lifetime publications, and a personal interview with a colleague who has been close to his work throughout his career. Papers in the second section of the volume include invited reviews of research on fish ecology in Japan, a historical overview of freshwater fishes of Japan, and recent studies on sex change among reef fishes. The 24 papers in the third section of the volume by Japanese fish biologists and their collaborators cover a wide variety of topics on fish biology. These include papers on evolution, genetics, systematics, reproductive biology, early life history, life history variation, behavior, physiology, ecology, and zoogeography. These papers address fishes from lentic, lotic, and marine ecosystems in Japan, Asia, Africa, North America, and in some cases worldwide. One of Hiroya Kawanabe's most brilliant and lasting contributions was to foster collaboration between Japanese ecologists and other scientists.