biology

Masaaki Morisita

Masaaki Morisita is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Masaaki Morisita rather than just read about it. In short: Masaaki Morisita (森下正明光) (27 January 1913 - 25 February 1997) was a Japanese ecologist and professor emeritus of animal ecology at Kyoto University. He is known as the father of population ecology in Japan.

Key takeaways

Masaaki Morisita belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Masaaki Morisita to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Masaaki Morisita from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Masaaki Morisita (森下正明光) (27 January 1913 - 25 February 1997) was a Japanese ecologist and professor emeritus of animal ecology at Kyoto University. He is known as the father of population ecology in Japan. Morisita's overlap index and Morisita's index of dispersion are named after him. In addition to his work on statistical ecology, he also studied the natural history of Japanese ants. With several other myrmecologists, he produced a complete catalogue of ants in Japan. Three species of ants are named after him (Pyramica morisitai, Proceratium morisitai , and Lasius morisitai).

Biography Morisita was born in Osaka and spent his high school years in Kōchi. He obtained a bachelor's of agriculture at Kyoto University in 1932, and later a doctorate of science in 1950. He studied the water strider Gerris lacustris as part of his graduate studies. After graduating, he worked as a professor in the department of biology at Kyushu University. He later became a professor in the zoology department of Kyoto University. In 1976, he retired and was named professor emeritus. He published the book Studies on Methods of Estimating Population Density, Biomass, and Productivity in Terrestrial Animals in 1977. He was awarded the Zoological Society of Japan Award in 1964, and the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd Class in 1986. After his death, the Morisita Memorial & Research Foundation was named in his honor.

Name Like many academics from Kyoto University, Morisita had a preference for the spelling of his name in foreign language papers, writing it as "Morisita" using Kunrei-shiki romanization, rather than the English-based Hepburn romanization "Morishita".

References

External links Morisita Masaaki Research Memorial Museum archives (in Japanese)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Masaaki Morisita

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Masaaki Morisita claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Masaaki Morisita before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Masaaki Morisita ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Masaaki Morisita

In research: Masaaki Morisita appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Masaaki Morisita in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Masaaki Morisita is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1913 births, 1997 deaths, Ecologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Masaaki Morisita outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Masaaki Morisita in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Masaaki Morisita means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Masaaki Morisita out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Masaaki Morisita in simple terms?

Why does Masaaki Morisita matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Masaaki Morisita?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Masaaki Morisita.