Ming-Shiou Jeng, a marine ecologist at Research Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, will be one of the two recipients of an international ecology prize awarded in honor of the biggest and the most important freshwater lake in Japan, announced by the Shiga Prefectural Government, the awarding organization, on May 2, 2007. He is the second Taiwanese ecologist honored with this award.

The Shiga Prefectural Government in Japan will present Jeng and a Japanese awardee with the Biwako Prize for Ecology in a ceremony to take place in Otsu City, on July 1. The prize includes a certificate of merit and prize money of 5,000,000 Japanese Yen.

A steering committee representing senior scientists of the international ecology community and the well-respected in Japanese society chose Jeng for the award, citing a 30-year career of ecological research on marine crustaceans around Taiwan, and recent effort and success in promoting conservation of marine biodiversity and establishment of the marine protected areas (MPAs) of Taiwan.

As a member of the Research Center for Biodiversity in Academia Sinica, Jeng has focused his research on marine decapod crustacean of Taiwan over the course of an 18-year career at Academia Sinica. In ecological survey and investigation on various marine habitats off the coast of Taiwan, he documented the systematics and ecology of more than 120 snapping shrimp species of Taiwan. The research of his lab covers different areas of marine invertebrates in this region. Collaboration with international research institutes also promotes the rich biodiversity in Taiwan to the world.

His famous works about the feeding behavior of shallow water hydrothermal vent crabs off Kuei-San Island, which was published on the Nature in 2004, made the world eyes wide open. That ap 15500 article indicated that, the toxic sulfur spew from the vents kills the passer-by planktons, which became the feast of the enormous number of vent crabs swarming out of hides and crevices near the vent tunnels during slack tides. The seawater there is highly acidic and toxic, but those crabs thrive there and form populations of high densities. The newly found ecosystem will certainly stimulate related researches, such as physiological adaptation of life in extreme environments.

To protect and conserve the marine ecosystems around Taiwan, Jeng has persuaded the governments and local communities to establish marine protection areas and to ban harvesting activities in these areas. Inspired by the successful experiences of conserving marine ecological resources in Malaysia and Indonesia, he has promoted the birth of Tungsha Marine National Park, and two MPAs in Green Island and Hopihu within Kenting National Park guarded by local volunteer rangers.

【About Ming-Shiou Jeng】

Year of Birth: 1957

Dr. Jeng received his PhD degree from the Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University. He is currently a Research Fellow at Research Center for Biodiversity, where he works since 1989. He has served as the President of the Taiwanese Coral Reef Society and Penghu Zooxanthellae Association.