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I have been engaged in research pertaining to fishes, particularly the cichlid family, with a specific focus on their behavioral patterns and the evolutionary aspects of their life history. The cichlid family, a relatively smaller group of fish, can be found in South America, Africa, and Asia, and is an intriguing taxonomic unit characterized by its vast array of morphologies and ecological adaptations. In particular, my current endeavor involves conducting diving studies on the social system and behaviors of cichlid fishes residing in Lake Tanganyika, an ancient lake formed within the African continental rift valley.

Throughout my tenure at the Hakubi Project, my objective is to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the social intelligence and cooperative behaviors exhibited by Tanganyika cichlid fishes. This will primarily be achieved through the examination of the social brain hypothesis, which posits that intelligence has evolved as an adaptation to complex social structures. By combining methodologies from neuroscience, molecular biology, and comparative cognitive science with behavioral research paradigms, I aim to shed new light on vertebrate sociality and the evolutionary trajectory of social intelligence.