The Program of Bioresource Science provides educational and research activities with animal & plant sciences and fisheries & oceanographic sciences as the core, which are academic disciplines that were recognized as having competitive advantages and distinctive features when Hiroshima University redefined the missions of its graduate schools. The biological resources of farm animals, plants and aquatic organisms are important food sources for human life. To keep sustainable yields of biological resources, it is required to preserve biodiversity in the biosphere and achieve harmony with nature.

This Program provides educational and research activities concerning the development of functions of terrestrial and aquatic animals and plants, which serve as food resources, the elucidation of production mechanisms, and the development of advanced technology, with the aim of fostering human resources who can play an active role in increasing the production of and securing a stable supply of food resources superior in quality and safety, and in promoting the application of biological resources to protect the natural environment and enrich people’s lives.

The development and production of useful functions of biological resources require a diverse knowledge of basic and applied life science – from molecular science to ecosystem science. To ensure the sustainable survival of biological resources and improve their productivity, moreover, students are also required to understand the reciprocal relationships between groups of terrestrial and aquatic biological resources.

In Hiroshima University’s Graduate School of Biosphere Science, two separate courses for animal science and aquatic biology had been provided under one department, and the area of plant production science had been dealt with by another department. Now, these three science courses came to be integrated into one program (Program of Bioresource Science) as the result of the reorganization of Hiroshima University graduate schools. Under a single comprehensive framework, the Program is committed to further enhancing educational and research activities on the conservation and production of biological resources, from a holistic perspective of the biosphere.