Basic Information

Faculty

• Faculty of Agriculture

Email Address

• Email Address

  ryu.heungjin.3dkyoto-u.ac.jp

Professional Memberships

• THE MAMMAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN
• Animal Behavior Society

Academic Degree

• 25 Mar. 2013

  Master of Science, Kyoto University
• 23 May 2017

  Doctor of Science, Kyoto University

Academic Resume (Graduate Schools)

• Kyoto University, Graduate School of Science, Doctoral Program, Division of Biological Sciences, Withdrawal with Research Guidance Approval
• Kyoto University, Graduate School of Science, Master’s Program, Division of Biological Sciences, Completed

Academic Resume (Undergraduate School/Majors)

• University of Seoul, School of Urban Science,Major:Architecture, Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture, 退学
• University of Seoul, School of Natural Science,Major:Life Science, 卒業

High School

• High School

  Jeonnam Science High School

Research History

• From Dec. 2025, To Present

  Kyoto University, Graduate School of Informatics Department of Socisl Informatics, Assistant Professor
• From May 2025, To Nov. 2025

  Kyoto University, Graduate School of Informatics Department of Socisl Informatics, Part-time Researcher, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor
• From Nov. 2022, To Oct. 2024

  Kyoto University, Graduate School of Informatics, JSPS International Postdoctoral Fellow
• From May 2020, To Aug. 2022

  Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea, Postdoctoral Researcher

Language of Instruction

• Korean
• English
• Japanese

ID,URL

• ORCID ID

  0000-0003-1048-9519

• J-Global ID

  201901017126777596

• Researcher number

  80844670

researchmap URL

• https://researchmap.jp/ryuhzin

Research

Research Topics, Overview of the research

• Research Topics

  I study how animals adjust their behaviour to changing social and physical environments, using behavioural observation, bioacoustics, and long-term field data.

• Overview of the research

  I study how animals behave in response to changing social and physical environments. My research on wild bonobos examines variation in social and sexual behavior in relation to the social environment, while my work on urban bats in Kyoto uses bioacoustics to investigate behavioral responses to temperature, urbanization, and habitat variation. In the Congo Basin rainforest, I use acoustic monitoring and deep learning-based automated gunshot detection to assess human disturbance and its relationship with biodiversity. By integrating behavioral observations, bioacoustics, and long-term field monitoring across these systems, I aim to understand how animals respond to environmental variation and, ultimately, how their behavior contributes to adaptation and population persistence.

Research Interests

• endocrinology
• reproductive physiology
• mating systems
• bats
• primates

Research Areas

• Life sciences, Ecology and environmental science
• Life sciences, Laboratory animal science
• Life sciences, Zoological sciences
• Life sciences, Physical anthropology
• Life sciences, Animals: biochemistry, physiology, behavioral science

Papers

• Male bonobo mating strategies target female fertile windows despite noisy ovulatory signals during sexual swelling

  Heungjin Ryu; Chie Hashimoto; David A. Hill; Keiko Mouri; Keiko Shimizu; Takeshi Furuichi

  PLOS Biology, 09 Dec. 2025

  
• Unlocking Multimodal Nonlinear Microscopy for Deep-Tissue Imaging under Continuous-Wave Excitation with Tunable Upconverting Nanoparticles

  Kim, J.; Lee, S.; Jeong, Y.; Kim, K.; Nam, K.; Jin, H.; Choi, Y.; Kim, H.-J.; Ryu, H.; Kim, K.H.; Kim, J.-I.; Park, J.; Joo, J.; Park, J.-H.

  Advanced Materials, 2025

  
• The sperm hook as a functional adaptation for migration and self-organized behavior

  Heungjin Ryu

  eLife, 22 Nov. 2024

  
• Nonlinear optical response of upconverting nanoparticles and its versatile applications with inherent three-dimensional capabilities: from microscopy to therapy

  Jeongmo Kim; Seunghun Lee; Chaiheon Lee; Yundon Jeong; Kyunghwan Kim; Kibum Nam; Hyungwon Jin; Yuha Choi; Hyun-Jin Kim; Heungjin Ryu; Jae-Ick Kim; Jongnam Park; Tae-Hyuk Kwon; Jinmyoung Joo; Jung-Hoon Park

  SPIE Advanced Biophotonics Conference (SPIE ABC 2023), 26 Feb. 2024

  
• Increased urinary creatinine during hibernation and day roosting in the Eastern bent-winged bat (Miniopterus fuliginosus) in Korea

  Heungjin Ryu; Kodzue Kinoshita; Sungbae Joo; Yu-Seong Choi; Sun-Sook Kim

  Communications Biology, 05 Jan. 2024

  
• Social Relationships in Female Bonobos

  Heungjin Ryu

  Bonobos and People at Wamba: 50 Years of Research, Jan. 2024, Peer-reviewed, Invited

  
• Continuous-wave nonlinear microscopy using rare-earth doped upconverting nanoparticles

  Jeongmo Kim; Seunghun Lee; Yundon Jeong; Kyunghwan Kim; Kibum Nam; Heungjin Ryu; Jinmyoung Joo; Jung-Hoon Park

  2022 IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC), Nov. 2022

  
• Do female bonobos (Pan paniscus) disperse at the onset of puberty? Hormonal and behavioral changes related to their dispersal timing

  Kazuya Toda; Keiko Mouri; Heungjin Ryu; Tetsuya Sakamaki; Nahoko Tokuyama; Takumasa Yokoyama; Shohei Shibata; Marie-Laure Poiret; Keiko Shimizu; Chie Hashimoto; Takeshi Furuichi

  Hormones and Behavior, Jun. 2022

  
• The effects of visitors and social isolation from peer on the behavior of a mixed-species pair of captive gibbons

  Saein Lee; Heungjin Ryu; Yoonjung Yi; Seon-a Jang; Haeun Gye; Ahyun Choi; Haeun Cho; Bae-keun Lee; Jae C. Choe

  04 May 2022, Peer-reviewed, Lead author

  
• Sexual swelling in bonobos: variations, ovulation predictability, and male responses

  Heungjin Ryu; Chie Hashimoto; David A. Hill; Keiko Mouri; Keiko Shimizu; Takeshi Furuichi

  14 Mar. 2022

  
• Physical, behavioral, and hormonal changes in the resumption of sexual receptivity during postpartum infertility in female bonobos at Wamba

  Chie Hashimoto; Heungjin Ryu; Keiko Mouri; Keiko Shimizu; Tetsuya Sakamaki; Takeshi Furuichi

  Primates, 10 Feb. 2022

  
• Urinary creatinine varies with microenvironment and sex in hibernating Greater Horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) in Korea

  Ryu, H.; Kinoshita, K.; Joo, S.; Kim, S.-S.

  BMC Ecology and Evolution, Dec. 2021

  
• The complete mitochondrial genome of the far Eastern myotis: Myotis bombinus Thomas, 1906 in mainland of Korea (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae)

  Byeori Kim; Yoonhyuk Bae; Jungmo Lee; Jongsun Park; Yu-Seong Choi; Heungjin Ryu; Sun-Sook Kim

  Mitochondrial DNA Part B, 01 Feb. 2021

  
• Age and sex differences in juvenile bonobos in party associations with their mothers at Wamba

  Kazuya Toda; Heungjin Ryu; Takeshi Furuichi

  Primates, Jan. 2021

  
• Occurrence and transmission of flu-like illness among neighboring bonobo groups at Wamba

  Heungjin Ryu; David A. Hill; Tetsuya Sakamaki; Cintia Garai; Nahoko Tokuyama; Takeshi Furuichi

  Primates, 19 Jun. 2020

  
• Increased Frequency of Intergroup Encounters in Wild Bonobos (Pan paniscus) Around the Yearly Peak in Fruit Abundance at Wamba

  Sakamaki Tetsuya; Ryu Heungjin; Toda Kazuya; Tokuyama Nahoko; Furuichi Takeshi

  INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Aug. 2018, Peer-reviewed

  
• A female bonobo sleeping on the ground after daytime birth and its implications

  Heungjin Ryu

  Pan Africa News, 01 Dec. 2017, Peer-reviewed, Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author

  
• Long-sightedness in old wild bonobos during grooming

  Heungjin Ryu; Kirsty E. Graham; Tetsuya Sakamaki; Takeshi Furuichi

  CURRENT BIOLOGY, Nov. 2016, Peer-reviewed

  
• Kin structure of wild male bonobos in Wamba

  ISHIZUKA Shintaro; KAWAMOTO Yoshi; SAKAMAKI Tetsuya; TOKUYAMA Nahoko; RYU Heungjin; TODA Kazuya; FURUICHI Takeshi

  Primate Research Supplement, 2016

  
• Female reproductive monitoring and miscarriage in wild bonobos ant Wamba, Democratic Republic of Congo and chimpanzees in Kalinzu Forest, Uganda

  HASHIMOTO Chie; RYU Heungjin; MOURI Keiko; SHIMIZU Keiko; FURUICHI Takeshi

  Primate Research Supplement, 2016

  
• An infant bonobo mimicked a handicapped motor action of a disabled individual at Wamba in the Luo Scientific Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo

  Toda K; Ryu H; Hayashi M; Furuichi T

  Pan Africa News, 2016, Peer-reviewed

  
• Intergroup Transfer of Females and Social Relationships Between Immigrants and Residents in Bonobo (Pan paniscus) Societies

  Tetsuya Sakamaki; Isabel Behncke; Marion Laporte; Mbangi Mulavwa; Heungjin Ryu; Hiroyuki Takemoto; Nahoko Tokuyama; Shinya Yamamoto; Takeshi Furuichi

  Dispersing Primate Females, Jun. 2015, Peer-reviewed

  
• Prolonged maximal sexual swelling in wild bonobos facilitates affiliative interactions between females

  Heungjin Ryu; David A. Hill; Takeshi Furuichi

  BEHAVIOUR, 2015, Peer-reviewed

  
• Why do wild bonobos not use tools like chimpanzees do?

  T. Furuichi; C. Sanz; K. Koops; T. Sakamaki; H. Ryu; N. Tokuyama; D. Morgan

  BEHAVIOUR, 2015, Peer-reviewed

  
• Androgen receptor and monoamine oxidase polymorphism in wild bonobos

  Cintia Garai; Takeshi Furuichi; Yoshi Kawamoto; Heungjin Ryu; Miho Inoue-Murayama

  Meta Gene, 01 Dec. 2014, Peer-reviewed

  
• Responses toward a trapped animal by wild bonobos at Wamba

  Misato Hayashi; Gaku Ohashi; Heung Jin Ryu

  ANIMAL COGNITION, Jul. 2012, Peer-reviewed

  
• Tower construction by the manicure crab Cleistostoma dilatatum during dry periods on an intertidal mudflat

  Tae Won Kim; Heung Jin Ryu; Jae Boong Choi; Jae Chun Choe

  JOURNAL OF ETHOLOGY, Sep. 2011, Peer-reviewed

  

Misc.

• 罠にかかった動物に対するボノボの行動―ワンバでのケースレポート―

  林美里; 大橋岳; 柳興鎭

  SAGA14 (2011/11/12, 熊本市), 2011

  

Presentations

• A preliminary report on urinary sex steroid hormone analyses of hibernating greater horseshoe bats in Korea

  Heungjin Ryu; Kodzue Kinoshita; David A. Hill; Sungbae Joo; Sun-Sook Kim

  Annual Meeting of the Mammal Society of Japan 2019, 17 Sep. 2019

  
• Changes in urinary sex steroids of Greater Horseshoe bats during hibernation in South Korea

  Heungjin Ryu; Kodzue Kinoshita; David A. Hill; Sungbae Joo; Sun-Sook Kim

  56th Annual Conference of the Animal Behavior Society, 27 Jul. 2019

  
• Visitor effect and the impact of isolation on the behavior of yellow-cheek gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) and white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar) in captivity

  Sein Lee*; Heungjin Ryu*; Yoonjung Yi; Seonah Jang; Haeun Gye; Bae-Keun Lee; Jaechun Choe

  The 14th International Conference on Environmental Enrichment, 25 Jun. 2019

  
• Male bonobos extrapolate the fertile phase from sexual swelling and reproductive history of females

  Heungjin Ryu; Chie Hashimoto; David A Hill; Keiko Mouri; Keiko Shimizu; Takeshi Furuichi

  The 7th International Symposium on Primatology and Wildlife Science, 02 Mar. 2017

  
• Can male bonobos (Pan paniscus) determine the peri-ovulatory period with some precision

  Heungjin Ryu; Chie Hashimoto; Keiko Mouri; Keiko Shimizu; David A Hill; Takeshi Furuichi

  The 26th International Primatological Congress, 22 Aug. 2016

  
• Presbyopia (long-sightedness) in old wild bonobos

  Heungjin Ryu; Kirsty E Graham; Tetsuya Sakamaki; Takeshi Furuichi

  The 5th International Seminar on Biodiversity and Evolution, 07 Jun. 2016

  
• A case report of flu-like illness in two unit-groups of wild bonobos at Wamba

  Heungjin Ryu; David A Hill; Takeshi Furuichi

  The 4th International Seminar on Biodiversity and Evolution, 09 Jun. 2015

  
• Prolonged maximal sexual swelling in wild bonobos facilitates affiliative interactions between females

  Heungjin Ryu; David A Hill; Takeshi Furuichi

  The 3rd International Seminar on Biodiversity and Evolution, 06 Jun. 2014

  
• Influence of life history and swelling status on social behaviors in free-ranging female bonobos (Pan paniscus)

  Heungjin Ryu; David A Hill; Takeshi Furuichi

  33rd International Ethological Conference, 07 Aug. 2013

  
• Landscape program for Conservation in DR Congo and the significance of Bonobos

  Heungjin Ryu

  The 2nd International Seminar on Biodiversity and Evolution, 11 Jun. 2013

  
• Disturbing affiliative interactions among females and its possible meaning in captive Japanese macaques

  Heungjin Ryu

  International Symposium for Conservation of Wild Bonobos and Chimpanzees, 11 Aug. 2011

  

Awards

• 04 Mar. 2017

  Best Poster Award(京都大学霊長類学ワイルドライフサイエンスリーディング大学院)
• 17 Nov. 2020

  Future Earth Award（Seoul National University Asia Center）

Media Coverage

• Zoology: Old apes can't see up close

  Nature, UK, Nov. 2016, Paper

  

Education

Other educational achievements

• Field training for the Citibats project (citizen science bat acoustic monitoring), 2020–present.
• Ecology (3 hours*3 weeks) for undergraduate students, University of Seoul (Sep 2018)