Two leading Japanese ecologists died Monday, March 27, and a third is presumed dead following a boat accident in the Sea of Cortez in Baja California, Mexico. The two who died are Takuya Abe, 55, a professor of animal ecology, and Masahiko Higashi, 45, a mathematical ecology professor, both from Kyoto University in Japan. Presumed dead is Shigeru Nakano, 37, an associate professor of aquatic ecology, also of Kyoto University. The three Japanese scientists were accompanying a research expedition being led over spring break by Gary Polis, chair of the UC Davis Department of Environmental Science and Policy. Polis was leading a 20-member team -- including graduate and undergraduate students and the visiting Japanese scholars -- on a study of spiders and scorpions on desert islands in Baja California when one of the team's boats capsized in rough seas. The Japanese researchers, considered to be among their country's leading ecologists, were interested in Polis' research on food webs that develop on various sized islands. They were considering conducting similar research in Japan. Higashi was considered the premier theoretical ecologist/biologist in Japan. He had developed several models on such topics as sexual selection and food webs, and the evolution of social structure. He had published papers in the journals Nature, American Naturalist and Animal Behavior. Among his publications were a 1997 book, "Biodiversity: An Ecological Perspective," which he co-edited with Abe and Simon A. Levin; and "Theoretical Studies of Ecosystems: the Network Perspective," a 1991 book which he co-edited with T.P. Burns. Nakano was a community ecologist, interested in food webs. He worked both in streams and forests, connecting the interaction of land- and water-based food chains.