Ecological Impacts of Tsunamis on Coastal Ecosystems: Lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake (Ecological Research Monographs)

"This book focuses on the ecological impacts of the Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunamis, a rare and extremely large disturbance event, on various coastal ecosystems in Japan's Tohoku area, including sub-tidal and tidal animal communities, sand dune plant communities and coastal forests. The studies presented here describe not only how species and populations in these ecosystems were disturbed by the earthquake and tsunamis, but also how the communities have responded to the event and what types of anthropogenic activities will hamper their recovery processes. In the ecological sciences, it is often argued that large disturbances are critical to shaping community structures and biodiversity in local and regional habitats. However, our understanding of these roles remains limited, simply because there have been few opportunities to examine and address the ecological impacts of large disturbance events. The scale of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake makes it one of the largest hazards in the past 1000 years. Thus, this book provides a unique opportunity to advance our understanding of the ecological impacts of large and rare disturbances and the implications of these events in the conservation and management of coastal ecosystems. Following an outline of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the book's content is divided into two major parts. Part I reports on studies examining the ecological impacts of the tsunamis on sub-tidal and tidal animal communities, while Part II focuses on terrestrial plant communities in Japan's coastal Tohoku area. This book will benefit all scientists interested in the ecological impacts of large disturbances on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in general, and especially those who are interested in the ecological management of coastal ecosystems and Ecosystem based Disaster Risk Reduction (EcoDRR). . ". Font no determinada Front Matter....Pages i-xi Outline of the Great East Japan Earthquake....Pages 1-8 Front Matter....Pages 9-9 Normality of Succession of an Intertidal Community After the Great East Japan Earthquake....Pages 11-24 Rocky Intertidal Zonation: Impacts and Recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake....Pages 25-34 Quantitative Evaluation of the Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on the Rocky Intertidal Community....Pages 35-46 Rocky Intertidal Barnacle Population Dynamics: Impacts and Recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake....Pages 47-58 Ecological Impacts of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and the Following Succession on the Subtidal Macrobenthic Community in Onagawa Bay, Northeastern Japan, with Special Reference to the Dominant Taxon, Polychaetes....Pages 59-84 Ecological Consequences of the Tsunamis Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Subsequent Disturbance Events in a Shallow Brackish Lagoon in Sendai Bay, Japan....Pages 85-104 Impacts of the Tsunami Disaster Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake on the Benthic Communities and Their Recovery in Tidal Flats of Matsukawaura Lagoon, Soma, Japan....Pages 105-116 Colonization of the Restored and Newly Created Tidal Flats by Benthic Animals in the Sanriku Region of Northern Japan....Pages 117-132 Effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake on Intertidal Macrobenthos in Iwate Prefecture....Pages 133-149 Ecological Responses of Macrobenthic Communities in Tidal Flats to Disturbances by the Great East Japan Earthquake....Pages 151-164 The Effects of Liquefaction, Tsunami, and Land Subsidence on Intertidal Mollusks Following the Great East Japan Earthquake....Pages 165-178 Ecological Impacts and Recovery of Molluskan Populations After the Tsunami Struck Around Matsushima Bay and Sendai Bay, Miyagi Prefecture, Northeastern Japan....Pages 179-207 Genetic Structures of Laguncula pulchella Metapopulations Along the Northeast Coast of Japan After the Tsunamis Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake....Pages 209-221 Impacts of Fuel Spills Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on the Subtidal Soft-Bottom Communities of a Semi-enclosed Bay Located on the Sanriku Coast....Pages 223-250 Front Matter....Pages 251-251 Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami on Coastal Vegetation and Landscapes in Northeast Japan: Findings Based on Remotely Sensed Data Analysis....Pages 253-269 Susceptibility of Sandy Beach Flora to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in Northern Tohoku, Japan....Pages 271-288 The Species Composition of Buried Seeds of Seashore Vegetation Disturbed by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in Northern Tohoku, Japan....Pages 289-309 Plant Diversity and Considerations for Conservation of It in Infrastructure Reconstruction Planning After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011....Pages 311-335 Regeneration of Damaged Coastal Forests Caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami....Pages 337-359 Front Matter....Pages 251-251 Flora of Freshwater Wetlands in the Tsunami-Affected Zone of the Tohoku Region....Pages 361-382 Influences of Large, Infrequent Disturbance Caused by Tsunami on Coastal Forest Communities....Pages 383-394 Survey of Impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on the Natural Environment in Tohoku Coastal Regions....Pages 395-410