The “tsunami break:” impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accompanying tsunamis on the shell growth of the invasive clam-eating snail Laguncula pulchella
The Great East Japan Earthquake and accompanying tsunamis occurred on 11 March 2011, causing huge damage to marine organisms. The invasive naticid gastropod Laguncula pulchella (Euspira fortunei), which was introduced with the imported clam Ruditapes philippinarum from China and Korea, survived the earthquake. The “growth break line” observed on the shell surface in over 90% of the individuals collected in Matsushima Bay and Matsukawa-ura Lagoon after the tsunamis was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Each shell presented three layers before and three after the growth break. However, the fracture surface consisted of five layers—two prismatic and three crossed lamellar—around the growth break line. This suggests that shell formation temporarily ceased following the tsunamis and that the five-layered shell may have developed in response to the stress caused by the tsunamis. The newly formed middle layer became thinner after the “tsunami break,” which may be the result of a rapid change in the mineralization process, including rapid shell growth and/or repair. These results suggest that the damage to and forcible removal of habitats by the tsunamis was stressful for L. pulchella. A decrease in or the cessation of shell formation after a tsunami may be a common phenomenon in mollusks that inhabit tidal flats.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Sediments and Bivalves on the Pacific Coast of Japan: Influence of Tsunami and Fire
Surface sediments and at least one edible bivalve species (Ruditapes philippinarum, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and Crassostrea gigas) were collected from each of seven intertidal sites in Japan in 2013. The sites had experienced varying levels of tsunami and fire disturbance following the major earthquake of 2011. Eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were identified and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Total sediment PAH concentration (CT), the sum of the average concentrations of the eight PAHs, was 21–1447 μg kg-1-dry. Relative to the average level of one type of PAH in sediments collected around Japan in 2002 (benzo[a]pyrene = 21 μg kg-1-dry), five of the seven sites showed concentrations significantly lower than this average in 2013. The CTs for the three bivalves (134–450 μg kg-1-dry) were within the range of the previous reports (2.2–5335 μg kg-1-dry). The data suggest that the natural disaster did not increase PAH concentrations or affect the distribution within sediment or bivalves in Tohoku district. Although PAH concentrations at the sites pose no risk to human health, the findings highlight that the observed PAH levels derive from pre- rather than post-quake processes.
Disturbance of Shallow Marine Soft-Bottom Environments and Megabenthos Assemblages by a Huge Tsunami Induced by the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake
Huge tsunami waves associated with megathrust earthquakes have a severe impact on shallow marine ecosystems. We investigated the impact of a tsunami generated by the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake on the seafloor and large benthic animals in muddy and sandy ria coasts (Otsuchi and Funakoshi bays) in northeastern Japan. We conducted underwater field surveys using scuba equipment in water depths of <20 m before the tsunami (September 2010) and after the tsunami (September 2011 and September 2012). During the study period, episodic changes in topography and grain-size composition occurred on the seafloor of the study area. Megabenthos sampling revealed a distinct pattern of distribution succession for each benthic species. For example, the protobranch bivalve Yoldia notabilis (Bivalvia: Nuculanidae) and the heterodont bivalve Felaniella usta (Bivalvia: Ungulinidae) disappeared after the tsunami event, whereas the distribution of the venus clam Gomphina melanaegis (Bivalvia: Veneridae) remained unchanged. In addition, the patterns of succession for a single species, such as the giant button top shell Umbonium costatum (Gastropoda: Trochidae) and the heart urchin Echinocardium cordatum (Echinoidea: Loveniidae), varied between the two bays studied. Our data also show that reestablishment of some benthic animal populations began within 18 months of the tsunami disturbance.