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Effects of mass sedimentation events after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake on benthic prokaryotes and meiofauna inhabiting the upper bathyal sediments

  • Special Section: Original Article
  • Oceanographic observations after the 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku
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Abstract

We examined the effects of mass sedimentation events caused by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake on abundances and vertical distributions of prokaryotes and metazoan meiofauna in sediments, using sediment cores collected from eight bathyal stations off Tohoku 1 year after the M9.0 earthquake. Event deposits 1–7 cm thick were observed at the topmost part of the sediment cores at all sampling stations. At some stations, prokaryotic cell abundances were lower in the surface event-deposit layers compared to those in deeper sediments. These variations were explained by environmental parameters such as a dimensionless sorting factor and mean grain size, suggesting that turbidite sedimentation affected prokaryotic cell abundances. Nematodes had anomalously higher subsurface abundances at the stations where subsurface peak prokaryotic cell numbers were observed, whereas copepods always showed peak densities in the sediment surface layer. Although there are no available data for prokaryotic cell abundances and meiofaunal densities before the earthquake from the same sites, it is likely that the subsurface peaks in prokaryotic cell numbers and nematode densities resulted from the sedimentation events. The effects of sedimentation events on the organisms were observed 1 year after the earthquake, indicating that episodic sedimentation events on scales of several centimeters have a large effect on small organisms inhabiting sediments.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the crews, technicians, and scientists of R/V Mirai for their collaboration during cruise MR12-E02. We also thank the editors and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on this manuscript. This study was supported by the Tohoku Ecosystem-Associated Marine Sciences (TEAMS) Fund of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT).

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Author notes

  1. Tomohiro Mochizuki

    Present address: Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ward, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan

  2. Tomo Kitahashi & Kazuno Arai

    Present address: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan

  3. Gengo Tanaka

    Present address: Center for Marine Environment Studies, Kumamoto University, 6061 Aitsu, Matsushima, Kamiamakusa, Kumamoto, 861-6102, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan

    Hidetaka Nomaki, Tomohiro Mochizuki, Takuro Nunoura, Takashi Toyofuku, Gengo Tanaka, Shuichi Shigeno, Eiji Tasumi, Katsunori Fujikura & Shuichi Watanabe

  2. Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan

    Tomo Kitahashi

  3. Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, 1-33, Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba, Chiba, 263-8522, Japan

    Kazuno Arai

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  1. Hidetaka Nomaki
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Correspondence to Hidetaka Nomaki.

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Nomaki, H., Mochizuki, T., Kitahashi, T. et al. Effects of mass sedimentation events after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake on benthic prokaryotes and meiofauna inhabiting the upper bathyal sediments. J Oceanogr 72, 113–128 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-015-0293-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-015-0293-5

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