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Phytoplankton community structure in Otsuchi Bay, northeastern Japan, after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami

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

The tsunami caused by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake seriously damaged the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. In addition to its direct disturbance, a tsunami can indirectly affect coastal pelagic ecosystems via topographical and environmental changes. We investigated seasonal changes in the phytoplankton community structure in Otsuchi Bay, northeastern Japan, from May 2011, which was 2 months after the tsunami, to May 2013. The phytoplankton species composition in May 2011 was similar to that observed in May 2012 and 2013. The present results are consistent with the dominant species and water-mass indicator species of phytoplankton in past records. These results suggest that there was no serious effect of the tsunami on the phytoplankton community in Otsuchi Bay. Community analysis revealed that two distinct seasonal communities appeared in each year of the study period. The spring–summer community was characterized by warm-water Chaetoceros species, and dinoflagellates appeared from May to September. The fall–winter community was characterized by cold neritic diatoms, which appeared from November to March. The succession from the spring–summer community to the fall–winter community took place within a particular water mass, and the fall–winter community appeared in both the surface water and the Oyashio water mass, suggesting that water-mass exchange is not the only factor that determines the phytoplankton community structure in Otsuchi Bay.

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Acknowledgments

We thank T. Abe and M. Abe of Myoho-Maru and M. Kurosawa, M. Hirano, A. Yaguchi, T. Suzuki, and other members of the International Coastal Research Center, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, for assistance with sampling in Otsuchi Bay after the 2011 tsunami. We are also grateful to the captain and crew of the R/V Tansei-Maru, the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, for their support at sea. This study was supported through the research program ‘Tohoku Ecosystem-Associated Marine Sciences’ from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Aiko Tachibana, Yuichiro Nishibe, Hideki Fukuda & Atsushi Tsuda

  2. 7-83, Omotemachi, Aizuwakamatu-shi, Fukushima, 965-0831, Japan

    Kyoko Kawanobe

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  1. Aiko Tachibana
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  2. Yuichiro Nishibe
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  3. Hideki Fukuda
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  4. Kyoko Kawanobe
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  5. Atsushi Tsuda
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Correspondence to Aiko Tachibana.

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Tachibana, A., Nishibe, Y., Fukuda, H. et al. Phytoplankton community structure in Otsuchi Bay, northeastern Japan, after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami. J Oceanogr 73, 55–65 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-016-0355-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-016-0355-3

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