Macrobenthic succession and characteristics of a man-made intertidal sandflat constructed in the diversion channel of the Ohta River Estuary

Wataru Nishijima; Yoichi Nakano; Satoshi Nakai; Tetsuji Okuda; Tsuyoshi Imai; Mitsumasa Okada

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.03.014

Macrobenthic succession and characteristics of a man-made intertidal sandflat constructed in the diversion channel of the Ohta River Estuary

Mar Pollut Bull. 2014 May 15;82(1-2):101-8. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.03.014. Epub 2014 Mar 22.

Authors

Wataru Nishijima¹, Yoichi Nakano², Satoshi Nakai³, Tetsuji Okuda⁴, Tsuyoshi Imai⁵, Mitsumasa Okada⁶

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Research and Management Center, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1, Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan. Electronic address: wataru@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.
² Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Ube National College of Technology, 2-14-1, Tokiwadai, Ube, Yamaguchi 755-8555, Japan.
³ Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University, 1-5-3, Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8513, Japan.
⁴ Environmental Research and Management Center, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1, Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan.
⁵ Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamaguchi University, 2-16-1, Tokiwadai, Ube, Yamaguchi 755-8611, Japan.
⁶ Graduate School of Arts and Science, The Open University of Japan, 2-11, Wakaba, Mihama-ku, Chiba 261-8586, Japan.

PMID: 24667086
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.03.014

Abstract

We compared succession and characteristics of the macrobenthic community in a small-scale experimental intertidal sandflat constructed in the artificial diversion channel of the Ohta River Estuary with those of three natural intertidal sandflats at lower elevation in the same channel. The macrobenthic population density in the man-made intertidal sandflat increased significantly between 3 and 9 months after construction. Simplisetia erythraeensis was dominant (98% of individuals) after 9 months, but its proportion gradually declined with the increase in biodiversity until 26 months, indicating that succession of the macrobenthic community was nearly complete by 26 months. The macrobenthic community in the man-made intertidal sandflat differed from those of the three natural intertidal sandflats, and its population density was about double that at the natural sites, with smaller temporal fluctuation. The different structures of the macrobenthic communities in the man-made and natural intertidal sandflats were likely caused by differences in elevation.

Keywords: Biodiversity; Estuary; Macrobenthic community; Man-made intertidal sandflat; Restoration; Succession.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Biodiversity*
Conservation of Natural Resources*
Estuaries*
Hydrodynamics
Invertebrates / physiology*
Japan
Population Density
Tidal Waves