Original data (Cs and Cs, and sampling location) of marine products in Fukushima Prefecture monitored during 2011-2015 (n = 32,492) were analyzed to present an updated detailed description of radiocesium contamination after the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident and to examine taxon/habitat-specific decreasing trends in different areas. Furthermore, marine species data presented by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) during 2012-2015 (n = 5458) were analyzed to evaluate the decreasing trends ofCs inside and outside (within a 20 km radius) of the FDNPP port. Monitoring results by Fukushima Prefecture show that percentages of samples higher than the Japanese regulatory limit of 100 Bq kg-wet (>RL%) were higher, whereas those below the detection limit (
This study monitored post‐release movements of 20 wild Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) [mean ± S.D. 520.8 ± 92.3 mm total length (TL), 217.9 ± 146.3 g body mass (BM)] in a brackish water lagoon in northeastern Japan using acoustic telemetry to elucidate how wild Japanese eels use different river, estuary and marine environments. In addition, 12 cultured Japanese eels (TL = 578.9 ± 18.0 mm, BM = 344.9 ± 25.5 g) were released to understand the comparative behaviours of wild and cultured eels. Both types of eels were simultaneously released in the southern inner part of the lagoon in September 2016 where there are freshwater influences from a river. Following release, eight of the wild eels (40%) were largely sedentary near the released point (river mouth) and stayed at the site for overwinter. Nonetheless, several individuals showed behavioural plasticity of habitat use: three wild eels moved towards the northern part of the lagoon with stronger influence from the sea during May–July 2017. Two wild eels showed clear repeated movements from the lagoon to a river at night and returned to the lagoon by dawn for more than a week every day, and one wild eel migrated upstream for overwintering. Signals from 55% of the wild eels could be detected for more than 6 months, whereas those from all of the cultured eels were lost by December 2016, indicating a short resident time of large cultured eels (BM > 200 g) released in a brackish water area. One wild silver eel migrated to the outer sea during the ebb tide at night in November 2016, probably triggered by the decrease in water temperature (from c. 20°C to c. 13°C), and seven cultured eels similarly moved to the outer sea during October–November 2016. The results revealed the similarities (e.g., nocturnal movements) and differences (e.g., stay period and seasonal movements) in the behavioural characteristics of wild and cultured eels and indicated that habitat connectivity among river, estuary and coastal waters is crucial for enabling eels to efficiently utilise these productive habitats through their behavioural plasticity.
The Fukushima Dai'ichi nuclear accident presents challenging circumstances for disaster recovery in coastal communities, as ongoing uncertainties around the nuclear plant's decommissioning may create new risks in the future. Within disaster risk studies, inherent resilience -informal practices of resilience sustained through social memory and everyday actions -is seen as important for longer-term recovery. Yet whilst inherent resilience has been studied for acute disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes, less is known about inherent resilience under major and long-term environmental change of the kind seen in Fukushima.Through interview-based research in the Soma area of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, this paper thus evaluates the potential for inherent resilience practices to support recovery when communities may have to respond multiple times as new setbacks emerge. We show that despite the challenging situation in Soma, inherent resilience practices have helped recovery on the coast by re-establishing a sense of identity and purpose for fishing communities in particular. Equally, however, we also find that ongoing uncertainty about the nuclear plant and emerging pressures linked to climate change make the full re-establishment of some cultural practices associated with inherent resilience difficult. Our findings contribute to existing research by showing that although inherent resilience may well help communities maintain core functions in a way formal institutional support cannot, changes to the physical environment of the kind seen in Fukushima may affect daily living and social relations in a way that makes it difficult to undertake practices necessary to sustain social memory and community relations.
Abstract:The moonsnail Laguncula pulchella (Naticidae, formerly known as Euspira fortunei) is an invasive species that has had a negative impact on the Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) population in northern Japan. In southern Japan, few records of L. pulchella exist; furthermore, the knowledge concerning the ecology of this organism is currently limited. Unexpectedly, we found many L. pulchella individuals in the Misuji River estuary, located in Hiroshima in southern Japan, during May 2015. We conducted a field survey on the density and body size of L. pulchella at a tidal flat in the Misuji River estuary (Site H) and compared those to L. pulchella in Matsukawaura Lagoon, located in Fukushima in northern Japan (Site F). The adult population of L. pulchella in a clam fishing ground (40,500 m 2 ) at Site H was estimated to be 2,048 individuals in 2015. Densities of both surfaced individuals and egg collars of L. pulchella were lower at Site H than at Site F. Sizes of L. pulchella individuals and their egg collars as well as the somatic weight of the individuals at Site H were significantly smaller than those at Site F. These results suggest that the biological characteristics of L. pulchella largely differ between the two sites.
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