Geophysical Approach to Marine Coastal Ecology The Case of Iriomote Island, Japan

This book presents recent results of collaborative studies in geophysics and ecology, focusing on the relationship between the physical environment and the distribution of the marine coastal ecosystems. The study area, the Sakiyamawan–Amitoriwan nature conservation area in Iriomote Island of Japan, is the only oceanic nature conservation area in the country. The area has no access roads, and the bay perimeter is uninhabited; therefore, it preserves the natural environment with very little human impact. In addition, it has various environmental gradients such as topography and inflows from rivers with mangrove forests which affect the distribution of marine coastal ecosystems such as those containing reef-building corals, sea grasses, and hermit crabs. For these reasons, the area is one of the best places for the study of the relationship between the physical environment and the distribution of the marine coastal ecosystems, a relationship that is important for their conservation but has not been investigated fully. This book is aimed at students and researchers in the fields of oceanography and marine coastal ecology as well as general readers who are interested in coral reefs, diving, and nature conservation.

PART I: Basic information

Chapter 1: Iriomote Island, Japan

Chapter 2: Observational method 

Chapter 3: Numerical simulation method 

PART II: Observation and estimation of physical environments

Chapter 4: Dynamical properties of coastal currents in the northwestern part of Iriomote Island Part 1 - Sakiyama and Amitori bays - 

Chapter 5: Dynamical properties of coastal currents in the northwestern part of Iriomote Island Part 2 - Funauki and Shirahama bays - 

Chapter 6: Sediment monitoring in Sakiyama and Amitori bays 

Chapter 7: Transport properties of soil particles in Sakiyama and Amitori bays 

Chapter 8: Underwater three dimensional measurements 

PART III: Relationship between distributions of marine coastal ecosystem and physical environments

Chapter 9: Coral distributions and physical environments in Amitori Bay 

Chapter 10: Coral distributions and physical environments in Sakiyama Bay 

Chapter 11: Estimation technique for horizontal distribution of coral 

Chapter 12: Distribution of Enhalus acoroides according to waves and currents 

PART IV: Relationship between dispersals of seeds, fructification, spawns, and larvae of marine costal life and physical environments

Chapter 13: Numerical analysis of initial dynamic state of bundle of Acroporidae spawning in Amitori Bay 

Chapter 14: Numerical analysis of dispersals of Enhalus acoroides seeds and fruits in the northwest sea area of Iriomote Island 

Chapter 15: Coral recruitment on a local scale in Amitori Bay, Iriomote Island, estimated by filed surveys and numerical analyses 

Chapter 16: Numerical analysis of dynamic state of Coenobita brevimanus‘s larvae in Amitori Bay 

Shinya Shimokawa is a senior principal researcher in the Storm, Flood and Landslide Research Division, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, in Tsukuba, Japan. He graduated from Nagoya University in 1989 and obtained his Ph.D. from The University of Tokyo in 2002. He had worked at Shimadzu Corporation until 1994 and then moved to his present institute. He was a visiting scientist at the Institute for Atmosphere and Climate Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 1998 and 1999. His research interests include nonlinear and non-equilibrium phenomena in ocean and climate systems, typhoon coastal disaster and its prediction, the relationship between the marine coastal ecosystem and the physical environment, and natural disaster education for the general public. He is currently also a professor in the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Cooperative Graduate School Program), Tsukuba University.

Tomokazu Murakami is a senior researcher in the Storm, Flood and Landslide Research DivisionNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience in Tsukuba, Japan. He graduated and was awarded a Ph.D. from Gifu University in 2005. He had worked at Nagoya University, Gifu University, and Toyohashi University of Technology until 2009 and then moved to his present institute. His research interests encompass numerical simulation of storm surge and modeling of the marine coastal ecosystem. He is currently also an associate professor in Iwate University.

Hiroyoshi Kohno is a professor at the Okinawa Regional Research Center, Tokai University, in Iriomote Island, Japan. He graduated from Tokai University in 1976 and has worked at his present institute since then. His fields of specialization are marine ecology and conservation ornithology. He has been involved in studies on conservation of sea birds’ breeding areas and population dynamics and the ecology of sea birds from a long-term perspective. In addition, he is interested in various marine coastal ecosystems in Iriomote Island such as corals, sea grasses, fishes, sea turtles, and crustaceans. He is also currently a manager of the Japan Seabird Group.