User:Gblack201/sandbox

The 9.0 Magnitude earthquake in Japan that created a tsunami which struck March 11, 2011 washed out some 5 million tons of debris to sea, with around 1.5 million tons floating away from the country’s coastlines. Since that time, rubble has washed up on the shores of North America in British Columbia, Hawaii, Alaska, and the Pacific northwest.

Agate Beach
More than a year after the tsunami in June 5, 2012, a Japanese dock from Misawa was found washed up on the shores of Agate Beach in the Lincoln County of Oregon. Researchers tested for radioactivity and found none. Two days after the dock’s arrival, volunteers and researchers from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife scraped off encrusting organisms and then preceded to further sterilization using torches. The dock was subsequently cut up and used as raw material for a variety of purposes.

Biota
When the dock was found, it was completely covered in encrusting life. A total of around 100 species of non-pelagic invertebrates, protists, and algae were found attached to the dock. A few pelagic organisms including Lepas anatifera, the ubiquitous goose barnacle, and a few pteropods were also found, probably latching onto the flotsam as it drifted over the vast Pacific.

Invasive Species
The biota consisted of several mollusks, bryozoans, and amphipods that were known to be invasive, at least to a certain extent, in parts of the world. Additionally, two species were found that are on the world’s top 100 most dangerous invasive species list: the North Pacific seastar Asterias amurensis, an organism that has devastated shellfish populations in Australia, and the seaweed Undaria pinnatifida, a fast growing algae that has overgrown benthic life in New Zealand, a few parts of the United States, and Great Britain.

Long Beach
On March 23, 2013, a Japanese boat Sai-Shou-Maru washed ashore near the city of Long Beach. Like Agate Beach and other incidents, the debris was covered in benthic life. However, unlike much of the other debris that floated ashore, this one was the first that contained live vertebrates.

Biota
The Sai-Shou-Maru, like the other tsunami debris was covered in around 30-50 species of benthic life. Additionally, a sea cucumber was found hitching on the flotsam, being the first time that that type of organism has been recorded living in this fashion. The holding tank of the 18 foot boat contained five live striped beakfish Oplegnathus fasciatus that were somehow able to survive for 2 years in the open ocean, a very different habitat from their native Japanese coastal reefs. Four were immediately euthanized by Washington Fish and Wildlife biologists and sent to Oregon University for research on the fishes’ age/diet while one lives currently in the Seaside Aquarium in Seaside, Oregon.

Response
The Japanese tsunami debris has shown how many organisms are much hardier than previously thought and can easily survive long travels over the open ocean. Many states recommend informing local wildlife departments of floating docks / boats that wash up to hasten the cleaning up process [6].