a great environmental impact on Japan's eastern coast. The rarity and magnitude of the earthquake-tsunami prompted researchers Jotaro Urabe, Takao Suzuki, Tatsuki Nishita, and Wataru Makino to study their immediate ecological impacts on intertidal flat communities at Sendai Bay and the Sanriku Ria coast. Pre- and post-event surveys show a reduction in animal taxon richness and change in taxon composition mainly attributed to the tsunami and its physical impacts. In particular, sessile epibenthic animals and endobenthic animals both decreased in taxon richness. Mobile epibenthic animals, such as hermit crabs, were not as affected. Post-surveys also recorded taxa that were not previously recorded before, suggesting that tsunamis have the potential to introduce species and change taxon composition and local community structure. The long term ecological impacts at Sendai Bay and the greater east coast of Japan require further study. See also Health crisis Humanitarian response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Lists of earthquakes List of earthquakes in 2011 List of earthquakes in Japan List of tsunamis List of megathrust earthquakes Nuclear power in Japan § Seismicity Ryou-Un Maru Seismicity of the Sanriku coast Takashi Shimokawara Explanatory notes References Further reading [Council for Central] Disaster Management, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan (March 2015). Disaster Management in Japan . Sources External links Japan's Killer Quake – NOVA The M9.0 Great Tohoku Earthquake (northeast Honshu, Japan) of March 11, 2011 from United States Geological Survey (USGS) Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Map of Tsunami Inundation Areas in Japan from ReliefWeb Massive earthquake hits Japan Photos from The Boston Globe Japan Earthquake: before and after aerial and satellite images from ABC News, credited to Post-earthquake images of Japan Satellite Photos of Japan, Before and After the Quake and Tsunami The New York Times Japan in Crisis: A Series of Interviews with Scholars by Peter Shea at the University of Minnesota Special: The Tōhoku-Oki Earthquake, Japan – free-access scientific papers from Science magazine The East Japan Earthquake Archive (Testimonies of survivors, Photographs and Videos on Google Earth) PreventionWeb Great East Japan Earthquake 2011 from Fuji News Network Interactive Comparisons of Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami at Beslider.com Map to chronicle all known disasters in Japan from 416 to 2013 Foundation of the Covenant official and international dedicated to the victims of the tsunami, under the aegis of the Mimasaka Province (mayor Seiji Hagiwara), in the presence of Senator Élisabeth