Study on habitat evaluation of molluscan fauna and river improvement technology for environmental conservation in river estuaries

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K18144
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Civil and environmental engineering
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Itsukushima Rei 九州大学, 持続可能な社会のための決断科学センター, 助教 (30737656)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 河口域 / 貝類相 / 河道特性 / ハビタット / 多自然川づくり

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Estuaries are distinctive environment which fluctuates continually by mixing fresh water and sea water due to the influence of the tide and waves. However, disappearance of habitats is a serious problem in estuaries since river improvement technology in consideration of the environment has not been established. In this study, we investigated the relation between molluscan fauna and physical factors of watershed scale and river course characteristics. As a result of classification using shellfish fauna, the 70 rivers were divided into three groups and the classification result was characterized by two physical indicators (tide range and direct fetch). Further, single correlation analysis of shellfish fauna and river course characteristics suggested that the river course characteristics highly correlated with shellfish fauna differ among groups. Therefore, evaluation of ecological integrity or planning of conservation policy should be developed for each group to conserve river estuaries.

Free Research Field

河川工学，河川生態学