Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the ecological impact of wetlands by changing the species diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates and birds following the creation of an artificial wetland with a size of 30 m*30 m on bare land in reclaimed land in Haenam-gun, Korea. We investigated monthly fauna of benthic macroinvertebrates and birds in and outside wetlands and physicochemical indicators for 7 months from March to September 2014. During the study period, the water temperature and dissolved oxygen levels were consistently higher in wetlands than lakes. Many species of benthic macroinvertebrates were observed in summer (16 species in July) due to seasonal effects, and the species diversity index was highest in July and then gradually decreased. Thirteen species of birds were observed in March, 6 species in April, 5 species in July, and 1 species in June, where most winter birds and migratory birds were observed around wetlands in spring. The species diversity index also decreased after being high in July except for spring. This suggests that the abiotic environment in the wetland can be improved by creating an artificial wetland in the reclaimed land, and the increase in benthic macroinvertebrates can ultimately be a basic direction to restore the wetland ecosystem in the reclaimed land.