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http://dx.doi.org/10.7850/jkso.2022.27.2.103

Characteristics of Meiofauna Community Inhabiting Continental Shelf of Yellow Sea, Korea  

JUNG, MIN GYU (Marine Ecosystem Research Center, KIOST)
KIM, DONGSUNG (Marine Ecosystem Research Center, KIOST)
KANG, TEAWOOK (Marine Research Center, Korea National Park Service)
OH, JE HYEOK (Marine Ecosystem Research Center, KIOST)
SHIN, AYONG (Marine Ecosystem Research Center, KIOST)
OH, CHUL WOONG (Department of Marine Biology, Pukyong National University)
Publication Information
The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY / v.27, no.2, 2022 , pp. 103-125 More about this Journal
Abstract
This study aims to identify the community characteristics of meiofauna inhabiting the Yellow Sea continental shelf. To this end an annual survey was conducted considering the seasons from 2018 to 2020 at 13 stations with a depth of 18~90 m of the Yellow Sea located at latitudes 35, 36 and 37 degrees north latitude. The survey was conducted in three seasons of spring, summer, and autumn at 5 stations in October 2018, 9 stations in April 2019, and 6 stations in August 2020 was used to collect 3 repetitions at each station. The habitat density of meiobenthos in the surveyed area was in the range of 45~1029 inds./10 cm2, which was similar to the previous studies conducted in the Yellow Sea. The density of meiobenthos according to the seasons was 800±69 inds./10 cm2 in autumn, the highest, and the lowest at 260±48 inds./10 cm2 in summer. A total of 19 taxa appeared in meiobenthos, and the average value showed the number of nine taxa. Among the appearing taxa, the most dominant taxon was nematodes, accounting for 80.8% of the total density, followed by benthic copepods (8.8%) and benthic foraminifers (4.7%). As for the size distribution of medium benthic animals, the density of organisms corresponding to the size of 63~125 ㎛ was the highest, and 1~0.5 mm was the lowest. As for the vertical distribution in the sediments of medium benthic animals, the habitat density gradually decreased as the depth increased in the sediment surface layer. As a result of analysis of the N/C ratio, MPI, and ITD index using medium-sized benthic animals to identify the benthic environment, there were differences by season, but no values indicating pollution overall.
Keywords
Meiofauna; Community structure; Subtidal zone; Yellow sea; Continental shelf;
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Times Cited By KSCI : 8  (Citation Analysis)
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