Macroalgal Community Structure on the Subtidal of Southern Six Islands, Korea

The macroalgal community structure was examined at the subtidal zones of six study sites, on the Southern coast of Korea from between May and August 2015. A total of 132 seaweeds, comprising 10 green, 28 brown and 94 red Seaweed, were identified. The seaweed biomass was $80.32g\;dry\;wt.\;m^{-2}$ in average, and it was maximal at Geomundo ($166.94g\;dry\;wt.\;m^{-2}$) and minimal at Byeongpungdo ($14.52g\;dry\;wt.\;m^{-2}$). On the basis of the biomass, the Ecklonia cava was a representative species, distributed widely in the subtidal zone of the three islands (Yeoseodo, Geomundo, Baekdo). Also, the Sargassum sp. was dominant at Sejondo and Hongdo. The turbidity and light transmittance was divided into two groups. The seaweed community structure of group A (Byeongpungdo, Sejondo, Geomundo) was characterized by high turbidity, low light transmittance and a lower habitat depth than were observed in group B (Hongdo, Baekdo, Yeoseodo). As the water depth increased, the biomass decreased due to the lowered light transmittance. In Byeongpungdo and Sejondo, which showed high turbidity and low light transmittance, the degree of seaweed coverage was decreased with the depth of water. The ESGII ratio of the Ecological Status Group was higher than fourty percentage in Byeongpungdo and Baekdo. Community indices were as follows: dominance index (DI) 0.35-0.90, richness index (R) 7.03-17.93, evenness index (J′) 0.22-0.60, and diversity index (H′) 0.79-2.18. The Macroalgal zonation of the subtidal zone was calculated by the Ecklonia cava and Brown algal population on five islands(Byeongpungdo, Yeoseodo, Geomundo, Beakdo, Hongdo). On the other hand, Undaria pinnatifida and Sargassum sp. dominated at Sejondo. Additionally, the biomass ratio and the species richness of green algae was lower in group A. These differences in the seaweed community structure may have resulted from the effects of turbidity and light transmittance.

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