• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.27-41
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• 2016

This study was performed to investigate the community structure and health assessment of macrobenthic assemblages in Geoje-Hansan Bay, Southern Coast of Korea. Macrobenthos were collected by van Veen grab sampler at May (spring) and August (summer) 2013. The total species number and mean density were 300 species $7.6m^{-2}$ and $1,994ind.\;m^{-2}$, respectively. The major dominant species were the polychaetes Lumbrineris longifolia ($299{\pm}164ind.\;m^{-2}$), Aphelochaeta monilaris ($100{\pm}57ind.\;m^{-2}$), the bivalve Musculista senhousia ($91{\pm}96ind.\;m^{-2}$) and the polychaete Praxillella affinis ($80{\pm}66ind.\;m^{-2}$). From the community statistics [cluster analysis and nonmetric multidimentional scaling (NMDS) ordination], the macrobenthic community was distinguished into two groups of inner bay (farming ground of near Sandal Island) and channel station(from Hansan Island to Chubong Island) group. In this study, the ecological status was assessed by four biotic indices Shannon's H', the ATZI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), multivariate-AMBI (M-AMBI) and the Environment Conservation Index (ECI). The ecological status of the macrobenthic community in Geoje-Hansan Bay were poorer in the inner bay station than in the channel station. The results of the present study showed that three biotic indices (Shannon's H', M-AMBI and ECI) were valid as an index for evaluating the ecological status than the AMBI.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.453-462
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• 1998

Macrobenthic community structure was studied at thirteen stations in Taebudo subtidal area, Korea, from July to October 1996. Triple macrobenthos samples were collected using a van Veen grab (0.1 $m^2$) at each station during the study period. A total of 209 species of macrobenthos was sampled with a mean density of 1,093 ind./$m^2$ and biomass of 134,86 g/$m^2$. Of these, there were 72 species of polychaetes ($34.5\%$), 69 crustaceans ($33.0\%$) and 49 molluscs ($23.4\%$). Polyalaetes were represented as a density-dominant faunal group with a mean density of 608 ind./$m^2$, comprising $55.6\%$ of the total benthic animals. It was followed by crustaceans with 307 ind./$m^2$($28.1\%$ of the total density), Echinoderms were represented as a biomass-dominant faunal group with a mean biomass of 54.21 g/$m^2$($40.2\%$ of total biomass). Total number of species and diversity were low in the inner part of the study area with high mud content and high in the offshore stations of mixed sediments. Major dominant species were three polychaetes, Heteromastus filifomis, Scoloplos armiger and Tharyx sp. whose mean densities were 70 ind./$m^2$, 67 ind./$m^2$, and 66 ind./$m^2$, respectively. Cluster analysis showed that the study area could be divided into five stational groups based on the faunal composition, that is, the innermost stations, coastal stations, transitional stations and two offshore station groups. The species diversity of these groups increased from the inner stational group toward the outer groups.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.943-953
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate sediment recovery after the relocation of fish cage farms, by examining the changes in sediments and the benthic polychaete community. A preliminary survey was carried out in October 2017, before the relocation of the farms, and monthly surveys were conducted from November 2017 to October 2018 after the farms were moved. Subsequently, it was conducted every 2-3 months until October 2020. The survey was carried out at three stations (Farm1-3) at the location of the removed fish farms and at three control stations (Con1-3) without farms. The overall organic carbon content of the farm stations was higher than the control stations, but it gradually decreased after the farm was demolished, and there was no statistically significant difference about one year after the relocation of the farms (p<0.05). In the benthic polychaete community, abiotic community appeared at the farm stations in the summer, and consequently, the community transitioned to a low-diversity region with the predominant species Capitella capitata, which is an indicator of pollution. Until the abiotic period in the summer of the next year, the species diversity increased and the proportion of indicator species decreased, showing a tendency of recovering the benthic polychaete community, and these changes were repeated every year. In this study, the abiotic community appeared every year owing to the topographical characteristics, but as the survey progressed, the period of abiotic occurrence became shorter and the process of community recovery progressed expeditiously. Biological recovery of sediments after the relocation of the fish farms is still in progress, and it is imperative to study recovery trends through continuous monitoring.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.779-793
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• 2023

Intensive and long-term aquaculture activities in Korea have generated considerable amounts of organic matter, deteriorating the sedimentary environment and ecosystem. The Korean government enacted the Fishery Management Act to preserve and manage the environment of fish farms. Based on this, a fisheries environment assessment has been conducted on fish cage farms since 2014, necessitating the development of a scientific and objective evaluation method suitable for the domestic environment. Therefore, a benthic health index (BHI) was developed using the relationship between benthic polychaete communities and organic matter, a major source of pollution in fish farms. In this study, the development process and calculation method of the BHI have been introduced. The BHI was calculated by classifying 225 species of polychaetes appearing in domestic coastal and aquaculture areas into four groups by linking the concentration gradient of the total organic carbon in the sediment and the distributional characteristics of each species and assigning differential weights to each group. Using BHI, the benthic fauna communities were assigned to one of the four ecological classes (Grade 1: Normal, Grade 2: Slightly polluted, Grade 3: Moderately polluted, and Grade 4: Heavily polluted). The application of the developed index in the field enabled effective evaluation of the Korean environment, being relatively more accurate and less affected by the season compared with the existing evaluation methods like the diversity index or AZTI's Marine Biotic Index developed overseas. In addition, using BHI will be useful in the environmental management of fish farms, as the environment can be graded in quantified figures.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.169-183
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• 1989

Polychaete assemblages and their responses to habitat conditions were investigated in the southeastern continental shelf of Korea. The result of cluster analysis revealed that the study area could be divided into two regions, one including the shallow coastal region and the other the offshore region. The shallow coastal region sustained 4 polychaete assemblages: Nothria holobranchiata assemblage in the most northern part of fine sediments off Pohang, Magelona-Maldane assemblage off Gampo, Ophelina acuminata assemblage in the middle coastal area off Ulsan, Nothria conchylega assemblage in the south part off Pusan. These coastal polychaete assemblages contained less than 10 species per station and showed very low species diversity (H' = 1.22-1.52). The offshore also contained 4 assemblages: Terebellides-Aglaophamus assemblage in the northern and deep area of very fine sediments, Myriochele oculata and Spiophanes kroyeri assemblages in the central area of sandy bottoms, and Ninoe palmata assemblage in the southern offshore of sandy bottom. The offshore assemblages showed rather more species and higher diversity than coastal assemblages (H' = 1.90-2.26). The offshore region consisting of sandy sediment showed very low population densities. Some dominant species showed specific preference to sediment types and this phenomenon could be detected through their feeding modes. Depth or bottom temperature seems to be related to the distribution of most dominant worms. Thus the polychaete assemblages of the study area are found to be under the control of both a gradient of sedimentary properties and that of bottom temperature.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.76-86
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• 2012

Macrozoobenthos were collected from 24 sites using small grab ($0.05m^2$) in order to see the spatial distribution of them at Sueocheon stream at the northern part of Gwangyang Bay during summer season when the maximum ecological processes are occurring. A total of 44 species of macrozoobenthos occurred, and their mean density was $789individuals/m^2$. Mollusks was the dominant faunal group accounted for 43.1% and 86.8% of the whole community density and biomass, respectively. Top five dominant species were a molluscan, Corbicula japonica (40.7%), two polychaete worms, Neanthes japonica (19.3%) and Heteromastus filiformis( 8.1%), and two crustaceans, Paranthura japonica (6.9%) and Jaeropsis sp. (6.9%). Species diversity index was very low with mean value of 1.12 and maximum value was recorded at the river mouth. At the upper stream, a brackish water species such as Corbicula japonica showed their maximum population density. The overall distribution of stream macrobenthos showed a rather simple pattern along with salinity and grain size gradients with few brackish water species occurring at coarse sediments in the stream but more diverse faunas inhabiting fine sediments in the river mouth.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.46-54
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• 1992

An investigation on the benthic polychaete community in Youngil Bay was conducted during four seasons of 1991. Polychaetes. the dominant macrofaunal group occupying 71.3% in total macro-faunal density, comprised a total of 72 species with a mean density of 1,485 indiv. m/SUP -2/. The highest species number of 54 spp. and density of 3,207 undiv. m/SUP -2/ was recorded in summer, while the lowest in autumn. The most abundant species was Spiophanes nombyx (37.5%), followed by Pseudopolydora sp.(8.4%), Lumbrineris longifolia(7.0%), Madden cristata(6.5%), Polydora ciliata(4.9%) and so on. Maldane cristata was dominated in winter, Polydora ciliata in spring and Spiophanes bombyx in summer and autumn. The density and species number of Polychaetes were high in the southeastern area of Youngil Bay, and poor near the mouth of Hyoungsan River. Based on the species composition, study area was divided into three regions. Each region sustained its specific benthic faunal assemblage; Maldane-Praxillella assemblage from the middle to the southeastern region of Youngil Bay, Spiophanes-Nephtys assemblage in the northwestern region, and Pseudopolydora-Polydora-Capitella assemblage from the mouth of Hyoungsan River to Pohang Hobour. Maldane Praxillella assemblage showed the highest species number of 55 spp.. and the highest species diversity and species richness indices. Spiophanes-Nephtys assemblage had the highest density of 2,675 indiv. m/SUP -2/ and the highest dominance index because of the predominance of Spiophanes bombyx with a density of 2,073 indiv. m/SUP -2/. Pseudopolydora-Polydora-Capitella assemblage was found in the polluted area and it was a specific assemblage mainly composed of the dominance of organic pollution indicator species. The dominant Polychaetes were Pseudopolydora sp., Polydora ciliata, Capitella capitata, and Dorvillea sp.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.659-672
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• 1994

Four simple plotting techniques using the distribution of individuals among species were applied and the results discussed to evaluate the methods for detecting organic pollution-induced perturbation in marine benthic communities in Chinhae Bay, Korea: Rarefaction method, Abundance-Biomass Comparison method, Log-Normal Distribution method and Rank-Frequency Diagram method. Their distribution curves offered more information on the community structure than other frequently used diversity indices and distinguished clear evidence of an effect of environmental pollution with gradient. However, the Abundance-Biomass Comparison method could not be considered applicable due to the presence of larger slowly growing K-strategists in a polluted area of the inner Chinhae Bay, Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.341-350
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• 2004

We examined estuarine macrobenthos in Namdaecheon estuary, Gangneung, Korea, September 22, 1997. A total of 56 species were found together with an abundance of 378 individuals $m^{-2}$/ and a biomass of 20.79 gWWt $m^{-2}$. The major dominant species were unidentified oligochaete followed by different species of polychaetes Hediste japonica, Rhynchospio glutaea, Poecilochaetus trilobatus, Scoloplos armiger, Spiophanes bombyx and a talitrid amphipod Platorchestia crassicornis. The study area was divided into two different groups of stations and species, based on the q -mode and r-mode clustering analysis. In case of q-mode, there are two groups: one is a marine station group and the other is estuarine group. The r-mode clustering analysis showed the two main communities as follows; 1) Marine species group occurred only at station 7, 8 and 9 and 2) Estuarine species group composed of the species present at station 1 to 6 and 10 to 15. In the number of species, the estuarine station group includes 13 species, whereas 43 species were presented in the marine station group. Total macrofaunal abundance and total biomass were higher in the marine station group than those in the estuarine group. The species diversity index was also high in the marine group (> 2), whereas it was less than ca. 1 in the estuarine group.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.184-193
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• 1989

An investigation on the soft-bottom macrobenthic community in the inner Kyeonggi Bay was conducted in July, October of 1987 and February, May of 1988. The benthic fauna comprised a total of 87 species and showed mean density of 550 indiv./$m^2$. Major faunal groups are polychaetes, molluks, and crustaceans, corresponding to 64.7%, 17.4%, and 15.2% in total abundance respectively. The most abundant species was Tharyx sp. (10.9%), and followed by Mactra veneriformis (10.5%), Mediomastus sp. (8.6%), and Glycinde sp. (8.0%) etc.. The important species in the intertidal zone were Mactra veneriformis, Hinia festiva, and Nephtys californiensis, whereas those in subtidal channel region were Tharyx sp., mediomastus sp., Sternaspis scutata, and Nephtys polybranchia. The study area could be divided into 4 station groups based on the species composition; two groups within interidal flat and two in channel regions. Each station group sustained its specific benthic faunal assemblage; Mactra-Hinia, Aricidea-Haploscoloplos assemblages in the intertidal flat and Harpiniopsis-Urothoe, Mediomastus-Sternaspis assemblages in the subtidal channel region. The Mediomastus-Sternaspis assemblage showed the highest species number and population density, and also did the highest diversity and evenness indices. The Harpiniopsis-Urothoe assemblage showed the poor species composition and abundance, and so recorded the highest dominance index. Two assemblages in the intertidal flat had the intermediate values in all the biological parameters. The northern channel region of zone S-2 showed the high abundance in species composition, which seems to be caused by the heterogeneous sediment and the organic enrichment from the Han River and the Incheon industrial complex.