• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.43-55
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• 2004

Meiobenthic community structure was studied in intertidal mud flat and sand flat of Yeochari in Ganghwado in May and August, 1998. Sixteen groups of meiofauna were found at all study sites in the Yeochari tidal flats. Nematodes were the most dominant animal group among the meiofaunal groups as a whole. Sarcomastigophorans, harpacticoid copepods, nauplius larvae of crustaceans and ciliophorans which were also important components of the meiofaunal community. All of these five faunal groups comprised more than 90% of total meiofauna. The maximum total density of meiobenthos was $5.8{\times}10^6ind./m^2$ at the station of sand flat in August and the minimum density was $4.0{\times}10^6ind./m^2$ at same station in May. Biomass of meiobenthos was $1.5g/m^2$(May), $2.3g/m^2$(August) at mud flat and $1.7g/m^2$(May), $2.6g/m^2$(August) at sand flat. At the station of mud flat in May, the highest density was observed within 1cm in depth of upper sediment and steeply decreased increasing depth of sediment. At the sand flat station in August, the highest density was also observed within 1cm in depth of upper sediment and decreased with depth, while the concentration of the animals at the surface was not conspicuous as the mud flat. The value of N/C(nematodes/benthic harpacticoids) ratio was the highest at the station of sand flat in May and the lowest at the sand flat in August.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.125-137
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• 2022

To assess the characteristics of meiofaunal community fluctuations related to environmental factors, seasonal surveys were conducted in the subtidal zone of Hallyeohaesang National Park. The average depth of the study area was about 20 m, and the average water temperature at the bottom was low in winter(11.33℃) and high in summer(17.95℃). The sedimentary particles mainly comprised silt and clay at most stations. The abundance of meiofauna ranged from 81.7 to 1,296.5 Inds. 10 cm^-2, and the average abundance was 589.3 Inds. 10 cm^-2. The average abundance of meiofauna in each season was the lowest at 416.5 Inds. 10cm^-2 in winter and the highest at 704.5Inds.10 cm^-2 in spring. The dominant taxa were nematodes (about 92%) and harpacticoids (about 5%). In the cluster analysis of meiofaunal communities, they were divided into four significant groups. The largest group mainly contained spring and summer samples, and contained stations with a high nematode density of over 500 Inds. 10 cm^-2 and harpacticoids below 50 Inds. 10 cm^-2 with a high composition ratio of nematodes. In the cluster analysis, no regional division was found between the stations, and it was thought to be divided by the seasons with high abundance according to seasonal variation and the composition ratio of nematodes and harpacticoids. In the Spearman rank correlation analysis, the density of total meiofauna and the most dominant taxa, nematodes, was not significantly related to environmental factors. However, the density of harpacticoids had a significant positive correlation with water depth and a negative correlation with sediment particle size.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.26-41
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• 2020

In order to culture a life for the physiological and ecological research of the meiofauna, this study aimed to identify the most ideal condition in which the meiofauna can be cultured within a laboratory by setting various environmental conditions. The sediment deposits and seawater were collected from the intertidal zone in Mallipo of the west coast. A aquarium in which the internal environment can be controlled by constantly maintaining the temperature and humidity was fabricated and the culture experiments of the collected meiofauna were conducted together with the sea water and sediment deposits collected. The experiment 1 was conducted after establishing the similar environment as the collecting location. Under the same condition as the experiment 1, the experiment 2 verified a difference between when live foods were supplied and were not. In the experiment 3, the changes in the meiofauna colony were checked according to with or without light and live foods. In the results of culturing experiments, the habitat density and the number of appeared classification groups of the meiofauna colony were relatively higher both in the water tank with supplying the live foods and under the condition of having light in 12-hour cycle than those in the aquarium without live foods and under no light condition. In addition, the habitat density of meiofauna cultured within a laboratory exhibited relatively higher value than that under the natural state.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.79-90
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• 2016

This study investigates seasonal variation and spatial distribution of meiobenthic community of Gamak Bay (one of the major bays of southern coastal area of Korea). Total of 6 surveys of 10 stations took place, once in February, June and October of 2009 and through 2010. Community structure, taxon diversity (H') and nematodes/copepods ratio of meiobenthos were studied in Gamak Bay. During the study period, nematodes and harpacticoids were the most dominant taxa among the meiofaunal groups in Gamak Bay. Taxon diversity (H') was the highest at the outer stations and the lowest at the inner stations in the Gamak Bay. The nematodes/copepods ratio was seasonally studied as an index of pollution monitoring for the benthic ecosystem at each station. As a result, nematodes/copepods ratio was the highest at the inner stations and the lowest at the outer stations in Gamak Bay.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.103-125
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• 2022

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.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.144-157
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• 2016

The community structure of meiobenthos was investigated from seasonal surveys at four stations of Keunso Bay in Taean. Samples of meiobenthos were collected in August, October, 2013 and January, April, 2014. Triplicate faunal samples were collected by using an acryl corer with a 3.6 cm diameter at each station. The mean grain size of the study area ranged from 3.65 ø to 6.35 ø. Total 13 meiofaunal groups were found in the study area. The total density of meiobenthos at each station was be $1,521-7,849ind./10cm^2$. Nematodes were the most dominant faunal group at all stations. The subdominant group were Sarcomastigophorans and benthic harpacticoid copepods. The highest meiofaunal density was shown in spring, whereas the lowest density was recorded in summer. A total of 13 meiobenthic taxa were found, the richest taxa in October at station 2 ($13ind./10cm^2$), and the lowest in April at station 4 ($5ind./10cm^2$). There were seasonal fluctuations in the number of meiobenthic taxa decreasing from summer to spring. The density of meiobenthos gradually decreased as the depth of sediment increased. Seasonal changes in the vertical distribution of meiobenthos in the study area occurred mainly near the sediment surface.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.400-421
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• 2019

This study was conducted to find out the seasonal distribution characteristics of meiobenthic communities to understand the benthic ecosystem of Gwangyang Bay, one of the representative bays in the southern coast of Korea. The faunal sampling was conducted eight times seasonally at 20 stations from 2010 to 2011. Among the meiobenthic fauna that appeared during the study period, the nematodes and harpacticoids were the most dominant. In the summer of 2011, the lowest density ($13ind.10m^{-2}$) was seen at station 10 on the inner part of the bay. In the winter of 2011, the highest density ($3,109ind.10m^{-2}$) was seen at station 4 on the inner part of the bay. Although the trend of seasonal changes in density was not clear, the meiobenthic community was seen to be affected more by the environmental factors in each season. Particularly, while the density of the harpacticoids, a dominant faunal group, showed negative correlations with the organic content and average particle size in the summer sediments (p<0.05, p<0.01), the density of the nematodes showed no significant correlation with the environmental factors except with the winter average particle size and the bottom layer's water temperature. The density change of meiobenthos showed irregular changes in Gwangyang Bay, instead of a general trend showing a low density in winter due to low water temperature but an increased density in spring and summer when the water temperature rises and a decreased one again in fall. Considering such a seasonal trend, it seems that the benthic ecosystem of Gwangyang Bay is affected more by artificial environmental factors than by natural environmental ones.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2003

To investigate the community structure and meiofaunal density in seagrass/bare non-seagrass beds, a survey was conducted at three seagrass bed locations in Doomoojin of Baegryongdo, inner harbor of Eocheongdo in May 1999, and Yulim of Dolsando for every month from February to July 1999. Meiobenthic samples were collected from sediments within seagrass beds (SB) and non-seagrass bed (or adjacent to barren sand area, NSB). Nematodes were the most dominant group among representative 13 meiofaunal groups. The sub-dominant groups were benthic for-aminiferans, benthic harpacticoids, and annelids. The highest density of meiofauna was recorded at a seagrass bed of Yulim (7,244 ind/10 $\textrm{cm}^2$ in June), and lowest density was recorded at a non-seauass bed of Baegryoungdo (438 ind/ 10 $\textrm{cm}^2$ in May). For vertical distribution, the highest density of meiofauna was recorded at 0-2 cm depth, and the density abruptly decreased with depth in all stations. The density of meiofauna in size between 0.125 m and 0.25 mm was maximum. Sediment types for the study areas ranged from sandy to sandy mud by the Folk's classification. The density of total meiofauna, the number of taxa, and the density of the dominant groups (nematodes, benthic for-aminiferans, benthic harpacticoids, annelids) between SB and NSB were significantly different. The results clearly showed the importance of seagrass bed as suitable habitat for meiofauna.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.308-320
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• 2004

The Community structure of meiobenthos was studied seasonally at 5 stations of Bangameori tidal flat and 3 stations of subtidal area in Daebudo near the Shiwha dike in the west coast of Korea, from May 2000 to February 2001. Mean grain size of intertidal stations ranged from $3.16\;\varphi\;to\;3.73\varphi$ (sand), subtidal stations were $5.81~6.67\;\varphi$ (mud). Nematodes were the most dominant group among the representative 19 meiofaunal groups at all stations in both tidal flat and sub-tidal area. The subdominant groups were benthic harpacticoid copepods and Sarcomastigophorans. The density of meiobenthos ranged from 145 inds. $10cm^{-2}$ to 2,057 inds. $10cm^{-2}$ (0~1 cm) in the sediment of intertidal stations, and from 391 to 3,787 inds. $10cm^{-2}$ (0~5 cm) in the subtidal stations. The lowest meiofaunal density was recorded in winter, whereas the highest density was shown in spring. Comparing with another previous work at the same area, data from this study does not statistically shown differences with results before discharge of shiwha lake water.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.406-425
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• 2019

To observe the seasonal fluctuation of the meiobenthic fauna community around the coastal area of Jeju island, 20 stations were selected and seasonal surveys were conducted. Three-replicate meiobenthic samples were collected from each station in April, July, and November 2017; February, May, August, and November 2018; and February in 2019, in a total of eight months from 2017 to 2019. The total density of meiobenthos at each station ranged from 733 to 2,505 ind. 10 cm^-2. The month in which the highest habitat density appeared in most stations was April 2017 and the month in which the lowest habitat density was seen was February 2019. Nematodes were the most dominant faunal group among the representative 13 meiofaunal groups at all stations. The subdominant groups were benthic harpacticoid copepods and nauplius. The nematode/copepod (N/C) ratio, reflecting the health indices within the ecosystem, varied from 0.02 to 87.40 over the entire season and the average station values ranged from 2.00 to 16.80. The lowest N/C ratio value was found in April 2017 (0.02) and the highest N/C ratio was found at Station 11 in February 2019, which was 87.40, indicating the highest level of pollution. Seasonal and regional meiobenthos community structure similarity was divided into three groups through group analysis and multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) analysis, which showed that the meiobenthos community structure was affected by seasonal variations, rather than by regional differences.