• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.22-30
• /
• 2021

This study aimed to determine the monthly fish species composition in the eelgrass bed of Yeocha on Hansando Island, Korea, and to obtain fish species data by comparison with the nearby Bongam. The species composition was determined from monthly samples collected by a surf net from August 2009 to July 2010. During the survey, total 2,394 individuals of 29 species and 10,378 g of fish were collected. The dominant species were Gymnogobius heptacanthus, followed by Takifugu niphobles, Rudarius ercodes, Chaenogobius annularis, and Ditrema temminckii, accounting for 89% of the total individuals sampled and 83% of the fish biomass collected. The fish assemblages in the eelgrass bed varied seasonally; the number of individual fishes increased in May and was highest in July, whereas the biomass attained its highest level in April and subsequently decreased. This study confirms that the seagrass bed plays an important role as a fish nursery ground, and it is necessary to investigate changes in the coastal fishes of the southern coast via periodic surveys.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.130-138
• /
• 2017

Fish species composition in eelgrass bed of Bongam on Hansando island, Korea was determined using monthly samples collected by a surf net from August 2009 to July 2010. A total of 30 species, 3,237 individuals and 6,850.1g of fish were collected. The dominant species were Gymnogobius heptacanthus, Rudarius ercodes, Takifugu niphobles, Chaenogobius annularis, Pterogobius elapoides and Syngnathus schlegeli which accounted for 86.7% of total number of individuals of fish collected. Eelgrass started growing from May ($DW61.9g/m^2$) showing a peak biomass in August ($DW81.6g/m^2$), and low values in November ($DW57.23g/m^2$) to February ($DW15.41g/m^2$). The fish assemblages in the eelgrass beds showed clear seasonal changes; the number of fish species and individuals were low from September to December 2009, and high from December 2009 to July 2010. Seasonal variation in species composition and abundance was related to the water temperature and standing crops of eelgrass.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.15.1-15.14
• /
• 2020

Background: Large rivers are ecological treasures with high human value, but most have experienced decades of degradation from industrial and municipal sewage, row-crop agricultural practices, and hydrologic alteration. We reviewed published analyses of long-term fish diversity publications from three intensively managed large river ecosystems to demonstrate the conservation potential of large river ecosystems. Results: We show how the incorporation of recent advances in river concepts will allow a better understanding of river ecosystem functioning and conservation. Lastly, we focus on the Wabash River ecosystem based on high conservation value and provide a list of actions to maintain and support the ecosystem. In the Wabash River, there were originally 66 species of freshwater mussels, but now only 30 species with reproducing populations remain. Although there were multiple stressors over the last century, the largest change in Wabash River fish biodiversity was associated with rapid increases in municipal nutrient loading and invasive bigheaded carps. Conclusions: Like similarly neglected large river systems worldwide, the Wabash River has a surprising amount of ecological resilience and recovery. For instance, of the 151 native fish species found in the 1800s, only three species have experienced local extinctions, making the modern assemblage more intact than many comparable rivers in the Mississippi River basin. However, not all the changes are positive or support the idea of recovery. Primary production underpins the productivity of these ecosystems, and the Wabash River phytoplankton assemblages shifted from high-quality green algae in the 1970s to lower less nutritional blue-green algae as nutrient and invasive species have recently increased. Our recommendations for the Wabash River and other altered rivers include the restoration of natural hydrology for the mainstem and tributaries, nutrient reductions, mechanisms to restore historical hydrologic patterns, additional sediment controls, and improved local hydraulics.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.37-45
• /
• 2011

Seasonal variation in species composition and abundance of fish larvae assemblages in the south-western Jinhae Bay were investigated monthly in 2009. During the study period, 49 larvae species belonging to 24 families were collected. The dominant species were Clupea pallasii, Hexagrammos otakii, Konosirus punctatus, Engraulis japonicus, Parablennius yatabei, and Omobranchus elegansei. These six species accounted for 92.7% of the total number of individuals collected. The number of species, number of individuals, and species diversity indices fluctuated with the seasons. The peak number of species and individuals occurred in July and January, respectively. Principal component analysis(PCA) and correlation analysis showed that variation in monthly water temperature could act as an indicator of seasonal variation in community structure and abundance of the dominant species; in particular, those of C. pallasii, H. otakii, E. japonicus and P. yatabei corresponded with the water temperature.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.177-186
• /
• 1995

To study the fish larval community in the coastal waters off Shinsudo, Samchonpo, samples were collected with long bag net at 2 stations from October 1986 to September 1987. Forty-four species in 29 families were collected during the period of investigation. Engraulis japonicus, Enedrias nebulosus, Ammodytes personatus and Astriconger myriaster predominated in fish assemblage. These four fish species accounted for approximately 96.79% in number and 73.94% in biomass. Number of species, number of individuals and biomass were high during the spring, but low in summer. A peak of diversity(H') for number was found in April 1987, and that for biomass was in October 1986. Four showing dominant species had their own seasonal abundance patterns, a peak of abundance between the species at 2 months intervals.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.759-766
• /
• 2017

In order to identify the species composition and distribution pattern of larval fish assemblages in the southern coastal waters of Korea, monthly samples were taken using an RN80 net which was towed horizontally in three different regions (Yeosu, Namhae and Tongyoung) between May to September 2016. A total of fifty taxa were collected during the study. Among these, Engraulis japonicus, which accounted for 56.8 % of the total population, was the most dominant species, followed by Sillago japonicus, Parablennius yatabei, Gobiidae Type A, Parablennidae sp., and Omobranchus elegans as dominant taxa, that accounted for 87.5% of the total number of individuals. ANOSIM results revealed that regional groups were not separated, but seasonal groups were clearly divided with statistical significance, and these differences were caused mainly by water temperature variations identified by canonical analysis.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.53 no.2
• /
• pp.148-155
• /
• 2020

In this study, we analyzed the effects of the presence or absence of weirs on fish assemblages in wadeable streams (Stream order 1^st~4^th). More specifically, we investigated these effects by evaluating the differences in stream size. The results showed differences in the fish assemblages in third or higher order streams (PERMANOVA, P<0.005). The presence or absence of weirs mainly affected variables such as the number of species the individuals, and species richness index, whereas no difference was observed in the populations of exotic, endemic, and endangered species. A SIMPER analysis showed that the common species Zacco platypus, Zacco koreanus, and Pungtungia herzi are dominant in their corresponding streams (contribution>5%), and that these are the main contributors to differences among the fish assemblages. All these species showed high relative abundances at the sites with weirs. Altered environments by the presence of weirs provided these species with concentrated habitats. In summary, this study analyzed the effects of weirs on fish assemblages on a broad, nationwide, scale, and these results can effectively aid future studies on the specific effects of weirs.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2015

Abstract The purpose of study is to identify the relationship between stable isotope composition of reed stems in coastal and understand the structure of the fish community in 10 lagoons along the East Sea. The fish species composition (particularly, anadromous fish species) and relative abundance of trophic guilds was influenced by difference of geomorphic characteristics among lagoons. Reed stems ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$ values ranged from $-28.40{\pm}0.11$‰ to $-26.87{\pm}0.25$‰ and $-1.09{\pm}1.45$‰ to $12.08{\pm}0.53$‰, respectively. The differences in reed stem ${\delta}^{15}N$ values might be associated with anthropogenic landuse and the geomorphic characteristics among lagoons. These results provide useful information to improve the conservation of fish habitats (biodiversity), preserve lagoon habitats and contribute to watershed management effect against anthropogenic pollution from watershed in these lagoon ecosystems.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.796-804
• /
• 2006

The objective of this research was to develop ecological multi-metric models using natural fish assemblages for a diagnosis of current stream health condition, and apply the model to nationwide lotic ecosystems of the Geum River, the Youngsan River, and the Sumjin River. The ecological stream health model was based on the index of biological integrity (IBI), which was originally developed in North American streams by Karr (1981), and the Rapid Bioassessment Protocol (RBP), which was scientifically established by the US EPA (1999). The metric numbers and metric attributes were partially changed for the regional applications, so the scoring criteria was modified for the assessment. Overall, metric values, based on the IBI calculations, reflected conventional water quality characteristics, based on nutrient regime, and agreed with results of staticeco-toxicity tests. Some stations impaired in terms of stream health were identified by the IBI approach, and also major key stressors affecting the stream health were identified by additional evaluations of physical habitats. Our preliminary results suggested that biological integrity in stream ecosystems was largely disturbed by habitat degradation as well as chemical pollutions. This new approach would be used as a key tool for ecological restorations and species conservations in the degraded aquatic ecosystems in Korea and applied for elucidating major causes of ecological disturbances. Ultimately, this approach provides us an effective management strategy of stream ecosystems through establishments of ecological networks in various watersheds.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.311-321
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate effect of stream channel naturalness on ecological health by using environmental factors and Fish Assessment Index (FAI) in the Han River of South Korea. These samples and data have been released from the research project titled Stream/River Ecosystem Survey and Health Assessment, which was conducted in 444 sites in the Han river watershed from 2008 to 2016. All samples were classified into five groups according to a degree of morphological changes of stream. Water chemistry analyses indicated a decline in water quality by decreasing stream channel naturalness, it is assumed that channelized stream was vulnerable to aquatic pollution compared to the natural meandering stream. In the result of frequency of dominant species, sensitive species and insectivore such as Zacco koreanus, Rhynchocypris kumgangensis and Pungtungia herzi were frequently dominated in the natural meandering stream while tolerant species and omnivores such as Carassius auratus and Cyprinus carpio were more dominated in the channelized streams. The FAI in the channelized stream shows decline to average of $46{\pm}25$ compared with that of the natural meandering stream ($80{\pm}20$). The decrease in FAI was highly influenced by changes in matrixes of fish assemblage structure such as number of sensitive species (M3), portion of omnivores (M5) and insectivores (M6). Moreover, annual average FAIs from 2008 to 2016 were significantly correlated with water chemistry, especially TN, TP and BOD ($r^2=0.59$, p<0.0001). Taken together, all the results suggest that the stream channelization could negatively impact on the water quality and fish assemblage structure, leading to degradation in aquatic ecosystem health.