• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.151-171
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• 2017

Most of oceanic current maps in the secondary school science and earth science textbooks have been made on the base of extensive in-situ measurements conducted by Japanese oceanographers during 1930s. According to up-to-date scientific knowledge on the currents in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea (YES), such maps have significant errors and are likely to cause misconceptions to students, thus new schematic map of ocean currents is needed. The currents in the YES change seasonally due to relatively shallow water depths, complex terrain, winds, and tides. These factors make it difficult to construct a unified ocean current map of the YES. Sixteen major items, such as the flow of the Kuroshio Current into the East China Sea and its northward path, the origin of the Tsushima Warm Current and its path into the Korea Strait, the path of Taiwan Warm Current, the Jeju Warm Current, the runoff pattern of the Yangtze River flow, the routes of the northward Yellow Sea Warm Current, the Chinese Coastal Current, and the West Korea Coastal Current off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, were selected to produce the schematic current map. Review of previous scientific researches, in-depth discussions through academic conferences, expert discussions, and consultations for three years since 2014 enabled us to produce the final ocean current maps for the YES after many revisions. Considering the complexity of the ocean currents, we made seven ocean current maps: two representative current patterns in summer and winter, seasonal current maps for upper layer and lower layer in summer and winter, and one representative surface current map. It is expected that the representative maps of the YES, connected to the current maps of the East Sea and the Northwest Pacific Ocean, would be widely utilized for diverse purposes in the secondary-school textbooks as well as high-level educational purposes and even for scientific scholarly experts.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.315-324
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• 2011

The actiniarian sea anemone, Entacmaea quadricolor, and the scleractinian coral, Alveopora japonica, host symbiotic dinoflagellates belonging to the genus Symbiodinium (Freudenthal). We studied the host-symbiont specificity of these two anthozoan hosts in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. Symbionts within the two hosts were identified using partial large subunit (LSU) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and complete internal transcribed spacers (ITS) 1 rDNA regions. The host, E. quadricolor, was identified using the partial LSU rDNA molecular marker. Genetic analysis showed that E. quadricolor only harbors dinoflagellates belonging to subclade C1/3 of the genus Symbiodinium. Moreover, no genetic variation was detected among the symbionts of E. quadricolor within the study region (Korea and Japan), even though the two distant sites were separated by more than 1000 km, at collection depths of 1 m in shallow and 13-16 m in deep water. Whilst scleractinian corals host multiple Symbiodinium clades in tropical waters, A. japonica, sampled over a wide geographical range (800 km) within the study region, only hosts Symbiodinium sp. clade F3. The high specificity of endosymbionts in E. quadricolor and A. japonica within the northwestern Pacific Ocean could be accounted for because symbiotic dinoflagellates within the host anemones appear to be acquired maternally, and the Kuroshio Current might affect the marine biota of the northwestern Pacific. However, the consistency of the symbiotic relationships between these two anthozoan hosts and their endosymbionts could change after climate change, so this symbiotic specificity should be monitored.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.311-321
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• 2009

Three categories (freshwater, amphidromous, and marine fishes) of Taiwanese fishes are analyzed on the basis of zoogeographic elements, viz. China element, Indo-China element, Indo-West Pacific element, Indo-Pacific element, North-Pacific element, Japan-Oregon element, and circumtropical element. Freshwater fishes, which include the China and Indo-China elements, are distributed on part of the boundary area between the Palaearctic and Oriental regions of Wallace (1876). Diadromous fishes include the North-Pacific, Indo-China and Indo-West Pacific elements. Taiwanese salmon, a landlocked (initially diadromous) species that became established in Taiwan between 0.5 my B.P. and the early Pleistocene, is recognized as a distinct taxon included within the Oncorhynchus masou complex, which comprises here three species and two subspecies, viz. Oncorhynchus masou masou (Sancheoneo, Songeo, Sakura-masu or Yamame), O. masou ishikawae (Satsuki-masu or Amago), O. sp. (Biwa-masu), and O. formosanus (Taiwanese salmon), based on molecular, morphological and biological studies. Marine fishes are discussed under the following headings, brackish-water fishes (fishes of brackish waters and seas adjacent to continental coastlines, North Pacific and Indo-West Pacific elements; fishes of brackish waters and seas primarily around islands, Indo-West Pacific element), reef fishes (fishes of inshore reefs along continental coastlines from 0 to ca.100 m depth, Indo-West Pacific element; fishes of inshore reefs primarily around islands from 0 to ca.100 m depth, Indo-West Pacific element; fishes of offshore reefs along continental shelf edges from ca.150 to 300 m depth, circumtropical and Indo-Pacific elements; fishes of offshore reefs primarily around islands from ca.150 to 300 m depth, Indo-Pacific element), demersal fishes (fishes on continental shelves shallower than ca.150 m depth, Indo-West Pacific and Japan-Oregon elements; fishes on edges and upper continental slopes from ca.150 m to 500 m depth, Indo-West Pacific, Indo-Pacific, and circumtropical elements; fishes on lower continental slopes to abyssal plains from ca.500 m to 6,000 m depth, circumtropical element and rarely Indo-Pacific element), pelagic fishes (epipelagic fishes from 0 to ca.150 m depth, Indo-West Pacific, Indo-Pacific or circumtropical elements; meso- and bathypelagic fishes from ca.150 to 3,000 m depth, circumtropical element). The distribution of Taiwanese marine fishes are influenced by the Kuroshio Current, low-salinity and low-temperature waters from mainland China, and sea-bottom topography.

• Ocean Science Journal
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.125-137
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• 2006

Nutrients, chlorophyll-a, particulate organic carbon (POC), and environmental conditions were extensively investigated in the northern East China Sea (ECS) near Cheju Island during three seasonal cruises from 2003 to 2005. In spring and autumn, relatively high concentrations of nitrate ($2.6{\sim}12.4\;{\mu}mol\;kg^{-1}$) and phosphate ($0.17{\sim}0.61\;{\mu}mol\;kg^{-1}$) were observed in the surface waters in the western part of the study area because of the large supply of nutrients from deep waters by vertical mixing. The surface concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in summer were much lower than those in spring and autumn, which is ascribed to a reduced nutrient supply from the deep waters in summer because of surface layer stratification. While previous studies indicate that upwellings of the Kuroshio Current and the Changjiang (Yangtze River) are main sources of nutrients in the ECS, these two inputs seem not to have contributed significantly to the build-up of nutrients in the northern ECS during the time of this study. The lower nitrate:phosphate (N:P) ratio in the surface waters and the positive correlation between the surface N:P ratio and nitrate concentration indicate that nitrate acts as a main nutrient limiting phytoplankton growth in the northern ECS, contrary to previous reports of phosphate-limited phytoplankton growth in the ECS. This difference arises because most surface water nutrients are supplied by vertical mixing from deep waters with low N:P ratios and are not directly influenced by the Changjiang, which has a high N:P ratio. Surface chlorophyll-a levels showed large seasonal variation, with high concentrations ($0.38{\sim}4.14\;mg\;m^{-3}$) in spring and autumn and low concentrations ($0.22{\sim}1.05\;mg\;m^{-3}$) in summer. The surface distribution of chlorophyll-a coincided fairly well with that of nitrate in the northern ECS, implying that nitrate is an important nutrient controlling phytoplankton biomass. The POC:chlorophyll-a ratio was $4{\sim}6$ times higher in summer than in spring and autumn, presumably because of the high summer phytoplankton death rate caused by nutrient depletion in the surface waters.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.39-53
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• 2000

The ascidians specimens were collected from Tangsa and its adjacent waters in Korea by scuba divers during the period from 1994 to 1999. They were identified into 30 species which are reported for the first time in Tangsa. Out of them one species, Molgula hozawai, was turned out to be new to the Korean fauna, and six species, such as Eudistoma illotum, Symplegma connectans, Boltenia trasversaria, Microcosmus nultitentaculatus, Pyura squamata and Molgula hozawai, were newly recorded in Chundo Island and Geojedo Island, which are influenced by warm waters of the Kuroshio Current.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2010

To assess short-term variation of summer phytoplankton community structure in different water masses, phytoplankton and environmental factors were monitored from 31 stations on and off the southern coasts of Korea, from June 18 to June 20 2009. According to multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis based on phytoplankton community data from each station, the southern sea was divided into two groups. The first group included stations in the south-eastern region of Jeju Island, which is strongly influenced by the Kuroshio warm current. The second group located along the coastal region of the southern sea, which was mainly comprised of Bacillariophyceae and Crytophyceae. Of these stations, St. 13 and 28 formed a temperature front caused by different hydrological conditions. In particular, nutrients and Chl.a concentrations in these two stations were significantly higher compared to those in the other stations. This indicates that phytoplankton population and subsequent microalgal growth under high nutrient concentrations vary in different water masses. Our results support the theory that phytoplankton community structure in the southern sea of Korea can be influenced on a short-term scale by different water masses and currents.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.289-301
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• 2008

Community structure of heterotrophic protists and their grazing impact on phytoplankton were studied in Northwest Pacific Ocean during October, 2007. The study area was divided into four regions based on physical properties (temperature and salinity) and chlorophyll-a distribution. They were Region I of North Equatorial Currents, Region II of Kuroshio waters, Region III of shelf mixed water, and Region IV of Tsushima warm current from East China Sea. The distribution of chlorophyll-a concentrations and community structure of heterotrophic protists were significantly affected by physical properties of the water column. The lowest concentration of chlorophyll-a was identified in Region I and II, where pico-sized chlorophyll-a was most dominant (>80% of total chlorophyll-a). Biomass of heterotrophic protists was also low in Region I and II. However, Region III was characterized by low salinity and temperature and high chlorophyll-a concentration, with relatively lower pico-sized chlorophyll-a dominance. The Highest biomass of heterotrophic protists appeared in Region III, along with the relatively less important nanoprotists. In Region I, II and IV, heterotrophic dinoflagellates were dominant among the protists, while ciliates were dominant in Region III. Community structure varied with physical(salinity and temperature) and biological (chlorophyll-a) properties. Biomass of heterotrophic protists correlated well with chlorophyll-a concentration in the study area ($r^2=0.66$, p<0.0001). The potential effect of grazing activity on phytoplankton is relatively high in Region I and II. Our result suggest that biomass and size structure of heterotrophic protists might be significantly influenced by phytoplankton size and concentration.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.183-194
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• 2017

The catch of Todarodes pacificus in the Yellow Sea is commonly known as the winter cohort. So, to understand the transport process of winter cohort of T. pacificus, and to identify whether the simulated individuals which are transported directly into the Yellow Sea (YS) influence these resources immediately, we conducted a Lagrangian-particle-tracking numerical experiments of T. pacificus from 2005 to 2010 using LTRANS and ROMS. The results show that: (1) Most of the released individuals spread out to the open sea by the Kuroshio and the Tsushima Warm Current around 30 days after release. (2) Unlike the hypothesis proposed by Rosa et al. (2011), Around $30-33N^{\circ}$ near Jeju Island simulated the initial position (3) About 0.01% of individuals released in December were transported solely into the YS around 15 days after release. However there were no surviving individuals due to the low temperature less than $12^{\circ}C$. Also the variation of individuals entered into the YS was not significantly correlated with it in YS catches during the experimental period. Therefore, the most of resources in the YS is assumed to be more influenced by diverse factors of the Pacific Ocean and East Sea than the direct transport in the YS of winter cohort.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.325-330
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• 2016

Sea level is upward trend since the end of 19th century, it is accelerating after 20th century. Because sea level height has regional differences, we concerned sea level change in Korean Peninsula. We used Topex/Poseidon, Jason-1 and Jason-2 satellite altimetry data which has $1/4^{\circ}$ resolution. From 1993 to 2013, for 21 years, monthly mean sea level anomaly was negative between January and April, positive between March and October. Bohai Bay in China, affected the continental climate, showed big sea level changes. Mean sea level data showed remarkably affecting the continental climate in Bohai Bay in China, the Kuroshio Current and eddy affects the sea level change.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.68-81
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• 1984

To characterize community structure and distribution of phytoplankton, cluster analyses are performed on quantitative data of phytoplankton collected from the southwestern sea of Korea in early summer, 1980. The cluster analysis shows that the phytoplankton of the study area consists of three distinct characteristic communities, representing different water masses. The species of the first community, predominant in the southwestern coastal were of the main land, are mostly neritic and cold water diatoms. The second community consists of neritic and oceanic diatoms, a few flagellates and an euglenoid. These species are predominant in the vicinity of Jeju Island with warm and high saline waters which seems to be a branch of the Kuroshio Current. The species of the last community, consisting primarily of small-sized dinoflagellates, are predominant in the rest part of the study area with warm and low saline water. Addition, the vertical distributions of phytoplankton and environmental factors show that high concentration of phytoplankton cells, chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen are observed near the seasonal pycnocline in the off-coastal area. Fraction of nanoplankton take the above 90% of the total cell concentration in the surface mixed layer of off-coastal area where the seasonal pycnocline develops in summer.