• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.40-49
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• 2004

An ecological study on a sea urchin population, Strongylocentrotus nudus, a key role species in recovery of macroalgal bed, was conducted in Hosan, Samcheok area on the east coast of Korea. Three experimental plots, namely, AMB (artificially-restored macroalgal bed), BG (barren grounds) and NMB (natural macroalgal bed) were established after a pilot survey in June 2002. Distribution and abundance, grazing rates, predation pressure and predator guilds on S. nudus were estimated in three plots bimonthly from Aug. to Dec., 2002. Abundance of S. nudus was lowest, but median test diameter of the urchin was highest (Kruskal-Wallis test, p-value, p<0.001 in Aug. and p=0.003 in Oct.) in NMB In-situ grazing rate of S. nudus estimated by enclosure cage experiment in NMB was about 12 times higher in Aug. (160.0 mg seaweed/g sea urchin/day) than in Oct. (13.8). Predation intensity measured by tethering experiment was higher in NMB. Most of the predators on S. nudus were invertebrates and no fish predators were found. Predator guilds identified by the fish trap experiment using live or dead sea urchins included who]ks Neptunea arthritica, starfish Asterina pectinifera, hermit crabs Pagurus of. samuelis, Paguristes barbatus, brown shawl crabs Atergatis integerrimus and crabs Actaea subglobosa. High predation pressure on S. nudus in natural macroalgal beds was the likely cause of its low density. Elevated sea urchin density and the consequent lasting deforestation of macroalgae in barren grounds demonstrate the importance of predation pressure on sea urchins.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.380-389
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• 2007

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were analyzed in suspended particulate organic matter, macroalgae and macrobenthic invertebrates in order to determine the importance of primary organic matter sources in supporting food webs of rocky subtidal and intertidal macroalgal beds in the Korean coasts. Investigations were conducted at the inter tidal sites within Gwangyang bay, a semi-enclosed and eutrophicated bay, and the subtidal sites of the east coast, a relatively oligotrophic and open environment, in May and June 2005. Water-column suspension feeders showed more negative $\delta^{13}C$ values than those of the other feeding guilds, indicating trophic linkage with phytoplankton and thereby association with pelagic food chains. In contrast, animals of the other feeding guilds, including interface suspension feeders, herbivores, deposit feeders, omnivores and predators, displayed relatively less negative $\delta^{13}C$ values than those of the water-column suspension feeders and similar with that of macroalgae, indicating exclusive use of macroalgae-derived organic matter and association with benthic food chains. Most the macrobenthic species were considered to form strong trophic links with benthic food chains. In addition, the distribution of higher $\delta^{15}N$ values in macrobenthic consumers and macroalgae at the intertidal sites of Gwangyang Bay than those at the subtidal sites of the east coast suggests that anthropogenic nutrients may enhance the macroalgal production at the intertidal sites and in turn be incorporated into the particular littoral food web in Gwangyag Bay. These results confirm the dominant role of macroalgae in supporting rocky subtidal and intertidal food webs in the Korean coasts.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.125-132
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• 2007

We estimated the distribution of predator-prey interaction strengths for 12 species of herbivores (including amphipods, isopods, gastropods, and sea urchins) and made a regression model that may be applicable to other species. Laboratory experiments were used to determine per capita grazing rate (PCGR; g seaweeds/individual/day). Relationship between the biomass of individual grazers and fourth-root transformed PCGR was fitted to power curve ($y=0.2310x^{0.3290}$, r=0.8864). This finding supported that the grazing efficiency was not even as individual grazers increase in size (biomass). Therefore, the biomass-normalized PCGR was estimated and revealed that smaller size herbivores were more effective grazers. Grazing impact considering density of each taxon was calculated. The sea hare Aplysia kurodai had greatest grazing impact on the seaweed bed and the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus nudus and S. intermedius were ranked in descending order of the impact. The amount of seaweed grazed by the amphipod Elasmopus sp. (>4,000 $ind./m^2$) and Jassa falcata (>2,000 $ind./m^2$) were 3.435 and $1.697mg/m^2/day$ respectively. The combined grazing amount of herbivores was $5,045mg/m^2/day$ in the seaweed bed. Although sea hare and sea urchin had strong impacts on seaweeds, the effects of dense, smaller species could not be seen as negligible. Surprisingly, the calculated grazing potential of sea urchins with a mean density of 3 $ind./m^2$ exceeded the mean production of seaweed cultured in domestic coastal waters in Korea (ca., 5 ton/ha). Small crustaceans were also expected to consume up to 16% of the seaweed production if their densities were rising under weak predation conditions. Considering that the population density of herbivores are strongly controlled by fish, human interference like overfishing may have strong negative effects on persistence of seaweeds communities.