• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.449-456
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• 2008

Recent studies reveal that the endocrine disrupter nonylphenol can also influence the growth of planktonic organisms. To clarify the effect of nonylphenol on the whole planktonic community, we monitored planktonic abundances after addition of nonylphenol using small-scale microcosms in a laboratory. Nonylphenol was added at final concentrations of 1.25 and $2.5{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$, close to the EC50 for the growth of the rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus. Chlorophyll $\alpha$ concentration increased significantly between 2 to 5 days after nonylphenol treatment compared to the control. The abundance of the predominant phytoplankton, Stephanodiscus hantzschii, followed the same pattern as chlorophyll a concentration. While there was no negative effect on the abundance of ciliates and rotifers, crustacean zooplankton abundance was higher in nonylphenol treatments. Although the relationship did not reach significance, the growth rate of rotifers tended to decline with increasing nonylphenol dosing. It is likely that the decreased rotifer grazing on S. hantzschii caused significant increase in their abundance. This study emphasizes the importance of considering indirect effects of environmental pollutants when predicting the response of biological community to toxicant exposure.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.153-160
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• 2009

A phytoplankton cultivation system was installed and operated for removal of nutrients from stream water polluted by nonpoint source pollution. The system was a continuous-flow culture comprising a phytoplankton tank that received inflow from a storage reservoir. When the system was operated as a batch culture for the purpose of determining hydraulic retention time (HRT), the proper HRT value was three days, and the removal rate of TP and TN averaged 70% and 44%, respectively. When the system was operated with the continuous flow from a stream for 45 days, 53.9% of TP and 53.1% of TN were removed as sludge. Due to active growth of phytoplankton, pH and dissolved oxygen in the phytoplankton tank were extremely high, reaching 10.8 and 16mg $L^{-1}$, respectively. It was concluded that nutrients can be effectively removed from polluted stream waters by cultivating phytoplankton.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.1 s.106
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• pp.36-46
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• 2004

We evaluated the effect of limiting nutrients and N/P ratio on the growth of phytoplankton in a small eutrophic reservoir from November 2002 to December 2003. Nutrient limitation was investigated seasonally using nutrient enrichment bioassay (NEB). DIN/DTP and TN/TP ratio (by weight) of the reservoir during the study period ranged 17${\sim}$187 and 13${\sim}$60, respectively. Most of nitrogen in the reservoir account for $NO_3$-N, but sharp increase of ammonia was evident during the spring season. Seasonal variation of dissolved inorganic phosphorus concentration was relatively small. DTP ranged 26.5${\sim}$10.1 ${\mu}g\;P\;L^{-1}$, and the highest and lowest concentration was observed in August and December, respectively. Chlorophyll a concentration ranged 28.8${\sim}$109.7 ${\mu}g\;L^{-1}$, and its temporal variation was similar to that of cell density of phytoplankton. Dominant phytoplankton species were Bacillariphyceae (Melosira varians) and Chlorophyceae (Dictyosphaerium puchellum) in Spring (March${\sim}$April). Cyanophyceae, such as Osillatoria spp., Microcystis spp., Aphanizomenon sp. dominated from May to the freezing time. TN/TP ratio ranged from 46 to 13 (Avg. 27${\pm}$6) from June to December when cyanobacteria (Microcystis spp.) dominated. p limitation for algal growth measured in all NEB experiments (17cases), while N limitation occurred in 8 out of 17 cases. The growth rates of phytoplankton slightly increased with decreasing of DIN/DTP ratio. Evident increase was observed in the N/P ratio of > 30, and it was sustained with DTP increase until 50 ${\mu}g\;P\;L^{-1}$. Under the same N/P mass ratio with the different N concentrations (0.07, 0.7and 3.5 mg N $L^{-1}$), Microcystis spp. showed the highest growth rate in the N/P ratio of< 1 with nitrogen concentration of 3.5 mg N $L^{-1}$). The responses of phytoplankton growth to phosphate addition were clearly greater with increase of N concentration. These results indicate that the higher nitrogen concentration in the water likely induce the stronger P-limitation on the phytoplankton growth, while nitrogen deficiency is not likely the case of nutrient limitation.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.219-228
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• 1992

The steady state and decay characteristics of primary fluorescence of twelve clones of phytoplankton were investigated in vivo. At 380-435nm region, intense fluorescence emission spectra were obtained from the all phytoplankton, examined', The primary fluorescence of phytoplankton in different growth states was examined In order to find out fluorophores for the observed fluorescence, eight different pteridine derivatives in phosphate buffer solution were examined for their fluorescence characteristics and compared with those of phytoplankton. Fluorescence lifetimes $(\tau)$ and decay curves were compared with standard solution of candidate organic compounds. Decay kinetics of observed fluorescence were shown as hi- and tri-exponential decay curves with 430nm cut-off filter for phytoplankton. Comparison between fluorescence characteristics of bacteria and phytoplankton showed distinct differences for their steady state fluorecence spectra and decay kinetics.

• ALGAE
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.285-298
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• 2021

The amount of CO₂ absorbed by the oceans continues to rise, resulting in further acidification, altering some functional traits of phytoplankton. To understand the effect of elevated partial pressures of CO₂ (pCO₂) on functional traits of dinoflagellates Alexandrium affine and A. pacificum, the cardinal temperatures and chain formation extent were examined under two pCO₂ (400 and 1,000 µatm) over the range of temperature expected to be associated with growth. The growth rate and chain formation extent of A. affine increased with higher pCO₂, showing significant changes in cardinal temperatures and a substantial increase in middle chain-length (4-8 cells) fractionation under elevated pCO₂ condition. By contrast, there were no significant differences in specific growth rate and any chain-length fractionation of A. pacificum between ambient and elevated pCO₂ conditions. The observed interspecies variation in the functional traits may reflect differences in ability of species to respond to environmental change with plasticity. Moreover, it allows us to understand the shifting biogeography of marine phytoplankton and predict their phenology in the Korea Strait.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.89-99
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• 1980

The major source of nutrients in both the Gamagyang Bay and the Yeoja Bay is mixing. However, water discharges also seem to contribute significant quantities which may influence local phytoplankton growth. Data collected inn the study area shows that natural fluctuations in the environmental conditions of the entire area play a dominant role in determining the phytoplankton populations of the two Bays. The predominating phytoplankton forms are neritic diatom species including some dinoflagellate species in summer. Neritic groups are relatively more abundant in inner areas of the Bays. The oceanic groups and species are seasonal, and associated with advective effects. One neritic species is of overwhelming numerical importance and occurs when a specific seasonal conditions is formed. Species cycles in the two Bays may be regarded as largely the result of successional changes or cycles of autochthonous species introduced by advective processes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.435-444
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• 2023

Suitable environmental conditions in Saemangeum frequently favor phytoplankton growth. There have been occurrences of sudden phytoplankton blooms, surpassing the algae management standards. A model was designed to prevent such blooms using scientific predictive techniques to forecast and regulate the possibility of phytoplankton blooms. We propose effective and efficient algae control measures concerning every phytoplankton species optimized through the policy control of nutrients (DIN, PO4-P) from rivers and controlling lake salinity using gate operations. The probability of phytoplankton blooms was initially forecast using an artificial neural network algorithm based on observations. The model's Kappa number fluctuated from 0.7889 to 1.0000, indicating good to excellent predictive power. The Garson algorithm was then utilized to assess the significance of explanatory variables for every species. Meanwhile, the probability of phytoplankton blooms was anticipated depending on the DIN and salinity value changes. Therefore, the model predicted the precise DIN and salinity concentrations to inhibit phytoplankton blooms for each species. Hence, the green algae model can create effective proactive measures to avoid future phytoplankton blooms in enormous artificial lakes.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.1129-1139
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• 2005

A series of experiments was conducted to identify the potential of five phytoplankton species as standard test species for marine ecotoxicological tests. The candidate phytoplankton species are Skeletonema costatum, Heterosigma akashiwo, Prorocentrum micans, Isochrysis galbana, and Tetraselmis suecica. Salinity tolerance and sensitivity on potassium dichromate as a reference material were identified. Toxicity of eleven ocean dumped sewage sludges and four red tide expellent extracts were estimated by the inhibition of population growth rates (PGR) of marine diatom S. costatum, While most species revealed relatively weak tolerance on salinity, T. suecica demonstrated the highest salinity tolerance ranged from $5\~35$ psu and the others $15\~35$ psu. H. akashiwo revealed the highest sensitivity as 72h $IC_{50}$=0.76mg/L and T. suecica the lowest as 72h $IC_{50}$=8.89mg/L on potassium dichromate. Sludge extracts from industrial waste, domestic sewage and livestock farm waste sludge showed high toxicity as 72h $IC_{50}$<$2\%$ and lowest toxicity from filtration bed sludge as 72h $IC_{50}$=$30.50\%$ NOEC (No Observed Effective Concentration) of sludge extract ranged from <$0.4\%$ to $1.6\%$ and this indicated high phytotoxicity of ocean dumped sewage sludge. The test sensitivity of phytoplankton PGR inhibition was much higher than those of marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis mortality test and bioluminescent inhibition test by marine bacteria Vibrio fischeri, and comparable with the sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) fertilization test. As a result the phytotoxicity test using phytoplankton PGR inhibition ($IC_{50}$) must be a useful tool for marine phyto-toxicological evaluation of ocean dumped materials.

• 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.