• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.128-138
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• 2019

Effects of feeding type and food resource availability on community structure of mollusks inhabiting hard-bottom subtidal areas were investigated. By following guidance from several references, mollusks observed in this study were divided into 5 groups according to feeding type - 1) grazing, 2) filter feeding, 3) deposit feeding, 4) omnivorous and 5) predation. The results showed that both grazing and filter feeders were the most numerous, explaining grazing type in the East Sea accounting for 47.9%, 32.6% in the South Sea and 29.6% for filter feeding, and filter feeding as a dominant feeding type in Yellow Sea accounting for 42.3%. Results of this study showed distinctive difference in community structure depending on mechanism of feeding type and geographical areas where sampling took place. With the results, attempts were made to understand whether community structure could be affected by feeding type or feeding availability and found out that community structure depended heavily on food resource availability. In the East Sea where marine algal density was high, the algal community in the forms of thick-leathery and sheet often occurred in water column with high transparency which provides proper environment for growth. In the South Sea where grazing and filter feeding types were predominated similarly, the algal density was high, but had the relative highest phytoplankton density. Whereas in the Yellow Sea showing the lowest algal biomass compared to the one in the East and the South Sea, and phytoplankton density was similar to those. It might be a adequate environment for filter feeders than grazers. This study concluded that community structure of mollusks showing high abundance was present where food resource availability with types and quantity was high.