• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.135-145
• /
• 2019

We investigated the mass occurrence of the salp Salpa fusiformis during spring in the southern waters of Korea and the northern East China Sea. Abundance of S. fusiformis and dominant taxonomic groups including copepods, ostracods, euphausiids, and appendicularian was examined along with environmental factors (e.g., temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll-a concentration). The abundance of S. fusiformis at 27 stations ranged from 0 to $183\;inds\;m^{-3}$. Both aggregate and solitary forms of S. fusiformis occurred with a mean abundance of $62\;inds\;m^{-3}$ and $4\;inds\;m^{-3}$, and mean body length of 6.5 mm and 15.4 mm, respectively. Redundancy analysis showed that the abundance of S. fusiformis was negatively correlated with chlorophyll-a concentration, indicating the intensive grazing impact of S. fusiformis on phytoplankton. While the abundance of S. fusiformis increased, the species diversity of zooplankton community decreased. The abundances of total copepods and the dominant copepod species (e.g., adults and/or copepodites of Paracalansus parvus s.l., Calanus sinicus, Oithona similis, and Corycaeus affinis) also decreased with the increase of S. fusiformis abundance. However, the abundance of ostracods, euphausiids, and appendicularians was not affected by the mass occurrence of the salps. These results suggest that the mass occurrence of S. fusiformis in spring could negatively affect ecosystem conditions by changing trophodynamics in the zooplankton community.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.353-356
• /
• 2010

Two species in two genera of the family Salpidae were identified in Korean waters: Ihlea punctata (Forskal, 1775) and Salpa fusiformis Cuvier, 1804. I. punctata is a newly reported species in Korean fauna, while S. fusiformis is redescribed with unrecorded solitary zooid stage.