• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.217-231
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• 2018

Planktonic ciliates play an important role in the food web of marine ecosystem as well as a bio-indicator for invasive species from ballast waters or from changing flow of ocean currents due to climate changes. This study was carried out to find some evidences for introduction of such invasive species using ciliate plankton in four major international ports of Korea. We surveyed the seasonal species composition of planktonic ciliate to find out the evidence for the invasive species at Busan, Ulsan, Gwangyang and Incheon ports from February 2007 to November 2008. A total of 45 ciliates species, belonging to 15 genera, were identified during the study period: 33 species occurred at Busan, 31 at Gwangyang, 30 at Ulsan, 18 at Incheon. The abundance of naked ciliates ranged from 566 to $65,151cells\;L^{-1}$ and that of tintinnids 10 to $5,973cells\;L^{-1}$. Based on vector species of ciliates reported from Coos Bay in Oregon, 13 vector species of tinitinnids were identified as follows, Eutintinnus lususundae, E. tubulosus, Favella ehrenbergii, F. taraikaensis, Helicostomella subulata, Stenosemella nivalis, Tintinnopsis ampla, T. beroidea, T. cylindrica, T. directa, T. lohmanni, T. radix, T. rapa. All vector species occurred at Gwangyang port. Most tintinnids were mainly neritic species throughout the survey, while warm water species occurred only in short period at Busan, Ulsan and Gwangyang ports that might be affected seasonally by Tsushima warm current.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.223-233
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• 2006

The annual and spatial changes in the species composition of catch off Yeosu were analyzed using the daily sales slip catch data by a set net in the inshore waters off Dolsan Islands in Yeosu from April to October 2001, off Yeon Islands of Yeosu from April to October 2002 and in the offshore waters off Dolsan Islands of Yeosu from April to December 2003, respectively. Scomberomorus niphonius, Seriola spp., Trichiurus lepturus, Engraulis japonicus, Sarda orientalis, Todarodes pacificus, Pampus echinogaster, Sardinella zunasi, Scomber japonicus, Lophius litulon and Loligo beka were dominant species in abundance, indicating that pelagic fish were mainly caught by a set net off Yeosu. S. zunasi, P. echinogaster, Platycephalus indicus and L. beka inhabited mainly in the inshore waters, and S. niphonius, Seriola spp., T. lepturus, P. echinogaster, T. pacificus, Takifugu porphyreus and Pagrus major resided mainly in the offshore waters as the pelagic resident species. E. japonicus was a representative dominant species moving between the inshore and the offshore waters seasonally. S. zunasi and E. japonicus occurred in the inshore waters, and E. japonicus, L. litulon and Seriola spp. begain to be caught in the deep offshore waters in spring. Total catch was high during the summer season by migration of the open sea species such as T. lepturus, S. niphonius, S. japonicus, Seriola spp., S. orientalis, P. echinogaster and T. pacificus. In fall, S. niphonius, E. japonicus, Sphyraena pinguis, Siganus fuscescens and Leiognathus nuchalis were dominant in the inshore waters, and S. niphonius, P. echinogaster, Hyporhamphus sajori, S. japonicus and T. lepturus continued to occur from summer in the offshore waters but total catch decreased, indicating the typical seasonal variation pattern of the temperate region. Most of catchable fishes by a set net were the pelagic species showing a significant temporal variation. Collection and analysis of daily catch data by large set nets can be used to determine seasonal variation in species composition of pelagic fish in a study area.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.77-100
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• 2024

Circulation, tides, currents, harmful algal blooms, water quality, and hypoxic conditions in Jinhae-Masan Bay have been extensively studied. However, these previous studies primarily focused on short-term variations, and there was limited detailed investigation into the physical mechanisms responsible for ocean circulation in the bays. Oceanic processes in the bays, such as pollutant dispersal, changes on a seasonal time scale. Therefore, this study aimed to understand how the circulation in Jinhae-Masan Bay varies seasonally and to examine the effects of tides, winds, and river discharges on regional ocean circulation. To achieve this, a three-dimensional ocean circulation model was used to simulate circulation patterns from 2016 to 2018, and sensitivity experiments were conducted. This study reveals that convective estuarine circulation develops in Jinhae and Masan Bays, characterized by the inflow of deep oceanic water from the Korea Strait through Gadeoksudo, while surface water flows outward. This deep water intrusion divides into northward and westward branches. In this study, the volume transport was calculated along the direction of bottom channels in each region. The meridional water exchange in the eastern region of Jinhae Bay is 2.3 times greater in winter and 1.4 times greater in summer compared to that of zonal exchange in the western region. In the western region of Jinhae Bay, the circulation pattern varies significantly by season due to changes in the balance of forces. During winter, surface currents flow southward and bottom currents flow northward, strengthening the north-south convective circulation due to the combined effects of northwesterly winds and the slope of the sea surface. In contrast, during summer, southwesterly winds cause surface seawater to flow eastward, and the elevated sea surface in the southeastern part enhances northward barotropic pressure gradient intensifying the eastward surface flow. The density gradient and southward baroclinic pressure gradient increase in the lower layer, causing a strong westward inflow of seawater from Gadeoksudo, enhancing the zonal convective circulation by 26% compared to winter. The convective circulation in the western Jinhae Bay is significantly influenced by both tidal current and wind during both winter and summer. In the eastern Jinhae Bay and Masan Bay, surface water flows outward to the open sea in all seasons, while bottom water flows inward, demonstrating a typical convective estuarine circulation. In winter, the contributions of wind and freshwater influx are significant, while in summer, the influence of mixing by tidal currents plays a major role in the north-south convective circulation. In the eastern Jinhae Bay, tidally driven residual circulation patterns, influenced by the local topography, are distinct. The study results are expected to enhance our understanding of pollutant dispersion, summer hypoxic events, and the abundance of red tide organisms in these bays.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.305-314
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• 2007

We studied spatial and temporal distributions of the phytoplankton and their relationships to physico-chemical environmental factors in the western Jinhae Bay, Korea from November 2003 to August 2004. In most cases, physico-chemical environmental factors showed homogeneous distribution. The phytoplankton communities were composed of mainly diatoms and dinoflagellates, and their standing crops ranged from $16{\times}10^3\;cells\;l^{-1}\;to\;5,845{\times}10^3\;cells\;l^{-1}$ (with a mean value of $555{\times}10^3\;cells\;l^{-1}$). The bloom of phytoplankton was observed in Gohyun Port in the summer. Seasonal variation of phytoplankton standing crops was higher in winter and summer than in spring and autumn. The dominant species were Skeletonema costatum, Akashiwo sanguinea, Pseudo-nitzschia pungens, Dactyliosolen sp., Leptocylindrus danicus, cryptomonads and etc. Especially, S. costatum was predominant in the summer and A. sanguinea (spring and autumn), Pseudo-nitzschia sp. (summer), Guinardia striata (spring), unidentified flagellates (summer) and cryptomonads (spring) appeared to be an opportunistic species. Concentrations of Chl a ranged from $0.6{\mu}g{\cdot}l^{-1}\;to\;16.7{\mu}g{\cdot}l^{-1}$ (with a mean value of $3.4{\mu}g{\cdot}l^{-1}$). The results of the canonical correspondence analysis implies the study area was grouped into the 2 water masses (inner and outer waters of Gohyun Port) and inner waters had higher abundance and Chl a concentration than outer waters. Also, phytoplankton sanding crops were related with temperature, DO and nutrients ($SiO^2$, TN, TP and etc.) in inner waters. Inner water-mass of Gohyun Port expanded between Gacho Is. and Chilchon Is. during the winter.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.243-255
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• 2014

This study was investigated to estimate the relations between benthic environments and benthic polychaetous community from April 2012 to February 2013. Twenty four stations were selected sequentially with Seomjin River Estuary from the northern part of Gwangyang Bay. The study area could be divided into three characteristic zones based on salinity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH such as Saline Water Zone (SWZ), Brackish Water Zone (BWZ), and Fresh Water Zone (FWZ). Salinity was above 30.0 psu in SWZ, drastically decreased toward inland in BWZ, and nearly zero psu in FWZ. SWZ showed its specific environmental characters like that water temperature fluctuated with little seasonal change and DO showed the lowest values among three zones, and pH maintained as consistent value without seasonal fluctuation. In FWZ, on the other hand, water temperature showed high seasonal fluctuation, DO showed the highest values among three zones, and pH fluctuated greatly. In sedimentary environment, mud, sand and sand/gravel were found as dominant sedimentary deposits in SWZ, BWZ and FWZ, respectively. Organic matter content and AVS in surface sediment were high in SWZ, while Chl-a content high in FWZ. This study area showed a marked environmental difference between FWZ and SWZ as follows: FWZ has coarse sediment and low salinity, low organic matter content, low AVS in FWZ but SWZ has fine sediment and high salinity, high organic matter content and AVS. Species number and mean density of benthic polychaete community was highest in Saline Water Zone (SWZ), drastically decreased in Brackish Water Zone (BWZ), and lowest in Fresh Water Zone (FWZ). Dominant polychates above 5.0% of individual numbers were 6 taxa. Lumbrineris longifolia, Prionospio cirrifera, Tharyx sp. occurred as main dominant species of all study periods, and Hediste sp., Praxillella affinis, Tylorrhynchus sp. dominantly occurred at some seasons. Inhabiting areas of dominant species were separated characteristically. Representative species in SWZ were Lumbrineris longifolia, Tharyx sp., Mediomastus sp.. Wide-appearing species between SWZ and BWZ were Prionospio cirrifera, Heteromastus filiformis, Aricidea sp.. Characteristic species in FWZ were Tylorrhynchus sp. and Hediste sp.. As the results of cluster analysis and nMDS based on the species composition of polychaetous community, unique station groups were established in SWZ and FWZ. Stations in BWZ were sub-divided into several groups with season. Pearson's correlation analysis and PCA between benthic environments and ecological characteristics of polychaetous community showed that salinity, sediment composition, organic content and dissolved oxygen played a role to determine the temporal and spatial distribution of the ecological characteristics as species number, mean density, abundance of main species, and ecological indices.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1009-1021
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• 2016

The community structure and abundance of epilithic biofilm were bimonthly examined to know spatial and temporal patterns of biofilm biomass and taxonimical composition at the two study sites, Gosapo and Gyeokpo with different degrees of wave exposure levels from November 2010 to September 2011. Biomass was estimated by using chlorophyll a contents (Chl a), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and vegetation index (VI). Cyanobacteria such as Aphanotece spp. predominated in the proportion of 57.53% at Gosapo and of 61.12% at Gyeokpo and they are abundant in mid shore and in summer at both study sites. The diatoms Navicula spp., Achnanthes spp. and Licmophora spp. were common species and they showed an increasing trend from high to low shore. NDVI, VI, and chl a contents were the greatest at mid shore for Gosapo (0.44, 3.05, $24.56{\mu}g/cm^2$) and at low shore for Gyeokpo (0.41, 2.73, $17.98{\mu}g/cm^2$). NDVI, VI, and chl a content were all maximal in January and minimal in March at the both sites. Average NDVI, VI, and chlorophyll a contents of biofilms were greater at Gosapo (0.43, 2.89, $22.84{\mu}g/cm^2$) than Gyeokpo (0.38, 2.48, $15.48{\mu}g/cm^2$).Of three shore levels(high, mid, and low) Chl a contents were positively correlated with NDVI and VI at the two study sites indicating that non-destructive NDVI and VI values can be used in stead of destructive Chl a extraction method. In conclusion, epilithic biofilm was more abundant seasonally in winter, vertically in mid and low intertidal zone, and horizontally at wave exposed shore than in summer, at high and sheltered shore in Korea.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2016

An ecological study on subtidal macrobenthic fauna was conducted off the Namhaedo Island, south coast of Korea from July 2012 to April 2013. A total of 247 species of macrobenthos occurred with a mean density of $1,027ind./m^2$ and a mean biomass of $148.7g/m^2$. Polychaetes was the richest and most abundant faunal group that comprised 37% in both total species number and density whereas echinoderms were biomass-dominant faunal group that accounted for 44% of the mean biomass. There was a seasonal variation in the species richness and abundance of macrobenthos with more species in winter and higher density in spring. Mean faunal density was relatively high at the stations near Namhaedo Island, but gradually decreased toward offshore stations. The most dominant species in terms of density was an amphipod species, Eriopisella sechellensis which occurred as a top ranker during three seasons except spring recorded the fourth rank. E. sechellensis showed its high density at the near shore stations of Namhaedo Island, but this species did not occur around the entrance of Gwangyang and Saryang Bays where Theora fragilis and Lumbrineris longifolia showed high densities. In particular, Tharyx sp., recorded high density between Gwangyang Bay entrance and offshore after Sea Prince oil spill, did not occur in the same area during this study period. The bottom temperature and sorting value of the surface sediments were highly correlated to the spatial distribution of macrobenthic fauna from the Bio-Env analysis. From the cluster analysis, the study area has five station groups with more similar faunal affinities from inner area toward offshore area. Based on the SIMPER analysis T. fragilis, Magelona japonica, E. sechellensis, L. longifolia and Paraprionospio cordifolia were mainly contributed to the classification of station groups. From the BPI, benthic communities in the entrance of Gwangyang Bay and Saryang Bay were considered to be in a slightly polluted condition in contrast to the normal healthy community at the offshore of Namhaedo Island. These results suggested that the benthic community of this area should be regularly monitored to assess the health status of this benthic ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.341-352
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• 2009

This study was carried out to investigated community structure of macrobenthic assemblages around the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant, East Sea of Korea and seasonal sampling was performed from October 2007 to July 2008. A total of 163 macrobenthic fauna were collected. The overall average macrobenthos density and biomass were 1,005 individuals $m^{-2}$ and $21.81\;gWWt\;m^{-2}$, respectively. Based on the LeBris (1988) index, there were 10 dominant species accounting for approximately 69.00% of total individuals. The major dominant species were the polychaetes Spiophanes bombyx (349 inds. $m^{-2}$), Mediomastus californiensis (82 inds. $m^{-2}$), Sigambra tentaculata (55 inds. $m^{-2}$), Magelona japonica (50 inds. $m^{-2}$), Scoletoma longifolia (33 inds. $m^{-2}$) and the Unidentified amphipod (Amphipoda spp., 72 inds. $m^{-2}$). The conventional multi-variate statistics (cluster analysis and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling) applied to assess spatial variation in macrobenthic assemblages. Cluster analysis and nMDS ordination analysis based on the Bray-Curtis similarity identified 2 major station groups. The major group 1 was associated with sand dominated stations and was characterized by high abundance of the bivalves Mactra chinensis, Siliqua pulchella and the polychaete Protodorvillea egena. On the other hand, major group 2 was connected with mud dominated stations and was numerically dominated by the polychaetes M. californiensis, M. japonica, Sternaspis scutata, S. longifolia and the bivalves Thyasira tokunagai and Theora fragilis. However, macrobenthic community structure were no significant differences between the environmental variables (sediment type and depth) and heated discharge.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.86-94
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• 2010

This study compares and contrasts the dynamics of plankton in 31 temperate lakes and reservoirs, and considers particularly the biomass ratio of zooplankton to phytoplankton and ecological model application. A total of 89 species of zooplankton were identified (70 rotifers, 14 cladocerans and 5 copepods) and a total of 554 species of phytoplankton were identified (176 Bacillariophyceae, 237 Chlorophyceae, 68 Cyanophyceae, and 73 other algal taxa). The total plankton abundance and species diversity were showed distinctive spatial and seasonal variation. Annual average phytoplankton density was $7,350{\pm}15,592$ cells $mL^{-1}$ (n=124), and the lowest was $855{\pm}448$ cells $mL^{-1}$ (n=4), while the highest was $72,048{\pm}13,4631$ cells $mL^{-1}$ (n=4). For zooplankton, small rotifer groups dominated the study sites, and approximately 3~10 species appeared in the study sites. Statistical analysis and an ecological model application revealed that the size of reservoirs affected the structure size of plankton community, i.e. relatively large number of species were found in smaller reservoirs. From this result, we can conclude that management strategy for the reservoir environment has to be focused more on small-size reservoirs, in terms of plankton community ecology.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.39 no.3 s.117
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• pp.378-389
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• 2006

Seasonal changes of biomass and cell size of bacteria and protozoa, and factors affecting their distribution in Lake Paldang and Kyungan Stream were analyzed from April to December, 2005. Bacterial abundance at Paldang Dam and Kyungan Stream was similar, but it did not much increase during hot summer period. Protozoan carbon biomass was much greater at Kyungan Stream compared to Paldang Dam. HNAN generally accounted for the majority of total protozoan biomass, but ciliates made up the highest proportion in April and November at Paldang Dam and June at both sites. PNAN showed low biomass at both sites, but it was high during spring and fall season. Small-sized HNAN ($3{\sim}7\;{\mu}m$) numerically predominated the protozoan community at both sites. Average cell size of HNAN was bigger at Kyungan Stream where nutrients concentration was much higher than Paldang Dam. Average cell size of ciliates varied seasonally; it was relatively small during the summer. HNAN biomass significantly correlated with Chl-a concentration and ciliates biomass at Paldang Dam, indicating that HNAN increase might link to the ciliates increase. At Kyungan Stream, HNAN biomass showed a significant relationship with PNAN biomass, and Chl-a concentration was closely related with both of HNAN and PNAN biomass. Ciliate biomass showed significant relationship with nutrient (TN, TP) and particulate matter (SS) only at Kyungan Stream. At both sites, protozoan biomass was significantly correlated with bacterial biomass, and ciliates were additionally related flagellates. High biomass of microbial components and the close relationships among them suggest that the energy transfer through the microbial loop may important in the plankton food web of Lake Paldang ecosystem.