• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.133-140
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• 2007

In 2006, we studied herbivore consumption rate and preference for algal species using laboratory experiments. In the no-choice feeding experiment, three herbivores (two sea urchins, Stronglyocentrotus nudus and Stronglyocentrotus intermedius and an abalone, Haliotis discus hannai) showed significantly (P<0.05) distinct preferences for four algae (Laminaria japonica, Undaria pinnatifida, Costaria costata and Ecklonia stolonifera). The alga preferred by S. nudus was L. japonica followed by U. pinnatifida, C. costata and E. stolonifera with respective daily feeding rates of $5.7{\pm}:0.85\;g,\;4.4{\pm}0.89\;g,\;3.1{\pm}0.39\;g\;and\;2.1{\pm}0.32\;g(mean{\pm}SE)$. A similar trend was found for S. intermedius. Interestingly, the herbivore consumption rates for the algae differed with or without competition. The competition stimulated the feeding activity for S. nudus, but lowered the activity for S. intermedius. The multi-choice feeding experiment confirmed that L. japonica was significantly preferred by two herbivores: S. nudus and H. discus hannai (Duncan's multiple range test, ANOVA, p<0.05).

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 1998

The polysialic acid (polySia) glycotope covalently modifies cell surface glycoconjugates on cells as evolutionarily diverse as microbes and human. The recent chemical identification of polysialylated glycoproteins in the jelly coat and on the cell surface of the sea urchin egg raises important questions about their biosynthesis and possible function. Using CMP-[$^{14}$ C]Neu5Ac as substrate and cell free preparations from eggs and embryos of the sea urchin Stronglylcentrotus nudus, we have identified a membrane associated CMP-Neu5Ac:poly-$\alpha$2, 8 sialosyl sialyltransferase (polyST) that transfers Neu5Ac to an endogenous acceptor. Optimal conditions for the polyST activity were found to be 2$0^{\circ}C$ in 20 mM MOPS buffer (pH 7.0). The polyST activity was increased 2.7 times by the addition of 10 mM $Mg^2$$^{+}$. The membrane-associated polyST also catalyzed the polysialylation of mammalian ganglioside GD3. Given that no structurally similar natural polysialylated gangliosides have been described, nor were observed in the present study, we conclude that a single polyST activity catalyzes sialylation of the endogenous acceptor and the gangliosides. Using an excess of GD3 as an exogenous acceptor, it was established that the expression of the polyST in S. nudus embryos increased rapidly at the mesenchyme blastula stage and reached at maximum at the gastrula stage. The finding that this polyST in the sea urchin embryo is developmentally regulated raises the possibility that it may play a role in the changing cell and tissue interactions that occur during gastrulation and the early stages of spicule formation.n.

• Journal of Aquaculture
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.139-145
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• 2008

Morphological classification of echinoid species has many difficulties because of their phenotypic variations. In the present study, we analyzed morphotypes and partial mitochondrial 12S rDNA sequences of four sea urchin species classified as Pseudocentrotus depressus, Anthocidaris crassispina, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus and Strongylocentrotus nudus, and unidentified four species collected from the coasts of the East sea. Their genomic DNAs were extracted from gonads and mitochondrial 12S rDNA sequences were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. The sequence identities among the known four sea urchin species were 87.4-95.6%. The sequence identities among the unidentified four species were 99.4-99.6% and showed the highest homology to S. intermedius(99.8%). Thus, our phylogenetic tree indicates that the unidentified four species belong to S. intermedius.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.313-324
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• 2023

Species composition and seasonal variation of aquatic organism were collected by pot and trammel net in the coastal waters of Taean in 2018. A total of 4,501 individuals belonging to 78 species were collected in two type of gears. The dominant species in the study area was Strongylocentrotus nudus (Echinodermata). In the pot survey, crustaceans were the most common taxa, with 52 species including Palaemon gravieri, whereas fish were dominant in trammel net with 57 species including Okamejei kenojei. Clustering analysis revealed two distinct groups, indicating that the composition of aquatic organism varies according to oceanographic condition and environmental changes.

• 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.