• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.236-244
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• 2014

This study considered a seagrass habitat in order to analyze the characteristics of a marine environment of seagrass located in the Seomjin river estuary, through an analysis of the distribution of the water depth, field observation, and three-dimensional numerical experiments using an EFDC model. The seagrass habitat was usually distributed at D.L(-) 0.5~0.0 m, and was hardly seen in the intertidal zone higher than that range. The distribution of the water temperature was within the range of $7.0{\sim}23.2^{\circ}C$, and the seagrass was demonstrated to have a strong tolerance to changes in the water temperature. In addition, the salinity distribution was found to be 27.2~31.0 psu, with suspended solids of 32.1 mg/L, which were higher than the previous research results (Huh et al., 1998), implying that there may be a reduction in the amount of deposits caused by the suspended solids. As for the sedimentary facies, they were comprised of 62.7% sand, 19.1% silt, and 18.2% clay, indicating that the arenaceous was superior and the sedimentary facies were similar to that of Dadae Bay. According to a numerical experiment, the maximum tidal current was 75 cm/s, while the tidal residual current was 10 cm/s, confirming that it sufficiently adapted to strong tidal currents. The erosion and deposition are predicted to be less than 1.0 cm/year. Thus, it is judged that the resuspension of sediments due to tidal currents and the changes in sedimentary facies are insignificant.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.80-88
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• 2016

In order to reconstruct a benthic foodweb structure and assess the role of benthic microalgaes as a diet source for benthos, we analyzed the carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of diverse benthos (bivalves, crustaceans, gastropods and fishes) and potential diets (particulate organic matter, sedimentary organic matter, benthic microalgae, seagrass, and macroalgaes) in the intertidal mudflat surrounding Yeongheung Island. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of the diets indicated wide ranges (- 26.5‰ to - 8.4‰) while benthos showed a small range of ${\delta}^{13}C$ values (-12.1‰ to - 17.8‰), although they were in the same range. Except for green algaes among the macroalgaes as well as sedimentary organic matter, ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of the diet candidates ($5.7{\pm}1.0$‰) were lighter in comparison to those of the benthos ($11.8{\pm}1.9$‰). Based on the ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$ data, the benthos were classified into 3 groups, indicating a different diet and trophic position. But benthic microalgae is the most important diet source for all three benthos groups based on their stable isotope ratios, suggesting benthic microalgae should be a main diet to the intertidal ecosystem. Hence this study highlights that the biomass of benthic microalgae as biological resource should be evaluated for the management of the intertidal ecosystem of Yeongheung Island.