• ALGAE
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.127-139
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• 2023

Cryptic stages of diverse macroalgae present in natural substrata, "the bank of microscopic forms", were isolated into clonal cultures and identified based on both morphological characteristics and DNA barcoding. Approximately 120 clonal isolates from 308 natural substratum samples were collected from the entire coastline of Kuwait. Amongst these isolates, 77 (64%) were identified through DNA barcoding using the nuclear ribosomal small subunit, RuBisCO spacer (ITS2, tufa, rbcL, psaA, and psbA) and sequencing. Twenty-six isolates (34%) were identified in the division Chlorophyta, 18 (23%) as Phaeophyceae, and 33 (43%) as Rhodophyta. For all DNA sequences in this study, species-level cut off applied was ≥98% homology which depend entirely on the markers used. Three putative new records of Chlorophyta new for the Arabian Gulf were made: Cladophora laetevirens (Dillwyn) Kützing, Ulva torta (Mertens) Trevisan and Ulvella leptochaete (Huber) R. Nielsen, C. J. O'Kelly & B. Wysor in Nielsen, while Cladophora gracilis Kützing and Ulva ohnoi M. Hiraoka & S. Shimada are new records for Kuwait. For Phaeophyceae, Ectocarpus subulatus Kützing and Elachista stellaris Areschoug were new records for the Gulf and Kuwait. In the Rhodophyta, Acrochaetium secundatum (Lyngbye) Nägeli in Nägeli & Cramer, Ceramium affine Setchell & N. L. Gardner, Gelidium pusillum var. pakistanicum Afaq-Husain & Shameel and Dasya caraibica Børgesen are new records for the Gulf and Kuwait, while the red alga Stylonema alsidii (Zanardini) K. Drew is a new record for Kuwait. Several isolates identified corresponded to genera not previously reported in Kuwait and / or the Arabian Gulf, such as Porphyrostromium Trevisan, a new genus from the Bangiales, and two unidentified species for the Planophilaceae Škaloud & Leliaert. The isolates cultivated from substrata enhance understanding of the marine macroalgal diversity in the region and confirmed that the Germling Emergence Method is suitable for determining the actual diversity of a given study area through isolation from cryptic life-history phases.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.79-87
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• 2024

We seasonally examined marine macroalgal community structures in the subtidal zones at Gapado Island, Jeju, Korea, from February 2013 to November 2019. A total of 164 macroalgal species were identified, including 15 green, 40 brown, and 109 red algae. Species richness ranged from 54-106 species, with the maximum observed in 2013 and the minimum observed in 2015. Cladophora wrightiana var. minor, Ecklonia cava, Amphiroa anceps, Corallina aberrans, Corallina crassisima, Synarthrophyton chejuense, Sonderophycus capensis and Plocamium telfairiae occurred in all seasons. The average annual seaweed biomass was 1,258.22 g wet wt./m², ranging from 917.51 g/m² in 2017 to 1,551.95 g/m² in 2014. E. cava was the most dominant species, accounting for 46.57% of the total seaweed biomass. The subdominant species were P. telfairiae and A. anceps, comprising 8.64% (108.75 g/m²) and 6.65% (83.61 g/m²) of the total biomass, respectively. The vertical distribution of subtidal seaweeds were represented by E. cava and P. telfairiae at 5-20 m, A. anceps at 10-20 m, C. aberrans and C. crassisima at 5 m and C. wrightiana var. minor at 10 m. Cluster analysis revealed three distinct groups: group A (2014-2018), group B (2019) and group C (2013), indicating significant differences in the annual seaweed community.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.308-323
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• 2021

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the environmental changes in Jinhae Bay caused by cooling water using numerical modeling. Cooling water discharge volume from the results of Case 1 (10 m³ sec^-1) showed that the environmental changes in Jinhae Bay were extremely insignificant throughout the study period. In the simulation conditions of Case 2 (100 m³ sec^-1), there was a decrease in water temperature of approximately 1 - 3℃ within a 5 km radius from the discharge outlet. In Case 3 (1000 m³ sec^-1), a decrease in water temperature of up to 4 - 5℃ was observed within a radius of 8 km from the discharge outlet and cooling water discharge spread throughout the Bay. Growth rate of microalgae decreased by up to 15 % in November, whereas it increased by up to 6 % near the Hangam Bay in Case 3. From the above results, we confirmed that the environmental changes in Jinhae Bay due to cooling water discharged from Tongyeong LNG station are extremely insignificant. Moreover, it is expected that cooling water discharge could be utilized as a counter measure for 'red tide bloom' or 'macroalgae growth'.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.464-476
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• 2022

In recent years, macroalgal bloom occurs frequently in coastal oceans worldwide. It might be attributed to accelerating climate change. "Green tide" events caused by proliferation of green macroalgae (Ulva spp.) not only damage the local economy, but also harm coastal environments. These nuisance events have become common across several coastal regions of continents. In Korea, green tide incidences are readily seen throughout the year along the coastlines of Jeju Island, particularly the northeastern coast, since the 2000s. Ulva species are notorious to be difficult for morphology-based species identification due to their high degrees of phenotypic plasticity. In this study, to investigate temporal variation in Ulva community structure on Jeju Island between 2015 and 2020, chloroplast barcode tufA gene was sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed for 152 specimens from 24 sites. We found that Ulva ohnoi and Ulva pertusa known to be originated from subtropical regions were the most predominant all year round, suggesting that these two species contributed the most to local green tides in this region. While U. pertusa was relatively stable in frequency during 2015 to 2020, U. ohnoi increased 16% in frequency in 2020 (36.84%), which might be associated with rising sea surface temperature from which U. ohnoi could benefit. Two species (Ulva flexuosa, Ulva procera) of origins of Europe should be continuously monitored. The findings of this study provide valuable information and molecular genetic data of genus Ulva occurring in southern coasts of Korea, which will help mitigate negative influences of green tide events on Korea coast.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.265-274
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• 2013

The growth, reproduction, gametophyte(G)/tetrasporophyte(T) ratio, and diseases of Chondrus ocellatus populations were examined at 3 sites (Samcheok, Youngduk, Pohang) of East coast and at 2 sites (Hakampo, Manripo) of West coast in between July and August, 2013. Average plant lengths were 6.10~9.69 cm and it was minimum at Manripo and maximum at Pohang population. In general, average plant length and weight of C. ocellatus were greater on East coast than West coast populations. The proportion of vegetative plant was between 26.7~66.7 %, and G/T ratio of total plants including vegetative plants after testing resorcinol method was 3:2 on the East coast where is gametophyte dominant area. However, G/T ratio was 1:1 at Hakampo and 1:2.3 at Manripo representing tetrasporophyte dominance. In the present study, Korean C. ocellatus have various diseases (white colour and green colour), an endophytic alga(Ulvella sp.), and many epiphytic macroalgae and diatoms. Healthy C. ocellatus plants were about 20~40 % in summer population and most of plants had disease. Chondrus ocellatus had a filamentous green alga, endophytic Ulvella sp. which was not identified. The endophyte is easily observed in C. crispus growing in Europe and Canada and it is recognised as a pathogen destroying population and reducing yield of C. crispus. Thus more interest and research on the endophytic algae and disease of C. ocellatus are required.