• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.313-326
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• 2012

Three embankments, namely Changpo, Bokkil and Guil, in Chunggye Bay were investigated to assess the influence of environmental changes to phytoplankton size structure, distribution of species and standing crops. Three stations was sampled near at each embankment in Nov. 2006, Feb. 2007, May 2007 and Aug. Phytoplankton were classified into net-size (>20${\mu}m$) and nano-size (<20${\mu}m$). In summer, the freshwater discharge seemed to have influence in the decrease of salinity and in the increase of turbidity, ammonium and phosphorus concentrations. Chl a concentration and phytoplankton abundance in Feb. 2007 were observed to be generally higher in all stations compared to other periods. Net-size phytoplankton was observed to be higher in Feb. 2007 and May 2007 compared to nano-sized phytoplankton. However, there was shift in phytoplankton composition in Nov. 2006 and Aug. 2007. Phytoplankton under seven class (Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Chrysophyceae, Cryptophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Dinophyceae, Euglenophyceae) was identified during the study period. It was found out that the major phytoplankton class was Bacillariophyceae. Phytoplankton was more diverse in autumn compared to any other season. Cyanophyceae was increased in summer. In rainy season, change in physical factors (salinity, transparency) seemed to have more influence on phytoplankton growth compared to inorganic nutrients.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.530-540
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• 2008

The temporal and spatial variations of size-structured phytoplankton dynamics in Youngsan Lake were investigated to explore potential mechanims controlling the dynamics in the Youngsan Lake. Field data were collected monthly from February to October, 2003 at 6 stations along the axis of Youngsan Lake. In this study, phytoplankton (chlorophyll $\alpha$) were categorized into three size classes: micro-size ($>20{\mu}m$), nano-size ($2{\sim}20{\mu}m$) and pico-size ($<20{\mu}m$). Water temperature, light attenuation coefficients, PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) and suspended solids were measured to analyze relationship between physical-chemical properties and size structure of phytoplankton. Phytoplankton blooms developed during March, July and October in the upper region of the main stem whereas small-scaled spring bloom was observed in the lower region. The scales of phytoplankton blooms were higher in the upper regions than the lower region and blooms were predominated by micro-size class in upper region but predominated by nano-size class in lower region. Growth of size-structured phytoplankton appeared to be controlled by rather light availability than temperature-dependant metabolisms in the system. Phytoplankton growth may be also supported by ambient nutrients available in the water column from analyses of chlorophyll $\alpha$ vs. nutrient concentrations including nitrite+nitrate and orthophosphate. Growth of nano-sized phytoplankton alone appeared to be supported by orthophosphate as well as nitrite+nitrate indicating that response of phytoplankton to nutrient inputs may be size-dependent.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.113-123
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• 2023

Humic substances are refractory organic compounds that are relatively low in biological activity but known to stimulate phytoplankton growth in estuarine and marine environments. The effect of humic substances on phytoplankton growth was investigated in the seawater zone of the Yeongsan River estuary where an episodic anthropogenic freshwater is discharged, affecting its water properties directly. Water samples and data of water properties were collected at three stations (Sts. A-C) along the channel of the seawater zone in February, May, August and November, 2009. The collected water samples were incubated after humic acids (HA) were added in mesocosm experiments. Phytoplankton (chlorophyll-a) were fractionated into net- (> 20 ㎛) and nano-size (< 20 ㎛) to examine the response of phytoplankton according to size. Their response to HA treatment was assessed by repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA). The experiments showed that phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll-a) significantly increased after HA were added at the stations near the sea dike. Especially, nano-sized chlorophyll-a concentrations increased significantly throughout the seasons. This indicates that understanding the behavior of refractory organic matters such as humic substances is required to better manage altered estuarine ecosystems including the Yeongsan River estuary which are affected by episodic discharge of freshwater from sea dikes.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.20-30
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• 2022

The present study was carried out to investigate the food and feeding habits of Oreochromis niloticus in Lake Shala to manage this species in this high Soda Lake. Stomachs of 226 fish (65.9%) had different food items, while those of 117 fish (34.1%) were empty. Phytoplankton was the dominant food categories occurring in 90.3% of the stomachs estimated and contributed 75.5% of the total volume. Bacillariophyceae (Nitzschia, Anomoeoneis, Navicula and Melosira) were identified as the most desired phytoplankton item. The prey items of O. niloticus differed among size classes (ANOVA, p < 0.05). The main prey items were zooplankton by the smaller-size class, and phytoplankton in fish of the larger-size class. Seasonal variation in the diet composition was evident (t-test, p < 0.05) and zooplankton, chironomids, nematodes, fish scales and detritus were important during the wet season, while phytoplankton predominates during the dry season. This study concludes that O. niloticus had a phytoplanktivores feeding mainly on phytoplankton and their feeding habits influenced by season and fish size in Lake Shala.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.325-334
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• 2017

To understand the changes in physical parameters and phytoplankton size structure caused by tides, a fixed station in the Youngsan River estuary was monitored at 2-h intervals, on April 28, 2012 and August 12, 2012. No clear relationship was observed between the temperature and salinity changes and tidal levels in April. However, in August, temperature decreased during the ebb tide and increased during the flood tide, while salinity showed the opposite trend. In addition, there was no specific change in the phytoplankton biomass corresponding to tidal levels in April. In August, the total chlorophyll a and the biomass of net phytoplankton (>$20{\mu}m$) increased almost 20 times during the ebb tide and decreased during the flood tide. The biomass of nanophytoplankton (<$20{\mu}m$) showed a similar variation in response to tidal level changes. In April, the relationship between percent contributions of phytoplankton size structure and tidal levels was not clear. In August, the net phytoplankton was dominant in the early stage and nanophytoplankton was dominant in the later stage, while contribution of nanophytoplankton and net phytoplankton increased at high tide and low tide, respectively. Therefore, in April, other factors such as freshwater discharge were more important than the tide, whereas in August, when no freshwater discharge was recorded, the changes in semidiurnal tides influenced the physical parameters and phytoplankton dynamics. These results could contribute to the understanding of phytoplankton dynamics in the Youngsan River estuary.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.36 no.4 s.105
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• pp.403-412
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• 2003

Temporal and spatial variations of size-structured phytoplankton (chlorophyll a) were investigated over an annual cycle (February-October, 2003) to elucidate phytoplankton dynamics in the Juam Reservoir, Chonnam. Physical properties were also measured to investigate the relationship between the properties and temporal and spatial variations of size structured phytoplankton using simple linear regression. Phytoplankton (chlorophyll a) were grouped into three size classes: micro-size(> 20 ${\mu}m$), nano-size (3-20 ${\mu}m$) and pico-size (< 3 ${\mu}m$) in this study. Physical properties included water temperature, light attenuation coefficients, PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) and turbidity. Maximum chlorophyll a was observed in April, 2003 in the lower region whereas a peak of chlorophyll a developed in October, 2003 in the upper region. Large cell-sized phytoplankton (micro-size class)were dominant in the events of the chlorophyll a peaks. Potential mechanisms in the physical properties affecting the size-structured phytoplankton dynamics in the Juam Reservoir were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.36 no.6_1
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• pp.1339-1348
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• 2020

Phytoplankton controls marine ecosystems in terms of nutrients, photosynthetic rate, carbon cycle, etc. and the degree of its influence on the marine environment depends on their physical size. Many studies have been attempted to identify marine phytoplankton size classes using the remote sensing techniques. One of successful approach was the three-component model which estimates the chlorophyll concentrations of three phytoplankton size classes (micro-phytoplankton; >20 ㎛, nano-; 2-20 ㎛ and pico-; <2 ㎛) as a function of total chlorophyll. Here, we examined the applicability of Geostationary Ocean Colour Imager (GOCI) to the mapping of the phytoplankton size class distribution in the East Sea. A fit of the three-component model to a biomarker pigment dataset collected in the study area for some years including a large harmful algal bloom period has been carried out to derive size-fractioned chlorophyll concentration (CHL). The tuned three-component model was applied to the hourly GOCI images to identify the fractions of each phytoplankton size class for the entire CHL. Then, we investigated the distribution of phytoplankton community in terms of the size structure in the East Sea during the harmful Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms in the summer of 2013.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.426-437
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• 2004

To understand the phytoplankton community in adjacent waters of Ulchin nuclear power plant (UNPP), abundance and the size fractionated $chl-\alpha$ concentrations were evaluated through seasonal interval sampling from April 2003 to February 2004. A total of 211 different phytoplankton species was observed and mean abundance of phytoplankton in each study period ranged from 244,286 to 1,221,779 cells $L^{-1}$. The contributions of microplankton $(>20\mu{m})$ to total phytoplankton abundance ranged from 42.5 to 83.6% (average 66.1%) and those of nanoplankton $(>20\mu{m})$ ranged from 16.4 to 57.5% (average 33.9%). Total chl-$\alpha$ concentrations of phytoplankton ranged from 0.52 to $2.26\mu{g}\;L^{-1}$. The contribution of chl-$\alpha$ concentrations of microplankton was higher than that of nano- and picoplankton through the study period with exception of July 2008. The results of abundances and $chl-\alpha$ concentrations suggest that microplankton has an important role in adjacent waters of UNPP. The diminution of abundances and $chl-\alpha$ concentrations of phytoplankton was observed after passage through the cooling water system, but it was gradually recovered by mixing with the ambient waters. Our results suggested that the influence of thermal discharges on phytoplankton should be restricted within narrow limits around outlet area of thermal effluents.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.379-388
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• 2001

Ch1 a abundance, Ch1 a-specific productivity and phytoplankton growth rate in each size fraction (pico, $<2{\mu}m$; nano, $2-10{\mu}m$; micro, > $10{\mu}m$) in the waters around the South Shetland Islands (Ant-arctic Peninsula Area) were analysed. Although Ch1 a-specific productivity and growth rate were highest in micro-size fractions, ChI a abundance was highest in pico-size fractions. Selective removal of nano- and micro-size phytoplankton especially by krill and salp grazing, but not limitation of phytoplankton growth, seemed to be the major reason to explain this miss match between productivity and abundance of the phytoplankton community.

• ALGAE
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.345-352
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• 2005

In order to investigate the distribution of phytoplankton community in the coastal waters of the Chuksan Harbor, East Sea, the abundance and biomass of phytoplankton have been evaluated through seasonal interval sampling from April 2000 to October 2002. A total of 363 different phytoplankton species was observed and most of them were composed of diatoms. The mean abundance and chlorophyll-a concentration of phytoplankton during the study period ranged from 56 ${\times}$ $10^3$ to 720 ${\times}$ $10^3$ cells $L^{-1}$ and from 0.78 to 3.29 μg chl-a $L^{-1}$, respectively. The relative contribution of the size-fractionated phytoplankton to phytoplankton community showed difference according to seasons. The average contribution of nano-phytoplankton(<20 $\mu$m) was over 50% in the total abundance and biomass of the phytoplankton. Our results show that nano-phytoplankton play an important role in the southern coastal waters of the East Sea. And the environmental factors such as suspended substances, phosphates and silicates were positively correlated with the abundances and biomass of phytoplankton.