• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 2003

Seasonal fluctuations of physico-chemical and biological aspects of the environment were studied in Vladivostok harbour (Golden Horn Bay, the East Sea/Sea of Japan). The benthic community structure was described with a focus on size-spectra (bacteria, meio- and macrofauna) related with the chemical environment and chemical fluxes in sediment and to reveal their possible ecological role in the process of bioremediation of the environment. Samples from two sites with different concentrations of heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn, Cr, Ni Cd, Co) and petroleum hydrocarbon were assessed by a number of methods. These included plate counts of culturable bacteria, observation through a scanning electron (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). These approaches were complemented with microscopic assessments of the diversity of the benthic community. The specific communities had a limited number of species, tolerant to abnormally high levels of toxic compounds. The dominant species were presented by several sho.1-lived small polychaetes (Capitella capitata) and nematodes (Oncholaimium ramosum). The highest population density was recorded in microbenthos, in various diatoms, various physiological groups of bacteria which participate in biomineralization: marine heterotrophic bacteria, which oxidized oil, black oil in addition to groups resistant to heavy metals. They have the entire set of mechanisms for neutralizing the negative effect of those compounds, forming the detrital food web and biogeochemical circulation of material in sediments, which results in the biological self-recycling of sea basins. Macro- and meiobenthic organisms were more sensitive to a greater extent of $H_2S$ and petroleum hydrocarbons than to metal content, but the within-site rankings were the same as those achieved for microbiological analyses.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.89-104
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• 2005

This study examined ecological grade of tidal flats at 59 sites along the west and east coast of Korea from January 1998 to December 2002. Assessment of ecological grade based on 7 headings includes biological and human geographical factors, such as species diversity and richness, utility value of species, possibility of damage and reservation conditions of coastline. Total of 181 species with 37 families of 14 orders were listed in this study. The highest scores (ecological grade I) showed at these five sites, Hagampo in Chungnam, Ui-do and Geomun-do in Jeonnam, Bijin-do and Maemul-do in Gyungnam. Half of thestudy sites belong to ecological grade II and 19 sites showed ecological grade III. Singyeong in Gyeonggi, Janghang in Chungnam, Gyehwado and Gomso in Jeonbuk, Dadepo in Busan were assessed as ecological grade IV. Grade V (the worst) was not found in this study.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.323-349
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• 2013

The mud shrimp Upogebia major (Upogebiidae: Decapoda: Crustacea) is a common species on muddy and sandy mud tidal flats in the west coast of Korea. They reside in Y-shaped burrows that can extend up to more than 2 meters below the sediment surface. They feed on suspended detritus carried into their burrow by the beating of their pleopods and captured by their hairy first two pairs of thoracic legs. Mud shrimp burrows provide a habitat for a variety of small organisms such as crabs, shrimps, polychaetes, and mollusks. Ovigerous females are observed from December to May. Females deposit eggs only once per breeding season. They start hatching in March and the pelagic larvae of first zoea appear in March and April, followed by benthic settlement in May. Growth over the first year is rapid, and females deposit their first eggs in the third breeding season, 31 months after their settlement. Adult shrimps live for 4~5 years. Depth of the burrow increases with body length. The deep burrows provide refuge from predators and physical stress, allowing the shrimps to survive for a long time. The mud shrimps supply oxygen-rich water to their deep burrows, and exert a great influence on the structure and metabolism of the tidal flat benthic community. However, recently this type of mud shrimp has posed a serious threat to the Korean clam industry along the west coast of Korea. The extensive burrowing shrimp populations suddenly invaded the tidal flats from 2010 where the clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) are raised. As a consequence, clam production has decreased by about 10% over the past three years in some Korean clam beds. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review the biology of this mud shrimp in order to seek solutions to control the burrowing of these shrimps.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2012

The feeding habits of yellowback seabream, $Dentex$ $tumifrons$, were studied using 317 specimens collected in the coastal waters of Busan, from January to December, 2004. The size of the specimens ranged from 10.2 to 27.8 cm in standard length (SL). D. tumifrons had turned out a carnivore and opportunistic predator that consumed mainly shrimps. Fishes were next important prey items. Its diet also included anomurans, amphipods, crabs, echinodermata and cephalopods. Polychaetes, stomatopods, bivalves, ostracods, mysids and so on were minor preys. The individuals of smallest size class (10~13 cm SL) fed mainly on shrimps. In the next size class (13~16 cm SL), the proportion of shrimps decreased, whereas the consumption of anomurans, echinodermata and crabs increased. The proportion of these prey items decreased as body size increased, whereas the consumption of fishes gradually increased. Fishes accounted for almost stomach contents of larger individuals (more than 25 cm SL).

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2010

The feeding habits of Chaenogobius gulosus were studied based on an examination of the stomach contents of 333 specimens collected between October 2008 and September 2009 in the coastal waters of Tongyeong, Korea. The specimens ranged in standard length (SL) from 2.0 to 12.6 cm. C. gulosus is an omnivore and consumes mainly seaweeds (such as Ulva pertusas), crabs and gastropods. Its diet also included small quantities of bivalves, polychaetes, insects, shrimps, mysids and amphipods. Smaller individuals (<6 cm SL) consumed mainly gastropods. The proportion of these prey items decreased with increasing fish size, and this decrease paralleled the increased consumption of seaweeds. Seasonal changes in the diet of C. gulosus were significant. Seaweeds were consumed more during spring and summer compare with other seasons.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.73-79
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• 1996

This study was conducted to investigate the faunal composition and distribution patterns of macrobenthic community in the deep sea sediments of the KODOS area, the northeastern Pacific Ocean during May 1996. Benthic animals were collected at 25 stations using a spade type box corer. Sediments were sieved through -.3 mm mesh screen. A total of 17 faunal groups in 9 phyla and 363 specimens were identified. Nematoda was the most abundant faunal group which accounted for 30.0% of total abundance. Other dominant faunal groups were foraminiferans (25.1%), harpacticoids (10.2%), xenophyophores (5.2%), and polychaetes (4.7%), Polychaeta was a typically dominant component of macrobenthic community in the study area except traditionally recognized meiofauna taxa. Mean occurrence number of faunal taxa was ca. 6 per 0.01 m$\^$2/, and mean density was estimated as 1,288 indiv./m$\^$2/. The abundance of whole fauna and that of each faunal group was highest at the surface layer of sediment, and decreased monotonously along the sediment depth; 98% of faunal abundance was found within 10 cm depth layer.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.320-327
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• 1998

The feeding habits of jack mackerel, Trachurus japonicus, collected from the Nakdong River estuary from February 1987 to January 1988 were studied. Jack mackerel(4~15cm SL) was a planktivore which fed mainly on copepods, amphipods and mysids. Its diets included small quantities of decapods, euphausiids, polychaetes, chaetognaths and fish larvae. Paracalanus parvus. Acartia clausi and Calanus sinicus were the three most abundant copepod species found in the stomach contents of jack mackerel. Jack mackerel showed ontogenetic changes in feeding habits. Small individuals of the fish(4~7cm SL) preyed heavily on copepods. However, the portion of copepods in stomach contents decreased with increasing fish size, and this decrease was compensated by an increased consumption of amphipods and mysids.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.157-162
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• 2013

The feeding habits of spearnose grenadier (Coelorinchus multispinulosus) were studied using 361 specimens collected from January to December 2005~2006 in the coastal waters off Gori, Korea. The size of C. multispinulosus ranged from 1.5 to 8.5 cm in anal length (AL). C. multispinulosus was crustacean feeder that consumes mainly consumed shrimps and amphipods. Its diet also included small quantities of copepods, mysids, cumaceans, stomatopods, crabs, polychaetes and fishes. C. multispinulosus mainly consumed shrimps in all size classes and seasons except the smallest size class in summer which mainly consumed amphipods. Smaller individuals secondly consumed amphipods, copepods and mysids, and the portion of these prey items in the total diet decreased as body size.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.123-134
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• 2007

Distribution patterns of sandy bottom macrobenthic communities were studied around the Hupo coastal area. The seasonal surveys were conducted at 15 chosen sites within a depth range of 10 to 50 m along 10 km of the coastline using a Smith-McIntyre grab $(0.05\;m^2)$ in 2005. Overall depth distribution following the direction of the offshore become deeper parallel to the coastline. A total of 319 macrobenthic species were sampled with a mean density of $1,972\;ind./m^2$, and mean biomass was 82.5 wet-weight $g/m^2$. The major individual-dominant species were three polychaetes Spiophanes bombyx ($436\;ind./m^2$), Scoletoma longifolia ($250\;ind./m^2$) and Magelona japonica ($170\;ind./m^2$), and bivalve Adontorhina subquadrata ($73\;ind./m^2$). Cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis based on Bray-Curtis similarity identified 2 major station groups which corresponded to macrobenthic faunal assemblages and their characteristic species. In addition, environmental conditions were significantly different between station groups. Group I contained mostly 20 and 50 m deep sites and was associated with sandy mud. Group I was characterized by high abundance of S. bombyx, S. longifolia, A. subquadrata. It was divided into two sub-groups (I-I and I-II) in relation to depth. Sub-group I-I was associated with deeper sites than sub-group I-II. Group II included mostly inshore area shallower than 15 m and was associated with coarse and medium sand. Group II was characterized by Lumbrinerides hayashii and Urothoe grimaldii japonica.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.135-148
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• 2005

Macrobeilthic fauna were collected using a van Veen grab $(0.1m^2)$ to investigate the spatial characteristics of the macrobenthos community at 28 stations near the Nakdong River estuary, Southeast Korea, in September 2001. A total of 203 species were sampled with a mean density of $1,554 ind./m^2$ and a biomass of $252.3 gWWt/m^2$. Annelids were the dominant faunal group in terms of species and density, with 68 species and a mean density of $1,031ind./m^2$, which comprised 33.5% and 66.3% of the total benthic animals, respectively. Based on density, three Polychaetes were dominant Tharyx sp· $(420ind./m^2)$, Lumbrineris longifolia $(143ind./m^2)$, and Sternaspis scutata $(118ind./m^2)$, along with a bivalve Theora fragilis $(129 ind./m^2)$. On cluster analysis, the benthic community was classified into four groups based on the species composition: Group-1 occurred in disturbed areas, Group-II in coastal regions, Group-III in central mariculture grounds, and Group-IV offshore. Environmental factors (mean gain size, organic carbon, and depth) were primarily correlated with the macrobenthos community structure. A benthic pollution assessment based on the macrobenthos community structure showed that Group-I and Group-II were located in a coastal area that had been severely disturbed by construction of Busan new port and various pollutants, Group-III was gradually polluted, while offshore Group-IV was the most stable.