• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.245-253
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• 2001

To investigate the community structures and the their seasonal variation of phytoplankton and zooplankton, a study was conducted at 6 selected stations during the period from April 1999 to October 2000 in the marine ranching ground off Tongyeong. One hundred ninety species of phytoplankton were identified, including 146 diatoms, 38 dinoflagellates, 4 silicoflagellates and 2 euglenophytes. Phytoplankton standing crops varied extensively by months and stations, ranging from $3.0{\times}10^4\;cells/l\;to\;1.0{\times}10^6\;cells/l.$. The dominant species varied from the vertical distribution as well as seasonal changes. In April and July 1999, Skeletonema costatum and Ceratium fusus were predominant in both the surface and the bottom water columns. Leptocylindrus danicus was the dominant species in April and June 2000, and Thalassiosira spp. were also predominant in bottom waters in June 2000. Pseudonitzschia pungens and Chaetoceros spp. were the dominant species at both surface and near bottom waters in August and October 2000, respectively. Zooplankton abundance was comparatively high in April and July in 1999, and April, June, and October in 2000, but extremely low in November 1999. The density of dominant zooplankton was higher in 2000 than in 1999. Copepods were the most predominant group except for July 1999 when the bivalve larvae showed extremely high abundance. Acartia omorii and Oithona similis were the dominant or subdominant copepod species mainly in April 2000, and June/July, while O. davisae and O. plumifera had peaks in August and October 2000. Corycaeus affinis and Paracalanus sp. also showed higher peaks in April and June (or July), even though they occurred in all sampling time. Centropages abdominalis occurred abundantly only in April 1999. Oikopleura dioica, a gelatinous zooplankton, was another important zooplankton, showing high density in all samples except in July 1999.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.607-618
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• 2004

Zooplankton community was surveyed during the Seventh Korea Antarctic Research Program, from 28 December 1993 to 11 January 1994. Zooplankton samples were collected at 40 stations from the waters around the South Shetland Islands with a Bongo net and a MOCNESS. A total of 14 taxa of zooplankton were identified. Zooplankton abundances varied at each station as well as with the sampling gears. Zooplankton abundances were higher in the Western Weddell Sea than those in the Bransfield strait. Zooplankton collected with MOCNESS showed a different vertical distribution depending on its depths at selected stations. Copepods were the major components of zooplankton contributing 72.84% (mesh size $333{\mu}m$) and 68.36% (mesh size $505{\mu}m$) of total zooplankton abundance from the Bongo samples. Salps were the second most abundant group comprising 7.92% $(333{\mu}m)$ and 11.99% $(505{\mu}m)$ of total zooplankton abundance. Euphausiids, chaetognaths, polychaetes, pteropods and ostracods occurred more than 1% of total zooplankton. Copepods were not abundant at stations salps and euphausiids were dominant. Salpa thompsoni, Euphausia superba, Calanoides acutus, Metridia gerlachei and Calanus propinquus were dominant depending on the stations. The hierarchical UPGMA cluster analysis of dissimilarities between sampling stations is displayed with clusters identified similar habitats. Copepods rarely appeared in the clusters 4 and 5, and they appeared a ffw in the cluster 3 (or salps were numerous), while copepods were abundant in the clusters 1 and 2. As in the results of cluster analysis, the distributions of dominant taxa have a well identified correspondence to the geological positions included physical factors.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.133-143
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• 2015

Freshwater macrophytes improve the structural heterogeneity of microhabitats in water, often providing an important habitat for zooplankton. Some studies have focused on the overall influence of macrophytes on zooplankton, but the effects of macrophyte in relation to different habitat characteristics of zooplankton (e.g., epiphytic and pelagic) have not been intensively studied. We hypothesized that different habitat structures (i.e., macrophyte habitat) would strongly affect zooplankton distribution. We investigated zooplankton density and diversity, macrophyte characteristics (dry weight and species number), and environmental parameters in 40 shallow wetlands in South Korea. Patterns in the data were analyzed using a self-organizing map (SOM), which extracts information through competitive and adaptive properties. A total of 20 variables (11 environmental parameters and 9 zooplankton groups) were patterned onto the SOM. Based on a U-matrix, 3 clusters were identified from the model. Zooplankton assemblages were positively related to macrophyte characteristics (i.e., dry weight and species number). In particular, epiphytic species (i.e., epiphytic rotifers and cladocerans) exhibited a clear relationship with macrophyte characteristics, while large biomass and greater numbers of macrophyte species supported high zooplankton assemblages. Consequently, habitat heterogeneity in the macrophyte bed was recognized as an important factor to determine zooplankton distribution, particularly in epiphytic species. The results indicate that macrophytes are critical for heterogeneity in lentic freshwater ecosystems, and the inclusion of diverse plant species in wetland construction or restoration schemes is expected to generate ecologically healthy food webs.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.86-93
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• 2013

We monitored 32 wetlands in order to investigate the influence of aquatic plants on zooplankton density and diversity in the littoral zone in Gyeongsangnam-do from May to June in 2011. A total of 65 zooplankton species were identified in the study sites. Among them, the diversity of epiphytic zooplankton were higher (40 species) than planktonic zooplankton. Littoral zones of all wetlands were covered by various aquatic plants, and influenced the epiphytic zooplankton assemblages. Based on the data from $1{\times}1$ (m) quadrat sampling, epiphytic and planktonic rotifer density showed no significant relationships with macrophyte cover. However, the epiphytic cladocerans density significantly increased under high aquatic plant cover ($r^2=0.39$, p<0.05, n=32). Types of aquatic plants strongly influenced epiphytic zooplankton density. Upo and Jangcheok are locations which have well developed Phragmites communis and Ceratophyllum demersum communities in the littoral zone, and a higher density of epiphytic zooplankton was recorded on the surface of C. demersum. Especially, rotifers such as Lepadella, Monostyla and Testudinella showed obvious differences (One-way ANOVA, p<0.05 for all three species). This result suggests that epiphytic zooplankton have a substrate preference for larger surface areas, likely for adherence, on C. dimersum. In conclusion, the complex structure of the littoral plant community is expected to provide diverse refuge and microhabitats to epiphytic zooplankton.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.426-433
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• 2019

Objectives: Zooplankton communities play important roles in aquatic ecosystems as secondary producers that graze on phytoplankton and in turn are preyed upon by planktivorous and juvenile fish. They can shift their distribution, species composition, and abundance in response to environmental changes. Therefore zooplankton communities are important for understanding the energy flow in aquatic ecosystems and can be valuable indicators of environmental conditions. However, zooplankton in streams are still not well-studied, especially in northern Gyeonggi-do Province. This study aims to investigate the zooplankton communities in major streams in northern Gyeonggi-do Province. Methods: Zooplankton is important in the nutrient cycle and energy flow of aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, we surveyed zooplankton and measured temperature, DO, BOD, COD, T-N, T-P, and Chl-a in major streams (Sincheon, Gongneungcheon, Wangsukcheon, and Gapyeongcheon Streams) and stagnant water (Gomoji Reservoir). Results: The water quality in Gapyeongcheon Stream was the highest grade, while that of Gomoji Reservoir was mesoeutrophic and eutrophic during the research period. In the zooplankton community, Nauplius, Rotaria, and Monostyla spp. were dominant in Sincheon, Gongneungcheon, and Wangsukcheon Streams, and the dominance index was also high. In the case of Gapyeongcheon Stream, it was found that water quality and aquatic ecosystem health were good, and the lowest dominance index reflected this. In Gomoji Reservoir, Polyarthra spp., Nauplius, and Bosmina longirostris, which can be easily observed as eutrophication progresses, showed a high dominance rate. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the progress of eutrophication in further research. Conclusions: We collected data on the zooplankton communities in streams and investigated their characteristics. As a result, specific species were found to be dominant at each survey sites and some of them are known to be observed as eutrophication progresses. Therefore, we should investigate the zooplankton community of streams around us and apply ecological stream management.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2004

We compared two different zooplankton data sets simultaneously obtained at the same place with different mesh-sized nets. Smaller mesh-sized net yielded less diverse zooplankton taxa. However, it was difficult to generalize the relationship between the size of the mesh of the net used and the length of the species list observed. It was not only because the sample sizes obtained by smaller mesh net were relatively smaller due to the clogging problem but also because smaller mesh net usually collected more tiny animals that were difficult to identify at lower taxonomic categories. In terms of abundances, on the other hand, the smaller and the larger mesh-sized nets collected smaller and larger-sized animals more effectively, respectively. The abundances of small sized animals were usually greater than those of large-sized animals by about an order of differences. Due to this different catchability of the nets, the community analyses based on Principal Component Analysis led to different results for the same community.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.231-244
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• 2019

Zooplankton is essential biological assemblage in understanding the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems, since it plays as a linkage between primary producers and higher trophic level organisms such as fish. Although zooplankton has planktonic characteristics, the sampling and treatment methods for its community analyses are more complicated and variable compared with phytoplankton due to its high diversity in body size and species-specific depth selection behaviors. In the present paper, we reviewed representative classical methods for field sampling and treatments of freshwater zooplankton in relation with quantification of its community structure, and suggested appropriate methods depending on various research objectives.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.154-170
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• 2022

The zooplankton composition, abundance, community structure, and species diversity in the major commercial fishery species spawning grounds in the southern coast of Korea were investigated in this study. A total of 80 taxa were sampled, with the mean abundance range of 5,612-11,720 ind. m^-3 and the mean biomass range of 41.6-1,086.8 mg m^-3. The dominant species were Paracalanus copepodites, Paracalanus parvus s. l., Oithona copepodites, Paracalanus nauplii, Noctiluca scintillans, Oithona similis, and Ditrichocorycaeus affinis. The species diversity indices were highest in August, suggesting that diversity is influenced by neritic and oceanic warm-water species. A cluster analysis with non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) revealed three groups of zooplankton communities. The April and May samples clustered into Group A, having the highest mean total zooplankton abundance and lowest species diversity, consisting mainly of temperate species located in the middle region of the southern coast of Korea. Cluster Group B was from the early summer season (June) and contained the highest species diversity with some oceanic and neritic zooplankton species. Cluster Group C from the summer season (July and August) mainly comprised P. parvus s. l. and O. similis. The redundancy analysis (RDA) indicated that abundance is positively correlated with salinity, and chlorophyll-a concentrations.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.1 s.106
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• pp.130-136
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• 2004

In the present study, prey preference of juvenile fishes was examined using an experimental approach. Zooplankton composition, as a prey of the fish, was evaluated by taking into account the species as well as body size of juveniles in the aquarium. The predation of juvenile fishes is known to be an important factor in changes of zooplankton communities. In some previous studies at the regulated Nakdong River, the collapse of large cladcoerans and an increase in the rotifer population by selective predation during spring and summer were observed. This study focused on the predation of juvenile fishes such as Hyporhamphus sajori, Rhinogobius brunneus, and Opsariichtys uncirostris amurensis on zooplankton community structure in mesocosm scale experiments. These fishes selected the cladoceran Moina micrura with highest individual preference value (Manly/Chesson index)among zooplankton prey in the experimental aquarium. When the size-selective prey preferences of the juvenile fish were compared, both small (body size <2 cm) and large (body size >2cm) juveniles of O. uncirostris positively selected M. micrura. In the outdoor experimental tanks, juvenile fishes consumed the cladoceran M. micrura, resulting in an high abundance of the rotifer, Polyarthra spp. The results suggest that juvenile fish predation may play an important role in regulating the zooplankton community structure by reducing the cladoceran density and increase of rotifers in the Nakdong River during spring and summer.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22
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• pp.11-29
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• 2004

This study was conducted bimonthly from June 2001 to June 2003 to investigate the seasonal variation of the zooplankton community in Gwangyang Bay, Zooplankton were collected at 9 stations using a NORPAC net from surface layer. The zooplankton community consisted of 47 taxa and the mean abundance was 6,205 inds. $m^{-3}$ during the survey period. The maximum abundance was observed to be 20,060 inds. $m^{-3}$ in June 2002 and the minimum in August 2001 with 630 inds. $m^{-3}$. Copepods were the predominant constituent, wihich comprised 4.6~84.1% (mean 38.2%) of the total zooplankton abundance. Dominant species of copepods were Acartia omorii, Acartia erythraea, Centropages abdominalis, Paracalanus parvus. Paracalanus parvus dominated from June 2001 to December 2002. A red tide causative dinoflagellate, Noetiluca scintillans, dominated from June 2002 to February 2003, Acartia omorii and Centropages abdominalis dominated in winter and spring seasons. While, Acartia erythraea dominated in summer and fall seasons. In June and August, Cladocerans and Cirriped larvae dominated. The abundance of zooplankton according to the tidal cycle showed considerable fluctuations with a range of 2,768~15,856 inds. $m^{-3}$ $(\risingdotseq$ 5.7 times).