• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.281-288
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• 2013

In this study we estimated the carrying capacity of the southern intertidal zone of Kanghwa Island to evaluate the habitat quality for Curlews(Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis and Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata). Biomass of the macroinvertebrate(Macrophthalmus japonicus) was estimated by based on the spatial distribution of the sediment grain size using GIS tools. According to our analysis the southern intertidal zone of Kanghwa Island was able to support 11,767 individuals for 153 days in the Spring 2012 and 16,275 individuals for 122 days in the Autumn 2012. The proportion of mean population to the carrying capacity in the Spring and Autumn was 9.4% and 5.9%, respectively. These values are 2.8-6.3% smaller than those of the previous study held in 1993-94. For the conservation of the study area, more research and management is needed. And in further studies, diverse characteristics of the intertidal habitat should be considered in spatial analysis to have a precise estimate of the carrying capacity.