• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.523-530
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• 2020

Based on the results of harmful algal blooms (HABs) monitoring by the National Institute of Fisheries Science and local governments, the effects of changes in the marine environment on HABs are described. Since the beginning of HABs monitoring in 1972, they continued to increase from the 1980s to the 1990s. After the largest number of HAB incidents (109) in 1998; the trend declined until the 2010s. Most HABs in the 1970s were caused by diatoms. In the 1980s, coastal dinoflagellates caused HABs; Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms have been occurring continuously since 1993. There are three HAB species that cause damage to fisheries in Korea. The high-density bloom of Karenia mikimotoi caused mass mortality in shellfish in Jinhae Bay in 1981. Karenia sp. blooms occurring around Tongyeong in 1992 killed aquaculture fish. Since the occurrence of the largest fisheries damage of KRW 76.6 billion in 1995 caused by C. polykrikoides blooms, they have been occurring continuously. The concentration of nutrients in coastal waters was the highest in the 1980s and has declined since the mid-1990s. This reduction in nutrient concentration is a good explanation for the decreasing number of HABs. Since 2016, a summer high water temperature of 30℃ or more has appeared, and the range and scale of C. polykrikoides blooms have been greatly reduced. In 2016, K. mikimotoi blooms occurred around Wando, Jangheung and Goheung and small scale blooms of C. polykrikoides occurred around Yeosu. There were no C. polykrikoides blooms in 2017; however, Alexandrium affine blooms occurred from Yeosu to Tongyeong. There was a small-scale blooms of C. polykrikoides in 2018 compared to those in the previous years. Our results show that reduction in nutrients and the high water temperature owing to climate change are a good explanation for variation in HABs in Korean coastal waters.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.166-178
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• 2015

We investigated marine environmental characteristics of Goheung coastal areas in August where is known to be the first outbreak site of Cochlodinium polykrikoides (hereafter C. polykrikoides) blooms, based on the oceanographic data observed from 1993 to 2013 around the Korean southern coastal waters including Eastern China Sea by National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI). The data of NOAA/NGSST satellite images as well as numerical simulation results by Seo et al. [2013] were also used for analysis. Water temperatures at the surface and bottom layers in Goheung coast, i.e. Narodo, were $25.0^{\circ}C$ and $23.7^{\circ}C$ so that they were higher than $23.8^{\circ}C$ and $19.4^{\circ}C$ in Geoje coast where is a reference site, respectively. In addition, salinities at the surface and bottom layers in Goheung coast were 31.78 psu and 31.98 psu so that they were a little higher than 31.54 psu at the surface but a little lower than 32.79 psu at the bottom in Geoje coast, respectively. That is, the differences in water temperature or salinity between the surface and bottom layers in Goheung coast in August were not large compared to Geoje coast. This suggests that stratification in Goheung coast in August is fairly weak or may not be established. In addition, the concentrations of DIN and DIP at the surface layer were 0.068 mg/L ($4.86{\mu}M$) and 0.015 mg/L ($5.14{\mu}M$) in Goheung coast while 0.072 mg/L ($5.14{\mu}M$) and 0.01 mg/L ($0.32{\mu}M$) in Geoje coast, so they did not indicate a meaningful difference. On the other hand, when C. polykrikoides blooms, water temperature and salinity in August at the station 317-22 ($31.5^{\circ}N$, $124^{\circ}E$) of the East China Sea, where is near the mouth of Yangtze River, were $27.8^{\circ}C$ and 31.61 psu, respectively. Thus, water temperature was much higher whereas salinity was almost similar compared to Goheung coast. Furthermore, concentrations of $NO_3-N$ and $PO_4-P$ in the East China Sea in August were remarkably high compared to Goheung coast. When C. polykrikoides blooms, according to not only the image data of satellites NOAA/NGSST but also numerical experiment results by Seo et al.[2013], the freshwater out of Yangtze River was judged to clearly affect the Korean southern coastal waters. Therefore, the supply of nutrients in terms of Yangtze River may greatly contribute to the outbreak of C. polykrikoides blooms in Goheung coast in summer.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.531-548
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• 2012

To identify Cochlodinium polykrikoides red tide from non-red tide water (satellite high chlorophyll waters) in the South Sea of Korea (SSK), we improved a spectral classification method proposed by Son et al.(2011) for the world first Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI). C. polykrikoides blooms and non-red tide waters were classified based on four different criteria. The first step revealed that the radiance peaks of potential red tide water occurred at 555 and 680 nm (fluorescence peak). The second step separated optically different waters that were influenced by relatively low and high contributions of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) (including detritus) to chlorophyll. The third and fourth steps discriminated red tide water from non-red tide water based on the blue-to-green ratio, respectively. After applying the red tide classification, the spectral response of C. polykrikoides red tide water, which is influenced by pigment concentration as well as CDOM (detritus), showed different slopes for the blue and green bands (lower slope at blue bands and higher slope at green bands). The opposite result was found for non-red tide water. This modified spectral classification method for GOCI led to increase user accuracy for C. polykrikoides and non-red tide blooms and provided a more reliable and robust identification of red tides over a wide range of oceanic environments than was possible using chlorophyll a concentration, or proposed red tide detection algorithms. Maps of C. polykrikoides red tide in SSK outlined patches of red tide covering the area near Naro-do and Tongyeong during the end of July and early of August, 2012 and extending into from Wan-do and Geoje-do during the middle of August, 2012.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.92-101
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• 2015

We investigated cause of non-outbreak of Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms in the western coast of Jaran Bay during summer, 2013, based on the species competition among C. polykrikoides and Skeletonema sp. using a mathematical model. As a result of the model simulation where the nutrient conditions in Jaran Bay was applied during summer, the cell density of Skeletonema sp. was higher than that of C. polykrikoides. In the sensitivity analyses by doubling and halving the parameters, any parameter had little effect on the cell density of C. polykrikoides. The cell density of Skeletonema sp. was significantly affected by changes in the parameter values. These results indicated that the growth of C. polykrikoides could be unaffected by rapidly changing environments. However, the growth of Skeletonema sp. may have been promoted by the changing nutrient supply of coast environments. Therefore, C. polykrikoides might have been suppressed by diatom blooms, such as Skeletonema sp., in changing nutrient supply condition of Jaran Bay.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.205-208
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• 2008

The mixotrophic dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides was reported to be linked to major fish kills in Korea and Japan since the 1990s. Rapid and sensitive detection of microalgae has been problematic because morphological identification of dinoflagellates requires light microscopic and scanning electron microscopic observations that are time consuming and laborious compared to real-time PCR. To address this issue, a real-time PCR probe targeting the ITS2 rRNA gene was used for rapid detection and quantification of C. polykrikoides. PCR inhibitors in water column samples were removed by dilution of template DNA for elimination of false-negative reactions. A strong association between cell quantification using real-time PCR and microscopic counts suggests that the real-time PCR assay is an alternative method for cell estimation of C. polykrikoides in environment samples.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.536-544
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• 2001

Three harmful algal bloom species with similar morphology, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, Gyodinium impudicum and Gymodinium catenatum have damaged to aquatic animals or human health by either making massive blooms or intoxication of shellfishes in a food chain. Eco-physiological and hydrodynamic studies on the harmful algae offer useful informations in the understanding their bloom mechanism by giving promising data for the prediction and modelling of harmful algal blooms event. Thus, we studied the abundance of these species in the coastal area of South Sea of Korea and their effects of temperature, salinity, irradiance and nutrient on the growth for the isolates. The timing for initial appearance of the three species around the coastal area of Namhaedo, Narodo and Wando was between Bate July and late August in 1999 when water temperature ranged from $22.8^{\circ}C\;to\;26.5^{\circ}C$ Vegetative cells of C. polykrikoides and G. impudicum were abundant until late September when water temperature had been dropped to less than $23^{\circ}C$. By contrast, vegetative cell of G. catenatum disappeared before early September, showing shorter period of abundance than the other two species in the South Sea. Both G. impudicum and G. catenatum revealed comparatively low density with a maximal cell density of 3,460 cells/L and 440 cells/L, respectively without making any bloom, while C. polykrikoides made massive blooms with a maximal cell density more than $40\times10^6$cells/L, The three species showed a better growth at the relatively higher water temperature ranging from 22 to $28^{\circ}C$ with their maximal growth rate at $25^{\circ}C$ in culture, which almost corresponded with the water temperature during the outbreak of C. polykrikoides in the coastal area of South Sea. Also, they all showed a relatively higher growth at the salinity from 30 to $35\%$. Specially, G. impudicum showed the euryhalic characteristics among the species, On the other hand, growth rate of G. catenatum decreased sharply with the increase of water temperature at the experimental ranges more than $35\%$. The higher of light intensities showed the better growth rates for the three species, Moreover, C. polykrikoides and G. impudirum continued their exponential growth even at 7,500 lux, the highest level of light intensity in the experiment, Therefore, It is assumed that C. polykrikoides has a physiological capability to adapt and utilize higher irradiance resulting in the higher growth rate without any photo inhibition response at the sea surface where there is usually strong irradiance during its blooming season. Although C. poiykikoides and G. impudicum continued their linear growth with the increase of nitrate ($NO_3^-$) and ammonium ($NH_4^-$) concentrations at less than the $40{\mu}M$, they didn't show any significant differences in growth rates with the increase of nitrate and ammonium concentrations at more than $40{\mu}M$, signifying that the nitrogen critical point for the growth of the two species stands between 13.5 and $40{\mu}M$. Also, even though both of the two species continued their linear growth with the increase of phosphate ($PO_4^{2-}$) concentrations at less than the $4.05{\mu}M$, there were no any significant differences in growth rates with the increase of phosphate concentrations at more than $4.05{\mu}M$, signifying that the phosphate critical point for the growth of the two species stands between 1.35 and $4.05{\mu}M$. On the other hand, C. polykrikoides has made blooms at the oligotrophic environment near Narodo and Namhaedo where the concentration of DIN and DIP are less than 1.2 and $0.3{\mu}M$, respectively. We attributed this phenomenon to its own ecological characteristics of diel vertical migration through which C. polykrikoides could uptake enough nutrients from the deep sea water near bottom during the night time irrespective of the lower nutrient pools in the surface water.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Environment and Ecology Conference
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.57-58
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• 2011

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.654-655
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• 2003

Korea has experienced 10 a Cochlodinium polykrikoides red tide outbreaks during the last 10 years (1993-2002). The monitoring activities at National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) in Korea have been extended to all the coastal waters after the worst of fish killing by C. polykrikoides blooms in 1995. NFRDI is looking forward to finding out the feasibility of red tide detection around Korean waters using satellite remote sensing of NOAA/AVHRR, Orbview-2/SeaWiFS, IRS-P4/OCM and Terra/MODIS on real time base. In this study, we used several alternative methods including climatological analysis, spectral and optical methods which may offer a potential detection of the major species of red tide in Korean waters. The relationship between the distribution of SST and C. polykrikoides bloom areas was studied. In climatological analysis, NOAA, SeaWiFS, OCM satellite data in 20th and 26th August 2001 were chosen using the known C. polykrikoides red tide bloom area mapped by helicopter reconnaissance and ground observation. The 26th August, 2001 SeaWiFS chlorophyll a anomaly imageries against the imageries of non-occurring red tide for August 20, 2001 showed the areas C. polykrikoides occurred. The anomalies of chlorophyll a concentration from satellite data between before and after red tide outbreaks showed the similar distribution of C. polykrikoides red tide in 26th August, 2001. The distribution of the difference in SST between daytime and nighttime also showed the possibility of red tide detection. We used corrected vegetation index (CVI) to detect floating vegetation and submerged vegetation containing algal blooms. The simple result of optical absorption from C. polykrikoides showed that if we use the optical characteristics of each red tide we will be able to get the feasibility of the red tide detection.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.639-647
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• 2005

The aim of this study is to determine the outbreaks of nontoxic Gonyaulax polygramma Stein in Yeosu waters in place of harmful Cochlodinium polykrikoides Margalef, which has occurred annually in the same region since 1995. The observation of cellular arrangement and structure by electron microscopy showed that G. polygramma isolated from Yeosu waters had a few spines connecting with membranes and prominent longitudinal ridges on the cell surface, with a cingular displacement 1.5 times their cell width. Furthermore, the location of the nucleus was posterior of large oval formation according to electron microscopy. On 6 August, 2004, the first bloom of G. polygramma occurred, the date of its disappearance was with a maximum cell density of 8,000 cells $ml^{-1}$ on 21 August, 2004. During the period of this study, the horizontal distribution of sea water temperature and salinity showed a strong coastal front, whereas the front of DIN (Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen) was significantly different between the occurrence and disappearance of G. polygramma blooms. These results suggested that the process of the breakdown of stratification by wind and a low level of inorganic nitrogen play important roles in the rapid growth of G. polygramma, which is associated with a greater robustness in growth against DIN than that of C. polykrikoides in nature.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.148-162
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• 2004

The monitoring activities at the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) in Korea have been extended to include all the coastal waters of Korea after the outbreak of Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms in 1995. We used several alternative methods including climatological analysis, spectral and optical methods which may offer potential detection of the major species of red tide in Korean waters. In the climatological analysis, NOAA, SeaWiFS, OCM satellite data was chosen using the known C. polykrikoides red tide bloom data and the area was mapped by helicopter reconnaissance and ground observation. The relationship between the distribution of sea surface temperature to C. polykrikoides bloom areas was studied. The anomalies of SeaWiFS chlorophyll a imageries against the imageries of non-occurring red tide for August, 2001 showed where the C. polykrikoides occurred. The anomalies of chlorophyll a concentrations from the satellite data during red tide outbreaks showed a similar distribution of C. polykrikoides in the red tide in August, 2001. The distribution between differences in sea surface temperatures during the day and at night also showed a possibility for red tide detection. We used a corrected vegetation index (CVI) to detect floating vegetation and submerged vegetation containing algal blooms. The results of from the optical absorption of C. polykrikoides in the ultraviolet band (340 nm) showed that if we use the optical characteristics from each red tide, we will be able to establish the feasibility of red tide detection.