• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.76-86
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• 2012

Macrozoobenthos were collected from 24 sites using small grab ($0.05m^2$) in order to see the spatial distribution of them at Sueocheon stream at the northern part of Gwangyang Bay during summer season when the maximum ecological processes are occurring. A total of 44 species of macrozoobenthos occurred, and their mean density was $789individuals/m^2$. Mollusks was the dominant faunal group accounted for 43.1% and 86.8% of the whole community density and biomass, respectively. Top five dominant species were a molluscan, Corbicula japonica (40.7%), two polychaete worms, Neanthes japonica (19.3%) and Heteromastus filiformis( 8.1%), and two crustaceans, Paranthura japonica (6.9%) and Jaeropsis sp. (6.9%). Species diversity index was very low with mean value of 1.12 and maximum value was recorded at the river mouth. At the upper stream, a brackish water species such as Corbicula japonica showed their maximum population density. The overall distribution of stream macrobenthos showed a rather simple pattern along with salinity and grain size gradients with few brackish water species occurring at coarse sediments in the stream but more diverse faunas inhabiting fine sediments in the river mouth.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.230-237
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• 2000

An ecological study of the benthic macrofauna was carried out using a modified van Veen grab in September 1997, in Namdaechon estuary, Yangyang, Korea. A total of 17 macro-invertebrates was collected and examined from eleven stations in the study area, including 3,795 individuals and 738.63 g wet weight. Arthropods, annelids and molluscs were most abundant and occupied more than $95{\%}$ of the total number of species, individuals and biomass. Namdaechon estuary in Yangyang was very poor in macrobenthic biodiversity, and numerically dominated and characterized by the polychaetes Heteromastus filiformis, Hediste japonica, Eteone longa, an unidentified oligochaete Oligochaeta sp., a corbulid bivalve Corbicula japonica, and an estuarine isopod Cyathura higoensis. Species composition, species dominance, density, and species evenness were compared among stations. The macrofaunal azoic zone appeared in the bottom of 7 m in depth nearby the artificial bank to catch the salmons to return to the livers for spawning. It probably resulted from the oxygen depletion following strong stratification in summer, which can cause major effect on the ecological conditions and then finally kill bottom macro-invertebrates in this area. Moreover, some opportunistic species thrived in nearby another station and this is of vital importance in terms of the ecological succession in a benthic polluted area.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.261-270
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• 1998

This study was carried out in order to investigate the distribution and species composition of benthic polychaetous community in northern Kyeonggi Bay in September 1995. Mean density of benthic animals was 557 indiv./$m^2$. Benthic polychaetes were the most dominant faunal group, comprising 60 species with a mean density of 488 indiv./$m^2$. Benthic polychaetes were most abundant in Yumha Channel centering on Incheon Harbor, whereas relatively poor in the intertidal zones fringing Yongjong Island and Songdo area, and in the offshore main channel. The most dominant polychaete was Heteromastus filiformis (47.3% of polychaetous community), followed by Nephtys palybranchia, Tharyx sp., Sternaspis scutata and so on. Kyeonggi Bay could be divided into 4 regions from cluster analysis based on the dominant species composition: offsea/channel region, Incheon Harbor, intertidal zone of Yongjong Island, and intertidal zone of Songdo area. Highest species number and diversity index (H') were recorded at offsea/channel region, whereas highest faunal density at Incheon Harbor. Incheon Harbor was characterized by high abundance of H. filiformis. Compared with the previous studies carried out in Kyeonggi Bay, faunal density and species number have little changed for the recent 10 years. Dominant species was different between each study, but has been among opportunistic species of small-sized polychaetes belonging to capitellids, cirratulids or spionids. These results indicate that Kyeonggi Bay has been organically polluted steadily; specifically, this study reveals that Incheon Harbor has been the center of pollution and that the benthic community in the outer sea off Sihwa dike has become unstable.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.169-176
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• 2000

This study was carried out to clarify the spatial and temporal patterns of macrobenthic assemblages on the subtidal area around Mokpo, southwest of Korea. A total of 238 species and 663 ind./$m^{2}$ were collected. Polychaetes were the most abundant faunal group that comprised 88 species and had a mean density of 389 ind./$m^{2}$. In the semi-enclosed Youngsan River estuarine bay and neighbouring Mokpo Port area were composed of fine sediments with high organic content, and revealed large seasonal variations in the salinity of surface water and bottom dissolved oxygen in contrast to little seasonal changes in those parameters in the outer area. The study area was classified into four station groups by the cluster analysis; the harbor area, the offshore area, and the inner and outer estuarine bay. Two estuarine bay areas showed different species composition; the dominant species of inner bay were Tharyx sp., Poecilochaetus johnsoni, Heteromastus filiformis and other opportunistic species whereas those in the outer bay were Ruditapes philippinarum, Corophium sinense. From the environmental data and species composition of benthic community, the inner bay was characterized to have unstable benthic faunal assemblages, especially under the seasonal disturbance and receiving large amount of organic matter input and intermittant discharge of fresh water. The coastal developments around Mokpo city also seem to have stressed the subtidal communities spatio-temporally.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.112-124
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• 2016

In order to see the spatio-temporal distribution patterns of macrobenthic fauna in subtidal areas of Nakdong River estuary, benthic fauna samples were collected seasonally at 8 sites in subtidal areas of Nakdong River estuary from February, 2013 to November, 2015. Sandy sediment facies was found in the southern part of the barrier islands in Nakdong River estuary while muddy sediment facies occupied at sites in offshore areas. The bottom salinity of the study area was measured greater than 30 psu during the study period. The mean species richness and density were estimated as 266 species and $859ind\;m^{-2}$, respectively. Polychaete worms were the most abundant fauna group, and four polychaete species such as Goniada maculata, Sternaspis chinensis, Magelona japonica, and Heteromastus filiformis occurred as dominant species in this study area. Pseudopolydora kempi known as an opportunistic species occurred dominantly only in August, 2013. From the multivariate analyses, the macrobenthic fauna in the subtidal area of the Nakdong River estuary could be divided into 2 assemblages that each occupied sites near barrier islands and offshore areas by sediment facies.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.81-91
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• 2020

This study was conducted to find the faunal composition and distribution patterns of macrobenthos where the sand tidal flat around barrier island at Nakdong River estuary in May, 2016 and 2017. The number of species ranged from 31 to 39, and density was from 789 to 1,644 ind.m^-2 during the study period in the three tidal flats. The number of species and density were the highest in the tidal flat of Shinja-do and Jinwoo-do, respectively. The dominant species were Gammaridae unid. in amphipods of crustacea, Scoletoma heteropoda, Scoloplos armiger, Heteromastus filiformis, Prionospio japonica in polychaeta and Batillaria cumingii, Laternula marilina in mollusks from the three tidal flats. The proportion of carnivores such as crustacea and mollusks was higher in the upper part of the tidal flat, and polychaetes of deposit feeders, dominated in the middle and lower tidal flat. Overall, the intertidal macrobenthic communities in the study area showed a high proportion of carnivores. However, the sites where the mud content is high such as muddy sand sites, they showed a higher proportion of surface deposit feeders belonging to tube-builders which contribute to sediment stability. From this study, it seemed that the macrobenthic fauna of the sandy tidal flat at the Nakdong River estuary showed a similar fauna composition and zonal distribution patterns from those in other sandy tidal flats in Korea.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.167-182
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• 2021

This study was carried out to investigate temporal and spatial distribution of macrobenthic community and elucidate effects of environmental factors on change of community structure in an intertidal flat, Hakseong-ri, Boryeong, Korea. Field surveys were seasonally conducted to collect samples of sediment and macrobenthos using can core in triplicate at nine stations in 2016 and 2017. Our results showed that sediment had high mud content (above 60%) in most samples and mean content of loss on ignition was 2.3% in 2016. A total of 79 species was collected in the study site during the study period. Mean density and biomass were 611 ind./m² and 64.1 gWWt/m², respectively. Heteromastus filiformis was the dominant species (48.6%, 297 ind./m²) followed by Macrophthalmus japonicus (10.1%, 62 ind./m²) and Upogebia major (6.9%, 42 ind./m²). Three assembly groups resulted from cluster analysis were more distinguished by interaction between organisms and frequency of dominant species than by physical and chemical environment characteristics. In addition, macrobenthic community in the Hakseong intertidal flat showed seasonal changes based on non metric multidimensional scaling using species abundance.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.121-127
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• 2023

The study was performed in order to understand the association between organic matter content in the sediments and the distribution of macrobenthos in the intertidal zone of the Muan bay. The sediment samples obtained from 21 sampling sites in August 2019 were analyzed for sediment composition and organic matter content (Ignition loss; IL and Total organic carbon; TOC). Further the macro benthos was sorted and enumerated. The sediments of inner area of bay has coarser composition where mouth part of bay, the sediments were predominantly silty. The highest organic matter content (both of IL and TOC) was measured at station 10 located near the Mokpo area while the lowest values was measured at station 20 adjacent to the north side of the bay. The 4 most abundant species accounted for more than 10% of all specimens were Assiminea sp., Musculista senhousia, Cerithideopsilla cingulate and Heteromastus filiformis. The maximum number of species and density were observed at station 10. Cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) allow identification of four benthic assemblages based on species abundance. The correlation analysis revealed that there was a significant difference (p<0.05) in the density with TOC. Based on the analysis; it was found that the distribution of macrobenthos varied with the differences in sediment composition and organic matter content.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2017

This study was carried out to investigate the spatial distributions of the macrobenthic communities in the Seomjin River estuary from May, 2015 to May, 2016. The number of species was 163, the mean density was $1,865ind.m^{-2}$, biomass was $204g{\cdot}wet\;m^{-2}$ during this study period. The highest number of species and density appeared among polychaetes whereas the most biomass was contributed by mollusks due to the presence of Corbicula japonica in every season. The study area was divided into 3 regions with similar benthic fauna responding to the gradient of the salinity. Praxillella praetermissa was the dominant species in regions of over 30 psu during all seasons. C. japonica and Hediste diadroma were dominant in the upper regions of the Seomjin River where the salinity was less than 10 psu. Heteromastus filiformis showed the broadest distributional range and dominated in all seasons except for the most upper stream at st. 7. From the result of the Bio-Env analysis, salinity was the most important environmental factor affecting the formation of macrobenthic communities in the study area, and salinity and TOC were the highest contributors to the macrobenthic communities. From the correlation analysis between major dominant species and environmental factors, C. japonica, Prionospio japonica and H. diadroma showed a negative correlation with salinity, while P. praetermissa and Scolectoma longifolia showed a positive correlation. H. filiformis was little affected by salinity but showed a positive correlation with TOC or silt content of sediment.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.223-235
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• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate benthic sedimentary environments and benthic polychaetous communities on the coast of Ulsan, located on the southern East Sea of Korea. This survey was conducted at 15 stations, four times seasonally in January, April, July and October 2016. From the coast to the outer sea, surface sediments turned into fine grained sediments. There were complex coarse-grained sedimentary facies in various forms in the coastal zones while those with mud facies were found in the offshore zone. Organic matter content (LOI) and sulfide amount (AVS) recorded extremely high values, and increased from the coast to the outer sea, showing a similar trend to mud content with depth. The benthic polychaetous community revealed a mean density of $525ind./m^2$, and the total species number of species was 84. The major dominant polychaetous species were Magelona japonica, Lumbrineris longifolia and Heteromastus filiformis throughout the four seasons. Magelona japonica was concentrated predominantly in shallow coastal areas, but was present in all the regions of the survey area. Lumbrineris longifolia showed higher density in offshore regions more than 30 m deep, whereas H. filiformis showed higher density in coastal areas less than 30 m in depth. As a result of cluster analysis, the study area was divided into three ecological areas according to species composition, such as the northern coastal area between Ulsan PortOnsan Port, the southern area around Hoeya River and the outer sea area. Benthic environments in the study area, as determined by AMBI and BPI index, maintained a healthy condition in all four seasons with the AMBI at a level above GOOD and BPI at a level above FAIR. As organic matter accumulation continues to take place in the Ulsan coastal area, it is essential that detailed research activities continue to be carried out and ongoing monitoring be maintained.