• 한국해양학회지
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.442-457
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• 1995

The relationships of environmental factors to the distribution patterns of the three species of ophiuroids, Ophiura kinbergi, O. sarsi and ). sarsi vadicola from Yellow Sea southeast seas and East Sea of Korea were studied to characterize their habitual niches. These three species chosen for study illustrated distinct niche and patterns according to their various preferences mainly for bottom water temperature, bottom water salinity and depth from seven environmental variables which were depth, bottom water temperature and salinity, density, bottom water oxygen content, grain size of the surface sediment, and sediment sorting coefficient. The results of habitat niche study mainly dealing with O. sarsi vadicola suggested that the optimum habitat rages were approximately 6$^{\circ}C$∼10$^{\circ}C$ in bottom temperature and 31%∼33.5% in bottom water salinity which also corresponded with the characteristic ranges of Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water and higher probabilities of occurrence (more than 70%) were found in depth ranging from 100 to 200 m. In addition, the habitats of O. kinbergi and O. sarsi were compared with that of O. sarsi vadicola. Their ranges of habitat niches were found to have different niches in physical space of bottom water temperature, bottom water salinity and depth. Based on the distribution pattern of O. sarsi vadicola in the Yellow Sea, the ecological barrier which confined the distribution of benthic macro-invertebrates in southern Yellow Sea was determined to be the Yellow Sea Warm Current (approximately 34% < and 18$^{\circ}C$ in December) which occurs between 33$^{\circ}$ and 34$^{\circ}$N of southern Yellow Sea in winter time.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.224-229
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• 1987

The ecological studies of the benthic polychaetes of the Yellow Sea were carried out for five years from August 1982. The emphasis of the research were placed on clarification of the distributional pattern and characteristic species of environmental factors on the polychaete community. Based on the polychaete samples analysed during the study period, it was possible to divide the polychaetes into five ecological groups : 18 warm water, 22 cold water, 20 cosmopolitan, 29 endemic, and 7 amphi-pacific species, Anaitides koreana, Aglaophamus sinensis, Nephtys polyoranchia, Nephtys caeca, Glycera capitata, and Scoloplos armiger seem to be characteristic species of sand bottom, while Haploscoloplos elongatus and Ophelina aulogaster of mud bottom. A total of 6 benthic communities have been recognized from the dominant benthic fauna found. In each benthic communities, dominant and characteristic polychaete species were clarified according to their ecological types. In general, as echinoderms such as Ophiura kinbergi, Amphioplus megapomus, and Luidia quinaria are distributed widely and found in high density, their influence on the distribution of most polychaetes is clearly shown.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.107-132
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• 1992

To perform the systematic study on Korean Ophiuroidea the specimens collected from total 92 localities in the Sea of Japan and the Korea Strait during the period from April, 1969 to October, 1991 were classified, As a result, 41 phiuroid species belonging to 18 genera, 8 families, 4 suborders and 2 orders were identified , of which 6 species, namely, Ophiactis brachygenys, Ophiactis modesta, Ophiopholis brachyactis, Amphioda cyclaspis, Amphipholis kichii, Ophionereis eurybrachyiplax have not been reported in Kiorea before. With regard to the distribution of species , 24 species (58.5%) were found only in the Korea Strait, 9 species (22.0%) occurred either in the Sea of Japan and the Korean Strait and 8 species (19.5%) only in the Sea of Japan. Ophiothrix exigua was predominantly collected from 44 localities of total 92 localities examined and also from the Korea Strait, but Ophiura sarsii was the commonest speices in the SEa of Kapn . Eighteen temperature species(43.9%) were found in the greatest number, and then 15 tropical species (36.6%) , 7 boreal species (17.1%) and 1 cosmopolitan species(2.4%) were found.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.417-434
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• 1995

Three species (0. kinbergi, 0. sarsi and 0 . sarsi vadicola) of the genus Ophiura (Echinodermacta: Ophiuroidea) were sampled from the various localities of Korean waters (Kyonggi Bay in March and September, 1989 and February, 1994; Yellow Sea in September and October, 1992; Southern Sea and Korean Strait in May, 1992; and eastern coasts adjacent to Kangnung in April, July, October, 1993 and January, 1994). Results of the examination of 250 Operational Taxonomical Units (OTUs) are presented based on the 20 morphometric variables to evaluate their taxonomic characters and positions. In cluster analysis, 250 OTUs were divided into 3 phenons (0. kinbergi, 0 . sarsi and 0 . sarsi vadicola) at the Euclidean distance levels of 6.84 and 2 phenons (a phenon composed of 0 . sarsi and 0 . sarsi vadicola and the other of 0. kinbergi) at 7.50. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used in order to produce a good discrimination model and 13 morphological characters (the total number of comb papillae, the number of primary comb papillae and shape of comb papillae (2). etc.) were extracted. The results of canonical discriminant analysis illustrated clear distinction among 3 phenons by the distance of 8.26 between 0 . sarsi and 0. sarsi vadicola, 24.24 between 0 . kinbergi and 0. sarsi vadicola and 21.63 between 0 . kinbergi and 0 . sarsi.