• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.4 s.109
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• pp.462-468
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• 2004

Most of the surveys of periphyton carried out for environmental and ecosystem health assessment of streams have considered the impact made on their fixative substrates (stones, rocks, sand, silt, clay and other abiotic matters), but there has been virtually no research that considered moving substrates. This study attempted to make an analysis and assessment of the habitat environments of the microalgae attached to the skin surfaces of fish living in small streams, with a focus on their species composition and community structure. The dominant fish in the this survey were Zacco temmincki and Zacco platypus, which are usually found in the streams, and rivers, and they accounted for 62% and 19%, respectively, in relative abundance. Substrates of fish, a representative organism with the trait of moving a long distance, show a marked contrast with those of organisms fixed at a certain place. Characteristics of both the upstream and the downstream reach well reflected in the microalgae attached to the skin surface of fishes, of which diatoms took the major composition. The result of this observation is considered to be useful to provide basic data in assessment of stream health. Also it may be suggested as a biological tool for the assessment of aquatic environment in the future.