• Mycobiology
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• 제51권6호
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• pp.436-444
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• 2023

Aspergillus species play a crucial role in terrestrial environments as degraders and are well known for producing various secondary metabolites. Recently, Aspergillus species have been discovered in marine environments, exhibiting adaptability to high salinity and producing diverse secondary metabolites with valuable properties. However, limited research has focused on their marine diversity, leading to inaccurate species identification. The current study addresses this gap by investigating diverse marine habitats in the Republic of Korea, including sediment, seawater, seaweed, and marine animals. From three coasts of the Korean Peninsula, 472 Aspergillus strains were isolated from the various marine habitats. A total of 41 species were accurately identified using multigenetic markers: internal transcribed spacer, calmodulin, and b-tubulin. The findings underscore the importance of accurate identification and provide a basis for elucidating the functional role of marine-derived Aspergillus species in marine ecosystems.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.13-21
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• 2017

Temporal changes in the number of zooplankton species are important information for understanding basic characteristics and species diversity in marine ecosystems. The aim of the present study was to estimate the optimal monitoring frequency (OMF) to guarantee and predict the minimum number of species occurrences for studies concerning marine ecosystems. The OMF is estimated using the temporal number of zooplankton species through bi-weekly monitoring of zooplankton species data according to operational taxonomic units in the Tongyoung coastal sea. The optimal model comprises two terms, a constant (optimal mean) and a cosine function with a one-year period. The confidence interval (CI) range of the model with monitoring frequency was estimated using a bootstrap method. The CI range was used as a reference to estimate the optimal monitoring frequency. In general, the minimum monitoring frequency (numbers per year) directly depends on the target (acceptable) estimation error. When the acceptable error (range of the CI) increases, the monitoring frequency decreases because the large acceptable error signals a rough estimation. If the acceptable error (unit: number value) of the number of the zooplankton species is set to 3, the minimum monitoring frequency (times per year) is 24. The residual distribution of the model followed a normal distribution. This model can be applied for the estimation of the minimal monitoring frequency that satisfies the target error bounds, as this model provides an estimation of the error of the zooplankton species numbers with monitoring frequencies.

• 환경정책연구
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.57-89
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• 2007

우리나라 연안과 해양에 소재한 보호구역은 1990년대 중반 이후 지정개소와 면적이 급속도로 증가하여 전국에 425개소, $10,666.8km^2$가 지정되어 있다. 그러나 보호구역제도의 외형적 실적(output)에도 불구하고 지정기준의 객관성 부족과 모호성은 다른 관리문제점인 갈등발생, 지정 후 관리대책 미비, 중복지정 등의 원인으로 기능하고 있다. 연안 해양생태계 보전을 위한 효과적인 정책수단으로 보호구역제도가 기능하기 위해서는 지정과정에서 나타나는 문제점을 해결할 필요가 있는데, 이를 위해서는 현재의 보호구역 지정체계를 개선해야 한다. 지정기준에는 자연환경 요소뿐만 아니라 사회경제적 요소를 포함해야 하며, 세부지표 별로 가중치를 부여하여 항목별 중요도를 반영할 필요가 있다. 이 연구에서는 대표적인 연안 해양보호구역인 '습지보호지역'과 '해양보호구역'을 대상으로 자연환경뿐만 아니라 사회적 여건과 같은 관리적 요소를 고려한 지정기준을 제시하였다. 또한 계층화분식과정(AHP) 기법을 활용하여 개별 지정기준 항목의 가중치를 산정하였고 이를 보호구역 대상지역 평가에 활용할 수 있는 체계를 개발하였다.

• 미생물학회지
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2010

미생물 군집과 기능연구를 위한 최근의 새로운 분석기술의 발전은 다양한 유전 관련 정보를 제공해왔다. mRNA를 포함하는 핵산을 기초로 한 연구를 뛰어넘어서 메타프로테오믹스는 미생물 군집의 유전형 및 표현형의 특징적인 정보를 보다 정교하게 제공할 수 있다. 이미 서로 다른 미생물 생태계인 해수, 인간의 배설물, 활성 슬러지, 산성 광산 폐수 생물막, 토양 등에 메타프로테오믹스 기술이 유용하게 사용되었다. 이들 연구는 여러 측면에서 상당히 다르지만 미생물 군집의 구조, 기능, 생리, 상호관계, 생태, 진화적 측면을 결정적으로 상호 연결한다는 것을 밝혀냈다. 본 총설은 메타프로테오믹스에 대한 현재까지의 가장 최신의 정보를 요약하여 제공함으로써 메타프로테오믹스에 대한 정확한 이해와 활용을 통해 다방면의 메타프로테오믹스가 가능하도록 하고자 하였다.

• 한국수산과학회지
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• 제43권4호
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• pp.351-361
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• 2010

Among common estuarine submerged plants, seagrasses are the most extensively studied due to their ecological importance in estuarine ecosystems. Seagrass meadows are important biological habitats for a wide variety of marine animals and plants. They are a source of organic carbon for commercially important animals. Furthermore, seagrasses act as nutrient filters in estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems. As such, mapping the distribution of seagrass beds is important for management and conservation strategies. In order to survey the seagrass distribution within the Seomjin Estuary, We directly observed seagrass beds in Kwangyang and Hadong using SCUBA. The distribution area, species composition, morphology, density, biomass and productivity of seagrass meadows were examined. Seagrass meadows were distributed in the intertidal and subtidal zones of the Galsa tidal flats, and in the subtidal zone of the neighboring POSCO area. Patches of Zostera japonica was found at patches at the Galsa tidal flats intermediate point. The total estimated seagrass distribution area of the Seomjin Estuary was $1.84\;km^2$. Of the total, $1.83\;km^2$ was Zostera marina (eelgrass) and $0.01\;km^2$ was Zostera japonica (dwarf eelgrass). Zostera japonica was found in intertidal zones. Zostera marina was found from the intertidal to subtidal zones at a 2 m mean sea level (MSL) depth. The leaf productivity of Zostera marina was $4.47g\;DW\;m^{-2}\;day^{-1}$. The annual production of eelgrass was $1,632\;g\;DW\;m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$, which corresponds to $731g\;C\;m^{-2}\;yr^{-1}$. The total production of eelgrass was $3,002\;tons\;DW\;yr^{-1}$, which corresponds to $1,343\;tons\;C\;yr^{-1}$.

• 한국해양생명과학회지
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.74-85
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• 2022

Organisms constituting a large proportion of marine ecosystems, ranging from bacteria to fish, exhibit fluorescence and bioluminescence. A variety of marine organisms utilize these biochemically generated light sources for feeding, reproduction, communication, and defense. Since the discovery of green fluorescent protein and the luciferin-luciferase system more than a century ago, numerous studies have been conducted to characterize their function and regulatory mechanism. The unique properties of fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins offer great potential for their use in a broad range of applications. This short review briefly describes the functions and characteristics of fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins, in addition to summarizing the recent status of their applications.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• 제37권4호
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• pp.280-286
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• 2021

During a field survey on Korean coastal marine waters, two ciliates belonging to the genera Pseudovorticella Foissner & Schiffmann, 1975 and Frontonia Ehrenberg, 1838 in the class Oligohymenophorea de Puytorac et al., 1974, were collected. Even though the two genera are very common in the aquatic ecosystems, they had been superficially studied in Korean habitats. Using the observation of living cells and specimens impregnated by protargol, silver carbonate, and silver nitrate, two newly recorded ciliate are identified as P. paramarina Sun, Ji, Warren & Song, 2009 and F. ocularis Bullington, 1939. A brief diagnosis, remark, and comprehensive micrographs are provided for each species.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.159-163
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• 2020

Parasesarma bidens(De Haan, 1835) has been designated as a marine protected species by the Act on conservation and management of marine ecosystems. This crab has been recorded only from Jeju-do and Geomun-do, Republic of Korea. In this study, we describe for the first time the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I(COI) sequences of P. bidens. The intra-specific genetic distance among the Korean populations and between the Korean and Chinese populations ranged from 0% to 0.9% and 1.9% to 2.7%, respectively. The inter-specific genetic distances among the four Parasesarma species ranged from 10.9% to 12.8%. The finding of this study will be helpful to better describe P. bidens using COI DNA barcodes and can be used as basic data for their restoration and conservation research.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.49-57
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• 2014

The seabird plays an important role as one of the indicator species for the status of and changes within marine ecosystems. Therefore, the conservation of seabirds and their habitats is important for maintaining the structure and function of marine ecosystems. Biological invasions affect most ecosystems on oceanic islands. In particular, Rattus spp. is the invasive species with the greatest impact on the seabird population. Introduced predators, like rats, severely affect seabirds and endanger them worldwide. The breeding population of Streaked Shearwaters Calonectris leucomelas in Sasu Island is one of biggest seabird colonies in Korea, and the Norway Rat Rattus norvegicus is known as an alien predator in this island. In this study we investigated rates of burrow occupancy and breeding success of Streaked Shearwaters for 7 years, and the impact of Norway Rats on the breeding success of Streaked Shearwaters breeding in Sasu Island for 4 years. Our results show that the percentage of breeding burrows decreased according to breeding stage during several years in the monitoring period, and that predation by the Norway Rat was the main cause in hatching failures. Consequently, although our results indicate that their breeding population is not likely to decline, Norway Rats have been affecting the breeding status of Streaked Shearwaters on Sasu Island during the last decade.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제29권4호
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• pp.319-326
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• 2007

Coastal marine ecosystems continue to suffer unrelenting pressures from human population growth, increased development, and climate change. Moreover, these systems' capacity for self-repair is declining with such increases in anthropogenic production of various pollutants. What is the present health status or condition of the coastal ecosystem? If our coastal areas are unhealthy, which conditions are considered serious? To answer such questions, the United States, Canada, and Australia are currently assessing coastal ecosystem health using systematic monitoring programs as well as identifying and implementing management plans to improve the health of degraded coastal ecosystems. To evaluate marine environments, Korea is currently using a limited number of factors to estimate water quality. In fact, we are ill-prepared for assessing coastal ecosystem health because no biologically specific criteria are in place to measure the responses to various pollutants. We should select ecosystem-specific indicators from physicochemical stressors and evaluate the subsequent biological responses within each ecosystem. Furthermore, a set of practical indicators should be generated by considering the characteristics and uses of a local coastal area and the key issues at hand. The values of indicators should be presented as indices that allow understanding by the general public as well as by practitioners, policy makers, environmental managers and other stakeholders.