• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.621-630
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• 2015

This study investigated the concentration of total mercury in 17 species of commonly consumed fishes and assessed the risk to human health from provisional tolerable weekly intakes PTWI% as affected by migratory characterization, such as migration and vagility. The measured mean concentrations of total mercury in these 17 species of commonly consumed fishes suggest that mean concentrations of total mercury in 10 species of migratory fishes (largehead hairtail, chub mackerel, Pacific saury, skipjack tuna, Pacific cod, anchovy, Alaska pollack, brown croaker, Japanese Spanish mackerel, yellow croaker and Pacific herring) were low compared to those in 7 species of demersal fishes (red stingray, brown sole, bastard halibut, conger eel, blackmouth angler, rockfish and filefish). Based on the mean concentrations, the PTWI% of total mercury among commonly consumed migratory fishes was 3.393%, which was higher than that of commonly consumed demersal fishes (2.710%).

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.835-842
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• 2013

Flathead flounder Hippoglossoides dubius is a commercially important fish in the coastal waters of Gangwon Province, which is its spawning ground and breeding habitat. A total of 1,669 gonads were sampled monthly from February 2011 to May 2013 to investigate ecological characteristics, such as variations in maturation and spawning by gonad index, visual maturity stage, histological observations and oocyte diameter. Males were numerically dominant over females in the fishing grounds year round. The spawning season was from January to April, and the peak was from February to March. Oocyte number as a measure of fecundity was between 27,372 and 915,209 eggs with a length range of 26.0-48.7 cm TL, while the largest oocyte grew to 0.9-1.4mm in egg diameter during its spawning season. The relationship between fecundity and total length was $F=0.0016TL^{5.2539}$. The smallest mature lengths of the females and males were 28.4 and 22.6 cm respectively, and the 50% mature lengths of females and males were 32.9, 26.9 cm respectively.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.533-542
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• 2011

Numerous seagrass habitat restoration projects have been attempted recently due to the remarkable decline in seagrass coverage. Seagrass transplants tend to adapt to a new environment after experiencing transplanting stress during the early stages of transplantation. Once acclimated, the transplants grow into healthy seagrass beds via vegetative propagation. The establishment and growth dynamics of transplanted seagrasses in bays and coasts are widely reported, but few studies have been conducted on estuaries in Korea. We transplanted Zostera marina in November 2007 and November 2008 in the Nakdong estuary using the staple method, and monitored the survival, adaptation, and growth dynamics of the transplants as well as environmental factors every month for 1 year. Both transplants adapted well to the new environment without initial losses and showed rapid productivity during early summer. However, density of transplants increased 320% in 1 year from the previous year's transplants but that decreased to 59% during the following year. This significant reduction in density in the second year may have been caused by exposure to low salinity (10 psu) for 3 weeks during the unusually long monsoon season. While the survival and growth dynamics of seagrass transplants planted in bays and coasts are mainly controlled by underwater photon flux density and water temperature, salinity was the critical factor for those planted in Nakdong estuary.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.845-848
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• 2016

The effects of temperature and irradiance on the growth of Ulva prolifera O.F. $M{\ddot{u}ller$ (Chlorophyta), which has been used commercially as food in Korea, were examined in laboratory culture to conserve the strain. Experiments were conducted under combined factors of temperatures of 5, 10, 15, 20 and $25^{\circ}C$ and irradiances of 30, 50, 80 and $100{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$. The maximum growth of the U. prolifera germlings was observed at $20^{\circ}C$ and $80{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$, and the minimum growth was recorded at $5^{\circ}C$ and $100{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$. Considering these results, the species appears to survive under wide ranges of temperature and irradiance, although growth is inhibited by high irradiances of over $100{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$. This appears to be due to the in situ habitat niche of Ulva prolifera, which is the middle to lower intertidal zone. In conclusion, optimal conditions for the long-term conservation of Ulva prolifera can be established under relatively low temperatures ($5^{\circ}C$) and high irradiance ($100{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$), while the optimal conditions for mass production are $20^{\circ}C$ and $80{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$.

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.53-69
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to explore the ecosystem service and benefit indicators of natural seaweed beds. Ecosystems of natural seaweed beds provide a wide range of services and benefits to human society including provisioning services, regulating services, supporting services, and cultural services. Indicators for each of the ecosystem services are chosen by marine plants ecologists and as follows. Ecosystem indicators of natural seaweed beds for provisioning services are well-being food(amount of seaweed harvested/amount of fish landed, fish biomass, area of natural seaweed beds, the number of species, contribution to the second production), raw materials(amount of biomass by breed, amount of aquaculture feed), genetic resources(amount of genetic material extracted, amount of genetic material contained by age and habitat), and medicinal resources(amount of medicinal material extracted). Ecosystem indicators of natural seaweed beds for regulating services are air purification(amount of fine dust/NOx or $SO_2$ captured), climate regulation(amount of $CO_2$ sequestered), waste treatment(amount of N, P stored, biochemical degradation capacity COD), and costal erosion prevention(length and change of natural coast line, amount of sediment prevented). Ecosystem indicators of natural seaweed beds for supporting services are lifecycle and maintenance(primary production, contribution to the second production) and gene pool protection(amount of compositional factors in ecosystem, introduced species). Ecosystem indicators of natural seaweed beds for cultural services are recreation and tourism(the number of visits of an area) and information for cognitive development(amount of time spent in education, research and individual learning about ecosystem of natural seaweed beds).

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.30-42
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• 2010

The effects of internal waves on dynamics of hypoxic waters were investigated by numerical simulation by means of a hydrostatic-ecosystem coupled numerical model for Lake Biwa. The numerical model consists of hydrostatic and ecosystem submodels. Numerical simulation was carried out for a period during April 2007 and March 2008, after preliminary numerical simulation for three years. As a result, the numerical model could capture the vertical profiles of the observed water quality. During September 30 and October 21 in 2007, the major internal waves were Kelvin and Poincare waves, the periods of which were 1.63 or 1.77 days and 0.48 days, respectively. Hypoxic waters appeared in bottom boundary layer around October and were still when thermocline locates in upper layer. During late autumn and winter seasons, differences in density between upper and lower layers were reduced and the amplitude of internal waves increased. Hypoxic waters began to move under the effects of internal waves. Movement of hypoxic waters will diminish the habitat for aquatic organisms in deeper waters.

• Korean Journal of Ornithology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.106-111
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• 2018

The Black-tailed gull (Larus crassirostris) is one of the most common gull species in the Northeast Asia and classified as LC (least concern) in the IUCN Red List. The bird has become a useful indicator for marine environmental pollution and habitat disruption, since the human activities impacted marine environments. Here we show that the black-tailed Gull has 6 haplotypes and some rare haplotypes are locally limited implying that the bird may not disperse far. This study may be the first report on population genetic study of Black-tailed Gull in Korea and could be used as the baseline data for monitoring and genetic study on the bird as an environmental indicator.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.165-171
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• 2022

The Chinese crested tern (Thalasseus bersteini) is one of the most globally endangered species, listed as "Critically Endangered (CE)" on the IUCN Red List, with only approximately 30-49 individuals surviving in the wild. Chinese crested terns were discovered to breed in South Korea for the first time in 2016 while conducting a census on uninhabited islands. The Ministry of Environment has declared the breeding habitat of the Chinese crested terns as "Specified Island" to protect this CE species. However, brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) inhabiting the breeding grounds of the Chinese crested terns and Black-tailed gulls may potentially pose a threat to the breeding of these avian species. Therefore, we conducted a study on the feeding behavior of brown rats involving stable isotope analysis to determine their food sources. Fecal analysis showed that brown rats mainly fed on plants, whereas they scarcely fed on animals, such as insects. In addition, the stable isotope analysis showed that the δ¹³C values of brown rats, insects, and Indian goosegrasses were approximately -16 to -11‰, whereas the δ¹³C value of Chinese crested terns that obtained their food from the marine ecosystem was approximately -22 to -18‰. Hence, we conclude that the source of carbon for brown rats on this island is the terrestrial ecosystem. We ruled out the possibility of any direct prey-predator interaction between the brown rat and the Chinese crested tern or Black-tailed gull.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.73-88
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• 2021

The community structure and health status of macrobenthos assemblages were investigated in the subtidal area of the Nakdong River estuary, Southern Coast of Korea. Benthic fauna samples were collected seasonally at 8 stations in the subtidal area of the Nakdong River estuary from February 2013 to October 2015. During the survey, a total of 380 species and 4,603 ind./m² of macrobenthos in all sampling areas were collected. The major dominant species were the polychaetes Minuspio japonica, Pseudopolydora kempi, Heteromastus filifomis, Capitella capitata, the amphipod Grandidierella japonica and the bivalvia Arcuatula senhousia. Some species of polychaetes found in the study area consisted of opportunistic species that showed high densities when habitat condition was poor. On the other hand, macrobenthos assemblages in the study area were divided into brackish water and marine groups. Abundance was high in the brackish group, while the number of species and diversity index were high in the oceanic group. The three indices (AMBI, M-AMBI, and BHI) in the assessment of health levels based on the ecological characteristics and number of species in macrobenthic were commonly shown to be in good condition in the group of oceanic stations, while relatively poor conditions were reflected in the group of brackish stations. Compared to other indices, the M-AMBI index of the three indices for health assessment was considered to be a relatively more suitable one to assess benthic ecological conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.297-309
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• 2016

This study was carried out to investigate the differences in sedimentary environments and benthic polychaete communities between farming grounds and natural habitats (non-farming ground) in Gamak Bay. Sampling stations of natural habitats were evenly distributed in the entire bay. And mussel farm, oyster farm and ark-shell farm were selected as farming grounds. Dominant sedimentary facies was mud in most sampling stations of farming grounds and natural habitats. However organic contents were higher in the farming grounds than natural habitats of the bay. The species number and mean density of polychaetous community in the natural habitats were greater than those from the farming grounds. Lumbrineris longifolia, known as potential organic enrichment indicator species, was first dominant species both in farming grounds and natural habitats of the bay. However, the next dominant species consisted of different species between two benthic habitats. As a result of community analysis using cluster analysis and nMDS, the natural habitats were divided into several station groups, but most of stations in farming grounds were clustered into one group. Pearson' correlation analysis and PCA showed high relationships between sedimentary environmental factors and benthic polychaetous community in natural habitats, but low or no relationships in farming grounds. That means benthic polychaetous community established in farming ground was under unusual condition such as high input of organic matter. Thus it is necessary to improve the benthic environmental quality of the farming grounds as well as the north-western inner part in Gamak Bay through long-term monitoring efforts.