• ALGAE
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.83-90
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• 2006

Phytoplankton community in the coastal waters off the northeastern Korean Peninsula were characterized from May 2002 to August 2003. Taxonomic composition, abundance and biomass were determined at two water depths at 10 sample sites. A total of 153 phytoplankton species including 121 diatoms, 28 dinoflagellates, 7 green algae and 7 other species were identified. The mean abundance of phytoplankton varied from 15 to 430 cells mL–1 in the surface layer and from 11 to 545 cells mL–1 in the bottom layer, respectively. Phytoplankton was more abundant in coastal stations relative to those in more open ocean. The most dominant species were marine diatoms such as Thalassionema nitzschioides, Licmorphora abbreviata, Chaetoceros affinis and Chaetoceros socialis. In addition, a few limnotic diatoms including Fragilaria capucina v. rumpens, the green alga Scenedesmus dimorphus, some marine dinoflagellates and Cryptomonas sp. appeared as dominant species. Mean concentration of total chlorophyll-a varied from 0.22 to 7.87 μg chl-a L–1 and from 0.45 to 6.79 μg chl-a L–1 in the surface and bottom layers, respectively. The contribution of phytoplankton each size-fractionated varied highly with season. The contribution of microphytoplankton to total biomass of phytoplankton in the surface and bottom layer was high in February and August 2003, and that of nano-phytoplankton was high in May 2002 in both surface and bottom layers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.288-293
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• 2018

This study was conducted to understand the characteristics of the seasonal and regional distribution of phytoplankton communities in the Fisheries Resources Protection Area of Korea (FRPA). We investigated the phytoplankton composition, abundance and dominant species collected from five different regions (Cheonsu, Tongyeong-I, Tongyeong-II, Hansan, and Jindong) in 2016. According to the results, most environmental parameters, such as temperature, salinity and nutrients, showed statistically significant seasonal differences. Suspended particulate material (SPM) only showed a statistically significant regional difference. The mean abundance of phytoplankton ranged from 13 to $4,062cells{\cdot}ml^{-1}$, with large spatio-temporal fluctuations. In particular, the bloom of phytoplankton (>$10^3cells{\cdot}ml^{-1}$) in Cheonsu Bay occurred in April and October with Skeletonema spp. and Chaetoceros socialis being the dominant species during these two seasons, respectively. The dominant species in the FRPA were diatoms (Pseudo-nitzschia spp., Skeletonema spp., and Chaetoceros pseudocriniuts) and dinoflagellates (Scrippsiella trochoidea and Tripos furca). The seasonal distribution of phytoplankton communities showed typical characteristics of coastal waters, i.e., that diatoms usually dominated in winter and autumn, while dinoflagellates tended to dominate in spring and summer. Meanwhile, the dominance rate of diatoms in the phytoplankton community in Cheonsu Bay, which is located in a high-turbidity region, was 9~27 % greater than that of diatoms in the phytoplankton community found in the south coastal waters, which is a low turbidity region.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.81-93
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• 2019

Phytoplankton is one of the important primary producers providing organic matter through photosynthesis in aquatic environments. In order to determine a temporal and spatial variation in primary productivity after weir construction in the Nakdong River, we investigated carbon uptake rates using in-situ $^{13}C$ labeling experiments and identified algal communities contributing to primary productivity using HPLC-CHEMTAX analysis from October to December, 2017. The primary productivity gradually decreased from fall to early winter season ($249{\sim}933mgC\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ in October, $64{\sim}536mgC\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ in November and $60{\sim}274mgC\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ in December, respectively). This is attributed to the temporally declining light intensity and the decreasing biomass and physiological activity of phytoplankton in winter. The contribution of diatoms to the phytoplankton community in the Nakdong River was approximately 63% at all the sampling sites and seasons, while the contribution of cryptophytes increased from 9% in October to 32% in November and December. The temporal changes in the primary productivity and the dominant phytoplankton species in the mid and downstream weirs of the Nakdong River was investigated for the first time, after construction of the weirs, and major environmental factors controlling the temporal variation in primary productivity and phytoplankton communities were identified in this study. We suggest that seasonal field investigations will provide further information on the major environmental factors which affect the annual variation of primary productivity and phytoplankton communities.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.36 no.6_1
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• pp.1339-1348
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• 2020

Phytoplankton controls marine ecosystems in terms of nutrients, photosynthetic rate, carbon cycle, etc. and the degree of its influence on the marine environment depends on their physical size. Many studies have been attempted to identify marine phytoplankton size classes using the remote sensing techniques. One of successful approach was the three-component model which estimates the chlorophyll concentrations of three phytoplankton size classes (micro-phytoplankton; >20 ㎛, nano-; 2-20 ㎛ and pico-; <2 ㎛) as a function of total chlorophyll. Here, we examined the applicability of Geostationary Ocean Colour Imager (GOCI) to the mapping of the phytoplankton size class distribution in the East Sea. A fit of the three-component model to a biomarker pigment dataset collected in the study area for some years including a large harmful algal bloom period has been carried out to derive size-fractioned chlorophyll concentration (CHL). The tuned three-component model was applied to the hourly GOCI images to identify the fractions of each phytoplankton size class for the entire CHL. Then, we investigated the distribution of phytoplankton community in terms of the size structure in the East Sea during the harmful Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms in the summer of 2013.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.415-425
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• 2013

In order to understand phytoplankton and bacterial distribution in tropical coral reef ecosystems in relation to the mangrove community, their biomass and activities were measured in the sea waters of the Chuuk and the Kosrae lagoons located in Micronesia. Chlorophyll a and bacterial abundance showed maximal values in the seawater near the mangrove forests, and then steeply decreased as the distance increased from the mangrove forests, indicating that environmental conditions for these microorganisms changed greatly in lagoon waters. Together with chlorophyll a, abundance of Synechococcus and phototrophic picoeukaryotes and a variety of indicator pigments for dinoflagellates, diatoms, green algae and cryptophytes also showed similar spatial distribution patterns, suggesting that phytoplankton assemblages respond to the environmental gradient by changing community compositions. In addition, primary production and bacterial production were also highest in the bay surrounded by mangrove forest and lowest outside of the lagoon. These results suggest that mangrove waters play an important role in energy production and nutrient cycling in tropical coasts, undoubtedly receiving large inputs of organic matter from shore vegetation such as mangroves. However, the steep decrease of biomass and production of phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria within a short distance from the bay to the level of oligotrophic waters indicates that the effect of mangrove waters does not extend far away.

• ALGAE
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2008

In order to understand variation and relationship between standing crops and biomass of phytoplankton dominant species for the long term periods, this study was seasonally investigated in the marine ranching ground of Tongyeong coastal waters from 2000 to 2007. Total 268 taxa representing 217 Bacillariophyceae, 46 Dinophyceae, 4 Dictychophyceae, 1 Euglenophyceae were observed in phytoplankton communities. Dominant species consisted of 5 species as standard in standing crops: Chaetoceros curvisetus (18.01%), Chaetoceros socialis (12.95%), Skeletonema costatum (8.39%), Chaetoceros compressus (6.87%), Asterionellopsis glacialis (5.02%). However, to determine dominant species as biomass concept, Ditylum brightwellii, Guinardia striata, Rhizosolenia spp. and Skeletonema costatum were occupied with dominant species (19.67%). As determining for cell sizes, dominant species were divided with two groups such as micro- and nanophytoplankton (standing crops) and mesophytoplankton (biomass). However, Skeletonema costatum in anophytoplankton was associated to affect fluctuation between standing crops and biomass.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.2 s.98
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• pp.141-144
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• 2002

The construction of river mouth dam has prevented seawater from backwarding to upstream in Kum river estuary since 1990. Field observation on environmental factors, and zooplankton and phytoplankton dynamics have been carried out three times with two month interval in the summer and autumn in 2000 at three selected stations in Kum river estuary. Blockade of seawater flowing backward to upstream caused sharp contrast of zooplankton fauna and phytoplankton flora between upstream and downstream of the river mouth dam. Freshwater cladocerans i.e., Bosmina longisrostris and Daphnia galeata dominated in the upstream, and marine copepods of Acartia omorii and Paracalanus crassirostris occurred abundantly in downstream of the dam. Freshwater diatoms did not distributed in the downstream of the dam except Melosira varians, while marine diatom of Cylidrotheca closterium occurred in benthic waters bath in upstream and downstream of the dam. The construction of the river mouth dam seems to play an ecological role to blockade the input of marine organism into the upstream in Kum river estuary.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.117-124
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• 2011

Many studies of the phytoplankton community structure have been conducted using the CHEMTAX program on the basis of the photosynthetic pigment concentrations measured by a HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) technique. The CHEMTAX program determines the contribution of each phytoplankton class to total phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a) based on the ratios of marker pigment to chlorophyll a of phytoplankton group. In this study, the marker pigment/chlorophyll a ratios were investigated in phytoplankton species isolated from marine waters around the Korean peninsula. These results were used as the input pigment ratios of the CHEMTAX program to investigate phytoplankton community structure in Korean coastal waters (Yeoja and Gamak Bay). There were significant differences in the ratios of marker pigment to chlorophyll a among the different species within the same algal class. There was a significant difference between the values of our ratios and the previously used ratios in other regions of the world. When phytoplankton community composition was calculated using our initial ratios in Yeoja and Gamak Bay, our results were significantly different from the results calculated on the basis of initial ratios of marker pigment in phytoplankton suggested in other marine waters. The estimates of the contributions of the major algal groups (bacillariophyceae and dinophytes) to total chlorophyll a varied within 5% depending on the initial ratios chosen. The variations of estimates for the pico- and nanoplankton (cyanophytes and prasinophytes), which have relatively low contributions to total chlorophyll a, were higher than those for major algal group. Although the HPLC-pigment measurements combined with CHEMTAX analysis are useful for identifying and qualifying phytoplankton community structure, further researches for the pigment ratios of the dominant phytoplankton species presenting in a given area are also needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2016

This study describes the spatio-temporal distributions in phytoplankton community such as species composition, standing crops and dominant species from April to November 2008 in the Uljin Marine Ranching Area (UMRA). A total of 123 species of phytoplankton belonging to 67 genera was identified. In particular, diatoms and dinoflagellates were occupied more than 60.5% and 34.6% of total species, respectively. The annual dominant species were Thalassiosira sp., Pseudo-nitzschia pungens in spring, Leptocylindrus danicus, Guinardia striata in early summer, Cheatoceros cirvisetus, Ch. decipiens in early autumn and Skeletonema costatum -ls (like species), Pn. pungens in autumn. Phytoplankton cell density fluctuated with an annual mean of $48cells{\cdot}mL^{-1}$ between the lowest value of $1.8cells{\cdot}mL^{-1}$ in early autumn and the highest value of $240cells{\cdot}mL^{-1}$ in spring. According to the cluster analysis, the phytoplankton community of the UMRA was characterized by the nutrient supply from land side and water movement as current.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.180-191
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• 2015

Marine environmental characteristics and primary productivity of phytoplankton were investigated in seaweed bed of northwestern coast of Jeju Island during Autumn, 2014. The trophic state based on dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus was mesotrophic. The Redfield ratio was less than 16, indicating that nitrogen was the limiting factor for the growth of phytoplankton. Dissolved organic nitrogen and phosphorus accounts for 63 and 46% of the dissolved total nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. Light utilization efficiency (${\alpha}$) and maximum photosynthetic capacity ($P_m{^B}$) were highest in the Donggwi (third-year marine forest), followed by Gonae (one-year marine forest), Biyangdo (natural seaweed bed) and Geumneung (whitening area). The primary productivity of phytoplankton in the Donggwi, Gonae and Biyangdo also was higher than that in the Geumneung. Although nitrogen is the limiting factor, enriched dissolved organic nitrogen might play an important role to maintain primary productivity. In addition, phytoplankton community through photosynthesis could produce about 14% of phytoplankton carbon in one hour. These results will be able to use the important information for material cycle and ecological valuation of seaweed bed.