• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• 제38권4호통권114호
• /
• pp.503-509
• /
• 2005

The growth characteristic of a predominant planktonic blooming species, Mallomonas elongata in a small shallow eutrophic pond was investigated In the field (from October 2004 to September 2005) and laboratory, Dense blooming (max. 17,600 cells $mL^{-1}$) of this silica-scaled chrysophytes was observed for a short time period in early spring (water temperature 12-$18^{\circ}C$ and pH 8.4-9.5), The growth characteristics of M. elongata isolated from this pond was investigated at various temperatures and pH under batch culture. The unialgal culture of M. elongata showed maximum growth rate (${\mu}max$) at $15^{\circ}C$ similar to the natural conditions. However, the optimal pH of the isolated batch culture was lower than the pond water pH at which M. elongata appeared in large population density.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• 제41권4호
• /
• pp.519-529
• /
• 2008

Recent studies reveal one of the representative endocrine disrupters of nonylphenol affects on the composition of a planktonic community. Since nonylphenol is sometimes discharged into eutrophic waters, we monitored planktonic community composition of a eutrophic pond after receiving nonylphenol when cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa mainly dominated. The experiment was carried out two times using small-scale microcosms in a laboratory. In both two experiments, ciliate abundances significantly decreased when nonylphenol was added. On the seventh day, the ciliate abundances in $10{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$ added treatments decreased by 36.9% in the first experiment and 33.6% in the second, when compared to the control. The response of other planktonic groups was less obvious to nonylphenol addition. In particular, in the first experiment, Chl. b/Chl. $\alpha$ and Chl. c/Chl. $\alpha$ significantly increased with the addition of nonylphenol, while total Chl. $\alpha$ concentration did not change. Indeed, bacillariophyceae and chlorophyceae abundances tended to increase with nonylphenol dosing. From these results, we tentatively hypothesized that nonylphenolloading positively affects on abundances of edible phytoplankton such as Scenedesmus spp. and diatoms by releasing from grazing pressure due to decrease in ciliate abundances. The present study emphasizes that the indirect effect of endocrine disrupters should be paid more attention when freshwater resources are polluted by them.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• 제41권4호
• /
• pp.449-456
• /
• 2008

Recent studies reveal that the endocrine disrupter nonylphenol can also influence the growth of planktonic organisms. To clarify the effect of nonylphenol on the whole planktonic community, we monitored planktonic abundances after addition of nonylphenol using small-scale microcosms in a laboratory. Nonylphenol was added at final concentrations of 1.25 and $2.5{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$, close to the EC50 for the growth of the rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus. Chlorophyll $\alpha$ concentration increased significantly between 2 to 5 days after nonylphenol treatment compared to the control. The abundance of the predominant phytoplankton, Stephanodiscus hantzschii, followed the same pattern as chlorophyll a concentration. While there was no negative effect on the abundance of ciliates and rotifers, crustacean zooplankton abundance was higher in nonylphenol treatments. Although the relationship did not reach significance, the growth rate of rotifers tended to decline with increasing nonylphenol dosing. It is likely that the decreased rotifer grazing on S. hantzschii caused significant increase in their abundance. This study emphasizes the importance of considering indirect effects of environmental pollutants when predicting the response of biological community to toxicant exposure.

• ALGAE
• /
• 제26권1호
• /
• pp.73-77
• /
• 2011

A dominant planktonic bloom-forming species, Mallomonas elongata was isolated from a small shallow eutrophic pond. The growth characteristics of this species on variable silicate concentrations and light intensities were investigated in laboratory unialgal cultures. In culture condition of $15^{\circ}C$, the maximum population growth and the highest growth rate of M. elongata occurred at a light intensity of $80\;{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$, and in culture condition of $18^{\circ}C$, it exhibited the maximum population growth and the highest growth rates at a light intensity of $50\;{\mu}mol\;m^{-2}s^{-1}$. Silicate concentration had no effect on the population growth and growth rate of M. elongata.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• 제38권1호
• /
• pp.55-64
• /
• 2005

Spatio-temporal variations of phytoplankton abundance and nutrient concentrations were investigated in the Namdaechon estuary, Yangyang, from April to December, 2003. A total of 51 phytoplankton species were identified with 32 diatom species in the study area. Phytoplankton abundance ranged from 14 cells/mL to 3,798 cells/mL. Small sized benthic and pennate-type diatoms like Cymbella spp., Fragilaria spp., Navicula spp., Synedra spp. were dominant at throughout the whole study area. Various planktonic species like Chlamydomonas sp., Peridinium spp., Euglena spp., Cryptomonas spp. etc. were abundant especially at the estuary of the Namdaechon, from May to August. Phytoplankton bloom (>3,000 \;cells/mL) occurred from the late May to mid June. After September when the sandbank of estuary was broken by the typhoon 'Maemi', planktonic species disappeared. These planktonic species were followed by oceanic diatoms, Skeletonema costatum and Chaetoceros spp.. Concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and silicate were relatively high at the upstream in summer. In May, before phytoplankton bloom, high concentrations of phosphate $(>3.5\;{\mu}mol/L)$ were observed at all the study area. These results suggested that spatio-temporal variation of phytoplankton in the Namdaechon estuary was related to formation of sandbank at the mouth of the estuary, fluid speed affected by sandbank and nutrients supplied in spring. High correlation $(r^2=0.928)$ between chlorophyll a and biological oxygen demand (BOD) implies that BOD was related to phytoplankton abundance in the Namdaechon estuary.

• ALGAE
• /
• 제28권4호
• /
• pp.297-305
• /
• 2013

There is increasing interest in the relationships between marine bacteria and red tide organisms. Some bacteria are known to kill red tide organisms, and may be responsible for accelerating the termination of red tides. Thus, certain algicidal bacteria have been proposed for the control of red tides. Meanwhile, many red tide organisms are known to feed on marine bacteria. The roles of marine bacteria and red tide organisms are therefore reversible. In Korean waters, the killing of red tide organisms by algicidal bacteria, and also the feeding of red tide organisms on marine bacteria have been extensively investigated. The findings of such studies may influence the conventional view of red tide dynamics, and also planktonic food webs. Here, we review the species and concentrations of algicidal bacteria that kill red tide organisms in Korean waters, as well as the ingestion rate and grazing impact of red tide organisms on marine bacteria. Furthermore, we offer an insight into the ecological roles of these 2 components in marine planktonic food webs.

• Ocean Science Journal
• /
• 제42권1호
• /
• pp.9-17
• /
• 2007

The summer distributions of planktonic microbial communities (heterotrophic and phtosynthetic bacteria, phtosynthetic and heterotrophic nanoflagellates, ciliate plankton, and microphytoplankton) were compared between inner and outer areas of Lake Sihwa, divided by an artificial breakwater, located on the western coast of Korea, in September 2003. The semi-enclosed, inner area was characterized by hyposaline surface water (<17 psu), and by low concentrations of dissolved oxygen (avg. $0.4\;mg\;L^{-1}$) and high concentrations of inorganic nutrients (nitrogenous nutrients $>36\;{\mu}M$, phosphate $>4\;{\mu}M$) in the bottom layer. Higher densities of heterotrophic bacteria and nanoflagellates also occurred in the inner area than did in the outer area, while microphytoplankton (mainly diatoms) occurred abundantly in the outer area. A tiny tintinnid ciliate, Tintinnopsis nana, bloomed into more than $10^6\;cells\;L^{-1}$ at the surface layer of the inner area, while its abundance was much lower ($10^3-10^4\;cells\;L^{-1}$) in the outer area of the breakwater. Ciliate abundance was highly correlated with heterotrophic bacteria (r = 0.886, p < 0.001) and heterotrophic flagellates (r = 0.962, p < 0.001), indicating that rich food availability may have led to the T. nana bloom. These results suggest that the breakwater causes the eutrophic environment in artificial lakes with limited flushing of enriched water and develops into abundant bacteria, nanoflagellates, and ciliates.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• 제28권3호
• /
• pp.125-132
• /
• 2010

In order to assess the effect of pollution on marine ecosystem, we examined the plankton health assessment at 16 stations during summer season in Jinhae Bay. The organic and inorganic pollutant sources (dissolved organic carbon; DOC, chemical oxygen demand; COD and Chlorophyll a; Chl.a), including planktonic orangism such as enterobacteria Escherichia coli, heterotrophic bacteria (HB), autotrophic nano-flagellates (ANF), heterotrophic nano flagellates (HNF), ciliate and harmful algal bloom species (HABs) were used to characterize marine ecosystem health assessment. Of these, we tentatively selected those items Chl.a, HABs, HB and E. coli for plankton health index (PHI). Also, the scoring criteria for each metric were based on a statistical analysis and then, the grades are rated on four levels. As a result, the ecological assessment of these data reveals that PHI in Jinhae Bay is rated as "Good or fair" for overall conditions. The present study suggests that the PHI might be considered as one of important management tool to assess marine ecosystem health of Jinhae Bay.

• ALGAE
• /
• 제35권1호
• /
• pp.61-78
• /
• 2020

Species belonging to the dinoflagellate genus Prorocentrum are known to cause red tides or harmful algal blooms. To understand the dynamics of a Prorocentrum sp., its growth and mortality due to predation need to be assessed. However, there are only a few Prorocentrum spp. for which heterotrophic protist predators have been reported. We explored feeding by the common heterotrophic dinoflagellates Gyrodinium dominans, Oxyrrhis marina, Pfiesteria piscicida, Oblea rotunda, and Polykrikos kofoidii and the naked ciliate Strombidinopsis sp. (approx. 90 ㎛ cell length) on the planktonic species Prorocentrum triestinum, P. cordatum, P. donghaiense, P. rhathymum, and P. micans as well as the benthic species P. lima and P. hoffmannianum. All heterotrophic protists tested were able to feed on the planktonic prey species. However, O. marina and O. rotunda did not feed on P. lima and P. hoffmannianum, while G. dominans, P. kofoidii, and Strombidinopsis sp. did. The growth and ingestion rates of G. dominans and P. kofoidii on one of the seven Prorocentrum spp. were significantly different from those on other prey species. G. dominans showed the top three highest growth rates when it fed on P. triestinum, P. cordatum, and P. donghaiense, however, P. kofoidii had negative growth rates when fed on these three prey species. In contrast, P. kofoidii had a positive growth rate only when fed on P. hoffmannianum. This differential feeding on Prorocentrum spp. between G. dominans and P. kofoidii may provide different ecological niches and reduce competition between these two common heterotrophic protist predators.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제10권3호
• /
• pp.375-380
• /
• 2000

The preliminary screening of several cyanobacteria, using mice bioassay, reveale the production of a hepatotoxin by the cyanobacterium Scytonema sp. strain BT 23 isolated from soil. An intraperitoneal injection of the crude toxin (LD50 56 mg/kg body wt) from this strain caused the death of the mice within 40 min, and the anmals showed slinical signs of mice within 40 min, and the animals showed clinical signs of hepatotoxicity. The toxin was purified and partially characterized. The active fraction appears to be nonpolar in nature and shows absorption peaks at 240 and 285 nm. The purified toxin had an LD50 of TEX>$100<\mu\textrm{g}/kg$ body wt and the test mice died within 40 min of toxin administration. The toxin-treated mice showed a 1.65-fold increase in liver weight at 40 min and the liver color chnged to dark red due to intrahepatic hemorrhage and pooling of blood. Furthermore, the administration of the toxin to test mice induced a 2.58, 2.63, and 2.30-fold increse in the activity of the serum enzymes alanine aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase, respectively. Further experiments with the 14C-labeled toxin revealed a maximum accumulation of the toxin in the liver. The clinical symptoms in the mice were similar to those produced by microcystin-L.R. These results suggest that hepatotoxins may also be produced in non bloom-forming planktonic cyanobacteria.