Macroalgal species composition and seasonal variation in biomass on Udo, Jeju Island, Korea

Abstract

Macroalgae are important primary producers in marine ecosystem. They don't only play an important role as bioindicators but also provide economic resources for humans. Seasonal and vertical variations in seaweed species composition and biomass were examined to determine the ecological status of seaweed beds around Udo, near Jeju Island. We obtained samples at two sites in the high-intertidal to subtidal zones using the quadrat method between June 2010 and May 2011. A total of 262 species were collected, including 31 green, 61 brown, and 170 red algae. The composition of algal species revealed a decrease in species growing in cold water in comparison with the list 20 years ago. The macroalgal mean biomass (g wet wt m-2) was 3,476 g and 2,393 g from the two sites, respectively. Ecklonia cava had the greatest biomass at both sites. The seasonal dominant species by biomass at site 1 from the low-intertidal to 1-3 m depth of the subtidal zone was mostly comprised of thick-leathery form, such as Sargassum hemiphyllum, S. coreanum, and Ecklonia cava, whereas site 2 was comprised of the turf form, such as Chondrophycus intermedius, Chondracanthus intermedius, Dictyopteris prolifera, and Gelidium elegans. The current ecological status of the seaweed community in Udo is stable based on diversity and dominance indices.

Seasonal variation in depth-stratified macroalgal assemblage patterns on Marado, Jeju Island, Korea

“…2). Moreover, these zonation patterns matched recent data from the Udo coast of Jeju Island (Kang et al 2011). The present results indicate that the vertical distribution of dominant species on Jeju Island have been maintained for the last 30 years.…”

“…Although numerous studies have described these general zonation patterns, recent studies have suggested that these patterns may not be generalizable across geographic regions because peaks in abundance or diversity are not found consistently in particular depth strata (Balata and Piazzi 2008, Konar et al 2009, Heo et al 2011, Kang et al 2011. Therefore, there is great interest in investigating not only these exceptional patterns but also different zonation patterns in species composition, diversity, abundance, and community dynamics among areas at local scales (Konar et al 2009, Heo et al 2011, Kang et al 2011, Shin et al 2011.Macroalgal growth is influenced by multi-factorial in- This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. …”

“…Communities at Jusamdo in the Yellow Sea are characterized by Desmarestia ligulata at subtidal depths of 5 m and vertically broad distributions of S. thunbergii (Heo et al 2011); Daejin communities in the East Sea are marked by Symphyocladia latiuscula and Phyllospadix japonicus (Shin et al 2011). These differences were probably due to several factors particular to each local region, such as annual mean sea surface temperature, difference in tidal level, latitude, hydrodynamics, topography, or turbidity (Chung et al 1998, Kim et al 1998, Stewart and Carpenter 2003, Kang et al 2011. Two species, S. latiuscula and D. ligulata, that appear to be dominant species on Daejin in the East Sea and Jusamdo in the Yel- In summary, our intensive study of macroalgal assemblages on the Marado coast provided great insights into the distribution pattern of macroalgal assemblages in unpolluted marine areas of Jeju Island.…”

Seasonal Variation in Community Structure of Subtidal Seaweeds in Jeju Island, Korea

“…, (Oak et al, 2004;Ko et al, 2008;Kang et al, 2011). (van den Hoek, 1982), (Tenger and Dayton, 1987;Serisawa et al, 2004Serisawa et al, ).…”

“…1960 153 (Kang, 1960), (Lee, 1974;Lee and Lee, 1976;Lee, 1976;Lee and Lee, 1982;Yoon, 1985;Boo, 1988;Kim, 1991;Kim et al, 2008) (Kim and Park, 1997) (Park et al, 1994) . , (Ko et al, 2008;Kang et al, 2011) .…”