Ecological Characteristics of Phytoplankton Communities in the Coastal Waters of Gori, Wolseong, Uljin and Younggwang III. Distribution of Dominant Species and Environmental Variables

doi:2003.18.1.29

Algae > Volume 18(1); 2003 > Article

Algae 2003;18(1): 29-47. doi: https://doi.org/10.4490/ALGAE.2003.18.1.029

Yeon Shik Kang^*, Joong Ki Choi¹ and Hee Moon Eum

Radiation and Environment Research Group, Korea Electric Power Research Institute, Daejeon 305-380 and
¹Department of Oceanography, Inha University, Incheon 402-752, Korea

ABSTRACT

In order to investigate the distribution of dominant phytoplankton species in the coastal waters of Gori, Wolseong, Uljin and Younggwang, the standing crops of dominant species were studied during 1992-1996 and the relationships between standing crops and environmental variables were analyzed. The standing crops of diatom Skeletonema costatum, Thalassiosira decipiens, Chaetoceros debilis, Pseudo-nitzschia seriata, Paralia sulcata and dinoflgaellate Prorocentrum triestinum were on average from 16,373 to 118,549 cells · l?1, from 11,180 to 210,313 cells · l?1, from 23,341 to 55,889 cells · l?1, from 6,784 to 15,766 cells · l?1, from 342 to 41,596 cells · l?1 and from 4,828 to 22,397 cells · l?1 in the four study areas, respectively. The standing crops of Skeletonema costatum, Thalassiosira decipiens and Paralia sulcata were higher in Younggwang, while Chaetoceros debilis, Pseudo-nitzschia seriata and Prorocentrum triestinum were higher in Wolseong than other areas. The standing crops of silicoflgaellate Distephanus speculum were from 157 to 4,239 cells · l?1 in the four study areas, showing an tendency increasing in Uljin. The abundance rates of Skeletonema costatum, Thalassiosira decipiens and Chaetoceros debilis were from 7.04 to 15.74%, from 6.95 to 33.69% and from 5.17 to 13.88% in the four study areas, respectively. The results of correlation coefficient between standing crops of dominant species and environmental variables show that phosphates were related with the distribution of dominant species in Gori, Uljin and Younggwang, while nitrogen compounds affected the distribution of dominant species in Wolseong. In addition, salinity and temperature affected the distribution of dominant species in Wolseong and Younggwang, respectively.

Key words: correlation coefficient, dominant species, environmental variables, Gori, Uljin, Wolseong, Younggwang