Marine biodiversity in Korea: a review of macrozoobenthic assemblages, their distributions, and long-term community changes from human impacts
Seong Khim, J.; Lee, C.; Joon Song, S.; Bae, H.; Noh, J.; Lee, J.; Kim, H.-G.; Choi, J.-W. (2021). Marine biodiversity in Korea: a review of macrozoobenthic assemblages, their distributions, and long-term community changes from human impacts, in: Hawkins, S.J. et al. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 59. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 59: pp. 483-532. https://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781003138846-6
In: Hawkins, S.J. et al. (2021). Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev. 59. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 59. CRC Press: Boca Raton. ISBN 9780367685225. 496 pp., more
In: Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review. Aberdeen University Press/Allen & Unwin: London. ISSN 0078-3218; e-ISSN 2154-9125, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Seong Khim, J.
- Lee, C.
- Joon Song, S.
- Bae, H.
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- Noh, J.
- Lee, J.
- Kim, H.-G.
- Choi, J.-W.
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| Abstract |
The present review provides a historical overview of the macrozoobenthos that supports Korean marine biodiversity set against a regional introduction to the oceanography and diverse marine habitats of Korean seas. We constructed a comprehensive meta-dataset of Korean macrozoobenthos to provide an up-to-date ecological inventory. In particular, we address faunal characteristics with respect to species occurrence, composition, and distributions along the Korean coasts. The ecology of the Korean macrozoobenthos is described in order of the West Sea, South Sea, and East Sea following the regional description of oceanography settings, in a consistent manner. Later, the impacts of anthropogenic pressures, such as coastal reclamation and oil spills, on long-term benthic community changes are also highlighted. We accounted for a total of 1915 macrozoobenthos species, belonging to 17 phyla, in the Korean marine environments. The most dominant phylum was Mollusca (670 species), followed by Annelida (469 species), Arthropoda (434 species), and Cnidaria (103 species). The most diverse communities inhabit the South Sea (1103 species), followed by the West Sea (829 species) and the East Sea (621 species). The highest regional numbers in each sea are comparable, in the West Sea (Taean: 510 species), South Sea (Jejudo: 511 species), and East Sea (Ulleungdo: 562 species). Subtidal areas, especially in the West Sea and South Sea, constituted the habitats with the greatest faunal occurrence, including predominantly soft bottom invertebrates. Polychaetes were the most widely distributed taxa, followed by bivalves, across the three seas. In general, the faunal assemblages and distributions seemed to reflect the typical habitat profiles for the environments, including well-developed tidal flats in the West Sea, rocky shoreline in the East Sea, and mixed features in the South Sea. Interestingly, the remote island of Jejudo was found to have a distinct faunal composition among the South Sea coastal areas, presumably as a consequence of its geographical and ecological isolation. Case analyses of the ecological impacts of coastal reclamations revealed long-term benthic community alterations in Lake Sihwa and the Saemangeum tidal flats. An analysis of faunal distributions over decadal periods showed substantial community alterations, particularly during periods of new dike construction. Signs of benthic community deterioration were evident in both areas, including the increased occurrence of opportunistic species and enriched organic indicators, which persisted even after the completion of dike construction. Although water quality seems to have recovered recently in Lake Sihwa owing to seawater circulation, the Saemangeum flats have yet to recover. Finally, we demonstrate the long-term ecological impacts of the 2007 Hebei Spirit Oil Spill (HSOS), the largest spill in South Korean national history, by analyzing 10 years of monitoring data. The HSOS disaster collapsed the entire marine ecosystem along the Taean coast and in nearby habitats, particularly mud bottoms. Although recovery pace varied across localities, the benthic community fully recovered after ~6 years, except 484for the limited hotspots, reaching ambient species baseline levels in terms of population, composition, abundance, and diversity index. The relatively fast recovery of marine ecosystem in Taean coast, say compared to the Exxon Valdez case, might suggest that the macrotidal West Sea coastal ecosystem is quite resilient. Overall, the present review supports the conclusion that Korea retains high marine biodiversity despite severe human impacts on coastal ecosystem sustainability. Although South Korean government agencies have long practiced ecosystem-based management efforts, their success has been limited to some extent by a fragmented approach. In the future, a holistic management strategy and framework for protecting organisms and habitats, as one ecosystem, would support the conservation of high marine biodiversity around the Korean Peninsula and elsewhere in the adjacent seas of East Asia. |
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