The incidence of freshwater algal bloom has been increasing globally in recent years and poses a major threat to environmental health. Cyanobacteria are the major component of the bloom forming community that must be monitored frequently. Their morphological identities, however, have remained elusive, due to their small size in cells and morphological resemblances among species. We have analyzed molecular diversity and seasonal changes of cyanobacteria in Paldang Reservoir, Korea, using morphological and 16S rRNA pyrosequencing methods. Samples were collected at monthly intervals from the reservoir March-December 2012. In total, 40 phylotypes of cyanobacteria were identified after comparing 49,131 pyrosequence reads. Cyanobacterial genera such as Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, Microcystis and Synechocystis were predominantly present in samples. However, the majority of cyanobacterial sequences (65.9%) identified in this study were of uncultured origins, not detected morphologically. Relative abundance of cyanobacterial sequences was observed as high in August, with no occurrence in March and December. These results suggested that pyrosequencing approach may reveal cyanobacterial diversity undetected morphologically, and may be used as reference for studying and monitoring cyanobacterial communities in aquatic environments.

To find unrecorded diatom species, random materials were collected from the freshwater, brackish water, and coastal waters. Benthic and periphytic diatoms were sampled from twelve localities. Thirteen species belonging to eight genera are newly added to the national flora of diatom. In the intertidal areas, the five species are new to Korea, Anaulus minutus Grunow, Anaulus simonsenii Witkowski & Metzeltin, Eunotogramma laeve Grunow, Eunotogramma productum Grunow, and Nitzschia subcapitellata Hustedt. The following two species are new from brackish waters, Chamaepinnularia krookiformis (Krammer) Lange-Bertalot & Krammer and Cymatoneis ovalis Heiden. The following four species are new from mountain peatlands, Geissleria ignota (Krasske) Lange-Bertlaot & Metzeltin, Chamaepinnularia hassiaca (Krasske) Cantonati & Lange-Bertalot, Chamaepinnularia mediocris (Krasske) Lange-Bertalot and Pinnularia linearidivergens Kulikovskiy, Lange-Bertalot & Metzeltin. The following two species are new from river or streams, Cymbella hustedtii var. compacta Krammer and Cymbella stigmaphora Østrup.

A recent topic of interest within ecology is ecosystem services that are importantly connected with biodiversity. Biodiversity is a fundamental component of ecological studies and has been the subject of many studies worldwide. However, studies on the diversity and distribution of freshwater fish were not undertaken in earnest until 2000, and the number of internationally available studies is therefore still limited. In this study, we used data from “The Survey and Evaluation of Aquatic Ecosystem Health (hereafter SEAEH)” within the framework of which whole water systems on the Korean peninsula are annually monitored to investigate and determine the current status of the diversity and distribution of freshwater fish, as well as to elucidate major factors impacting freshwater fish. A total of 130 species from 28 families were identified at around 953 sites in the SEAEH investigation of 2014. The species Zacco platypus (relative abundance: 28.2%) and Z. koreanus (19.3%) were identified as the most abundant species on the Korean peninsula, and besides these 20 endangered species, 51 endemic species and 4 exotic species were also collected. Highest (96 species) and lowest (72 species) diversity were identified in the Han River Watershed and the Yeongsan/Seomjin River Watershed, respectively. The mean endemic rate was 32.7%, which is higher than the previous rate determined in 1995. The exotic species Micropterus salmoides, Lepomis macrochirus and Carassius cuvieri were found in the whole river system except north Yeongdong, whereas Oreochromis niloticus occurred only at three sites due to the cold water temperatures in winter. Totally, 28 species were found to be translocated to different water systems not connected with known original habitats, most translocations occurring in the Nakdong River and the Yeongdong region. Among the translocated species, Opsariichthys uncirostris amurensis, and Erythroculter erythropterus were dominantly distributed in the mid- to lower reaches of Nakdong River where they may be harmful to the native fish assemblages due to their strong predation. The construction of weirs in connection with the “4 River Project” generated changes in fish assemblages before, during and after the project, resulting in altered habitat condition. Especially, a decrease in the number of endemic species and an increase in the abundance of lentic species were seen. Human-induced global warming will allow exotic species requiring high water temperatures to adapt to the environmental conditions of the Korean peninsula, which may enhance the diversity of native fishes and create changes in distribution. For the establishment of realistic and efficient management and protection strategies for Korean freshwater fish, SEAEH, which produces fundamental and quantitative data for Korean streams, is an important and necessary tool.

This review summarizes the history of freshwater zooplankton research in Korean Society of Limnology and necessary future topics that are remain poorly investigated in South Korea based on main research topics of published articles focusing on lakes, reservoirs, rivers and wetland ecosystems. In Korea, a total 450 freshwater zooplankton species have been reported (85 species of cladocera, ca. 230 species of rotifera since 1939, and 138 species of copepoda), and they cover 10% of total zooplankton species list. In the present paper, we provide recent species list of zooplankton found in Korea and their taxonomic keys. Over periods of 45 years, there are 25 published papers for zooplankton biota in lentic ecosystems in Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment (KJEE). The ecology of zooplankton communities in rivers has focused on the mechanisms involved in regulating their abundance, diversity and spatio-temporal patterns of genus Bosmina and rotifers (genus Brachionus and Keratella) that are most frequently found from Korea. On the other hand, the studies on zooplankton in wetland has focused on Alona, Chydorus and Ceriodaphnia with special emphasis on their relationships with aquatic macrophytes. Even though studies on the freshwater ecosystem in Korea have a long history, a few of studies on zooplankton biota were conducted at rice paddy, Dumbeong and wetlands. During the last two decades, experimental advances in freshwater zooplankton ecology and understanding of structure and function of this biota were made from a series of articles mainly in journal of KJEE. For future studies, quantitative, experimental and interdisciplinary approaches would be key words to understand zooplankton ecology and their roles in aquatic ecosystems under changing environments, and we have suggested necessary zooplankton research fields and future directions.

Freshwater algae (green algae, blue-green algae and flagellated algae) were collected at 103 freshwater sites (including lakes, ponds, swamps, streams, and rivers) throughout South Korea March 2015-October 2016, and were identified using light microscopy. A total of 345 taxa in 2015 and 329 taxa in 2016 were identified and among them, 6 taxa in 2015 and 8 taxa in 2016 were new recorded species in Korea; The new recorded species were Characiopsis malleolus in Xanthophyceae, Phacus mammillatus in Euglenophyceae, Epipyxis utriculus and Lagynion ampullaceum in Chrysophyceae, Bicosoeca planctonica in Bicosoecophyceae and Salpingoeca frequentissima in Choanoflagellatea in 2015, and were Ankistrodesmus bernardii and Quadrigula korsikovii in Chlorophyceae, Didymocystis planctonica in Treubouxiophyceae, Spirulina nodosa, Raphidiopsis curvata and Geitlerinema claricentrosum in Cyanophyceae and Lagynion macrotrachelum in Chrysophyceae, Bicosoeca oculata in Bicosoecophyceae and Salpingeoca rosetta in Choanoflagellatea in 2016.

The Youngsan River estuary was physically changed by the construction of a sea embankment at near the mouth of estuary. Weirs were also constructed recently in the freshwater zone and it was reported that algal blooms occur more frequently. The freshwater introduced into saltwater zone from sluice gates of the embankment affects water quality but it has not been addressed that how the freshwater inputs influence the health of marine ecosystem. In this study, we used the data of water properties and phytoplankton communities collected at three stations for 4 days including before the freshwater discharge, during the discharge and after 1 and 2 days of discharge events. WQI (water quality index), TRIX (trophic status index) and P-IBI (phytoplankton index of biotic integrity) were used to evaluate the ecosystem health and long-term data were also utilized to determine the criteria for P-IBI. The results showed that grades of the ecosystem health assessed by the indices were low at the station near the gates and increased as downstream. However, the temporal pattern of grades was different depending on methods. Grades of WQI and TRIX decreased during the discharge and restored after the discharge whereas the grades of P-IBI decreased slightly even after the discharge. This suggests that P-IBI is more applicable to estuarine systems where experience extreme change of water properties than WQI and TRIX since P-IBI includes phytoplankton that can respond quickly to the change.

2015년 6월부터 9월까지 보길도 일대의 소하천의 12개 조사지점에서 담수어류상 및 어류 군집구조를 분석하였다. 조사기간 동안 9과 17속 21종의 어류가 채집되었다. 망둑어과(10종, 1,157개체; 상대풍부도 (RA), 40.9%)가 우점과로 나타났고, 아우점과는 잉어과 (3종, 500개체), 숭어과(2종, 168개체)순으로 나타났다. 버들치(RA 20.7%, 397개체)가 우점종으로 나타났으며, 아우점종은 꾹저구(19.5%, 373개체), 사백어(17.2%, 330개체), 가숭어(8.5%, 163개체) 순으로 나타났다. 보길도에서 채집된 담수어류 중 생활형 구분으로 일차담수어가 9종(42.9%), 주연성 어종 11종(52.4%), 양측회유성 어종 1종(4.8%)으로 나타났다. 한반도 고유종 및 외래어종은 보길도에서 한종도 출현하지 않았다. 군집분석 결과에 따르면, 종 풍부도 지수 및 종 다양도 지수는 다른 지점에 비해 많은 종이 출현한 부황천 최하류 구간(S8)에서 각각 1.831, 1.957로 높게 나타났으며, 중류구간 (S4)에서 0으로 가장 낮게 나타났다. 반면, 우점도 지수는 중류구간 (S4) 1로 높게 나타났으며, 최하류 구간(S8)에서 0.17로 낮게 나타났다.

본 연구는 남해도 일대를 흐르는 소하천들을 대상으로 2014년 6월부터 10월까지 조사하여 다음과 같은 결과를 얻었다. 남해도의 23개 소하천의 31개 지점에서 채집된 어류는 모두 13과 30속 38종으로 나타났다. 이 중 잉어과 (Cyprinidae), 망둑어과(Gobiidae) 어류가 각각 11종(28.9%)으로 다른 분류군에 비하여 높은 비율을 차지하였으며, 미꾸리과(Cobitidae) 어류가 4종(10.5%)이 출현하였다. 남해도에서 채집된 전체 어류 중 참갈겨니(Zacco koreanus)의 상대풍부도가 30.3%(1,089개체)로 가장 높은 비율을 보였으며, 한국고유종은 참갈겨니, 긴몰개, 쉬리, 눈동자개, 남방종 개, 왕종개, 미유기, 자가사리 등 8종(33.8%)이었고, 외래도입종으로 큰입배스(Micropterus salmoides)가 출현하였다. 종다양도 지수, 균등도 지수 및 종풍부도 지수로 보면 S7에서 비교적 안정적인 어류 군집을 형성하고 있었다. 조사된 남해도 소하천들은 하폭, 수심, 하상 구성물질, 하천식생 및 주변의 토지이용도에 따라 산지형, 산지-평지형, 평지형 소하천의 3가지 유형으로 구분되었다. 종별 개체수 자료를 사용하여 요인분석을 실시한 결과, 조사지점은 인간의 인위적 영향 및 토지이용도에 따라 3개의 집단으로 구분되었다. 남해도 소하천의 어류 군집구조는 일차적으로 하상의 종적 환경 변화에 의하여 영향을 받고 있으며, 일부 소하천에서는 토지이용도에 따른 서식지 변화에 의하여 어류 군집구조에 영향을 주는 것으로 나타났다.

아산만의 해양수질의 계절적인 변화를 이해하기 위하여 2011년 12월부터 2013년 2월까지 4계절 동안 수질을 관찰하고, 담수유입으로 인한 해양수질 변화 관계를 통계적인 기법으로 분석하였다. 아산만의 해양수질 자료에 대한 요인분석 결과는 해양수질 변화를 주도하는 가장 중요한 요인은 담수유입(37.7 %)이며, 그 다음으로는 외해수의 영향(24.4 %)으로 나타났다. 아산만에서 담수의 주요 공급원은 만의 가장 안쪽에 위치한 아산호와 삽교호이며, 이들의 방류로 인해 아산만의 전체적인 수질의 공간 분포가 결정되는 것으로 보인다. 반면 담수 방류가 적은 겨울철에는 저층 재부유에 기인한 영향이 상대적으로 중요해진다. 전체적으로 담수 방류량의 계절적인 변화가 아산만 전체의 환경변화를 주도하고 있으며, 이로 인하여 DIP가 식물플랑크톤의 성장을 제한하는 요소로 나타났다.