본 연구는 학암포 사질조간대에 서식하는 대형저서동물의 군집구조와 분포양상의 특징을 분석하기 위하여 실시하였 다. 조사 정점의 퇴적물 평균입도는 1.90∅~2.52∅의 범위로 평균 2.37∅으로 나타나 전체 정점에서 전형적인 사질조 간대의 중립사 퇴적상을 나타냈다. 유기물 함량은 0.90%~1.46%의 범위로 평균 1.15%이며, 대부분의 정점에서 사질조 간대에서 나타나는 낮은 유기물 함량 수치가 나타났다. 전체 조사 정점에서 6개의 분류군 총 59종, 출현 개체수는 668inds./㎡이었다. 조사지역의 10개 정점에서 Bray-Curtis index의 유사도(Similarity)를 분석한 결과, 크게 3개의 그룹으로 나뉘었는데, 조간대 상부지역인 St. 2~St. 4, 조간대 중부지역인 St. 5~St. 8, 조간대 하부지역인 St. 9~St. 10으로 이루어졌다. 또한, 상·중·하부로 나누어지는 공간적인 군집구조 양상이 나타났다.

Swimming crabs, Portunus trituberculatus(Miers) are commercially important off the coasts of Korea, Japan and China. Harvest of swimming crabs has been fluctuated along their distribution ranges. Fluctuations in the interannual harvest of swimming crabs may be correlated with the survival rate during the larval period. The survival rates, intermolt periods, and growth of larval swimming crabs were investigated in the laboratory. Larval swimming crabs are released and undergo development from April to August off the western coast of Korea in the Yellow Sea. Sea surface temperatures off the western coast of Korea during the larval season were used for the laboratory experiments, and ranged from 22 to 26℃. Larvae were individually cultured at four different temperatures, 22℃, 24℃, 26℃, and 28℃. Zoea molted to megalopa at all temperatures and developed to the first crab stage at 24℃, 26℃, and 28℃. Survival rates from zoea I to the first crab stage increased with increasing temperatures. Intermolt period and the growth rate of the mean carapace length were inversely correlated with temperature. Our research helps understand the changes in survival rate and growth of larval swimming crabs resulting from changing oceanic temperatures. Further, our study suggests that the fluctuations in fishery harvest of swimming crabs off the coast of Korea may be related to changes in larval survival affected by changing ocean conditions.