Suspended solids play an important role in the growth and survival of aquatic organisms. The marine zooplankton species tested in this study were Tigriopus west (Copepoda) and Haustorioides koreanus (Amphipoda) sampled from the intertidal zone, including Artemia nauplii (Branchiopoda) hatched from cysts. The study design included six concentrations (0, 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1,000 mg L-1) of the suspended test particles assayed in triplicate. Experimental cultures in 500 mL-round polycarbonate bottles were subsampled after 96 h to count dead zooplankton. The culture bottles were agitated at 4 RPM on a rotating wheel at 23°C and 30 PSU. The survival rates of Artemia nauplii and T. west were not affected by suspended solid concentrations higher than 50.0 mg L-1, whereas the survival rate of H. koreanus decreased with increasing concentrations (p<0.05). In conclusion, H. koreanus and T. west, which were continuously exposed to suspended solid concentrations higher than 50.0 mg L-1, were affected by low-intensity ecological stress. However, in the case of H. koreanus, a concentration of 50.0 mg L-1 may be considered to be the limit of tolerance to suspended solids, suggesting that the number of individuals who eventually die will increase if continuously exposed.

In this study, using a continuous behavior measurement technique, the short-term behavioral responses and tolerance limits of red seabream Pagrus major fingerlings to sudden exposure to low salinity in a controlled environment were observed. The activity of the fingerlings suddenly exposed to 21.4, 17.3, and 9.8 psu increased temporarily at the initial exposure to show irregular swimming behavior, but then recovered a stable activity pattern through rapid salinity adaptation. However, the organisms suddenly exposed to 7.3 and 4.3 psu could not withstand the salinity stress, and their swimming behavior was severely disturbed and all individuals died within 48 hours. The findings suggest that red seabream underwent a temporary salinity stress process at the beginning of the exposure to concentrations of 10.0 psu or higher. At these concentrations, osmotic control was possible within at least 11 hours, so stable metabolic activity was also possible. However, organisms suddenly exposed to concentrations below 5.0 psu exceeded the tolerance to low salinity and the sublethal limit. In red seabream exposed to this concentration range, severe behavioral and metabolic disturbances were observed, and death was observed due to osmotic control failure. In conclusion, a salinity range of 5.0 to 10.0 psu can be predicted to correspond to a concentration range in which the osmotic control ability of the red seabream fingerlings is lost, and sub-lethal reactions occur.

Environmental impacts of suspended solids (SS) released in coastal area by dredging, reclamation and construction can cause serious damages to coastal habitats and benthic organisms. Acute toxicity tests (4-7 days) were conducted to identify the relationship between SS concentration and mortality of three marine benthic species; benthic copepod (Tigriopus japonicus) adult, Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) spat, and olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) fry. Benthic copepod was the most sensitive to SS followed by olive flounder fry and Pacific abalone spat, with an LC50 (lethal concentration of 50% mortality) value of 61.0 mg/L and LOEC (lowest observed effective concentration) value of 31.3 mg/L for benthic copepod. LOEC and 7 day-LC50 for Pacific abalone spat were 500.0 mg/L and 1887.7 mg/L, and those for olive flounder fry were 125.0 mg/L and 156.9 mg/L, respectively. The tolerance limits of the test species to SS revealed the various concentration ranges of SS, which reflects the physiology and ecology of the test species. These results are very valuable for the determination of SS concentration of effluents released into the coastal area by dredging, reclamation and construction etc. Also, sharp increase of SS can cause long-term damages to the benthic and sessile fauna by blanketing of benthic substratum. These experimental procedures for marine bioassay and acute toxicity results can be a useful guideline for practical management planning of SS discharge into coastal area.