대기 중 이산화탄소 농도의 지속적인 증가로 해양의 수온 상승 및 산성화가 진행되고 있으며, 특히, 우리나라 주변 해역은 온 난화와 산성화가 더욱 가속화되어 연안 생태계를 위협하고 있다. 본 연구는 부산 연안의 식물플랑크톤 군집에서 연간 우점하는 규조류 Chaetoceros constrictus를 단일종 배양체로 분리하여 수온 (20, 22,5, 25°C)과 pH (8.6, 7.6, 6.6, 6.1) 변화에 따른 성장 반응에 대해 연구하였다. 수온이 증가할수록 성장률이 급격히 감소하고 최대 세포밀도에 도달하는 시간이 지연되었으며, 특히 25℃에서는 최대 세포밀도가 현저히 감소하였다. pH 변화에 따른 성장에서는 pH가 낮아질수록 성장률과 최대 세포밀도가 감소하였으나, 수온 변화에 비해 상대적으로 완만한 영향을 미쳤다. 이는 C. constrictus가 20℃와 pH 8.6의 조건에서 가장 적합한 성장을 보이는 것을 시사하며, 수온 증가가 규조류 성장에 더 큰 영향을 미칠 수 있음을 보여준다. 이러한 결과는 온도와 pH 변화에 따른 생리적 스트레스와 적응 기작의 차이를 반영하며, 기후 변화 가 해양 생태계와 생물학적 탄소 펌프에 미치는 영향을 이해하는 데 중요한 기초 자료를 제공한다.

Unarmored and thin-walled dinoflagellates were collected from brackish and coastal waters of Korea from August 2019 to August 2021. A total of 10 species belonging to orders Sussiales and Gymnodiniales were isolated and established as clonal cultures. Of them, five species (Biecheleria brevisulcata, Lepidodinium chlorophorum, Karlodinium decipiens, Kirithra asteri, and Wangodinium sinense) are newly recorded in Korea and examined using a light microscope (LM) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Their molecular phylogeny was inferred from LSU rDNA sequences. Here, we present taxonomic information, morphological features, and molecular phylogenetic positions of these unrecorded dinoflagellate species.

Unarmored dinoflagellates, in the family Kareniaceae, include harmful or toxic bloom-forming species, which are associated with massive fish kills and mortalities of marine organisms worldwide. The occurrence and distribution of the toxigenic species in the family Kareniaceae were investigated in the brackish and coastal waters of Korea between July 2018 and October 2020. During the survey, we collected seven newly recorded species; Karenia papilionacea, Karlodinium digitatum, Karl. veneficum, Karl. zhouanum, Takayama acrotrocha, T. helix, and T. tasmanica. A total of fifteen strains of the seven taxa were successfully established as clonal cultures and examined using LM, SEM, and molecular phylogeny inferred from LSU rDNA sequences. Herein, we present the taxonomic information, morphological features, and molecular phylogenetic positions of the unrecorded dinoflagellate species collected from Korean coastal waters.

The infection of marine diatom Coscinodiscus wailesii by a parasitic protist from the Yongho Bay of Busan, Korea was observed during the diatom bloom events in 2017 through 2018. The morphological and molecular features suggested that the parasitic nanoflagellate Pirsonia diadema was responsible for the infection. During the study period, the parasite prevalence ranged from 0.3% to 3.3%, and infected C. wailesii cells were observed only at surface seawater temperatures ranging between 10.9 and 19.9°C, although the host population appeared at temperatures above 25°C. The parasite and host system was successfully established as cultures. Using the cultures, we determined the morphological features over the infection cycle, parasite generation time, parasite prevalence as a function of inoculum size, and zoospore infectivity and survival time. The diatom C. wailesii was readily infected by the parasite P. diadema, with a parasite prevalence reaching up to 100% and a zoospore to host inoculum ratio above 20 : 1. The survival and infectivity of the parasite zoospores decreased with age. While the zoospores could survive up to 88 hours, they quickly lost their ability to infect after 48 hours. These results could lead to a better understanding of the biology and ecology of the parasitoid infecting the giant-sized diatoms in coastal waters.