Environmental factors and changes in phytoplankton community structure before (August 5, 2017), during (August 18 and 25) and after (August 30 and September 15) freshwater input were analyzed to investigate the effects of freshwater input from Ganwol and Bunam lakes located in the upper part of Cheonsu Bay. Due to the large amount of freshwater input in the Cheonsu Bay, the surface salinity of the bay decreased by more than 8 psu, and the thermocline existing in the bay during August weakened. In addition, hypoxic phenomena occurred temporarily in the bay as the low oxygen water mass from the freshwater lakes flowed into the bay, and chemical oxygen demand, nutrients, and N/P increased with freshwater inflow. The density of phytoplankton during the freshwater inflow increased owing to their input from the freshwater lakes. Diatom species (Eucampia zodiacus) dominated the phytoplankton community in the bay before freshwater input; nanoflagellates, chlorophyta, cyanobacteria, and diatoms (Pseudonitzschia delicatissima, Chateocceros spp.) entered during freshwater input; and after freshwater inflow ended, diatoms (Chateocceros spp.) again became predominant indicating a return to previous conditions. The amount of phytoplankton standing crops increased sharply due to the inflow of freshwater species into the bay on the second day of discharge compared to before freshwater input; pre-discharge conditions were restored at most stations except at some sites close to the Bunam Lake three days after discharge. Therefore, the large amount of freshwater flowing into the bay affects not only the geochemical circulation in the bay but also the phytoplankton community structure. In particular, the high concentration of nutrients in the freshwater lake affect the marine ecosystem of the bay during August.

Phytoplankton populations were examined at three sites in Lake Cheongpyeong, South Korea from March 2008 to December 2016, including measurement of phytoplankton communities and their dominant species, abundance and environmental factors. The annual average ranges of water temperature, dissolved oxygen and conductivity were 15.2-18.8℃ , 10.3-12.2 mg/L, 86-140 μS/cm, respectively, with similar values at all studied sites. The highest phytoplankton cell density was observed in spring and fall, and it subsequently decreased rapidly during heavy rainfall. Diatoms were dominant in spring (mainly Stephanodiscus hantzschii, Asterionella formosa) and fall (mainly Aulacoseira granulata), while greenalgae and cyanobacteria had high appearance in early-summer and summer, respectively, indicating that water temperature is the most important factor influencing their growth. Stephanodiscus hantzschii and Asterionella formosa frequently occurred at low water temperature (4.5-15.0℃ and 5.4-21.6℃ , respectively) while Aulacoseira granulata and Anabaena spp. were favored by high water temperature (8.6-28.4 and 14.9-26.2℃ , respectively) and phosphorus. Additionally, Fragilaria crotonensis occurred at low nutrient conditions. Rhodomonas spp. frequently appeared year-round.

This study presented seasonal changes of the phytoplankton community in Junam reservoir by pollution and water quality of the lake. The water storage of the reservoir is 5.3 million ton, most of which are being utilized for agricultural, industrial and residential purposes. The annual precipitation during the investigation period was 1,868.9 ㎜, increasing by 20% from the average annual level of 1,506.7 ㎜ in 2009. The annual average water storage was 57.3%. It decreased during agricultural season and then increased again after monsoon rainfall. The loads of BOD were 3,799 ㎏day -1 , and 81% of them came from livestock and household. The TN and TP loads were 1,164 ㎏day -1 and 170 ㎏day -1 , respectively, and 76% of them came from livestock. We assessed water quality of the Junam reservoir using 17 variables. According to the result, the reservoir met the fourth grade, meaning slightly bad, because of high concentration of COD, SS and chlorophyll-a. Eutrophication assessment was conducted by revised Carlson's Index (TSIm, Aizaki), and it was found that the entire lake was eutrophicated with high chlorophyll-a concentration all through the year, except during February to April and in July. A total of 76 phytoplankton species were identified from the samples. Among them, the largest number of species were Chlorophyceae with 33 species(43.4%), followed by Bacilliophyceae with 27 species(35.5%), Cyanophyceae with 8 species(10.5%), and Cryptophyceae with species(10.5%). The total cell number of phytoplankton was the highest in October(7,884 cells mL -1 ) among Cyanophyceae and Bacilliophyceae. The seasonal succession of Chlorophyceae (Chlamydomonas spp.), Cyanophyceae(Microcystis aeruginosa) and Cryptophyceae(Rhodomonas spp.) was observed during January to May, July to September and October to December respectively.

Wangdol-cho, located 23 km offshore of Hupo in southwest of East Sea, is underwater rock floor, called to Wangdol-Am or Wangdol-Jam and has three tops as Mat-Jam, Middle-Jam and Set-Jam. The composition, abundance, diversity and community structure were investigated in winter and summer in 2002 around Wangdol-cho. The temperature around the Northwest and Southeast part of Wangdol-cho was influenced by the North Korea Cold Current (NKCC) and East Korea Warm Current (EKWC), respectively. Nutrient and chlorophyll-a concentration were higher at the top of Wangdol-cho than other area. A total of 41 genera and 78 species of phytoplankton were identified. The average cell abundance of phytoplankton in winter and summer were 286×103 cells/㎥, 432×103 cells/㎥ respectively. The largest community was Bacillariophyta containing 52 taxa. The dominant species were Lauderia anulata and Coscinodiscus spp. which preferred cold water in winter. In contrast, warm water species such as Rhizosolenia stolterfothii and Ceratium spp. were dominant in summer. The average species diversity index of phytoplankton in winter was higher than that in summer. According to dominant species and standing crops, phytoplankton community resulted in a clear separation. One group was western area, which showed low density, and the other was eastern area, which showed the higher density. The abundance and species composition of phytoplankton were affected by topological characteristics around Wangdol-cho.

Chlorophyll a (chl a) has been used as an indicator for phytoplankton biomass in pelagic ecosystems due to the relative ease of measurement and selectivity for autotrophs in mixed plankton assemblages. However, the use of chl a as an indicator for phytoplankton biomass is restricted due to its inability to resolve taxonomic differences of phytoplankton and the highly variable relationship of chl a with phytoplankton. Here, we describe the analysis of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) photosynthetic pigment data using CHEMTAX, which is a matrix factorization program that uses chemical taxonomic indices (phytoplankton carotenoids) to quantify the abundance of phytoplankton groups. Compared to direct microscopic counting that can distinguish species within broad groups, the resolution of taxonomic groups by CHEMTAX is generally coarse. It can only distinguish between diatoms, dinoflagellates, cryptophytes, cyanobacteria, chlorophytes, prasinophytes, and haptophytes. However, CHEMTAX analysis is much faster and less expensive than microscopic counting methods. HPLC pigment observations were taken in the spring, summer, fall, and winter in 2005～2006 within Gamak Bay, South Korea. CHEMTAX results revealed that diatoms were the dominant taxonomic group in Gamak Bay. In inner Gamak Bay, the ratio between diatoms and cryptophytes was 75～80%, and the ratio between dinoflagellates and cryptophytes was 10～15%. In outer Gamak Bay, the ratio between diatoms and cryptophytes was 85～90%, and the ratio between dinflagellates and cryptophytes was only 1～5%. The population structure was seasonal. Relative diatom populations were less in the summer than the winter season.

이 연구는 남해안 중부해역의 여름철 전 후 단계를 나누어서 6월부터 10월까지의 2004-2006년 장기간 해양환경 모니터링 및 식물플랑크톤 군집구조를 파악함과 아울러, Cochlodinium 적조발생에 관한 해석에 이용되고자 하는 것이다. 조사해역은 득량만, 고흥연안, 여자만, 가막만, 광양만, 여수연안, 남해연안으로 총 16개 정점이다. 수온은 19−29℃ 범위로 여름철 여자만에서 두 정점 모두 가장 높은 29℃C, 27℃ 를 나타내었다. 그러나 8월을 제외한 6월, 7월, 9월, 10월에는 조사정점에 관계없이 큰 차이를 보여주지 않았다. 염분도는 7월과 8월에 여자만과 광양만에서 다른 조사해역에 비하여 약 5-6 정도 낮은 25-27를 나타내었다. 클로로필의 경우도 7월과 8월에 각 조사해역별 큰 차이를 보이고 있다. 특히 광양만은 최고 5배 정도 많은 15μgl−1 까지 보였다. 투명도는 수온, 염분도, 클로로필과 다르게 조사기간 동안 해역에 관계없이 거의 비슷한 수준인 2-5m 정도로 보여주고 있다. 용존무기질소도 조사해역 중 광양만의 경우 7월과 8월에 가장 높은 0.53mgl−1 까지 보여 10배 정도까지 차이를 보였으나, 용존무기인 상대적으로 큰 차이를 나타내지 못하고 있다. 용존무기질소와 클로로필의 관계를 보면 7월에는 임의 상관성을 보여 클로로필의 증가에 따른 용존무기질소가 급속히 소모됨을 알 수 있지만, 8월에는 거의 오히려 양의 상관성을 보여주고 있다. 식물플랑크톤의 평균 세포수는 7월과 8월에 500 cells ml−1 까지 나타내었고, 대부분 규조류의 비율이 60% 이상 출현되었으나, 8월에 와편모조류의 점유율이 20-30%까지 보였다. 우점종으로는 Skeletonema costatum이 2004년부터 2006년까지 전 해역에 걸쳐 가장 많이 출현되었다. 각 해역별에 출현하는 식물 플라크톤의 집괴분석에 따르면 상호 혼잡되어 분포 되는 것으로 나타났다. 이상의 결과를 보면 여름철에 가장 큰 해양환경 변화를 보였고, 식물플랑크톤 중 S. costatum은 남해연안의 대표적인 기초생산 종으로 간주된다. 특히 여름철 Cochlodinium 적조는 득량, 가막, 고흥, 여수, 남해해역에서 3년 동안 계속해서 발생된 반면, 여자만과 광양만은 전혀 나타나지 않았다. 뚜렷한 차이점은 용존무기질소 Cochlodinium 적조 형성을 위한 요구량은 수중에 풍부하게 존재하고 있기보다는, 미량이라도 충분히 적조를 유발시키고, 외해역에서도 발생될 수 있다는 뒷받침을 하고 있다.