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.