This note summarizes the application of zooplankton indices for water quality management and estimation based on main research topics of articles focusing on wetland ecosystems, topics that are remained poorly investigated in S. Korea. The aquatic ecosystem-based consists of indices that respond to different target environmental factors, including environmental disturbance. Among the major indicator species and biota, we reviewed that management strategy for the wetland environment has to be focused more on small-sizes, in terms of zooplankton ecology and indices. The ecology of zooplankton communities in freshwater ecosystem has been the focus of an increasing number of studies since 2019, and considerable progress has been made in understanding the major mechanisms involved in regulating their abundance, diversity and spatio-temporal patterns. Even though studies on the freshwater ecosystem in Korea have a long history, a few of studies on zooplankton biota were conducted at wetlands. We suggested the candidate zooplankton indices proposed by the U.S. EPA and EU to suit Korean conditions. In the step of selecting metrics, the best available metrics are species-related variables, such as composition and abundance, as well as richness and diversity. Overall, in spite of several limitations, the development of a plankton-based multivariate assessment method in Korea wetlands is possible using mostly field research data. Later, it could be improved based on qualitative metrics on zooplankton, and with the emergence of further survey data. The present information can be used as basic information for researchers who are dealing with aquatic environments and its interaction with organisms.

To understand the spatiotemporal distribution pattern of zooplankton and the environmental factors influencing zooplankton abundance in Gomso Bay, major harvesting area of Manila clam (Venerupis philippinarum) in South Korea, zooplankton sampling was conducted four times in autumn (October 2022), winter (January 2023), early spring (March 2023), and spring (May 2023). Among the environmental factors of Gomso Bay, water temperature, chlorophyll a concentration (Chl-a), dissolved oxygen (DO), and pH observed different patterns, while salinity and suspended particulate matter (SPM) showed no significant statistical differences between the survey periods. The zooplankton in Gomso Bay occurred 33, 29, 27, and 29 taxonomic groups during each respective survey period. In October 2022 and May 2023, arthropod plankton were dominated, while in January and March 2023, protozoa were primarily dominant. Among the Arthropods, copepods including Acartia hongi, Paracalanus parvus s. l., Corycaeus spp., and Oithona spp. commonly found along Korean coastal areas of the Yellow Sea, were dominated. Cluster analysis based on zooplankton abundance indicated a single community (stable condition) in each season, attributed to low dissimilarity distances, while three distinct clusters (autumn, winter-early spring, spring) between seasons indicated a highly seasonal environment in Gomso Bay.

Small ponds, which exhibit unstable succession pattern of plankton community, are less well studied than large lakes. Recently, the importance of small ponds for local biodiversity conservation has highlighted the necessity of understanding the dynamics of biological community. In the present study, we collected zooplankton from three small reservoirs with monthly basis and analyzed their seasonal dynamics. To understand the complicated zooplankton community dynamics of small reservoirs, we categorized zooplankton species into four groups (LALF Group, Low Abundance Low Frequency; LAHF Group, Low Abundance High Frequency; HALF Group, High Abundance Low Frequency; HAHF Group, High Abundance High Frequency) based on their occurrence pattern (abundance and frequency). We compared the seasonal pattern of each group, and estimated community diversity based on temporal beta diversity contribution of each group. The result revealed that there is a relationship between groups with the same abundance but different occurrence frequencies, and copepod nauplii are common important component for both abundance and frequency. On the other hand, species included with LALF Group throughout the study period are key in terms of monthly succession and diversity. LALF Group includes Anuraeopsis fissa, Hexarthra mira and Lecane luna. However, groups containing species that only occur at certain times of the year and dominate the waterbody, HALF Group, hindered to temporal diversity. The results of this study suggest that the species-specific occurrence pattern is one key trait of species determining its contribution to total annual biodiversity of given community.

This study compares the abundance and community structure of zooplankton organisms from pelagic regions, and considers particularly the trophic levels vs. zooplankton abundances and biomass. Zooplankton samples were collected three times from May to November 2022, at 30 temperate lakes and reservoirs, which belong to four different river basins. The total zooplankton abundance, biomass and species index were showed considerable spatial variation. The spatial pattern of rotifer abundance was similar to that of total zooplankton abundance, while there were not showed similar patterns of zooplankton biomass (μg L-1) in lentic ecosystems. The rotifer strongly dominated the zooplankton assemblage in smaller lentic system than that of larger. A total of 130 species of zooplankton were identified (83 rotifers, 34 cladocerans and 13 copepods). The total average of zooplankton abundance and biomass were 213.7±342.3 Ind. L-1 (n=129) and 1382.8±1850.4 μg L-1, respectively. Total and average of zooplankton abundance were usually dominated by the rotifers (>56.9%), while those of zooplankton biomass were dominated by the cladocerans and copepods (>73.6%) in lentic ecosystems. Considering the Trophic State Index (TSI), the factors of zooplankton abundance and biomass were included in between meso- and eutrophic states (27 lakes, 90% of all). The mean abundance and biomass of zooplankton in eutrophic systems were higher than that of meso- and hypertrophic systems. From this result, we suggest that management strategy for the lentic ecosystem water environment has to be focused more on small-sized lakes and reservoirs, in terms of zooplankton assemblages.

Recently, Korean government has introduced Multi Metric Indices (MMI) using various biocommunity information for aquatic ecosystem monitoring and ecosystem health assessment at the national level. MMI is a key tool in national ecosystem health assessment programs. The MMI consists of indices that respond to different target environmental factors, including environmental disturbance (e.g. nutrients, hydrological and hydraulic situation of site etc.). We used zooplankton community information collected from Korean lakes to estimate the availability of candidate zooplankton MMI indices that can be used to assess lake ecosystem health. First, we modified the candidate indices proposed by the U.S. EPA to suit Korean conditions. The modified indices were subjected to individual index suitability analysis, correlation analysis with environmental variables, and redundancy analysis among indices, and 19 indices were finally selected. Taxonomic diversity was suggested to be an important indicator for all three taxonomic groups (cladoceran, copepod, rotifer), on the other hand, the indices using biomass for large cladocerans and copepods, while the indices using abundance were suggested for small cladocerans and rotifers.

The research was based on long-term studies on the major physico-chemical and hydrological factors and zooplankton community dynamics in the Hwang River. We had 341 times survey and collected zooplankton samples in the Hwang River of mid-Nakdong River from 1995 to 2013. We identified 97 zooplankton species, including 77 rotifers, 16 cladocerans, and 4 copepods. The total zooplankton abundance and species diversity were shown distinctive temporal variation (ANOVA, p<0.001). Annual average of zooplankton population density was 58.4±3.2 ind L-1 (n=341) and the lowest was 17.0±3.8 ind L-1 (1996, n=20), while the highest was 151.5±32.3 ind L-1 (2010, n=22). For zooplankton, small rotifer groups (e.g., Keratella sp., Brachionus sp., Trichotria sp.) dominated the study site for 19 years survey. Statistical analysis revealed that there were positive relationships with SiO2 (p=0.002) and water level (p<0.001) for the high abundance of rotifer community. There were considerable variations both the total cladocerans population and the number of cladocerans’ species concerning annual precipitation. Despite the appearance of various zooplankton in the Hwang River, the mean population density remained low. Due to the lateral structures in the Nakdong River, the downstream basin of the Hwang River is inevitably affected. The zooplankton community in our study site is considered to be mainly influenced by external factors that can stably increase and maintain the volume of the water body and internal factors that induce an increase in food sources through the inflow of nutrients into the water body.

Through sample-size-based rarefaction analyses, we tried to suggest the appropriate degree of sample concentration and sub-sample extraction, as a way to estimate more accurate zooplankton species diversity when assessing biodiversity. When we collected zooplankton from three reservoirs with different environmental characteristics, the estimated species richness (S) and Shannon’s Hʹ values showed different changing patterns according to the amount of sub-sample extracted from the whole sample by reservoir. However, consequently, their zooplankton diversity indices were estimated the highest values when analyzed by extracting the largest amount of sub-sample. As a result of rarefaction analysis about sample coverage, in the case of deep eutrophic reservoir (Juam) with high zooplankton species and individual numbers, it was analyzed that 99.8% of the whole samples were represented by only 1 mL of sub-sample based on 100 mL of concentrated samples. On the other hand, in Soyang reservoir, which showed very small species and individual numbers, a relatively low representation at 97% when 10 mL of sub-sample was extracted from the same amount of concentrated sample. As such, the representation of sub-sample for the whole zooplankton sample varies depending on the individual density in the sample collected from the field. If the degree of concentration of samples and the amount of subsample extraction are adjusted according to the collected individual density, it is believed that errors that occur when comparing the number of species and diversity indices among different water bodies can be minimized.

동물플랑크톤 군집 연구에 DNA 바코딩과 같은 DNA 분 석 기법의 적용은 분류형태학을 기반으로 하는 전통적인 종 동정 시 발생할 수 있는 문제 (e.g. 개체의 표현형 가소성에 의한 오동정, 유사종 및 자매종, 유생 시기의 종 동정의 어려움)를 보완할 수 있다. 최근 DNA 시퀀싱 기술의 발전으로 다양한 수생태계의 동물플랑크톤 군집은 물론, 육안 및 현미경을 통해 구분하는 데 한계가 있는 동물플랑크톤의 위 내용물에 대한 DNA 기반 군집 분석 또한 가능하게 되었으며, 이는 동물플랑크톤의 섭식 먹이원 분석을 통한 생물학적 상호 작용을 이해를 돕는다. 본 논문은 동물플랑크톤 연구에 DNA 분석 기법이 활용된 사례 (e.g. DNA 바코딩을 이용한 계통분 류학적 연구, 메타바코딩을 이용한 군집 분석, 위 내용물 분석)를 소개하고 분석 방법을 요약하여, 최종적으로 향후 이를 활용하고자 하는 연구자들에게 연구 접근성을 높일 수 있도록 방법론적인 기초 지식을 제공하고자 하였다.

호소 생태계에 대한 생물측정망 조사 및 평가지침은 동물플랑크톤 조사의 편의성을 고려하여 출현 종 수와 개체 군밀도, 군집 지수 등을 상대적으로 비교하기 위해 수심 5 m 이하의 얕은 호소-수변부에서 사선끌기, 수심 20 m 이상 호소-전수심 수직끌기, 그 이상의 깊은 호소-20 m까지의 수심을 대상으로 한 수직끌기를 제시하고 있다. 본 연구에 서는 지침에서 제시하는 방법 중 사선끌기법과 20 m 수직 끌기법을 각각 전수심을 대상으로 한 조사 방법과 비교하여 동물플랑크톤 군집 정보의 차이 및 특성에 대해 분석 하였다. 군집 지수의 경우 수심이 얕은 호수에서의 사선끌 기법/수직끌기법 비교에서는 차이를 보이지 않은 반면, 수 심이 깊은 호소에서는 끌기 수심을 20 m로 제한할 경우보다 전수심 수직끌기를 적용했을 때 다양도 및 풍부도 지수 가 상승하는 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 사선끌기 및 20 m 수직끌기를 통해 채집한 동물플랑크톤 시료로부터 표면~저층 상층부까지의 전수심을 채집 대상으로 설정한 경우보 다 약 3배 정도 높은 개체군 밀도가 계산되어, 동물플랑크톤 총 개체 밀도가 크게 과대 평가되는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 차이는 동물플랑크톤 수직 분포 특성상 발생하는 수층별 동물플랑크톤 개체 밀도 차이 및 여과된 원수량의 차이에서 비롯된 결과로 판단되며, 이에 따라 호소를 대변 하여 수체 간 또는 수체 내 변동을 보다 정확히 파악하고 호 내 2차 생산과 관련한 기능적 정량 지표로서 동물플랑크톤 군집 정보의 활용을 고려할 경우, 수심에 따른 개체 군밀도 분포와 전체 개체수 환산 시 수층별 기여율을 고려한 전수심 수직끌기 방법의 적용이 보다 적절할 것으로 분석되었다.

여수와 제주도 사이 해역에 출현한 수표성 동물플랑크톤의 군집 분포와 환경요인 간의 관계를 파악하기 위해 2017년 9월 총 14개 정점에서 뉴스톤 네트를 이용하여 선박 측면에서 예인 및 채집하였다. 동물플랑크톤은 총 81개 분류군으로 요각류가 최우점하였다. 동물플랑크톤 출현 개체수를 기반으로 연안수의 영향을 받는 해역, 연안수와 외 해수가 만나는 해역, 외해수의 직접적 영향을 받는 해역으로 구분되었다. 본 연구에서 해역별 우점 요각류, 식성에 따른 요각류를 2개 그룹으로 구분하고 군집에 미치는 환경요 인을 분석한 결과 수온과 염분, 식물플랑크톤, 부유플라스틱과 유의미하였다 (p<0.05). 추가로 연구 해역에 출현한 치어 및 화살벌레류의 위 내용물 분석을 통해 미세플라스틱 섭식을 확인하였다. 낮은 영양단계에서 섭취한 플라스틱이 먹이사슬을 타고 올라가 높은 영양단계로 전달된 것으로 보인다. 결과적으로 우리나라 남해 서부 해역에 출현하는 동물플랑크톤 군집 특성을 볼 때 여름철 확장 범위를 달리하는 섬진강 수, 제주난류, 쓰시마난류의 영향을 받아 군집 분포가 달라지는 것으로 판단된다.

본 연구에서는 영산강, 섬진강 유역에서 호소 간의 동물 플랑크톤의 군집구조 특성이 만수면적에 따라 분류된 소· 중·대형의 저수지에서 종 수 및 개체수가 유의한 차이를 보이는 것을 확인하였다. 윤충류보다 지각류에서 민감도가 높은 것을 확인하였으며, 특히 두 분류군 모두 양의 상관 관계를 나타냈지만, 지각류에서 조사지점이 늘어날수록 개체수 증가가 확연한 것을 알 수 있었다. 또한 네트워크 분석 개념을 활용한 고유벡터 중심성 및 그룹화 분석을 사용 하여 호소 간의 동물플랑크톤 군집구조를 비교했을 때, 만수면적에 따른 대·중·소형 호소 내에서도 지리적 특성과 미소환경 공간의 차이점을 구별할 수 있었다. 따라서 이러한 특성을 볼 때, 네트워크 분석은 담수 동물플랑크톤 군집구조 분석에 있어 만수면적 크기, 지리적 특성, 미소환경 특성을 반영할 수 있는 것으로 고려된다. 마지막으로, 네트워크 분석은 다양한 군집분석을 간소화하며 시각화를 통한 직관적 이해를 돕는 데 유용할 것이다.

동물플랑크톤은 식물플랑크톤 및 기타 소형 미생물을 섭식하고, 고차 생물군집에 포식되어 일차생산과 상위 영양단계를 연결하는 중추적인 연결고리 역할자로 수생태계 내 물질 및 에너지 순환 구조와 기능을 이해하는데 필수적인 요소로 여겨지고 있다. 하지만, 동물플랑크톤은 분류군에 따라 상이한 크기와 유영능력, 그에 따른 다양한 서식 특성을 가지고 있어, 식물플랑크톤에 비해 다소 복잡한 채집 및 분석방법이 요구된다. 정확한 동물플랑크톤 정량화를 위해서는 종특이적인 분포를 고려하여 장소를 선정하 고 적합한 도구 (채수기, 플랑크톤 네트 등)를 이용하여 시료를 채집해야 할 필요가 있으며, 동정 및 계수 중에 발생 할 수 있는 오차를 최소화하기 위해서는 고정법과 부차시료에 대한 고려도 중요하다. 본 논문에서는 현재 사용되고 있는 대표적인 동물플랑크톤 정량채집방법 및 시료처리방법의 장·단점을 소개하여 연구 목적에 부합하는 방법을 선택, 적용할 수 있도록 가이드라인을 제시하고자 하였다.

Seasonal succession of zooplankton community and species composition was studied from 2003 to 2014 in a deep reservoir, Lake Soyang, in monsoon climate region, Korea. Annual precipitation was concentrated more than 70% between June and September and it showed remarkably that seasonal variation in water quality. Seasonal variation of water quality in Lake Soyang appeared to be more significant than annual variations, and the inflow of turbid water during the summer rainfall was the most important environmental factor. Zooplankton sepecies composition in Lake Soyang showed obvious tendency through two periods (May to June and August to October) every year. Small zooplankton (rotifer; Keratella cochlearis, Polyarthra vulgaris) dominated in spring and mesozooplankton such as copepods and crustaceans were dominant in summer and fall. Zooplankton biomass showed the maximum in September after monsoon rainfall, and chlorophyll showed a similar seasonal variation and it showed a high correlation (r=0.45). The increase of zooplankton biomass is considered to be a bottom-up effect due to the increase of primary producers and inflow of nutrients and organic matter from rainfall. In this study, we found that the variation of zooplankton community was affected by rainfall in monsoon climate region and inflow of turbid water was an important environmental factor, which influenced the water quality, zooplankton seasonal succession in Lake Soyang. It was also considered to be influenced by hydrological characteristics of lake and environment of watershed. In conclusion, seasonal succession of zooplankton species composition was the same as the PEG model. But seasonal succession of zooplankton biomass differed not only in the temperate lake but also in the monsoon region.

강우부족현상이 지속되었던 2015년 팔당호에서의 이화학적 요인과 동물플랑크톤 군집 특성은 선행연구에서의 몬순기후에 의한 강우와 수리·수문학적 요인의 영향을 받아 변화하던 동물플랑크톤 군집과 다른 양상을 나타냈다. 조사기간 동안 팔당호의 수리학적 체류시간은 2014년부터 지속된 강우부족현상에 영향을 받아 2013년대비 크게 증가하였다. 이에 따라 유입·방류량이 감소하여 팔당댐앞 (St.1)의 이화학적 수질은 호소형 특성의 남한강수역 (St.2) 수질보다 하천형 특성의 북한강수역 (St.3) 수질과 비슷한 특성이 나타났다. 동물플랑크톤의 군집변화는 봄 (3~5월)에는 주로 소형 윤충류 (Syncheata, Keratella)가 우점하였으며, 여름 (7~9월)에는 집중호우가 적어 연중 가장 높은 현존량을 기록했으며 우점종은 윤충류인 Keratella cochlearis와 원생동물인 Difflugia corona로 나타났다. 가을 (9~11월)에는 수온이 감소함에 따라 윤충류와 원생동물의 현존량이 감소하고 요각류 유생 (Nauplius)이 우점하는 천이를 보였다. 통계분석 결과 복합적 수계의 특성을 보여주는 팔당호에서 북한강수역은 하천형, 남한강수역과 경안천수역은 호소형 특성으로 지점별 상이하게 구분되며, 이에 따라 동물플랑크톤 군집 또한 영향을 받을 수 있음을 나타냈다.

This review summarizes the history of freshwater zooplankton research in Korean Society of Limnology and necessary future topics that are remain poorly investigated in South Korea based on main research topics of published articles focusing on lakes, reservoirs, rivers and wetland ecosystems. In Korea, a total 450 freshwater zooplankton species have been reported (85 species of cladocera, ca. 230 species of rotifera since 1939, and 138 species of copepoda), and they cover 10% of total zooplankton species list. In the present paper, we provide recent species list of zooplankton found in Korea and their taxonomic keys. Over periods of 45 years, there are 25 published papers for zooplankton biota in lentic ecosystems in Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment (KJEE). The ecology of zooplankton communities in rivers has focused on the mechanisms involved in regulating their abundance, diversity and spatio-temporal patterns of genus Bosmina and rotifers (genus Brachionus and Keratella) that are most frequently found from Korea. On the other hand, the studies on zooplankton in wetland has focused on Alona, Chydorus and Ceriodaphnia with special emphasis on their relationships with aquatic macrophytes. Even though studies on the freshwater ecosystem in Korea have a long history, a few of studies on zooplankton biota were conducted at rice paddy, Dumbeong and wetlands. During the last two decades, experimental advances in freshwater zooplankton ecology and understanding of structure and function of this biota were made from a series of articles mainly in journal of KJEE. For future studies, quantitative, experimental and interdisciplinary approaches would be key words to understand zooplankton ecology and their roles in aquatic ecosystems under changing environments, and we have suggested necessary zooplankton research fields and future directions.

Long-term variation of zooplankton community and species composition was studied from 2003 to 2014 in a deep reservoir, Lake Soyang, in monsoon climate region, Korea. In addition, we examined the correlation with environmental factors. Annual precipitation of watershed showed a large variation in the 705~1,779 mm yr-1 and more than 70% of it was being concentrated from June to September. The water quality of Lake Soyang was shown a clearly seasonal variations and particularly turbid water flowing into the lake during rainy season was the most important environmental factors. Zooplankton community in Lake Soyang showed a significant difference before and after 2006. Zooplankton biomass has shown a large increase and also showed a change in the zooplankton community structure since 2006. The of zooplankton showed positive correlation with temperature and BOD, Chl. a, TP concentration. These results are considered that nutrient and organic matter contained in the turbid water influences the increase in zooplankton biomass and species composition. However, water quality was limited to account for the increase in biomass of zooplankton. For example, increase of small zooplankton density (rotifer; Keratella cochlearis, Polyarthra vulgaris) in spring which is dominated by diatoms (large size; Melosira, Synedra etc.) is considered as a bottom-up effect by the microbial loop. And increased density of crustaceans in autumn was considered a top-down effects by the relationship between predator and prey of microzooplankton and mesozooplankton. In other words the inflow of allochthonous organic matter during rainy season also affected to zooplankton food web in Lake Soyang. In conclusion, biomass, diversity and long-term variations of zooplankton in Lake Soyang were determined by physico-chemical factors but also it is considered that biological interactions is important.

동물플랑크톤과 미세플라스틱과의 상관성을 파악하기 위해 2015년 5월 12일부터 14일까지 여수근해 (여자만, 가막만, 여수해만, 봇돌바다) 총 10개의 정점에서 수표성 동물플랑크톤과 미세플라스틱을 채집하였다. 동물플랑크톤은 요각류 13종을 포함해 총 26개의 분류군이 출현하였고, 그 중 요각류가 가장 높은 비율을 차지하였다. 동물플랑크톤의 출현 개체수는 61~763 indiv. m-3, 미세플라스틱은 0.0047~0.3471 particle m-2의 범위였다. 미세플라스틱은 주로 스트로폼, 페인트 조각, 섬유 조각 등이 발견되었다. Acartia omorii, Paracalanus parvus s. l., Labidocera euchaeta, A. hongi, 십각류 유생, 따개비 유생이 우점적으로 출현하였다. 동물플랑크톤을 먹이식성에 따라 입자식성 동물플랑크톤과 육식성 동물플랑크톤으로 구분하였고, 동물플랑크톤 건조중량도 측정하였으며, 동물플랑크톤 유생은 따로 구분하였다. 이밖에 측정한 환경요인으로는 수온, 염분, 탁도, Chl-a 농도, 식물플랑크톤 (규조류, 와편모조류) 밀도를 조사하였다. 동물플랑크톤과 미세플라스틱과의 상관성을 분석하기 위해 RDA를 실시한 결과 동물플랑크톤은 미세플라스틱보다 다른 환경요인인 수온, 염분, 탁도, Chl-a 농도와 밀접한 상관성을 나타냈다. 이는 연안해역과 같이 먹이가 풍부한 해역에서 미세플라스틱이 동물플랑크톤 주요 먹이로서 과대평가되어 있음을 시사할 수 있다.

The relationship between the environmental factors (water temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a concentration, Noctiluca scintillans density, Diatoms and Dinoflagellates densities) and the zooplankton community was investigated. Zooplankton were seasonally collected at 11 stations of Gwangyang Bay from November 2015 to July 2016. A mean abundance ranged from 544 to 19,753 indiv. m-3. The maximum abundance was observed to be 40,000 indiv. m-3 in July and the minimum occurred in November with 412 indiv. m-3. The zooplankton consisted of 35 taxa, which is dominated by Paracalanus parvus s. l., Corycaeus spp., Oithona spp., Acartia omorii, A. ohtsukai, Centropages abdominalis, unidentified harpacticoids. The result of the Redundancy Analysis (RDA) conducted between the zooplankton and the environmental factors showed that the spring-autumn, summer and winter are separated. The summer was closely related to temperature and diatom density, while the winter was linked to salinity and N. scintillans density (p<0.05).