Chul-Hyun Sohn’s scientific contributions

An intertidal marine benthic algal vegetation and vertical distribution at Kangnung and it?s vicinity, the eastern coast of Korea was investigated to clarify the community structure and vertical distribution by quadrat method. Marine algae identified from the area were 116 species; 15 green, 31 brown and 70 red algae. The dominant species were Ulva pertusa, Codium fragile, Undaria pinnatifida, Dictyota dichotoma, Gelidium amansii, Corallina pilulifera, Carpopeltis affinis, Grateloupia filicina, Pachymeniopsis elliptica and Chondrus ocellatus at study sites. The vertical distribution of intertidal marine algae was divided into three distinct zones. They were characterized by Porphyra tenera at the upper, Enteromorpha spp. and Ulva pertusa at the middle, and Sargassum thunbergii, Hizikia fusiformis and Pachymeniopsis elliptica at the lower zones, respectively. The vertical distribution of subtidal zone algae were characterized by Laminaria spp. at 15m depth and Kjellmaniella crassifolia at 15 to 25 m depths, whereas Agarum cribrosum was dominant at the lower zone than 25 m depth.

Studies have been made of the species composition and variation of benthic marine algae at subtidal zone of Uljin on the east coast of Korea. Destructive method was employed to measure biomass over four seasons (2000-2002). Of 87 marine algae species identified, 11 were Chlorophyta, 29 were Phaeophyta and 47 were Rhodophyta. Dominant species in biomass were Ulva pertusa, Undaria pinnatifida and Sargassum piluliferum in summer, Laminaria religiosa, Sargassum fulvellum and Gigartina tenella in autumn, Codium fragile, Undaria pinnatifida, Sargassum horneri, S. piluliferum and S. ringgoldianum in winter, and Undaria pinnatifida, Dictyopteris divaricata, Sargassum confusum and S. horneri in spring. In general, green algae (Ulva pertusa, Codium fragile) and brown algae (Undaria pinnatifida, Sargassum fulvellum, S. horneri, S. piluliferum) appeared predominantly in the 3, 6 m depths and red algae (Gelidium amansii, Plocamium telfairiae) in the 9, 12 m depths. The barren ground of the rocky shore might provide the decrease of benthic marine algae biomass and species.

Succession of artificial seaweed communities in an artificial iron reef at Ikata, southern Japan was studied based on monthly or bimonthly observations from February 1999 to August 2000. Communities were associated with different substrata (40 cm x 60 cm: steel, concrete, wood and stone) as the cover on artificial iron reefs (4.5 m x 4.1 m x 2.5 m, 45.38 m3 and 3.2 ton), which were placed on a sandy substratum at 8 m depth. Within one month diatoms dominated on all substrata with cover of approximately 100%. Enteromorpha intestinalis and Colpomenia sinuosa dominated on the reef within three months after the placement in the spring. Seaweed communities on the reef decreased during the summer. In the winter, the seaweeds on the reef recovered. Sargassum spp., Ecklonia kurome and Padina arborescens dominated on each substratum after one year. Seaweed communities on the artificial reef were similar to those on the rocky substratum around the artificial reef and also similar on different substrata covering the iron artificial reef. These results indicate that seaweed succession was impacted by season and the recruitment of spores and propagules from mature algae around the artificial reefs.