Baseline
A long-term ecological monitoring of subtidal macrozoobenthos around Dokdo waters, East Sea, Korea

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111226Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Dokdo's subtidal faunal distributions showed high spatial but lesser temporal variations.

  • High spatial heterogeneity reflected multiple interactions between abiotic and biotic components.

  • Temporal stability in diversity and abundance of some dominant species was evidenced.

  • Dokdo's macrozoobenthos significantly contributed to marine biodiversity of the East Sea.

  • Site-specific conservation strategy would be necessary to protect Dokdo's future ecosystem.

Abstract

Dokdo's high marine biodiversity has received worldwide attention recently. A total of 578 macrozoobenthos are recorded since the 1960s, but ecology of Dokdo's fauna is unknown. We monitored Dokdo's subtidal macrozoobenthos for 5 years in 2013–17, in the present study. Five stations representing three subtidal habitats were monitored; 1) oceanic plateau, 2) coastal terrace, and 3) island wharf. In total, 13,664 individuals belonging to 141 taxa were recorded during the survey. The number of species and density varied greatly among stations without distinct year-round variation. Faunal compositions significantly differed in time and space, reflecting varied faunal adaptations in a harsh environment. Whilst, temporal stability in faunal assemblages was evidenced for some dominant or cosmopolitan taxa. High spatial heterogeneity reflects site-specific oceanographic conditions. Meantime, sea-surface temperature and wave action were associated with year-round faunal compositions. Overall, the Dokdo's macrozoobenthos significantly contribute to marine biodiversity of the East Sea.

Section snippets

Author statement

Hyeong-Gi Kim: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Visualization, Writing - original draft

Sung Joon Song: Conceptualization, Visualization, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing

Heegab Lee: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - review & editing

Chan Hong Park: Resources, Project administration, Writing - review & editing

Stephen J. Hawkins: Writing - Review & Editing.

Jong Seong Khim: Conceptualization, Writing - review & editing, Project administration, Funding

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships, that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the research project entitled “Marine Ecosystem-Based Analysis and Decision-Making Support System Development for Marine Spatial Planning (20170325)” and “A sustainable research and development of Dokdo (PG51010)” funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea.

References (76)

  • K.P. Burnham et al.

    Robust estimation of population-size when capture probabilities vary among animals

    Ecology

    (1979)
  • S. Bussotti et al.

    Spatial and temporal variability of sessile benthos in shallow Mediterranean marine caves

    Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

    (2006)
  • J.E.K. Byrnes et al.

    Interactions between sea urchin grazing and prey diversity on temperate rocky reef communities

    Ecology

    (2013)
  • K.-I. Chang et al.

    Oceanography of the East Sea (Japan Sea)

    (2016)
  • P. Chesson

    Mechanisms of maintenance of species diversity

    Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.

    (2000)
  • B.L. Choe et al.

    Opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) from Ullung and Dogdo Islands

    Korea. Korean J. Zool.

    (1994)
  • B.L. Choe et al.

    Marine molluscs of Ullung and Dogdo Islands

  • J.W. Choi et al.

    Distributional pattern of macrobenthic invertebrates on the shallow subtidal sandy bottoms near Kangrung, east coast of Korea

    J. Kor. Soc. Oceanogra. The Sea

    (2000)
  • J.-W. Choi et al.

    Macrobenthic faunal assemblages on the soft-bottoms around Dokdo in the East Sea, Korea

    Ocean Polar Res.

    (2002)
  • I.Y. Choi et al.

    Echinoderm fauna of Dokdo, Korea

    J. Fish. Sci. Technol.

    (2006)
  • K.R. Clarke et al.

    V6: user manual/tutorial

    (2006)
  • M.W. Denny et al.

    Quantifying scale in ecology: lessons from awave-swept shore

    Ecol. Monogr.

    (2004)
  • Dokdo Administration Office

    Dokdo Natural Reserve Management Ordinance

    (2005)
  • N.J. Gotelli et al.

    Estimating species richness

  • R.G. Hartnoll et al.

    Patchiness and fluctuations on moderately exposed rocky shores

    Ophelia

    (1985)
  • B. Hereu et al.

    Multiple controls of community structure and dynamics in a sublittoral marine environment

    Ecology

    (2008)
  • J.S. Hong

    SCUBA observations of marine benthos in Dokdo

  • J.S. Hong et al.

    An ecological feature of benthic macrofauna during summer 1997 in Namdaechon estuary, Yangyang, Korea

    Korean J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

    (2000)
  • J.S. Hong et al.

    Notes on the benthic macrofauna during September 1997 Namdaecheon estuary, Gangneung, Korea

    Korean J. Environ. Biol.

    (2004)
  • B.-K. Hong et al.

    Decapod crustaceans of Dokdo Island, Korea

    Korean J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

    (2006)
  • B.-K. Hong et al.

    Report of additional molluscan species from rocky inter-and subtidal area of Dokdo Island

    Korea. Korean J. Malacol.

    (2008)
  • M.C. Horner-Devine et al.

    An ecological perspective on bacterial biodiversity

    Proc. R. Soc. B

    (2004)
  • K.S. Hwang et al.

    Community structure of macrobenthic assemblages near Uljin Marine Ranching Area, East Sea of Korea

    Korean J. Environ. Biol.

    (2012)
  • J.G. Je et al.

    Preliminary study on marine benthic organisms of Dokdo

    Underwater Sci. Tech.

    (1997)
  • D.W. Johnson

    Habitat complexity modifies post-settlement mortality and recruitment dynamics of a marine fish

    Ecology

    (2007)
  • S.M. Kang et al.

    Species composition and community structure of macrobenthos during fall on the Dokdo coast, Korea

    Ocean Polar Res.

    (2019)
  • H.S. Kim

    The crabs and hermit crabs from Ulreung Is. and Dogdo Is

    Korean Cult. Res. Inst. Ewha Womans Univ.

    (1960)
  • H.S. Kim

    Report on the collection of coastal marine invertebrates of Dokdo

    Cons. Nat. Res.

    (1978)
  • 1

    These authors contributed equally to this work.

    View full text