Biodiversity of Macro-invertebrates in Korean tidal flats bassed on the 5-year nationwide survey (2008~2012)

초록

Coastal wetlands are especially well known for providing habitat, food, and protection to many different species of animals (e.g. fish, birds, mammals, and invertebrates), and also for their valuable role as nurseries for a wide variety of species of fish and shellfish, including endangered and commercially important species. Therefore, they are recognized as a vital ecosystem for human well-being. According to the Korea wetland conservation law enacted in 1999, we had an opportunity to participate in the 5-year nationwide survey of the Korean tidal flats during the last five years (2008 ~ 2012). Macro-invertebrate assemblages were examined at seven regional tidal mudflats along the Korean west and south shores where the tidal flats are developed. Sampled locations were distributed across nearly the entire coast of west and south shores from Incheon to Nakdong River Estuary including Jeju Island to the south. Surveys were conducted at high tide by boat and samples were collected using a 0.05m2 grab with two replicates, sieved with 1 mm mesh size, enumerated for the abundance and weighed for the biomass. As a result, a total of 717 macro-invertebrate species were found from the 846 stations surveyed during the study period. In terms of the biodiversity, these data showed three most dominant zoological groups that were the crustaceans with 240 species (33.5%), followed by polychaetes with 213 species (29.7%), and mollusks with 185 species (25.8%) respectively. Numbers of species (S) peaked in the region of Cheollanamdo where the tidal flats are well developed but the lowest diversity was recorded in Jeju Island.