Diatom-based ecoregions and diagnostic indicator species for Korean
coastal waters in winter
Abstract
Diatoms are a globally successful and eukaryotic photosynthetic group
with an ornamented silica external wall. The relationship between their
thecal diversity and habitat means that diatoms can be used as
bioindicators to characterize the aquatic environment. To estimate the
distribution and diversity of diatom communities during winter in South
Korean coastal waters, we collected phytoplankton samples from 114
coastal sites. We applied the unweighted pair-group technique using the
arithmetic averages clustering method to cluster the sampling
sites—apart from those where the biota consisted of other groups, such
as dinoflagellates—into four ecoregions: Yellow Sea (YS), Southern Sea
(SS), Southern East Sea (SES), and Northern East Sea (NES). Indicator
species analysis in each ecoregion led to the selection of
tychoplanktonic, chain-forming, stalk-forming, and psychrophilic
indicator diatoms, each of which represented a planktonic lifestyle
associated with one of the four ecoregions. This study shows the diatom
community to serve as bioindicators of Korean coastal water ecoregions,
and the subsequent seasonal survey will provide a starting point for the
improved understanding of Korean diatom-based ecoregions, in both time
and space.