The Effect of Laver-Farming on the Distribution of Copepod Community in the West Coast of Korea

Abstract

Kim, S,-K.; Kim, J.-C., and Choi, J.-Y., 2020. The effect of laver-farming on the distribution of copepod community in the west coast of Korea. In: Jung, H.-S.; Lee, S.; Ryu, J.-H., and Cui, T. (eds.), Advances in Geospatial Research of Coastal Environments. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 102, pp. 63-68. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.To understand the effect of farms on copepod communities in the coastal marine environment, this study investigated the environmental variables and copepod communities in June 2016 in the coastal region adjacent to the Geum River estuary. Copepod communities were more abundant in laver farms than in areas not covered by laver farms, due to the availability of various food sources and low predation risks. Although laver farms had low abundance (cells/mL) of phytoplankton, they were observed to have high species diversity. This provides an environment in which a variety of food items is available for copepod communities. Moreover, fishes were more abundant in the areas not occupied by farms than in laver farms. the complex habitat structure created by abundant laver, as well as frequent human interference in laver farms, has a negative impact on the distribution of fish communities. However, the abundance of copepod communities in laver farms is important for a continuous supplement to the diet of fishes in the marine environment, where food sources are likely to be depleted. Thus, the positive effects of laver farms on copepod communities can greatly contribute to the population growth of fishes and to the sustainability of copepod communities in the coastal marine environment. However, the artificial disturbances that frequently occur in laver farms are likely to lead to eutrophication and various types of water pollution in the coastal marine environment, so proper control and management of human activity are required.