Sung Joon Songa,1, Jinsoon Parkb,1, Jongseong Ryuc, Hyun Soo Rhod, Won Kime,Jong Seong Khima,*
aSchool of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
bNational Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, Seocheon, Republic of Korea
cDepartment of Marine Biotechnology, Anyang University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
dDokdo Research Center, Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Uljin, Republic of Korea
eSchool of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
1 Equally contributed to the work.
*Corresponding author at: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826,Republic of Korea
Abstract
We extensively reviewed the macrozoobenthos around Dokdo, Korea, by analyzing metadata collected over the past 50 years. The Dokdo macrozoobenthos was represented by 578 species belonging to 243 families from 12 phyla, where four major phyla (or classes) collectively accounted for 86% to total. Mollusks, arthropods, and cnidarians were semi-equally occurred in intertidal and subtidal areas, while polychetes dominated the subtidal zone. The northern most region of Dokdo had the greatest biodiversity (173 species). The taxonomic distinctness analysis (delta +) indicated a close association between species by region, although the number of species varied greatly. About half of the species did not occur cross the locations (n = 20), indicating strong habitat preferences of Dokdo macrofaunal assemblages. Overall, the diversity of Dokdo was greater than that of Ulleung Island (east coast), but comparable to that of the well-developed tidal flats in the western Korean waters, highlighting its status as a biodiversity hotspot.
Keywords : Marine invertebrates, Ecological checklist, Biogeography, Dokdo, Ulleung Island, Korea