Marine meiobenthic faunal communities of the sediments near Dokdo in the East Sea, Korea

Abstract

Meiobenthic community structure near Dokdo was investigated during two survey periods of June, 1999 and October 2000. Meiobenthos were separated from the sediment core samples collected from eight stations. A total of 19 meiobenthic animal groups were identified from those core samples. The most abundant meiobenthic animals belonged to Phylum Nematoda in both seasons and all stations. Sarcomastigophorans, nauplius of crustaceans, and benthic harpacticoids were the next abundant meiobenthos. Vertical distribution of meiobenthic animals showed the highest individual numbers in the surface sediment layers of 0-1 cm depth with a steep decreasing trend with depth for the three sampling stations (A0, A9', A19) located in the continental slope. Horizontal distribution of meiobenthic animals for the study area near Dokdo showed lower density at the sampling stations near Dokdo and the lowest density of meiobenthos in A19 (depth-2261 m). For size distribution, analysis showed that animals which fit onto the mesh size of 0.125 mm were abundant. This study suggested that the continental shelf near Dokdo have a more unstable environment for meiobenthos than the continental slope.