Environmental quality of Korean coasts as determined by modified Shannon-Wiener evenness proportion.
The coast of the Korean peninsula experiences a range of human impacts, including pollution, shipping, reclamation, and aquaculture, that have motivated numerous local studies of macrobenthic organisms. In this paper, 1,492 subtidal stations were compiled from 23 studies (areas) to evaluate environmental quality on a broader scale. A common index in biomonitoring, Shannon-Wiener evenness proportion (SEP), could not incorporate azoic or single-species samples. This shortcoming was overcome by developing an inverse function of SEP (ISEP), which was positively correlated with independent measures of water quality available for nine sites and was not biased by the size of the sampling unit. Additionally, at Shihwa Dike, where samples were collected before and after reinstating a tidal connection with the ocean, ISEP values improved over time, as expected. Thus, it is now possible to assign Korean subtidal sites to seven ISEP "grades" and to use their values and trends to guide coastal management.
Yoo
Jae-Won
JW
Korea Institute of Coastal Ecology, Inc., #801~3, IT 302, Ssangyong Technopark III, 36-1, Samjung-Dong, Ojeong-Gu, Bucheon-Si, Gyeonggi-Do, 421-808, Korea.
Lee
Yong-Woo
YW
Ruesink
Jennifer L
JL
Lee
Chang-Gun
CG
Kim
Chang-Soo
CS
Park
Mi-Ra
MR
Yoon
Kon-Tak
KT
Hwang
In-Seo
IS
Maeng
Jun-Ho
JH
Rosenberg
Rutger
R
Hong
Jae-Sang
JS
D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000145:classification*; D044822:Biodiversity; D018533:Biomass; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical