title: Biodiversity hotspot for marine invertebrates around the Dokdo, East Sea, Korea: Ecological checklist revisited.
abstract: We extensively reviewed the macrozoobenthos around Dokdo, Korea, by analyzing metadata collected over the past 50years. 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.
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Joon
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: National Marine Biodiversity Institute of Korea, Seocheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jinsoon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Biotechnology, Anyang University, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jongseong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ryu
authors.affiliation: Dokdo Research Center, Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Uljin, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Rho
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Won
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences & Research Institute of Oceanography, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jskocean@snu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jong Seong
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Khim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D004463:Ecology; D007448:Invertebrates; D062312:Islands; D056910:Republic of Korea
keywords: Biogeography; Dokdo; Ecological checklist; Korea; Marine invertebrates; Ulleung Island