Abstract
The present study was carried out to describe the distribution of ophiuroids on the continental shelf and slope of the East Sea, off the Korean Peninsula. Three cruises were made from 1985 to 1987 in the area between 35 to 38°N and 129 to 130°E. A total of ten species was identified from the samples collected at 136 stations. Among them four species (Amphiodia craterodometa, Amphioplus macraspis, Ophiura leptoctenia and Ophiura sarsi) constituted more than 98% of abundance by number. The continental shelf off Gampo, near 35°40′N, could be considered to be the southern limit of cold-water species. The abundance of dominant ophiuroids changed according to depth. Three faunal zones, namely, the inner shelf, the shelf edge and the slope zones, coincided with the topographic divisions of continental shelf and slope. The major inhabitant of the inner shelf was A. craterodometa and that of the continental slope was O. leptoctenia. The shelf edge area revealed a transitional zone where all four species occurred, contributing to the total number of individuals with almost equal proportions. The temperature of bottom waters was considered to be a factor determining zonal distribution. The sediment characteristics were not closely related to ophiuroid distribution.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Barnard, J. L., Ziesenhenne, F. C. (1961). Ophiuroid communities of southern Californian coastal bottoms. Pacif. Nat. 2: 131–152
Carney, R. S., Carey, A. G. (1976). Distribution pattern of holothurians on the Northeastern Pacific (Oregon, U.S.A.) continental shelf slope, and abyssal plain. Thalassia jugosl. 12: 67–74
Carney, R. S., Haedrich, R. L., Rowe, G. T. (1983). Zonation of fauna in the deep sea. In: Rowe, G. T. (ed.) The sea, Vol. 8. Deep-Sea Biology, John Wiley & Sons, New York, p. 807–856
Choi, J. W., Koh, C. H. (1988). The polychaete assemblages on the contirental shelf off the southern coast of Korea. J. oceanol. Soc. Korea 23: 169–183
Choi, J. W., Koh, C. H. (1989). Polychaete feeding guilds on the continental shelf off the southeastern coast of Korea. J. oceanol. Soc. Korea 24: 84–95
Choi, J. W., Koh, C. H. (1990). Distribution pattern of polychaete worms on the continental shelf and slope of the East Sea (southwestern Sea of Japan), Korea. J. oceanol. Soc. Korea 25: 36–48
Chough, S. K. (1983) Marine geology of Korean seas, International Human Resources Development Corporation, Boston
Clark, H. L. (1911). North Pacific ophiurans in the collection of the United States National Museum. Bull. U.S. natn. Mus. Bull. 75: 1–302
Duncan, P. M. (1879). On some ophiuroidea from Korean Seas. J. Linn. Soc. (Zool.) 14: 445–482
Fisheries Research and Development Agency (FRDA) (1979). Oceanographic handbook of the neighbouring seas of Korea. Busan, Korea
Gage, J. D., Pearson, M., Billett, D. S. M., Clark, A. M., Jensen, M., Paterson, G. L. J., Tyler, P. A. (1984). Echinoderm zonation in the Rockall Trough (NE Atlantic). Proc. 5th, int. Echinoderm Conf. Galway, p. 31–36
Grassle, J. F., Sanders, H. L., Smith, W. K. (1979). Faunal changes with depth in the deep-sea benthos (9). Ambio (Spec. Rep.) 6: 47–50
Guille, A. (1980). Les ophiurides des marges continentales de la region Philippines-Indonesie distribution bathymetrique et etagement. In: Jangoux, M. (ed.) Echinoderms: present and past. A. A. Balkema, Rotterdam, p. 97–106
Haedrich, R. L., Maunder, J. E. (1984). The echinoderm fauna of the Newfaundland continental slope. Proc. 5th int. Echinoderm Conf., Galway, p. 37–46
Haedrich, R. L., Rowe, G. T., Polloni, P. T. (1975). Zonation and faunal composition of epibenthic populations on the continental slope south of New England. J. mar. Res. 23: 191–212
Haedrich, R. L., Rowe, G. T., Polloni, P. T. (1980). the megabenthic fauna in the deep sea south of New England, USA. Mar. Biol. 57: 165–179
Hidaka, K. (1966). Japan Sea. In: Fairbridge, R. W. (ed.) Encyclopedia of oceanography. Reinhold, New York, p. 417–424
Horikoshi, M. (1984). Characteristics in the biological oceanography of Japan Sea, looking through deep-sea benthic communities. In: Marumo, R. (ed.) Biological process in the ocean. Univ. Tokyo Press, Tokyo, p. 139–143
Horikoshi, M., Fujita, T., Ohta S. (1990). Benthic associations in bathyal and hadal depths off the Pacific coast of north eastern Japan: physiognomies and site factors. Prog. Oceanogr. 24: 331–339
Kikuchi, T. (1977). Biological survey of benthic macrofauna in Chijiwa Bay, west Kyushu. Publs Amakusa mar. biol. Lab. 4: 127–141
Kim, K., Chung, J. Y. (1984). On the salinity minimum and dissolved oxygen maximum layer in the East Sea (Sea of Japan). In: Ichiye, T. (ed.) Ocean hydrodynamics of the Japan and East China Seas. Elsevier, Amsterdam, p. 55–65
Kim, C. H., Kim, K. (1983). Characteristics and origin of the cold water mass along the east coast of Korea. J. oceanol. Soc. Korea 18: 73–83
Kyte, M. A. (1969). A synopsis and key to the recent ophiuroidea of Washington State and southern British Columbia. J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 26: 1727–1741
Lee, C. B., Park, Y. A., Choi, J.-Y., Kim, G.-B. (1989). Surface sediments of the continental shelf and slope off the southeastern coast of Korea. J. oceanol. Soc. Korea 24: 39–51
Lee, W. K. (1971). Ophiuroideans in Korean waters. M.Sc. Thesis, Seoul National University, Seoul
Nichols, F. H. (1970). Benthic polychaete assemblages and their relationship to the sediment in Port Madison, Washington. Mar. Biol. 6: 48–57
Nishimura, S. (1965). The zoogeographical aspects of the Japan Sea. Publs Seto mar. biol. Lab. 13: 35–79
Rho, B. J. (1979). A study on the classification and distribution of the echinoderms in Korea, 1. Ophiuroids. J. Korean Res. Inst. Better Living 23: 33–60
Rho, B. J., Shin, S. (1987). Systematic study on the ophiuroidea from Cheju Island, Korea. Korean J. Syst. Zool. 3: 208–224
Rowe, G. T., Polloni, P. T., Haedrich, R. L. (1982). The deep-sea macrobenthos on the continental margin of the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Deep-Sea Res. 29: 257–278
Rowe, G. T., Polloni, P. T., Horner, S. G. (1974). Benthic biomass estimates from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean and the northern Gulf of Mexico. Deep-Sea Res. 21: 641–650
Shin, S. (1984). A systematic study on the ophiuroids in Korea. Ph.D. Thesis, Ewha Womans Univ., Seoul
Weston, D. P. (1988). Macrobenthos-sediment relationships on the continental shelf off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Contin. Shelf Res. 8: 267–286
Yi, S. K. (1983). Studies on the ophiuroidea in the coastal waters of Korea. 1. Amphiuridae. Bull. Korea Ocean Res. Dev. Inst. (KORDI) 5: 9–17
Yi, S. K., Irimura, S. (1987). A taxonomic study on the ophiuroidea from the Yellow Sea. Korean J. Syst. Zool. 3: 117–136
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by T. Ikeda, Niigata
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shin, H.C., Koh, C.H. Distribution and abundance of ophiuroids on the continental shelf and slope of the East Sea (southwestern Sea of Japan), Korea. Marine Biology 115, 393–399 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00349837
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00349837