Habitat suitability analysis of eelgrass Zostera marina L. in the subtidal zone of Xiaoheishan Island

We present a GIS-based habitat suitability index(HSI) model to identify suitable areas for Zostera marina L. restoration in the subtidal zone of Xiaoheishan Island. The controlling factors in the model,in order of importance,are Secchi depth,sediment composition,water temperature,salinity,current velocity,water depth and nutrient quality. Specific factor piecewise functions have been used to transform parameter values into normalized quality indexes. The weight of each factor was defined using expert knowledge and the analytic hierarchy process(AHP) method. All of the data thus obtained were interpolated using the inverse distance weighted(IDW) interpolation method to create maps for the entire region. In this study,the analysis of habitat suitability in the subtidal zone of Xiaoheishan Island was conducted for four seasons. According to the GIS-based HSI model,the optimal habitat of Z ostera marina L. appears in spring,although habitat remains suitable all year round. On the whole,the optimum site for eelgrass restoration is located in the eastern region,followed by the western and southern regions. We believe that the GIS-based HSI model could be a promising tool to select sites for Z ostera marina L. restoration and could also be applicable in other types of habitat evaluation.

Investigation on Shellfish Species Living in the Intertidal Zone to Subtidal Zone of Fenjiezhou Island of Hainan

Based on the investigation on shellfish resources from the intertidal zone to subtidal zone of Fenjiezhou Island,Hainan during 2012-2014,the quantity,species,ecological distribution and floristic characters of shellfish from the intertidal zone to subtidal zone of Fenjiezhou Island were analyzed.The results showed that a total of 137 shellfish species were found in Fenjiezhou Island,and they belonged to 4 classes [Polyplacophora（1 species）,Gastropoda（94 species）,Bivalvia（40species）,Cephalopoda（2 species）],13 orders and 44 families.Among the families,Cypraeidae included 11 species,Muricacea included 9 species,Veneracea included9 species,Conidae included 8 species,Strombidae included 6 species,Cymatiidae included 6 species,and the other families all included less than 5 species.According to the characteristics of the components,most of the species belonged to the tropical or subtropical region,and they had a close relationship with coral reef.According to the floristic characters,the shellfish in Fenjiezhou Island belonged to the Indonesia-Malayan Subregion of Indo-West Pacific Region.

Characteristics of Algal Succession Following Rock Scraping at Imwon Area in the East Coast of Korea

Abstract This study was conducted to clarify the characteristics high-pressure water sprayer in the period from June 2010 to April 2011 of algal succession following rock scraping using hoe or We divided the research area off the eastern coast of Korean near Imwon into 3 categories depending upon the severity of the barren ground, i.e., the urchin barren-affected, urchin bar- ren-ongoing and urchin barren-free areas. In April 2011, in the urchin barren-affected area with 25 seaweed species, the cover per- centage and importance value （IV） of erustose coralline algae were higher than those of other species. In the urchin barren-ongoing area with 33 seaweed species, crustose coralline algae （mean IV=62%） as well as Sargassum sp. （mean IV=28%）, and Gelidium amansii （mean IV= 19%） were observed following rock scraping. In the urchin barren-free area where seaweed communities were relatively abundant with 42 species, a variety of algal species including G. amansii （mean IV = 32%） underwent algal succession. Overall, it was observed that, as an aspect of algal succession, the weaker the barren ground severity was, the more frequent and di- verse the seaweeds were, and the more complex the succession pattern was in the study. As an aspect of recovering algal community, rock scraping using hoe was shown to be superior to the method using high-pressure water spraying. Therefore, we conclude that rock scraping using hoe is a very effective strategy for recovering the algal community in urchin barren-ongoing area.