Characteristics of Long-term Water Quality Variations and Cochlodinium polykrikoides Blooms in the Mid-southern Coastal Waters of Korea

This study has examined the water quality environment of six areas in the mid-southern coastal waters of Korea in order to find the significance between water quality and algal blooms of the area, based on the last 17 years of data offered by the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute. Water temperature in these areas fluctuated with a three to five year of period, and revealed little yearly variations at the surface layer while slowly decreasing at the bottom layer. On the other hand, salinity tended to increase both the surface and bottom layers. Algal blooms had a tendency to decrease in their outbreaks and causative species, with a peak of the middle of 1990s. C. polykrikoides prevailed in the entire areas, and in particular, almost annually appeared in Goheung coastal area since 1995. C. polykrikoides blooms occurred when a mean water temperature was approximately , and salinities were between 31.00 and 31.50 but exceptionally 28.68 in Yeosu Coast. However, the concentrations of DIN, DIP, TN, TP, including DO, turned out not to be such significant factors for the outbreaks of C. polykrikoides blooms. Therefore, water temperature was judged as the most controlling factor for the outbreak of C. polykrikoides blooms.