Abstract:To evaluate the effects of water velocity and artificial substratum characteristics on the growth rate and biomass accumulation of periphyton, an artificial stream mesocosm experiment was conducted using alternative water sources collected from the Mangwall Stream (MW), the Han River (HR), and bank filtration water (BFW) from the Han River in the Republic of Korea. The measured concentrations of organic matter and inorganic nutrients in the MW were higher than in the HR and BFW. The surface of tile is relatively smooth and nonporous, whereas the surfaces of concrete and pebble are rough with numerous isolated pores in which filamentous periphyton become immobilized against hydrodynamic shear stress and mat tensile strength. Compared with the periphyton biomass of the HR and BFW, the peak biomass in the MW was significantly higher due to higher nutrient concentrations in the MW. Reasonable linear relationships (R 2 ≥ 0.69) between water velocity and total periphyton biomass/growth rate were obtained, indicating that water velocities above critical values can cause a reduction in biomass accrual. In addition, reasonable relationships (R 2 ≥ 0.58) between specific surface area and total periphyton biomass were obtained for the HR and BFW, indicating that an increase in the specific OPEN ACCESSWater 2013, 5 1724 surface area of the substratum can lead to an increase in periphyton biomass in a nutrient-poor water body. Principal components analysis (PCA) results indicate that nutrient concentrations were the first dominant limiting factor for the growth and accumulation of periphyton, and water velocity and the specific surface area of the substratum were determined to be potential limiting factors. Consequently, the growth rate and biomass accumulation of periphyton were considered to be a complex function of nutrient concentrations, water velocities, and substratum characteristics.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the newly-developed juvenile fish shelter (JFS) for its ability to increase prey survival and to improve species diversity in a freshwater ecosystem. An experiment was performed in an outdoor large-scale mesocosm three times from 2011 to 2012 by comparing the responses to adjustment as a function of the volume of JFS in the control and experimental groups. Analysis results of the environmental monitoring over three periods indicated only minor differences in the physicochemical characteristics of the water quality and phyto-and zoo-plankton biomass, thereby enabling a comparative analysis of the feeding ecology. However, the water temperature exhibited large fluctuations, ranging from 16.4 to 27.6 • C, and high water temperature conditions (Period 1, 25.6 ± 2.0 • C) enhanced the predation activity of the piscivorous fish Coreoperca herzi (C. herzi, size 89 ± 4 mm). Statistically, the survival rates of the prey fish, Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (R. oxycephalus, size 29 ± 1 mm), with JFSs were greater by 35.9%-46.7%, and improved as the patch volume of JFS increased. Based on both experimental observations and statistical analysis, the JFS developed in this study could reduce the chances of predator-prey encounters, minimize prey vulnerability, and thereby increase prey survival rates.

This study was aimed to analyze the water quality characteristics of the Hwapocheon Stream and to be utilized in the further related research. Water in the upper stream became a dammed pool due to the existence of 14 weirs, and pollutants such as both sewage and irrigation water were introduced into the mainstream passing through farming settlements and agricultural land. For these reasons, filamentous cyanobacteria (Oscillatoria sp.) bloomed at the bottom of the dammed pool. Also in the midstream and downstream, tributaries with high pollutant concentrations [e.g., Comocheon (T3) and Yongdeokcheon (T8)] were inflowed, and had a negative impact on water quality of the mainstream, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. In the Hwapocheon Stream, dissolved oxygen (DO) decreased, and suspended solid (SS) increased toward the downstream. The result showed that hydraulic retention time, SS, COD, and concentration of NH4 + were important water quality factors of the Hwapocheon Stream. The high concentration of benthic organic matter and rich in attached algae in the core of Hwapo-wetland were expected to give impact on the water quality of the mainstream. In the spatial manner, water quality showed increasing trend in the weir zone, and it was constant or decreased trend in wetland. In the seasonal manner, the nutrient concentrations were high in the winter dry season, however, the organic matter concentrations were high in spring and summer. Generally, the concentrations of phytoplankton value were 40 µg chl-α/L or less in all reaches except for the high concentrations in the weir and wetland area in June.

This study evaluated water quality variations in an artificial deep pool (ADP), which is an underground artificial structure built in a shallow pond as a fish shelter. The water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured on an hourly basis in the open space and inside the ADP, and a phenomenological study was performed, dividing seasons into normal and rainy seasons and environments into stagnant and circulating conditions. The results showed that the water quality parameters inside the ADP exhibit lower fluctuations and diurnal variations compared with the open space. On average, the water temperature inside the ADP is lower than outside it by 1.7-3.7 • C in stagnant conditions, and by 0.6-0.7 • C in circulating conditions during early summer. Thermal stratification occurs inside the ADP but is temporarily disturbed due to the mixing from the forced circulation and the rainwater input through rainfall events. The ADP provided a constant and optimal water temperature for living and spawning for bitterling (i.e., 15.0-21.0 • C), which dominated in experimental pond during spring to summer. Most importantly, the ADP was able to significantly reduce the thermal stress of the fish in the study site, and as a result, the bitterling, a cool water fish species, could successfully become dominant. Finally, the deployment of the ADP appears to provide a practical alternative for effective fishery resources management to improve species diversity and fish communities in an artificial freshwater ecosystem (garden pond, park pond, other artificial wetlands, etc.).