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The species composition and distributions of benthic marine plants on the East Coast of Korea were studied. We examined all species found in the intertidal and subtidal zones at four sites seasonally from August 2006 to May 2009. Of the 148 species identified, 92 were rhodophytes, 39 were phaeophytes, 16 were chlorophytes, and 1 was a seagrass. The most species (125) were found at Jukbyeon, while the fewest (99) were found at Chuksan. Overall, the numbers of species were highest during the spring and lowest in autumn. Seventy-five species (50 rhodophytes, 15 phaeophytes, 9 chlorophytes, and 1 seagrass) were found at all four sites. The dominant species providing cover were melobesioidean algae, Sargassum spp., Phyllospadix japonica, and Corallina pilulifera. The vertical distribution of benthic marine plants was characterized by C. pilulifera, Sargassum spp., Hizikia fusiformis, Grateloupia elliptica, Symphyocladia latiuscula, Grateloupia lanceolata, Ulva pertusa, and Chondria crassicaulis in the intertidal zone; Sargassum spp., P. japonica, Prionitis cornea, C. pilulifera, and Acrosorium polyneurum at 1 m depth; Sargassum spp., P. japonica, and melobesioidean algae at 5 m depth; and melobesioidean algae at 10 m depth. There was variation among the sites, presumably due to differences in the local conditions.

Seasonal variability in the marine seaweed community structure was examined in the intertidal zones at nine study sites in Hallyeohaesang National Park, on the southern coast of Korea from March to October 2014. A total of 145 seaweeds were indentified, comprising 15 green, 41 brown and 89 red algae. Coarsely branched seaweeds were the dominant functional group, comprising 58.95% in species number, whereas filamentous, sheet, thick leathery, crustose and jointed calcareous forms comprised 2.63-17.72% each. The seaweed biomass averaged 358.00 g dry wt/ m 2 and it was maximal at Somaemuldo (847.64 g dry wt/m 2 ) and minimal at Gamam (56.51 g dry wt/m 2 ). Based on biomass, the dominant and subdominant seaweeds were Ulva australis at Gamam, Sargassum thunbergii at Sangju, Ulva australis and S.fulvellum at Neukdo, S.horneri at Dala-Bijindo-Somaemuldo, S. thunbergii at Dapo, and Corallina pilulifera at Songdo. Community indices were as follows: dominance index (DI), 0.43-0.71; richness index (R), 8.26-16.50; evenness index (J'), 0.36-0.54; and diversity index (H'), 1.57-2.19. In conclusion, we found that both biomass and the community structure of seaweeds in Hallyeohaesang National Park were similar to those in other studies of the Southern Sea along the Korean peninsula, and that Hallyeohaesang National Park is a relatively favorable habitat for seaweeds. Future studies should examine the changes in seaweed composition and biomass as they relate to climate change and environmental pollution.Key words: Biomass, Community structure, Seaweed, Hallyeohaesang National Park This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licens (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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