No abstract

We examined the community structure of fish off the coast of Jindo Island in response to a cold water appearance in the southwestern sea of Korea each August between 2013-2015. Using a gape net with wings, we collected 31 taxa during the study period, wherein the most dominant species was Engraulis japonicus. Collichthys lucidus and Neosalanx andersoni, which are mainly distributed in the western sea of Korea, increased in abundance and were dominant in August 2013, possibly due to the apparent intrusion of cold water (< 19°C) from offshore into the coastal waters of Jindo Island. Meanwhile, Scomberomorus niphonius and Sardinella zunasi, which are known as warmwater migratory species, increased in abundance and were dominant in August 2015, likely influenced by the warmer water (> 20°C) at the coast, which resulted in a noticeable lessening of the cold water in the study area. However, no significant differences were observed in fish community structure in the month of August between 2013-1015. This implies that the small-scale spatial and temporal variations in the cold water had limited effects on the fish community structure, even though the abundances of several dominant species varied in the coastal waters.