East Asian Waters in Summer

Abstract—The distribution of planktonic ciliates, tintinnids, was studied in the East China Sea, the southern Korean waters and the East Sea (the Sea of Japan) in summer. A total of 20 species of tintinnids occurred: 9 species were identified in the East China Sea, 9 species in the southern Korean waters, and 13 species in the East Sea, respectively. Quantitative and qualitative analyses by the QPS (Quantitative Protargol Stain) method revealed that the standing stocks of tintinnids ranged from 0 to 240 cells·L–1 and showed a reverse relation with the distribution of chlorophyll a. Dominant species were Dadayiella ganymedes and Eutintinnus tubulosus in the East China Sea, Amphorides quadrilineata in the southern Korean waters, and Amphorellopsis acuta, Amphorides quadrilineata, and Salpingella sp. in the East Sea. Most species occurred during this investigation were warm-water species. Oceanic tintinnids were mainly found in the southern and eastern Korean waters while neritic species in the East China Sea