| Title |
Oxygen Supersaturation in Korean Streams as a Stress Factor to Fish |
| Authors |
이새로미 ( Saeromi Lee ) ; 이재용 ( Jae Yong Lee ) ; 최재석 ( Jae Seok Choi ) ; 김선정 ( Sun Jung Kim ) ; 안부영 ( Bu Young Ahn ) ; 김범철 ( Bom Chul Kim ) |
| Keywords |
Cortisol; DO supersaturation; Hyperoxia; Stress factor |
| Abstract |
Abnormal dissolved oxygen concentration in aquatic habitat, both depletion and supersaturation, can be stress factor to aquatic animals. In this study the nationwide distribution of oxygen supersaturation was analyzed for three categories of streams (43 urban streams, 15 rural streams, and 14 forest streams) by using monitoring network data of the Korean Ministry of Environment. From the distribution analysis 30% of urban streams showed hyperoxic condition of eutrophic level, while no forest stream showed hyperoxic condition. The physiological effect of hyperoxia on fish was examined using two species of fish Zacco koreanus, which resulted in higher concentration of a stress hormone (cortisol) in fish exposed to hyperoxic concentration (196%) of oxygen. This study shows that hyperoxic condition is ubiquitous in urban and rural Korean streams, and it can be a stress factor to aquatic animals. |