In this minireview we focus on how males may exploit female's sensitivity to predation risk in the context of mating. It has been shown in studies on guppies and jumping spiders that in response to altered female behaviors, which are adaptations to the unfavorable environment and a consequence of females' higher sensitivity to predator's presence as well as females' higher predation risk, males can adopt condition-dependent mating tactics. It appears that in such cases males do not modify their reproductive behavior directly in response to their own perception of predation risk, but indirectly in response to changes in female behavior induced by predator presence. It has also been recently shown in crabs that males can exploit female behavior by creating safer habitat spots, which increases the male mating success. Hence all the evidence suggests that males not only respond to female sensitivity to the natural variation in predation risk, but that males can also exploit female behavior by altering the environment. As a logical extension of these findings, we present a hypothesis that in certain conditions males can manipulate the environment in order to increase the predation risk and to induce female behaviors that enhance the male's mating success with the increased predation risk. We propose that such a manipulation to increase predation risk is expected to evolve in males of species with a strong sexual conflict and female-biased predation risk. Although empirical evidence has not been yet shown, initial observations in a water strider species in Korea, Gerris gracilicornis, seem to support this hypothesis.

Growth and reproduction of Palaemon serrifer were described and analyzed in a population inhabiting tide pools in warm temperate waters in Korea. The water temperature varied greatly in the tide pools, ranging from 8$^{\circ}C$ to 27.8$^{\circ}C$ Population structure and growth were investigated using size frequency distribution data collected from January to December 2003. Sex ratios fluctuated, but were almost equal during the breeding period. Growth was continuous and size increased gradually throughout the year. Adult females were larger and grew faster than males. von Bertalanffy growth parameters for a one-year sample of females and males were estimated as $L_{i\ddot{A}}$ = 11.32, K = 0.311, $t_0$ = -0.4115 and $L_{i\ddot{A}}$ = 8.36, K = 0.228, $t_0$ = -0.9693 respectively. Breeding was seasonal, starting in May, peaking in August, and finishing by the end of August. The species showed continuous production of successive broods. Laboratory observation showed that females with embryos near hatching had ovaries filled with vitellogenic oocytes ready for spawning. The reproductive output (effort) of each female (mean number of eggs: $552{\sim}1355$) was not high. The mean embryo volume, $0.078mm^3$, is relatively small, indicative of low energy allocation to each embryo. Recruitment of juveniles was closely linked to the breeding period, beginning in September.

Mating behaviour of the gammarid amphipod, Hyale rubra, was observed. H. rubra displayed precopulatory mate guarding: males clasped females with their gnathopods during copulation, forming a pair. Males also participated in embryo care during the incubation period. The population was small, and the sex ratio was almost equal. Energy allocation for mating effort and parental effort in the two sexes appear to be almost equal. The mating system was sequentially polygamous (or promiscuous) and there was conspicuous sexual dimorphism in the size of the gnathopod, which was used for mate guarding. However, there appears to be relatively weak sexual competition for mating opportunities despite conspicuous sexual dimorphism. H. rubra did not display territorial competition or external fertilization. Nevertheless, the male provided paternal care. Since H. rubra inhabit tide pools and live on algae, the polygamous mating system of the species can be explained by the polygyny threshold model. The evolution of mate guarding and parental care may have been favored by the species' low population density and harsh environments, an interpretation consistent with the optimality model.

The effectiveness of rehabilitation programs for coal mining spoils in Samcheok, Jeongsun, and Mungyung were evaluated based on the physicochemical properties of soil in the rehabilitated areas. These spoils were reclaimed by introducing plants such as black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), pitch pine (Pinus rigida), birch (Betula platyphylla var. japonica), alder (Alnus hirsuta), bush clover (Lespedeza cyrtobotrya), and grass (Lolium perenne) in planting beds covered with forest soil. In the surface soil, the pH, organic matter, total N, available P, and exchangeable Ca showed significant changes over the years after reclamation. The pH and exchangeable Ca content decreased exponentially over time, whereas organic matter increased linearly and total N and available P increased exponentially. Changes in the physicochemical properties of subsurface soils displayed a different pattern. There were significant changes over time in the organic matter, available P, and exchangeable Ca and Mg contents of the soil. Organic matter increased logarithmically with years since rehabilitation and available P increased exponentially. Meanwhile, exchangeable Ca decreased exponentially, and Mg decreased logarithmically. The changes in the subsurface soil were not as dramatic as those in the surface soil. This result suggests that the ameliorating effects of the establishment and growth of plants more pronounced on the surface soil layer. Stand ordination data showed different relationships with time since rehabilitation in the early and later stages of the rehabilitation process. In the early stages of rehabilitation, stands tended to be arranged in the order of reclamation age. However, in the later stages, there was not a clear relationship between reclamation age and vegetation characteristics. This result suggests that soil amelioration is required for the early stages, after which an autogenic effect becomes more prominent as the vegetation becomes better established.

Larvae of the long-tailed clawed salamander, Onychodactylus fischeri, have a relatively long larval period, spending a year or more within the stream where they hatch; therefore, a well-established larval population could be critical for the conservation of adult populations. To study the population dynamics of long-tailed clawed salamander larvae, we surveyed a field population once or twice a month from September, 2005 to June, 2006, and determined the age of larval clawed salamanders collected from three different populations in October, 2004 using skeletochronology. The age of long-tailed clawed salamander larvae ranged from 0 to 3 years. New recruitment of larvae in the population primarily occurred in November, 2005, and mid-March, 2006. Larvae with a snout-vent length of more than 30 mm disappeared from the streams in September, 2005, suggesting that two to three year-old clawed salamander larvae metamorphosed during this period.

We analyzed soil characteristics, soil seed banks, and plant communities in a small islet in Ganwol Lake from May 2005 to August 2006 to examine the forces driving plant settlement on sand bars and the effects of plant settlement patterns on nesting sites of little terns (Sterna albifrons). The soil nutrients contents in a site where the feces of wintering birds accumulate (N: 15.4 mg/kg, P: 10.5 mg/kg, LOI: 0.51 %, pH: 6.8) and a site where organic sediments accumulate (N: 20.7 mg/kg, P: 16.4 mg/kg, LOI: 0.40%, pH: 6.6) were much higher those of a control site which was not affected by bird feces and organic sediments (N: 4.1 mg/kg, P: 5.4 mg/kg, LOI: 0.41%, pH: 6.7). However, a seed bank was formed only on the site with accumulated organic sediments. Plant settlement was accelerated by feces from wintering birds and organic sediment accumulation on sand bars in Ganwol Lake. The percentage of area disturbed by human activities increased from 0.2% in May 2005 to 13.9% in August 2006, and the percentage of annual communities increased from 27.5% to 43.3%, but the percentage of open area decreased from 55.2% to 28.0% from May 2005 to August 2006. These increases in disturbed area and annual communities decreased the open area for breeding of little terns. The enlargement of P. communis and T. angustata communities was suppressed by irregular flooding. These results provide useful information for the management of little tern breeding sites for conservation purposes.

Ocean climate variables ($1900{\sim}2005$), time series of catches ($1910{\sim}2005$) and body size data were used to assess the year-to-year and decadal scale fluctuations in abundance of the fish populations (Japanese sardine, anchovy, jack mackerel, chub mackerel, Pacific saury and common squid) that have spawning grounds in the East China Sea and its adjacent regions. A negative correlation between the abundance of pelagic fishes (e.g. jack mackerel) in the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) region and the Kuroshio-Oyashio Current (KOC) region was attributed to the climatic modulation of larval transport and recruitment, which depends on the winter monsoon-induced drift, current systems, and spawning season and site. The changes in abundance and alternation of dominant fish populations in the two regions in the 1930s, 1970s, and late 1980s mirrored changes in the climate indices (ALPI, AOI and MOI). Oscillations in the decadal climate shifts between the two regions led to zonal differences in larval transport and recruitment, and hence differences in the abundance of the pelagic fish populations. During deep Aleutian Lows, as in the 1980s, larval transport from the East China Sea to the KOC region increases in association with the strong winter Asian monsoon, cool regime and increased volume transport of the Kuroshio Current systems, whereas during a weak Aleutian Low (as in the 1990s), larval transport to the TWC region increased in association with a weak winter Asian monsoon, a warm regime, and increased volume transport of the Tsushima current system. We postulate that the increased chub mackerel abundance in the TWC region and the decreased abundance in the KOC region in the 1990s are partly attributed to changes in recruitment and availability to the fishing fleets under the warm regime in the spawning and nursery grounds in the East China Sea in association with the quasi-steady state of mild winter monsoon in the 1990s. The fluctuations in chub mackerel and jack mackerel abundance are under the environment-dependant growth form, although the tropicalization was identified in the TWC region. The density-dependant growth form was found in Japanese sardine populations, but no tropicalization by fishing was identified in the long ($10{\sim}15$ year) periods of abundance despite their short ($3{\sim}4$ year) generation time, suggesting that the environment-dependant growth form drove the changes in abundance. Year-to-year and decadal scale variations in abundance and population structure of the Pacific saury responded to climate regime shifts (1976/1977, 1988/1989), suggesting that the fish is a key bio-indicators for changes in the ecosystem.

We studied the functional roles of two types of calls, mew calls and mobbing calls, of the black-tailed gull (Larus crassirostris) by examining responses of mixed flocks of gulls to the playback calls. Playback experiments were conducted on four days between 11 May and 5 June 2007 at 16 sites in Sinjindo-ri and Dowhang-ri, Taean-gun, Chungnam province and Imjado, Sinan-gun, Jeonnam province, South Korea. We examined the anti-predator responses of the gulls to the playback trials. We found that gull flocks initially responded to mew call playbacks by mobbing in less than half of playback trials (6/14) while all trials involving playbacks of the mobbing call and control (group mobbing) call evoked mobbing. When trials in which no response was recorded were excluded, we found that the gulls' responses to mobbing and group mobbing call playbacks was more intense than their response to mew call playbacks, in that gulls mobbed longer, more gulls responded, and gulls took flight after a shorter time interval. However, the intensity of the gulls' response did not differ in mobbing call and group mobbing call playbacks. The results of this study suggest that the mixed-species flocks of gulls discriminate between the mew calls and the mobbing calls.

Rates of molecular evolution are known to vary widely among taxonomic groups. A number of studies, examining various taxonomic groups, have indicated that body size is negatively and clutch size is positively correlated with the rates of nucleotide substitutions among vertebrate species. Generally, either smaller body mass or larger clutch size is associated with shorter generation times and higher metabolic rates. However, this generality is subject to ongoing debate, and large-scale comparative studies of species below the Order level are lacking. In this study, phylogenetically independent methods were used to test for relationships between rates of the mitochondrial cytochrome b evolution and a range of life history traits, such as body mass and clutch size in the Order Galliformes. This analysis included data from 67 species of Galliformes birds and 2 outgroup species in Anseriformes. In contrast to previous studies, taxa were limited to within-Order level, not to Class or higher. I found no evidence to support an effect of life history traits on the rate of molecular evolution within the Galliformes. These results suggest that such relationship may be too weak to be observed in comparisons of closely related species or may not be a general pattern that is applicable to all nucleotide sequences or all taxonomic groups.

The small-scale dynamic of moth populations in spring was examined in a coniferous forest of southwestern Korea. Moths were collected with one 22-watt light trap for 29 days in April 2007. A total of 450 individuals of 38 species in 5 families were collected. The most abundant species was an epiplemid moth, Epiplema plagifera. The relationship between these dominant moths and their host plants is briefly discussed. We also examined influence of weather factors on the number of species and individuals collected. Multiple regression analyses showed that the two-day temperature difference explained 18% of the variance in the number of species collected, while air and ground temperatures explained 51% of the variance in the log-transformed number of individuals collected. This suggests that temperature affects local population sizes in spring, but variables other than weather may also affect the diversity of local moth populations.