• Title/Summary/Keyword: Amphibians and Reptiles

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The conditions of Fragmentation of Ecosystem and Ecological corridor building through the analysis of Environmental Impact Statements (환경영향평가서에 나타난 생태계 단편화 현황과 생태통로 조성 실태)

  • Kim, Kee-Dae;Kil, Ji-Hyun;Choi, Byung-Jin;Suh, Min-Hwan;Koh, Kang-Suk;Choi, Deng-Il
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.15-26
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    • 1998
  • In order to assess the present status of the fragmentation of ecosystem and the building of ecological corridor, 79 EISs(Environment Impact Statements) which were conducted in Kyunggido and Kangwondo have been reviewed using 36 analysing factor. The results obtained from this study were as follows: a. The most frequently appearing type of ecosystem fragmentation was 'mountain vs. mountain type in topography' and '2 vs. 2 grades in the degree of green naturality.' b. The most frequently listed fauna in EISs included squirrels and wild rabbits for mammals, grass snake and pit viper for reptiles, and tree frog and true tree frog for amphibians. c. Among the EISs for 50 projects, the construction of ecological corridor mentioned in only 4 projects and other structures such as drainage duct and closed conduit in 14 projects were suggested as ecological corridor. There were no corridors suggested in 32 projects. Thus, in case of using other structures for wildlife animals but ecological corridors, it should be accompanied by incidental facilities for including animal movement.

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A Faunal Study in the Shihwa Constructed Wetland (시화호 인공습지 동물상 조사연구)

  • Lee, Woo-Shin;Woo, Kun-Suk;Shim, Jae-Han;Hur, Wee-Haeng;Choe, Hyun-Jung;Lee, Sang-Chul;Kwun, Soon-Kuk
    • Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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    • v.46 no.3
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    • pp.93-105
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    • 2004
  • The Shihwa wetland, a newly developed constructed wetland prototype in Korea with an area of approximately 104 ha, was established to improve the water quality severely polluted inflow streams into Lake Shihwa. Because this wetland could play a role as an ecological park in addition to improving the water quality, an ecological impact of the Shihwa constructed wetland has been a national concern. This paper focused on reporting the survey results for fauna among the entire investigation results for 3 years. A total of 129 terrestrial insect species have been observed from August 2001 to June 2002. Among them, Ischnura asiatica (Brauer) (order Odonata), Scymnus species (order Coleoptera) and Orthopteran species were frequently found in the reed bushes. A total of 77 bird species were recorded in a seasonal count, the maximum number of species was 34 in winter and the maximum number of individuals was 4,599 in summer. For the freshwater fish, only 4 species were found in 2000, however in 2001 and 2002, 12 species and 459 individuals were collected at four survey points. Among these 12 species, the dominant species were Mugil cephalus(36%), followed by Carassius auratus (25%) and Rhinogobius brunneus (22%). Meanwhile,12 individuals of Oryzias latipes were observed nearby, mostly downstream of the wetland. For the Herpetofauna at four survey areas, 3 species of amphibians and 3 species of reptiles were recorded. Because of remaining salinity in the soil of the Shiwha constructed wetland, Herpetofauna inflow to the wetland was scanty and mainly inhabited the upstream area. A total of 8 mammal species were recorded. Small-sized species were the striped field mouse, the Ussurian harvest-mouse, the Manchurian reed vole and the brown rat. Middle- and large-sized species were Korean water-deer, Korean raccoon dogs, Korean yellow weasels and feral cats.

Study on Crossing Tendencies of Birds by Road Type for Validation of Wildlife Crossing Structures Targeting Avian Species

  • Song, Eui-Geun;Lee, Hwa-Su;Park, Hee-Bok;Woo, Dong-Gul;Park, Tae-Jin;Chun, Su-Won;Sim, Seung-Woo;Cha, Hyoun-Gi;Lim, Anya;Choi, Tae-Young
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.136-141
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study is to compare the bird crossing of roads by type (Expressway 1, railroad-provincial road and Highway 4) and the crossing of roads according to the size of birds. The greatest number of avian species and individuals crossing road per 10 minutes were found on railroad-provincial road ($8.96{\pm}1.92$ and $29.33{\pm}11.94$, respectively), while the lowest number of avian species and individuals were found on Expressway 1 ($2.96{\pm}1.04$ and $6.13{\pm}2.89$, respectively), which has the widest width. In addition, the number of small-sized bird (<20 cm) crossing the Expressway 1, railroad-provincial road, and Highway 4 was lower than that of the medium-sized bird (${\geq}20cm$). Current wildlife crossing structures have been focused on mammals, amphibians and reptiles, but future structures should also consider birds.

Study on Function and Vegetational Assessment Values of Man-made Wetland in Gunsan City (군산시 인공습지의 기능평가 및 식생학적 가치평가 연구)

  • Kang, Eun-Ok;Choi, Young-Eun;Kim, Chang-Hwan
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
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    • v.21 no.8
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    • pp.997-1007
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    • 2012
  • This study was performed to assess functions of 10 man-made wetlands in Gunsan City, Jeollabuk Province by means of RAM (Rapid Assessment Method), a technique recommended by Ramsar Convention to appraise wetlands. The assessment of the wetlands value found Gunsan reservoir to have the highest function points while Bukchosan reservoir was estimated to have the lowest function among the wetlands surveyed. By detailed factors of valued 10 man-made wetland, the wetlands were found to function most favorably in terms of vegetational variety and as habitat for wild animals. They need to have more improved functions as habitats for fish and amphibians reptiles, for preservation and betterment of water quality as well as for supplement of underground water, though. From the assessment of vegetational naturalness of the surveyed reservoirs, Gunsan reservoir turned out to be the most favorable wetland from the viewpoint of vegetation science whereas, however, Anjeong wetland was rated as the lowest in the assessment of vegetational value due to simplicity in its vegetation and lots of dangers in its neighborhood threatening its vegetation and ecology. The assessment of vegetational values for Gunsan, Gongchang, Daewi, Bukchosan, Anjeong, Geumgul, Changan and Chuksan reservoirs showed the same orextremely similar results as RAM function assessment. Geumsan reservoir only, however, featured the opposite result.

Monitoring Biota in Giant Miscanthus Fields (거대억새 재배단지 조성에 따른 생물상 모니터링)

  • Kang, Ku;Hong, Seong-Gu;Ji, Kwang-Jae;Choi, June-Yeol;Lee, Hyo-HyeMi;Kim, Han-Joong;Park, Seong-Jik
    • Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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    • v.56 no.1
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    • pp.89-99
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    • 2014
  • The cultivation of biomass crops is now global demand for decreasing emissions of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) from fossil fuel. Miscanthus species have been studied as a suitable crop for biomass production, due to its characteristics of fast growth and high biomass. In Korea, Miscanthus species have gained wide attention as an option for biomass production alternative to fossil fuels, recently. New strain of giant Miscanthus has been developed and two large trial sites for the giant Miscanthus production were built in the lower reaches of the Geum River. To evaluate the ecological influence of the giant Miscanthus as an bioenergy crop for the future, we investigated the impact of the construction of the giant Miscanthus production fields on the biota and also compared it with biota in paddy fields near the study sites. The biota including plants, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, avifauna, insects, and bugs was investigated. The plant diversity of the giant Miscanthus production fields was poorer than the paddy fields because the high height of the giant Miscanthus might hinder the growth of other plants. However, the giant Miscanthus production fields serves habitat to animals, leading to rich diversity of animals including avifauna, insects, and bugs. The rich diversity of the animals in the giant Miscanthus production fields coincides with the fact that the giant Miscanthus was grown without any pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer. This study showed that the giant Miscanthus can influence on biota and further long term study is needed to elucidate the interaction between the diversity of biota and the giant Miscanthus.

The Evaluation of Biodiversity Functions According to Land Use in Rural Areas (농촌지역 토지이용에 따른 생물다양성 기능 평가)

  • Son, Jin Kwan;Kong, Min Jae;Park, Min Jung;Lim, Ryu Gab;Kang, Tae Gyoung;Kim, Kwang Ho;Kim, Chang Hyun
    • Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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    • v.27 no.2
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    • pp.49-58
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    • 2021
  • Rural and agricultural landscapes are important forms of land use in maintaining biodiversity. In addition humans are provided with various public functions from ecosystems and agricultural ecosystems. But the creation of a facility horticultural complex can be a space that can undermine the public interest function of the agricultural ecosystem. Therefore, this study aims to quantify the function of ecosystem services that land use changes affect biodiversity in Korea's rice paddy fields. The area subject to the study was selected as the largest agricultural complex in Korea due to rice paddy fields and land use changes, and field agriculture was also carried out simultaneously. The survey was conducted only in the fields of vegetation, insects, amphibians, and birds, four areas of biodiversity that are believed to have a high impact on changes in land use in agricultural landscapes. The valuation of ecosystem services in four areas of biodiversity derived from this study was evaluated as non-market value. As a result of quantitative evaluation, about 25 species of vegetation were reduced due to changes in land use. The diversity of about 40 species of aquatic insects that inhabit rice paddies among insects has disappeared due to the creation of a horticultural complex. Birds and amphibian reptiles were also found to have decreased diversity and populations. This research is expected to be used in various ways to develop policies to enhance ecosystem service functions.

Korea Road-Kill Observation System: The First Case to Integrate Road-Kill Data in National Scale by Government

  • Kim, Kyungmin;Woo, Dong-Gul;Seo, Hyunjin;Park, Taejin;Song, Eui-Geun;Choi, Tae-Young
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.35 no.4
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    • pp.281-284
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    • 2019
  • Efficient management of road-kill data is difficult at national scale when there are many organizations that are in charge of different road types. Here, we described the first case to integrate road-kill data through Korea Road-kill Observation System (KROS) by the Korean government. The system was launched in June 2018 to approximately 3,000 road menders. During 15 months, 5,812 road-kill observations were registered on KROS including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Of them, about 86 % was occupied by five species (Hydropotes inermis, Felis catus, Capreolus pygargus, Nyctereutes procyonoides, and Canis lupus familiaris) listed in number of occurrences. The observed road-kill frequency rapidly increased until April 2019 and peaked on May 2019. However, as the system is just starting, the results from KROS cannot be treated as the exact representation of road-kill trend in the country. Although the efficient method to manage national road-kill statistic is arranged, still there are some limitations to overcome to make the system stable.

Foods Use of the Red-Tongued Viper Snake (Gloydius ussuriensis) (쇠살모사 Red-tongued viper snake (Gloydius ussuriensis)의 먹이 이용)

  • Kim, Byoung-Soo;Oh, Hong-Shik
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.28 no.6
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    • pp.657-663
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    • 2014
  • This study was conducted to investigate the difference in feeding habits of Red-Tongued Viper Snakes, according to available foods sources and areas. The effects of differences in food sources were found on Red-Tongued Viper Snake inhabited in the Jeju Island and its islet Gapado, from May 2006 to Nov. 2010. The food sources for the Red-Tongued viper snake population in the Jeju Island were found to be as follows: Chinese red-headed centipedes (Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans), Jeju Salamanders (Hynobius quelpaertensis), Japanese tree Frogs (Hyla japonica), Narrow-mouthed Toad (Kaloula borealis), Dybowski's Brown Frogs (Rana dybowskii), Black-spotted Pond Frogs (Rana nigromaculata), Smooth Skinks (Scincella vandenburghi), Asian Keelback Snakes (Amphiesma vibakari), Lesser White-toothed Shrews (Crosidura shantungensis), Hallasan Shrews (Sorex caecutiens hallamontanus), and Jeju Striped Field Mice (Apodemus chejuensis). This implies that Red-Tongued Viper Snakes mainly feed on amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals. Among these, amphibians occupied the highest portion at 55.2% followed by mammals at 20.7%, centipedes at 13.8%, and reptiles at 10.3%. On the contrary, Red-tongued viper snake population in Gapado only feed on Chinese red-headed centipedes and Smooth Skinks (S. vandenburghi). Since only a small amount of nutrient can be obtained from Chinese red-headed centipeds or Smooth Skinks, this feeding habit for Red-tongued viper snake would adversely effect on the growth or regeneration. The reason why Red-Tongued viper snake population in the Gapado mainly feed on Lizard and Centipedes in spite of relatively various available food sources, might be due to the low density of other food sources in the Gapado. Red-Tongued viper snake could be feeding on foods that are low in quality but are easily accessible, to minimize energy consumption on searching for other more nutritious foods. A snake tends to select the size of its food depending on the size of its own head. The positive correlation was found between the size of the heads of Red-Tongued viper snakes from the Jeju island and the diameter of their foods. The head size was larger in the males than females in viper snake population from the Jeju Island, which might effect on their selection of foods. However, no significant difference was found between the sizes of the head and the food in the Red-Tongued viper snake population from the Gapado. The findings of this study would provide meaningful data, which directly shows that even within the same viper species they choose different available food sources according to their inhabitance. This leads to their growth and adaptation to their environment which is beneficial for sustaining of its population.

Selection of Supplement Feed and Regulation of Oviposition Period of Zophobas morio (Tenebrionidae) (Zophobas morio의 보조사료 선발 및 성충 산란간격 조절)

  • Kim, Do-ik;Kim, Seong-Yeon;Koo, Hui-Yeon;Kim, Jeong-Eun;Kim, Hyeon-Jin;Lee, Yoo-Beom;Park, Cheol-Seung;Kim, Young-Cheol;Nam, Seung-Hee;Kim, Sang-Soo
    • Korean journal of applied entomology
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    • v.58 no.3
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    • pp.219-224
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    • 2019
  • The super mealworm, Zophobas morio, is mainly used as food for pets, fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and as snacks. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of temperature, supplementary feeding, and spawning interval on super mealworm rearing. To efficiently rear this species, the insects were bred at a temperature of $27^{\circ}C$ or higher and reached a weight of over 0.6 g at 80 days after hatching. Supplementary feed (with high protein content: 10% of soybean meal and 10% of fish meal) enabled larvae to reach a weight of over 0.7 g at 80 days after hatching. Mass rearing of super mealworm requires increase in egg production (i.e., high yield) and uniformity of larvae. Adults were transferred to spawning bases every 5, 10, or 15 days (three treatments), which resulted in a total of 7,256, 5,439, 2,060 hatched larvae, respectively. It is possible to obtain more than 7,000 larvae by transferring the egg-laying frame to the spawning base at intervals of 5 days and with nine spawning operations; this procedure generates larvae weighing over 0.68 g each.

Susceptibility of Anthonomus grandis (Cotton Boll Weevil) and Spodoptera frugiperda (Fall Armyworm) to a Cry1Ia-type Toxin from a Brazilian Bacillus thuringiensis Strain

  • Grossi-De-Sa, Maria Fatima;De Magalhaes, Mariana Quezado;Silva, Marilia Santos;Silva, Shirley Margareth.Buffon;Dias, Simoni Campos;Nakasu, Erich Yukio Tempel;Brunetta, Patricia Sanglard Felipe;Oliveira, Gustavo Ramos;De Oliveira Neto, Osmundo Brilhante;De Oliveira, Raquel Sampaio;Soares, Luis Henrique Barros;Ayub, Marco Antonio Zachia;Siqueira, Herbert Alvaro Abreu;Figueira, Edson L.Z.
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.40 no.5
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    • pp.773-782
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    • 2007
  • Different isolates of the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produce multiple crystal (Cry) proteins toxic to a variety of insects, nematodes and protozoans. These insecticidal Cry toxins are known to be active against specific insect orders, being harmless to mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Due to these characteristics, genes encoding several Cry toxins have been engineered in order to be expressed by a variety of crop plants to control insectpests. The cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis, and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, are the major economically devastating pests of cotton crop in Brazil, causing severe losses, mainly due to their endophytic habit, which results in damages to the cotton boll and floral bud structures. A cry1Ia-type gene, designated cry1Ia12, was isolated and cloned from the Bt S811 strain. Nucleotide sequencing of the cry1Ia12 gene revealed an open reading frame of 2160 bp, encoding a protein of 719 amino acid residues in length, with a predicted molecular mass of 81 kDa. The amino acid sequence of Cry1Ia12 is 99% identical to the known Cry1Ia proteins and differs from them only in one or two amino acid residues positioned along the three domains involved in the insecticidal activity of the toxin. The recombinant Cry1Ia12 protein, corresponding to the cry1Ia12 gene expressed in Escherichia coli cells, showed moderate toxicity towards first instar larvae of both cotton boll weevil and fall armyworm. The highest concentration of the recombinant Cry1Ia12 tested to achieve the maximum toxicities against cotton boll weevil larvae and fall armyworm larvae were 230 ${\mu}g/mL$ and 5 ${\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The herein demonstrated insecticidal activity of the recombinant Cry1Ia12 toxin against cotton boll weevil and fall armyworm larvae opens promising perspectives for the genetic engineering of cotton crop resistant to both these devastating pests in Brazil.