• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.165-179
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• 2002

In spite of dramatic change of environmental condition since Cambrian big-bang (explosion occurred ca.540 mya, the phylum Arthropoda retains a great diversity, and it is estimated approximately that 1-10 million arthropod species are extant on the earth. Except for an extinct arthopod subphylum Trilobita, extant arthropods could be divided into five subphyla: Hexapoda, Crustacea, Myriapoda, Chelicerata, and Pycnosonida. During the last century, systematists have disputed about interrealtionships among Arthropoda and its relatives (Onychophora, Tardigrada, and Pentastomida), arthropod phylogenetic position within protostome animals, monophyly or polyphyly of the phylum Arthropods, and interrelationships among five arthropod subgroups (subphyla) etc. Recently, new animal phylogeny was reported that protostomes could be clustered into two groups, Lophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa, and molting animals such as Nematoda and Arthropoda were included within the Ecdysozoa. On the basis of the new animal phylogeny, first of all, I would mention phylogenetic positions and relationships of Arthropods and its relatives to introduce controversies of arthropod phylogeny in phylum level of animals. After that, I focused mainly on the controveries related to arthropod monophyly and phylogenetic relationships among four major arthropod groups except Pycnogonida. In this work, Pycnogonida which is a relatively small group and one of the five arthropod subphyla was not handled significantly although there are some controversies if it is a sister taxon of chelicerates or the most primitive arthropod group (namely, a sister of four remains arthropod groups).

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.109-119
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• 2020

Soil-transmitted helminths and Schistosoma haematobium affect more than 3 billion people globally and mainly occur in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study assessed the overall infection status of a 1716-student cohort of schoolchildren in Zanzibar and applied mass drug administration (MDA) to the cohort from 2007 to 2009. Schools in Pemba, Zanzibar, had a much higher prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infections than those in Unguja, and the Chaani, Ghana, and Machui schools of Unguja exhibited high S. haematobium infection rates. The MDA program only partially controlled parasite infections, owing to high rates of re-infection. The infection rate of S. haematobium across all 10 schools, for example, was only reduced by 1.8%, and even this change not significant, even though the S. haematobium infection rates of the Chaani and Mzambarauni schools were significantly reduced from 64.4 and 23.4%, respectively, at the first screening, to 7.3 and 2.3% at the last screening. The overall infection rate of Ascaris lumbricoides was reduced from 36.0% at the first screening to 22.6% at the last screening. However, the infection rates for both Trichuris trichiura and hookworm were generally unaffected by MDA. In the future, parasite control programs should involve strategically designed MDA schedules and holistic intervention (e.g., sanitation improvement, hygiene behavior changes, and control of intermediated hosts).

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.215-220
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• 2014

We analyzed 320 clinical samples of parasitic infections submitted to the Department of Environmental Biology and Medical Parasitology, Hanyang University from January 2004 to June 2011. They consisted of 211 nematode infections, 64 trematode or cestode infections, 32 protozoan infections, and 13 infections with arthropods. The nematode infections included 67 cases of trichuriasis, 62 of anisakiasis (Anisakis sp. and Pseudoterranova decipiens), 40 of enterobiasis, and 24 of ascariasis, as well as other infections including strongyloidiasis, thelaziasis, loiasis, and hookworm infecions. Among the cestode or trematode infections, we observed 27 cases of diphyllobothriasis, 14 of sparganosis, 9 of clonorchiasis, and 5 of paragonimiasis together with a few cases of taeniasis saginata, cysticercosis cellulosae, hymenolepiasis, and echinostomiasis. The protozoan infections included 14 cases of malaria, 4 of cryptosporidiosis, and 3 of trichomoniasis, in addition to infections with Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, Entamoeba coli, Endolimax nana, Giardia lamblia, and Toxoplasma gondii. Among the arthropods, we detected 6 cases of Ixodes sp., 5 of Phthirus pubis, 1 of Sarcoptes scabiei, and 1 of fly larva. The results revealed that trichuriasis, anisakiasis, enterobiasis, and diphyllobothriasis were the most frequently found parasitosis among the clinical samples.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.433-437
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• 2017

Pentastomiasis, a zoonotic parasite infection, is typically found in the respiratory tract and viscera of the host, including humans. Here, we report for the first time an extremely rare case of intraosseous pentastomiasis in the human maxilla suffering from medication related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). A 55-year-old male had continuously visited the hospital for MRONJ which had primarily developed after bisphosphonate and anti-neoplastic administration for previous bone metastasis of medullary thyroid cancer. Pain, bone exposure, and pus discharge in the right mandible and left maxilla were seen. Osteolysis with maxillary cortical bone perforation at the left buccal vestibule, palate, nasal cavity, and maxillary sinus was observed by radiologic images. A biopsy was done at the left maxilla and through pathological evaluation, a parasite with features of pentastome was revealed within the necrotic bone tissue. Further history taking and laboratory evaluation was done. The parasite was suspected to be infected through maxillary open wounds caused by MRONJ. Awareness of intraosseous pentastomiasis should be emphasized not to be missed behind the MRONJ. Proper evaluation and interpretation for past medical history may lead to correct differential diagnosis and therapeutic intervention for parasite infections.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.249-259
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• 2019

We investigated the tritrophic interactions associated with elevation and openness of dwarf bamboo (Sasa quelpaertensis Nakai) vegetation on Mt. Halla, Jeju Island. The interactions between dwarf bamboo plants and its consumers were investigated in four study sites with and without canopy along the elevation gradient. The ecological traits of dwarf bamboo included leaf area, water content, nitrogen content and carbon/nitrogen ratio. Arthropods were collected using a sweeping net and they were later divided into three different feeding guilds: herbivorous, omnivorous and predators. We found that the elevation and canopy openness on dwarf bamboo vegetation was positively related and as elevation increased and canopy opened, the bamboo densities and C/N ratio increased. However, the leaf area, water content and the N content decreased. The study sites with closed canopy indicated a relatively higher species richness of arthropods including insects. We concluded that the tritrophic interactions is closely related to the ecological characteristics of the dwarf bamboos, which is affected by elevation and canopy openness.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.317-334
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• 2019

The present study was conducted to investigate the differences in managed farming practices, including low-intensive farming, duck farming, and golden apple snail farming, in a rice ecosystem by comparing terrestrial arthropod communities. A total of 75 species from 70 genera belonging to 43 families in 11 orders were identified from 9,622 collected arthropods. Araneae, Hemiptera, and Coleoptera were the richest taxa. Collembola was the most abundant, followed by Diptera, Hemiptera, and Araneae. Bray-Curtis similarity among the farming practices was very high (76.7%). The biodiversity of each farming practice showed a similar seasonality pattern. The richest species group was the predators, followed by the herbivores. The species richness and diversity of ecologically functional groups among the farming practices were not statistically significant, except for the abundance of predators in golden apple snail farming. The biodiversity seasonality of ecological functional groups in each farming practice showed similar patterns. The biomass of Araneae, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera was greater than the other taxa, in general. The biomass of each ecological functional group showed little difference and the biomass fluctuation patterns in each farming practice were almost the same. Collectively, the community structures and biodiversity of terrestrial arthropods among the farming practices in the present study were not different. The present study may contribute to sustain rich biodiversity in irrigated rice fields and to advanced studies of food webs or energy flow structures in rice fields for ecological and sustainable agriculture.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.796-808
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• 2018

The intracellular bacterium Wolbachia pipientis is widespread in arthropods. Recently, possibilities of novel Wolbachia-mediated hosts, their distribution, and natural rate have been anticipated, and the coconut leaf beetle Brontispa longissima (Gestro) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), which has garnered attention as a serious pest of palms, was subjected to this interrogation. By adopting Wolbachia surface protein (wsp) and multilocus sequence type (MLST) genotypic systems, we determined the Wolbachia infection density within host developmental stages, body parts, and tissues, and the results revealed that all the tested samples of B. longissima were infected with the same Wolbachia strain (wLog), suggesting complete vertical transmission. The MLST profile elucidated two new alleles (ftsZ-234 and coxA-266) that define a new sequence type (ST-483), which indicates the particular genotypic association of B. longissima and Wolbachia. The quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed a higher infection density in the eggs and adult stage, followed by the abdomen and reproductive tissues, respectively. However, no significant differences were observed in the infection density between sexes. Moreover, the wsp and concatenated MLST alignment analysis of this study with other known Wolbachia-mediated arthropods revealed similar clustering with distinct monophyletic supergroup B. This is the first comprehensive report on the prevalence, infection dynamics, and phylogeny of the Wolbachia endosymbiont in B. longissima, which demonstrated that Wolbachia is ubiquitous across all developmental stages and distributed in the entire body of B. longissima. Understanding the Wolbachia infection dynamics would provide useful insight to build a framework for future investigations, understand its impacts on host physiology, and exploit it as a potential biocontrol agent.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.87-100
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• 1995

Fauna of medically important arthropods in Chindo Island was studied in July 1994. Among eight speices of mosquitoes (Diptera : Culicidae), Culex tritenirohyunchus was predomiant (46.5% of the total0, and Anopheles sinensis the next. Seven specimens of the unidentified Culex sp. which seemed to be new were also collected. Total 23 species of non-biting midges(Diptera : Chiornomidae) were found in Chindo Is. Of them , Chironomus kiiensis was the predominant species (67.3%) , and Ch.flaviplumus the next (15.6%). Three species, Cladopelma viridula, Dicrotendipes septemmaculatus and Harnischia urtilamellata are reported for the first time in Korea, and they are fully re-described with illustrations. Among five species of biting midges (Diptera : Ceraopogenidae) collected, Culicoides punctatus was predominant (88.7%). A species of Foreipomia was also collected, and this genus is not recorded in Korean fauna. Only two species of domiciliary cockroaches, Periplaneta japonica and P.americana were collected in small numbers and Blatella germanica which is known as the most predominant speices in Korea was not found. The predominant speices of field rodents was Apodemus agrarius and thier ectoparasites were Leptotrombidium orientale (Acarina : Tromicibulidae), Lxodes nipponensis (Acarina : Ixodidae) ; Laelaps jettmani and Eulaelaps stabularis (Acarina : Laelapidae).

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.12-27
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• 2004

Studies on the Korean cave fauna were reviewed during the last seven decades since the first record of Antrokorean gracilipes Verhoeff, 1938. The cave animals have been reported by only 112 papers, 16 repoyts and ten books. In the results, a total of 257 species is recorded representing four phyla, ten classes, 31 orders, and 94 families, and also the holotype localities of 87 species are recorded from 36 caves and four wells in Boron. Arthropods are predominant consisting of 241 species (93.8％), and true spiders (Araneae) are a most diverse group with 97 species (37.7％) including 21 Korean endemic species belonging to 29 families.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.463-477
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• 2019

This study was conducted to compare the community structure and biodiversity of epigeic spiders between pear fields cultivated by integrated pest management (IPM) and organic methods. This is the first study of this kind to be conducted in Korea. Eighty-four spider species from 22 families were identified among the collected 2,489 arthropods, with 754 individuals being sampled from IPM fields and 1,735 individuals from organic fields. Generally, Theridiidae, Linyphiidae, Lycosidae, Agelenidae, Gnaphosidae, and Salticidae were the dominant spider families in the pear orchard regardless of the farming methods, and species richness and abundance were higher in organic fields than in IPM fields. The dominant species were the wolf spiders (Lycosidae) and stone spiders (Gnaphosidae), and their cumulative abundance was 70.7% in IPM fields and 72.7% in organic fields. The community structure between organic and IPM fields was heterogeneous, with a 45% similarity level. Biodiversity, species richness, abundance, and species diversity index were higher in organic fields than in IPM fields, and significantly different between the farming methods. Seasonal fluctuations in biodiversity were similar in both IPM and organic fields. The species richness and species diversity index increased and the abundance decreased in the second half of the cultivation period. This study on the community structure and biodiversity of epigeic spiders, which form one of the most important predator groups, will provide principal ecological and faunistic information required to maintain the biodiversity of useful arthropods in agricultural ecosystems and help implement sustainable agriculture based on the active use of natural enemies.