• Title/Summary/Keyword: ECOLOGY

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The Effect of Volunteer Work at the Place of Ecology Experience on the Environmental Sensitivity & State-Trait Anxiety of the Gifted Students (생태체험장 봉사활동이 영재학생들의 환경민감도 및 상태-특성불안에 미치는 효과)

  • Kim, Soon-Shik
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
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    • v.19 no.5
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    • pp.655-663
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    • 2010
  • Today, the importance of environmental education is a matter we are all concerned about. The environment surrounding us, such as the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil plants grow in, is critical for our survival. Currently there is a lot of interest in environmental education at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. This is a result of the deep recognition of the importance of the environment. However the environmental education being conducted in schools is not yet at a satisfactory level. The practical issues, including an entrance exam-oriented atmosphere, student' and parents' lack of understanding, and teachers' lack of expertise in environmental education, interfere with the stability of environmental curriculum in the schools. Accordingly, we need to devise an alternative environmental curriculum due to the fact that it hasn't been included as a regular subject in the curriculum of many national schools. This study, carried out from April to December 2009, was an examination of the effect of volunteer work at the place of ecology experience on the environmental sensitivity & state-trait anxiety of the 61 Gifted Students. The students were divided into two groups. The test group consisted of 30 gifted students who did volunteer work at the place of ecology experience run by Ulsan Science High School, in Ulsan Metropolitan City. The control group consisted of the rest of the students. The following are the study results: First, the volunteer work at the place of ecology experience was influential in increasing the environmental sensitivity of the gifted students. Second, the volunteer work at the place of ecology experience was influential in decreasing the state anxiety of in gifted students. Third, the volunteer work at the place of ecology experience was influential in decreasing the trait anxiety of in gifted students. Fourth, the volunteer work at the place of ecology experience positively influenced not only the gifted students' view of environmental education, but also their overall character.

Distribution of Fish Species in Wetland Protected Areas in South Korea

  • Chu, Yeounsu;Yoon, Jungdo;Cho, Kwang-Jin;Kim, Mijeong;Lim, Jeongcheol;Lee, Changsu
    • Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.42-52
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    • 2021
  • In order to secure basic data on biodiversity for wetland conservation and management used the data from Wetland Protected Area surveys conducted in South Korea (2015-2019) to analyze the distribution of fish from a total of 15 orders, 45 families, 134 species, and 12,972 individuals. The predominant species identified were Zacco platypus (Temminck and Schlegel) (19.47%) and Zacco koreanus (Kim, Oh and Hosoya) (8.16%). Of all emergent species, 52.9% (n=71 species) were freshwater species, 26.9% (n=36) were brackish species, 3.0% (n=4) were migratory species, 27% (n=36) were marine species, and 9.0% (n=12) were riffle benthic species. Overall, 5.2% (n=7 species) were endangered species, 3.0% (n=4) were exotic species, and 23.1% (n=31) were Korean endemic species. The eight identified Wetland Protected Areas (WPA) were classified based on their habitat characteristics and on the analysis of their emergent fish communities, as estuarine (n=2), coastal dune (n=1), marsh (n=2), stream (n=2), and stream-marsh (n=1) types. The environmental factors revealed to have the greatest influence on the species diversity of emergent fish were maintenance and repair, installation of reservoirs, and construction of artificial wetlands around them. The present study offers basic information on the diversity of fish species in different Wetland Protected Area types that can be used to inform conservation and management decisions for WPA.

Emergence and Structure of Complex Mutualistic Networks

  • Lee, KyoungEun;Jung, Nam;Lee, Hyun Min;Maeng, Seung Eun;Lee, Jae Woo
    • Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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    • v.3 no.3
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    • pp.149-153
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    • 2022
  • The degree distribution of the plant-pollinator network was identified by analyzing the data in the ecosystem and reproduced by a model of the growing bipartite mutualistic networks. The degree distribution of pollinator shows power law or stretched exponential distribution, while plant usually shows stretched exponential distribution. In the growth model, the plant and the pollinator are selected with probability Pp and PA=1-Pp, respectively. The number of incoming links for the plant and the pollinator is lp and lA, respectively. The probability that the link of the plant selects the pollinator of the existing network given as $A_{k_i}=k^{{\lambda}_A}_i/{\sum}_i\;k^{{\lambda}_A}_i$, and the probability that the pollinator selects the plant is $P_{k_i}=k^{{\lambda}_p}_i/{\sum}_i\;k^{{\lambda}_p}_i$. When the nonlinear growth index is 𝛌X=1 (X=A or P), the degree distribution follows a power law, and if 0≤𝛌X<1, the degree distribution follows a stretched exponential distribution. The cumulative degree distributions of plants and pollinators of 14 empirical plant-pollinators included in Interaction Web Database were calculated. A set of parameters (PA,PP,lA,lP) that reproduces these cumulative degree distributions and a growth index 𝛌X (X=A or P) were obtained. We found that animal takes very heterogenous connections, whereas plant takes a more flexible connection network.

Developing habitat suitability index for habitat evaluation of Nannophya koreana Bae (Odonata: Libellulidae)

  • Hong Geun, Kim;Rae-Ha, Jang;Sunryoung, Kim;Jae-Hwa, Tho;Jin-Woo, Jung;Seokwan, Cheong;Young-Jun, Yoon
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.46 no.4
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    • pp.324-333
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    • 2022
  • Background: The Korean scarlet dwarf, Nannophya koreana Bae (Odonata: Libellulidae), is anendangered dragonfly with an increasing risk of extinction owing to rapid climate changes and human activities. To prevent extinction, the N. koreana population and their habitat should be protected. Therefore, suitable habitat evaluation is important to build the N. koreana restoration project. The habitat suitability index model (HSI) has been widely used for habitat evaluation in diverse organisms. Results: To build a suitable HSI model for N. koreana, 16 factors were examined by seven experienced researchers. A field survey for N. koreana observed sites and spatial analysis were conducted to improve the model. Five factors were finally selected by this procedure (crown density, open water surface, water depth, pioneer plant cover, and type of water source). Finally, the N. koreana HSI model was generated with the five adjusted factors based on interview, field survey, and spatial analysis. This model was validated by a current N. koreana habitat in 2021. With this model, 46 sites in Uljin-gun, Korea, were surveyed for N. koreana habitats; five sites were identified as core habitats and seven as potential core habitats. Conclusions: This model will serve as a strong foundation for the N. koreana restoration project and as a reference for future studies on N. koreana and other endangered insect populations. Further analysis and long-term data will improve the efficacy of this model and restore endangered wildlife.

Fish Community and Habitat Environmental Characteristics in the Gudam Wetland

  • Chu, Yeounsu;Cho, Kwang-Jin;Kim, Hui-Seong;Moon, Ho-Gyeong;Kim, Han;Choi, Nak-Hyun
    • Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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    • v.3 no.1
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    • pp.13-22
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    • 2022
  • In this study, we investigated the water quality and fish community of the Gudam Wetland, a riverine wetland in the middle-upper reaches of the Nakdong River, during March-October 2020. The main results were as follows: average annual flow rate: 45.0±23.7 m3/s, flow velocity: 0.4±0.3 m/s, water depth: 1.4±0.4 m, water temperature: 17.5±0.8℃, pH: 7.8±0.2, electrical conductivity: 121.6±19.0 ㎲/cm, dissolved oxygen concentration: 11.4±0.9 mg/L, suspended solids concentration: 3.8±2.0 mg/L, and the water quality was classified as Ia (very good). A total of 754 individual fish belonging to 4 orders, 7 families, and 19 species were investigated. Cyprinidae was the dominant group, with 13 species. The dominant species was Zacco platypus (39.3%), followed by Pseudogobio esocinus (17.5%). There were 8 (42.1%) endemic Korean species and 1 exotic species, Micropterus salmoides. Four species were carnivores, six were insectivores, and nine were omnivores. Regarding tolerance to environmental changes, 6 species were tolerant, 11 had intermediate tolerance, and 2 were sensitive. Fish community analysis revealed dominance of 0.57, diversity of 2.04, evenness of 0.69, and richness of 2.72, indicating a diverse and stable fish community. The fish assessment index showed that the assessment class was B (average 62.5), which was higher than that of major streams of the Nakdong River (class C). For sustainable conservation of the Gudam Wetland, management strategies such as minimizing aggregate collection and preventing inflow of non-point pollutants are required.