• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.325-333
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• 2010

This study was conducted to examine the pattern of habitat use of passerine migrants at Hongdo Island, Jeollanamdo Province, Korea from March 2006 to October 2007. The richness and abundance of species were the highest in shrubs among major habitat types including trees, shrubs, grass, agricultural fields. There were significant differences at trees, shrubs and agricultural fields among bird behavior. The frequency of resting and feeding was highest at trees ($x^2$=61.583, df=2, p<0.001) and agricultural fields, respectively($x^2$=117.339, df=2, p<0.001). In the shrub was similar in both resting and others behaviors, while the frequency of feeding was lowest ($x^2$=66.725, df=2, p<0.001). There were significant differences in observed individuals in relation to seasons. In autumn, number of observed individuals was higher in tree, lower in shrub, grass, agricultural field than spring. Habitat diversity (H') was significantly correlated with bird species diversity (H') (r=0.585, p<0.01). This study would be useful to establish conservation strategies for migratory stopover site of passerine birds.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.54-61
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• 2020

Background: Most fish undergo prey switch from juvenile to adult. It is thought that slightly different feeding habits occur among adult fishes due to growth, spawning, habitat change, and so on. Therefore, the diet of the John Dory Zeus faber (≥ 24 cm TL) was studied in the coastal waters of Korea by analysis of stomach contents, with comparison by season and size class of diet composition and prey diversity. Monthly samples were taken from February 2017 to January 2018. Results: The results showed that the John Dory was a piscivorous predator, and pisces had occupied 82.3% of IRI%. Trichiurus lepturus and Trachurus japonicus were important preys in all size classes and seasons. Diet composition differed among the size classes and seasons (Chi-square test, P < 0.05). As body size of Z. faber increased, the occurrence of benthic fish (Glyptocephalus stelleri) tended to increase. The seasonal prey composition also changed depending on the abundant species of each season. Conclusions: Z. faber is a piscivorous predator. The consumption habits of Z. faber appear to different results by their size and seasons. This study suggests that Z. faber could be considered an opportunistic predator.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2010

This study was conducted to investigate the feeding efficiency of the cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) and the intermediate egret (Ardea intermedia) in relation to the stage of rice culture during two breeding seasons, 2006 and 2007, in Asan city, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea. Cattle egrets caught mainly small invertebrate prey (insects and spiders, 98.4%) during all stages of rice cultivation, and had a higher prey capture rate in the plowing stage (14.98 prey/min) than in other stages (2.82-3.51 prey/min). Therefore, the biomass intake rate of cattle egrets was highest in the plowing stage. The intermediate egret captured both loaches (43.4%) and small invertebrates (50.6%). The prey capture rates of intermediate egrets increased gradually from the flooding stage (0.38 prey/min) to the planting stage (1.09 prey/min), and decreased in the growing stage (1.04 prey/min). However, intermediate egrets had the highest biomass intake rates in the plowing stage because more loaches were caught in the plowing stage (0.54 loaches/min) than other stages (0.23-0.36 loaches/min). Consequently, both intermediate egrets and cattle egrets had high energy intakes in the plowing stage and rice fields provided an important feeding habitat for both species.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.841-857
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• 2012

Preliminary ecological environmental assessments including physico-chemical constituents, water quality, fish fauna analysis, physical habitat health, and ecological health assessment were conducted as a primary step for Jeungchon micro-habitat ecosystem restoration in 2012. Water chemistry analysis of conductivity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a and etc. indicated that there were no significant differences(p < 0.05) among 6 sites between the headwaters and downstream. Multi-metric model analysis of Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index(QHEI) showed that brooklets were at "good condition" as a mean QHEI of 158.7(n = 6) and the longitudinal differences of the model values between the sites were minor(QHEI range: 153 - 165). Total fish species and the number of individuals were 12 and 481, respectively, and dominant species were Zacco platypus(49.5%) and Zacco koreanus(36.8%). Tolerance guild analysis showed that the proportion of sensitive species($S_S$) had a negative linear function[$S_S=86.35-0.31(D_H)$; $R^2$ = 0.892, p < 0.01] with a distance from the headwaters, while the proportion of tolerant species($T_S$) had a positive linear function($R^2$ = 0.950, F = 90.28, p < 0.001) with the distance. Trophic feeding guild analysis showed that the proportion of insectivore species($I_n$) had a negative linear function($R^2$ = 0.934, p < 0.01) with a distance from the headwaters, while the proportion of omnivore species($O_m$) had a positive linear function($R^2$ = 0.958, p < 0.001) with the distance. Index of Biological Integrity(IBI) model, based on fish assemblages, showed a "fair condition" as a mean IBI of 23(n = 6), and there was a distinct differences of ecological health between the headwaters(S1 = 30; "good condition") and the downstreams(S6 = 14; "poor condition"). Overall, the preliminary environmental impact assessments suggest that water quality, physical habitat conditions(QHEI model), and ecological health(IBI model) were maintained well, even if the state was not an excellent conditions.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.285-292
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• 2021

We investigated habitat use and home range of a rescued and released white-naped crane using GPS tracking technology in Cheorwon, South Korea, from October 2016 to March 2017. Four types of roosting sites were identified: frozen reservoirs, paddy fields, rivers, and wetlands. Upon arrival, the white-naped crane preferred wetlands in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In late wintering season, it showed a tendency to change main roosting sites in the following order: rice paddies, rivers, and frozen reservoirs. Among 14 sleeping places, Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) with various type of available habitats was more preferred than the DMZ. Places outside of CCZ were rarely used due to anthropogenic disturbances during the night. The tracked white-naped crane widely chose daytime feeding sites while moving around all over rice paddies in the CCZ. Mean diurnal movement distance was 10.5 km with a maximum of 24.8 km. Its home range measured with Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) was 172.30 km² with MCP, 159.60 km² with KDE 95%, 132.48 km² with KDE 90%, and 42.45 km² with KDE 50%. All estimated values of home ranges were higher in the early and later winter than those in the middle period.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.315-330
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• 2017

The aim of this study is to examine the damage of plants in the islands due to the habitat and feeding of European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and to suggest future management plan. The survey area Beomseom Island is found to be a vegetation distribution type that was formed secondary by the exposure of artificial interference except for evergreen vegetation distribution and European rabbit showed high habitat track density mainly in the lumbering area. Kkamakseom Island was identified as a severe vegetation distribution area due to interference, and European rabbit showed high habitat track density around deciduous broad leaved forests. Feeding plants of European rabbit was identified as a total of 12 families 17 breeds. Total 9 families 11 breeds were found in Beomseom Island while 5 families 6 breeds were found in Kkamakseom where most available food resources were loss to European rabbit. As for vegetation index of Beomseom Island, about 6.6% of total island area was declined and the vegetation index of Kkamakseom Island was reduced at most area of the island. In Kkamakseom Island, the area where EVI decreased to less than -0.008 unit/yr was reduced to 5.2%, and the area where it was reduced to -0.008 to -0.006 unit/yr in total was 13.32% of the total area. Thus, it was estimated to be seriously damaged by vegetation. Therefore, immediate management is required.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.67-84
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• 2023

In some areas of the Republic of Korea, the designation and management of conservation areas do not adequately reflect regional characteristics and often impose behavioral regulations without considering the local context. One prominent example is the Busan EDC area. As a result, conflicts may arise, including large-scale civil complaints, regarding the conservation and utilization of these areas. Therefore, for the efficient designation and management of protected areas, it is necessary to consider various ecosystem factors, changes in land use, and regional characteristics. In this study, we specifically focused on the Busan EDC area and applied machine learning techniques to analyze the habitat of regional species. Additionally, we employed Explainable Artificial Intelligence techniques to interpret the results of our analysis. To analyze the regional characteristics of the waterfront area in the Busan EDC district and the habitat of migratory birds, we used bird observations as dependent variables, distinguishing between presence and absence. The independent variables were constructed using land cover, elevation, slope, bridges, and river depth data. We utilized the XGBoost (eXtreme Gradient Boosting) model, known for its excellent performance in various fields, to predict the habitat probabilities of 11 bird species. Furthermore, we employed the SHapley Additive exPlanations technique, one of the representative methodologies of XAI, to analyze the relative importance and impact of the variables used in the model. The analysis results showed that in the EDC business district, as one moves closer to the river from the waterfront, the likelihood of bird habitat increases based on the overlapping habitat probabilities of the analyzed bird species. By synthesizing the major variables influencing the habitat of each species, key variables such as rivers, rice fields, fields, pastures, inland wetlands, tidal flats, orchards, cultivated lands, cliffs & rocks, elevation, lakes, and deciduous forests were identified as areas that can serve as habitats, shelters, resting places, and feeding grounds for birds. On the other hand, artificial structures such as bridges, railways, and other public facilities were found to have a negative impact on bird habitat. The development of a management plan for conservation areas based on the objective analysis presented in this study is expected to be extensively utilized in the future. It will provide diverse evidential materials for establishing effective conservation area management strategies.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.337-345
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• 2007

Changes of feeding habitat and feeding organ of a land-locked sweetfish, Plecoglossus altivelis related to their growth process were investigated in the Lake Okjeong, Sannae-myeon, Jeongeup-si, Jeollabuk-do, Korea from 2004 to 2005. In the lake, the post-larvae from 25 to 40 mm in standard length fed mainly on animal organisms such as Copepoda, Branchiopoda and Rotatoria. Also, the juveniles from 50 to 60 mm (SL) fed on Chironomidae of Diptera, Copepoda and Branchiopoda. However, the juvenile from 60 to 70 mm (SL) in the Churyeong Stream fed on animal organisms and aquatic algae, the immature fishes more than 70 mm (SL) fed on only periphyton such as Synedra, Cymbella, Navicula and Pinnularia. Also, the feeding organs of the tooth and stomach were changed according to its growth and food change.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.236-244
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• 1986

This study was carried out for appreciable information on the proper habitats and feeding modes of some dominant polychaetes in the continental shelf of the East Sea during April, 1985. Among 95 polychaete species, we select ed 9 dominant species in terms of their occurring frequency, abundance and population density. These are Terebellides stroemi, Chaetozone setosa, Magelona japonica, Ampharete arctica, Aglaophamus sinensis, Nothria holobranchiata, Lumbrineris japonica, Myriochele gracilis, Notoproctus pacificus. Major food item s of these species are centric diatoms and detritus. The feeding modes of the the m are mainly surtace or subsurface deposit feeding, though two specters, M.holobranchiata and L. japonica, could be assumed to be potential carnivores. To a certain degree, most deposit feeders in the coarse sediments showed selectivity in feeding and tube building. The feeding mode, gut content and the tube structure, and the distribution pattern of dominant polychaetes correspond well with the habitat tharacters, e.g.the bottom topography, the source of food and the sediment composition.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.160-170
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to perform clustering of the habitat types and to identify the characteristics of species in the habitat types using mammal data (70,562) of the 3rd National Ecosystem Survey conducted from 2006 to 2012. The 15 habitat types recorded in the field-paper of the 3rd National ecosystem survey were reclassified, which was followed by the statistical analysis of mammal habitat types. In the habitat types cluster analysis, non-hierarchical cluster analysis (k-means cluster analysis), hierarchical cluster analysis, and non-metric multidimensional scaling method were applied to 14 habitat types recorded more than 30 times. A total of 7 Orders, 16 Families, and 39 Species of mammals were identified in the 3rd National Ecosystem Survey collected nationwide. When 11 clusters were classified by habitat types, the simple structure index was the highest (ssi = 0.07). As a result of the similarities and hierarchies between habitat types suggested by the hierarchical clustering analysis, the residential areas were the most different habitat types for mammals; the next following type was a cluster together with rivers and coasts. The results of the non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis demonstrated that both Mus musculus and Rattus norvegicus restrictively appeared in a residential area, which is the most discriminating habitat type. Lutra lutra restrictively appeared in coastal and river areas. In summary, according to our results, the mammalian habitat can be divided into the following four types: (1) the forest type (using forest as the main habitat and migration route); (2) the river type (using water as the main habitat); (3) the residence habitat (living near residential area); and (4) the lowland type (consuming grain or seeds as the main feeding resource).