• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.223-227
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• 2007

Crop loss and damage by wildlife are becoming more serious to residents inside and around National Parks of Korea annually. It could be caused by small size of Parks, which is couples of ten $km^2$ only, and more than a third of total parks' areas are belonging to privates. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) is one of the most harmful pests in nationwide. Treading down crop field using as bedding or resting site are major damaged types and foraging behavior is following. Besides of boars, Korean water deer (Hydropotes inermis), racoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), and badger (Meles meles) are another serious pests. Mainly, farm products planted in upland, such as corns, sweet potatoes, cabbages, etc. are harmed easily, a rate reaches up to 76.9% of whole losses. 92.4% (n=187) of interviewees, who are mostly seniors, cultivate small crop fields smaller than 1 ha. Crop damage would be started from June to late November, time differences are happened due to latitude, climate condition, and crop differences of National Parks. Dusting animal repellents are easier and widespread methods to prevent animal foraging to crop fields and installing noisy makers using gun powder and setting up scarecrows are traditional methods for repelling animals. Nevertheless, effects of these self-defence are turned out to be useful soon after labors done only. Since legal compensation for crop damages by wildlife are not prepared systematically so far, crop loss are rarely reported to local government by most farmers. Systematic and objective methods for quantifying of crop loss by wildlife and population managements system should be offered urgently to well-managed animals habitat and residents' living inside National Parks.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.429-438
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• 2023

The forest in the lower Tumen River serves as an important ecosystem spanning the territories of North Korea, Russia, and China, and it provides habitat and movement corridors for diverse mammals, including the endangered Amur tiger (Panthera tigris) and Amur leopard (Panthera pardus). This study focuses on the Mijiang area, situated as a potential ecological corridor connecting North Korea and China in the lower Tumen River, playing a crucial role in conserving and restoring the biodiversity of the Korean Peninsula. This study aimed to identify mammal species and estimate their relative abundance, occupancy, and distribution based on the 48 camera traps installed in the Mijiang area from May 2019 to May 2021. The results confirmed the presence of 18 mammal species in the Mijiang area, including large carnivores like tigers and leopards. Among the dominant mammals, four species of ungulates showed high occupancy and detection rates, particularly the Roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) and Wild boar (Sus scrofa). The roe deer was distributed across all areas with a predicted high occupancy rate of 0.97, influenced by altitude, urban residential areas, and patch density. Wild boars showed a predicted occupancy rate of 0.73 and were distributed throughout the entire area, with factors such as wetland ratio, grazing intensity, and spatial heterogeneity in aspects of the landscape influencing their occupancy and detection rates. Sika deer (Cervus nippon) exhibited a predicted occupancy rate of 0.48, confined to specific areas, influenced by slope, habitat fragmentation diversity affecting detection rates, and the ratio of open forests impacting occupancy. Water deer (Hydropotes inermis) displayed a very low occupancy rate of 0.06 along the Tumen River Basin, with higher occupancy in lower altitude areas and increased detection in locations with high spatial heterogeneity in aspects. This study confirmed that the Mijiang area serves as a habitat supporting diverse mammals in the lower Tumen River while also playing a crucial role in facilitating animal movement and habitat connectivity. Additionally, the occupancy prediction model developed in this study is expected to contribute to predicting mammal distribution within the disrupted Tumen River basin due to human interference and identifying and protecting potential ecological corridors in this transboundary region.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.133-144
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• 2021

This study aims to estimate location of land mammals habitat by analyzing spatial data and investigate how to apply environmental DNA monitoring methodology to lotic system in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do. Environmental DNA sampling points are selected through spatial analysis with QGIS open source program by overlaying Kernel density of wild boar(Sus scrofa), elevation, slope and land-cover map, and 81 samples are collected. After 240 mL of water was filtered in each sample, metabarcoding technique using MiMammal universal primer was applied in order to get a whole list of mammal species whose DNA particles contained in filtered water. 8 and 22 samples showed DNA of wild boar and water deer, respectively. DNA of raccoon dog, Eurasian otter, and Siberian weasel are also detected through metabarcoding analysis. This study is valuable that conducted in outdoor lotic system. The study suggests a new wildlife monitoring methodology integrating overlayed geographic data and environmental DNA.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.567-572
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• 2013

Mammals act as an important role in maintaining ecosystem, but direct observation is very difficult. Nevertheless, in order to understand the impact of various changes about a sudden environment, long-term monitoring through direct investigation is essential. This study investigated home range analysis using GPS tracking device and behavioral ecology of Korean waterdeer (Hydropotes inermis), indigenous and native species in Korea. Studies on ecological characteristics and home range of Korean waterdeer are insufficient. Therefore, we studied home range using the GPS technique for critical point of existing research. Data showed the active movement in daytime ($44.1km^2$) than night ($30.0km^2$) and large area of activity in winter ($3.7km^2$) and spring ($44.1km^2$) than summer($0.04km^2$) and autumn ($0.01km^2$). The most used area of Korean waterdeer was forested area and wetland, agricultural area, waters in order of frequency based on the land coverage map. Our research represents overall characteristics of Korean water deer due to measurement of area of activity. However, this research signified behavioral ecology for Korean waterdeer, and further investigation in necessary.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.418-428
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• 2023

This study was conducted to clarify the daily activity patterns overlap between hikers and mammals from 2015 to 2019 in the Baekdudaegan protected area. To investigate relationship behaviors between hikers and mammals, we set the camera traps on the ridge of the Baekdudaegan protected area. Daily activity patterns of yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula) and Siberian chipmunk (Eutamias sibiricus) were highly overlapped with hiker total study periods. Moreover, daily activity patterns of Siberian roe deer (Caperohus pygargus) and water deer (Hydropotes inermis) were highly overlapped with hikers only in spring. In winter, daily activity patterns of wild boar (Sus scrofa) were overlapped with hikers. However, leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), and Eurasian badger (Meles leucurus) did not significantly overlap with hikers during the study periods. The daily activity patterns of 8 mammals differed by species-specific behavior and temporal characteristics. Overlap of daily activity patterns between mammals and hikers were differed in each season. Differences in daily activity pattern overlap between mammals and humans may lead to differences in human impact on mammal populations. Information on the interaction between hikers and mammals on species-specific and temporal-specific behavior could be basic ecological data for management and conservation of mammal populations and their habitats.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.89-101
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• 2016

This study examined spatial disposition of wildlife highway mortality using road-kill GIS database and Naver panoramic 360 degree views to find out which habitat and road variables most influenced road-kill numbers for each mammal species and how the landscape and road elements are connected on highway. Road-kills on Yeongdong(YD) and Jungbu highway(JB) generally tended to be higher in natural barren, grassland and cropland due to its value of preferred habitats of nocturnal and multihabitat species like water deer(Hydropotes inermis argyropus), raccoon(Nyctereutes procyonoides) and hare(Lepus coreanus). Land cover in YD showed no difference between species (p=0.165) while JB did by species (p=0.001). This may be explained by disparate landscape between mountain and urban or the fact that YD in long term operation might have enabled consistent crossing pattern compared to JB experiencing continuous extension works which may in turn have deviated the road crossing. Although road-kill prevention effect of local topography alone was appreciable, compared to less significant or ineffective fence and guardrail, gentle slope declining in a direction to the road turned out to offset the preventive effect of juxtaposed fence. Furthermore, green patches on road near intersection were deemed a visual stepping stone facilitating wildlife attempted crossing and local roads juxtaposed with a highway were especially left defenceless to road-kill without road barriers.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.649-657
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• 2011

This study had targeted the Manjong Junction~Hongchun interchange section of Jungang highway in order to analyze the efficiency and improvement of the highway wild-life fences. Being analyzed wild-life fence as an effective facility for the prevention of road-kill, it had founded that the wild animals did not jump over even the two layer guardrail, concrete barrier and noise barrier, fence for rock fall. For the section with high road-kill decrease effect after installing the wild-life fence, the effect was higher at wild-life fence with the height of 1.0m where the door had not been installed and the well connected points of road facility than the area with fence height of 1.5m. The road-kill decrease effect was also high at the well managed areas even if the door has not been installed. Also, road-kill had occurred by concentrating around the end of wild-life fence after installing the fence, Moreover road-kill had also occurred around the cutting section. The door of wild-life fence had higher amount of road-kill occurrence as the installation interval was closer. it was analyzed that the door management has a lot of effect on road-kill decrease. The fence for rock fall, two layer guardrail and concrete barrier having the effect of wild-life fence installed on the road would have to be installed by connecting with wild-life fences through proper facility improvement. Although the door should not be installed if possible, it should be installed as automatic door or gravity door to prevent the door from leaving the door open. An escape route has to be formed for the prompt escape away from the road for the animals entered through the ending section of the fence. The eco-corridor has to be made by restoring the soil layer of dual purpose eco-corridor forming a planting area. Also, the dead body after the accident has to be disposed to the outer section of the road immediately in order to prevent the secondary road-kill by the predator from the road-kill. The fence has to be installed as 500m or longer in both ways, in other words 1,000m or longer, from the targeted spot of minimum accident prevention while connecting up to the bridge or box culvert, etc that are next road facilities if possible to guide wild animals safely to the eco-corridor.