• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.652-663
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to conduct ecological health assessments by using the fish communities in the Manchurian trout habitat. Sampling was conducted twice in July and September 2018. In the survey, 1,119 individuals belonging to 16 species and seven families were collected. The dominant species by number was Rhynchocypris kumgangensis and the subdominant species was Zacco koreanus. Korean endemic species represented 73.33% at Geybang Stream and 76.92% at Naerin Stream. Community analysis revealed that the structure of the fish community was unstable by the dominance index 0.63 (±0.09)-0.97 (±0.01), the diversity index 1.63 (±0.23)-0.33 (±0.09), the evenness index 0.79 (±0.06)-0.24 (±0.07) and the richness index 0.67 (±0.14)-1.80(±0.16). According to the analysis of the tolerance guilds, the total individual number of sensitive species was higher than the intermediate and tolerant species. The insectivore species accounted for 65.09-98.56% of the total trophic guilds, which was the highest observed. The value of the QHEI (Qualitative habitat evaluation index) in the Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis habitat was 119.5 (±0.5)-153.5 (±0.5), indicating an optimal-suboptimal condition. The FAI (Fish assessment index) stream health value was A to B in the study sites. Correlation analysis with FAI and various factors was conducted and a high correlation in QHEI, Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis individuals, species, individuals, diversity, richness, sensitive species, carnivorous species, insectivorous species, and omnivorous species was found. The similarity analysis was divided into three groups from A to C, based on 56.9%.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.31 no.5 s.86
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• pp.398-403
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• 2005

This study is undertaken to find the optimal method to make the decision on the degree of water pollution by comparison of K-WQI, KOE-WQI that is made for index with the water quality index and water quality environment standard of the Frame Act on Environment Policy as the result of survey for water quality reality on the major point of the Yeongsan river from 2002 to 2004. The water quality of major rivers has some differences depending on seasons. however, under the water quality standard by the $BOD_5$ density, most of rivers displayed the water quality level of $II{\sim}III$ grading, and on K-WQI that is classified by indexing for 10 categories of pH, DO, $BOD_5,\;COD,\;SS,\;T-N,\;NH_3-N,\;NO_{3^-}$ N, T-P, and E-Coli and classified into 5 groups from 100 points to 40 points, they displayed the score distribution of the first grade in water quality for $85{\sim}100$ points to the second grade in water quality for $70{\sim}84$ points. On KOE-WQI that is classified by indexing for 5 categories of pH, DO, $BOD_5$, COD and T-coli and classified into 5 groups from 90 points or above for outstanding and 29 points or below for very bad, and the water quality distribution is made ranged from the first grade in water quality for 90 points or more to the third grade in water quality for $69{\sim}50$ points. In addition, for the contribution of the water quality decline, the Environmental standard has significant dependency on the $BOD_5$ density, with K-WQI contributing in various water quality decline depending on the environment around the river area of $BOD_5,\;T-N,\;NH_3-N,\;NO_3-N,\;T-P$, and E-Coli, and KOE-WQI acting os the factor contributing to lower the water quality decline by $BOD_5$, COD, and T-coli. As such, the current water quality environment standard has high dependency on $BOD_5$ and KOE-WQI excludes some nitrogen and phosphorus that considers the river environment that the grade in water quality is set by some category, and K-WQI reflected well of the ecology environment of rivers with the diversity of the assessment factor as well as to have the low dependency of specific factor to be objective.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.51 no.10
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• pp.863-874
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the future climate change impact on stream aquatic ecology health of Han River watershed ($34,148km^2$) using SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) and random forest. The 8 years (2008~2015) spring (April to June) Aquatic ecology Health Indices (AHI) such as Trophic Diatom Index (TDI), Benthic Macroinvertebrate Index (BMI) and Fish Assessment Index (FAI) scored (0~100) and graded (A~E) by NIER (National Institute of Environmental Research) were used. The 8 years NIER indices with the water quality (T-N, $NH_4$, $NO_3$, T-P, $PO_4$) showed that the deviation of AHI score is large when the concentration of water quality is low, and AHI score had negative correlation when the concentration is high. By using random forest, one of the Machine Learning techniques for classification analysis, the classification results for the 3 indices grade showed that all of precision, recall, and f1-score were above 0.81. The future SWAT hydrology and water quality results under HadGEM3-RA RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios of Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) showed that the future nitrogen-related water quality in watershed average increased up to 43.2% by the baseflow increase effect and the phosphorus-related water quality decreased up to 18.9% by the surface runoff decrease effect. The future FAI and BMI showed a little better Index grade while the future TDI showed a little worse index grade. We can infer that the future TDI is more sensitive to nitrogen-related water quality and the future FAI and BMI are responded to phosphorus-related water quality.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.151-162
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• 2023

This study investigated the characteristics of fish communities and inhabiting status of the endangered species, Rhodeus pseudosericeus, in the Geumdang Stream in Korea from March to October 2021. A total of 1,698 fish in 5 families and 25 species were collected from 7 survey stations during the survey period. The dominant species was Zacco platypus (relative abundance, 46.5%), and the subdominant species was Squalidus gracilis majimae (16.7%), followed by Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (12.0%), Z. koreanus (5.7%), Pungtungia herzi (3.2%), R. pseudosericeus (2.0%), R. notatus (1.9%), and Acheilognathus rhombeus (1.8%). Nine Korean endemic species (36.0%) were collected, including R. pseudosericeus, R. uyekii, Sarcocheilichthys variegatus wakiyae, Microphysogobio yaluensis, S. gracilis majimae, Z. koreanus, Cobitis nalbanti, Iksookimia koreensis, and Odontobutis interrupta. An exotic species, Micropterus salmoides, designated as an invasive alien species (IAS), was collected downstream. The investigation of the habitat patterns of the endangered species (class II), Rhodeus pseudosericeus, showed a habitat range of about 6 to 7 km in the middle of Geumdang Stream (RP-1 to RP-4), and this species inhabited the edge with water depths of 0.3 through 1.0 m with slow water flow and many aquatic plants. According to the community analysis results, the overall dominance and evenness indexes were low, while diversity and richness indexes were high, and the cluster structure was largely divided into upstream and middle-downstream areas. The river health (fish assessment index) evaluated using fish was assessed as good (3 stations), normal (3 stations), and bad (1 station), and water quality was evaluated as good both upstream and downstream. Compared to previous studies, the number of species was relatively similar, and among the species that appeared in the past, 13 species did not appear in this survey, while 6 species appeared for the first time in this survey. Disturbance factors included river construction, many weirs, and the appearance of the ecosystem-disturbing species, M. salmoides. Since Geumdang Strem has high conservation value because it is home to many species in the Acheilognathinae subfamily, including the endangered species R. pseudosericeus, continuous attention and systematic conservation measures are required.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.5B
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• pp.331-343
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• 2012

In this study, the site investigation for fish was performed in the 15 km of Hongcheon river including Oancheon stream. The river ecosystem health was evaluated using the field data for fish. The field survey was carried out at 9 sites, 4 times from August to November 2011. The ecological diversity, including dominance, evenness, and richness and the ecological health using IBI and QHEI were evaluated. The result shows that the mean IBI in the 9 sites is in good-common condition, but the downtown section has a common-worse condition. The result evaluated by QHEI shows optimum-good condition. Also, the habitat suitability index for Pseudopuntungia tenuicorpa, which is one of endangered species, was evaluated, and then the environment flow was calculated by using the PHABSIM model. The previous research in the literature reports that Acheilognathus signifer, one of the endangered species, inhabited in Hongchen river. However, the existence of Acheilognathus signifer was not found in the recent research and this study. Thus, the physical habitat condition for Acheilognathus signifer was evaluated using the field data in the previous study. Also, the habitat improvement for Acheilognathus signifer in Hongcheon river was proposed.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.419-428
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• 2013

The objectives of this research were to determine ecological characteristics and chemical gradients in two different loach populations-Misgurnus anguillicaudatus ($M_a$) and Koreocobitis rotundicaudata ($K_r$). Eight chemical parameters were compared to test the chemical preferences between the two species. The population of Kr occurred more in better water quality, compared to the $M_a$-population. The $M_a$-population co-occurred more with tolerant species (TS) and omnivores, whereas the $K_r$-population co-occurred more with sensitive species (SS) and insectivores. The differences in the tolerance and trophic composition matched well with the result of stream health assessment, based on the multi-metric model of Index of Biological Integrity (IBI). The IBI value in habitat with the $M_a$-population was "19.6" (range: 8~40) indicating a fair condition, and the IBI values of $K_r$-population was 29.4 (range: 12~40) indicating good condition. Similar results were found in physical habitat health analysis (QHEI). Overall, data analysis showed that the $M_a$-population belong to the tolerant species and $K_r$-population belong to sensitive species in the tolerance classification.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.183-201
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• 2018

The tolerance of Korean benthic macroinvertebrates to organic pollution has been analyzed since the early 1990s. However, considering the fact that there have been related studies carried out in some European countries since the early 20th century, the history of the research in Korea is very short and there is still much knowledge to supplement. We revised the saprobic valency, the saprobic value and the indicator weight value of 190 benthic macroinvertebrates taxa through the data of water quality and individual abundance collected from 7,086 sampling units in Korea from 2008 to 2014. The individual abundance of Uracanthella (Ephemeroptera) as a representative, one of the most common and abundant taxa in Korea, showed a typical lognormal distribution to 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) concentration, and a normal distribution to the class interval of BOD5 concentration according to saprobic series. The value combining the mean individual abundance and the relative frequency of occurrence was a more efficient indicator value than that of each property alone. Benthic Macroinertebrates Index (BMI) was newly proposed as a modification of the saprobic index of Zelinka and Marvan (1961). BMI showed extremely significant correlation (determination coefficient $r^2$ > 0.6, n = 569 sites) with the concentration of BOD5, and the coefficient was a little higher than those of the previous indices. Until now, there has been very little research on the assessment of biological integrity of benthic macroinvertebrates community in Korea. While continuing researches into improve the reliability of BMI, it is necessary to develop multimetric indices for evaluating the integrity, including the composition of species and functional guilds, and the richness and diversity of the community.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.231-243
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• 2022

Anthropogenic disturbances on freshwater ecosystem are known to degrade biodiversity, especially on fish assemblage. In this study, we have conducted fish surveys to identify impact of a bridge construction on fish assemblages. A total of eight study sites were surveyed in the Danjang and the Dong Stream in southern part of South Korea from June to November in 2021. The fish samplings were carried out five times, using cast-nets(10×10 mm mesh size), scoop-nets(4×4 mm, 5×5 mm mesh size), set-nets (10×10 mm mesh size), and fish traps (3×3 mm mesh size), along with the Stream/River Ecosystem Survey and Health Assessment by the Ministry of Environment of Korea and basic water quality measurement. Also, we applied the species diversity index and length-weight relationship regressions on certain species to identify interspecific growth rate differences in accordance with study sites. As a result, a total of 782 individuals, 23 species and 10 families were collected. The dominant species was Zacco Koreanus and relative abundance was 50.89%. When applying the length-weight relationship regressions on certain species, the 'b' value for Z. Koreanus was lower at the downstream points than at the upstream points of the construction site. In addition, when comparing to the results of the past survey, relative density of demersal fish at the upstream and downstream points decreased from 26% to 1.4%, and from 18% to 6.3%, respectively. In conclusion, it is considered that bridge construction negatively affects the habitat of fishes, especially on demersal fishes. Therefore, appropriate conservation efforts such as installation of silt protector and sand sedimentation pond are needed to alleviate the disturbance in habitat such as occurrence of turbidity and destruction of micro-habitats.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 1995

This research was conducted to apply the QUAL2E model to be adopted to the Nam river under current water quality conditions. The survey area of total 60 Km was divided into five reaches. Each reach was then subdivided into the uniform computational elements of 1.5 Km. Based on the stream characteristics, nine sampling stations consisting of six at main streams and three at tributaries were selected. The field data were obtained from the selected stations twice during October of 1991 and May of 1992, which represented the cold weather and low flow, also the warm weather and low flow conditions, respectively. As the results of sensitivity analysis of the model, the important parameters were the rates of BOD decay, Org-N oxidation, $NH_3-N$ oxidation, Org-P decay. The calibrated and verified results by QUAL2E model were correlation coefficient of $0.45{\sim}0.94$. The results displayed a good agreement between the variables of the field measurements and the model simulations, indicating a potential use of the QUAL2E model for the water quality assessment in the Nam River.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.454-459
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• 2008

하천의 건강성을 유지하고 수환경의 정상적인 기능을 회복하기 위해서는 수서생물들에게 알맞은 서식환경 조성, 점오염원 및 비점오염원 차단, 적절한 유량과 같은 다양한 조건이 요구된다(Gore 1895; Gore et al. 1989). 이 중 유량은 수생태계를 이루는 물리적, 화학적, 생물학적 요소들 가운데 기본이 된다고 할 수 있다(Bunn and Arthington 2002; Nilsson and Svedmark 2002; Arthington et al. 2006). 국내 하천관리를 위한 하천유지유량의 산정에서 고려하고 있는 갈수량, 하천생태계, 하천수질 등 8가지 항목 가운데 최근 생태계와 환경에 대한 사회적 국민적 관심이 증가하면서 하천생태계를 고려한 환경유량의 중요성이 부각되었으나, 현실적으로 생태계를 고려한 정량적 조사자료 구축 및 환경유량산정 등의 객관적 자료는 미흡한 실정이다. 특히, 과거 해당수계 및 하천의 어류분포 현황 파악을 중심으로 이루어진 어류조사는 환경유량 산정 시 기초자료로 활용하거나 직 간접적으로 어류상이 변화하는 원인을 분석하는 자료로 활용하기에는 객관성이 결여되어 있다고 할 수 있다. 어류모니터링 기법 확립은 환경유량산정에 있어 요구되는 정량화와 자료의 객관성을 높이기 위한 작업으로 문헌조사와 청문조사를 포함한 사전조사, 현장조사, 조사결과 정리, 고찰 등의 총 4가지 과정을 기본으로 실시하는 것으로 정하였다(그림. 1), 청문조사와 문헌조사 등의 사전조사를 통해 기존자료를 확보하고 현장의 답사, 조사구간, 방법, 시기 등의 선정을 통해 두 번째 단계인 현장조사의 효율성을 높였다. 현장조사에서는 어류분포 현황 외에도 해당지점의 하상재료, 식생, 유속, 수심, 수질 등 조사지점의 수 환경요소 전반을 기록하여 어류의 서식과 물리 화학적 수환경과의 상호관계를 파악하고자 하였다. 마지막으로 고찰단계에서는 조사 대상 지역 전반적인 어류상 특징과 함께 보호종, 한국고유종, 외래도입종 출현유무 및 빈도, 물리적, 화학적 수환경의 특징, 수환경에 따른 어류상 특징 등의 분석과 함께 조사하천의 건강성을 평가하고자 하였다. 본 연구는 어류모니터링 기법 확립을 통해 환경유량산정 시 요구되는 객관적 기초자료를 구축하고 나아가 오염물질 유입, 하천정비사업 등의 각종 교란요인에 의해 발생할 수 있는 문제점들에 능등적으로 대처하고 교란에 의해 악화된 수환경의 복원을 위해 요구되는 객관적 기초자료 생산에 목적이 있다.