• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.219-235
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• 2016

Forest tree diversity inventory and its periodical monitoring are important to understand changes in tree population structure and to provide information useful for biodiversity conservation and reserve management. In a long-term forest dynamics program in Indian tropical dry evergreen forest, this communication deals with tree diversity changes at decadal interval. The initial inventory of tree diversity was carried out in 2003, in four tropical dry evergreen forest sites - (much disturbed sites Shanmuganathapuram - SP and Araiyapatti - AP and moderately disturbed sites - Karisakkadu - KR and Maramadakki - MM) on the Coromandel Coast of peninsular India, by establishing four 1ha permanent plots, one in each site. In 2013, the four plots were re-inventoried for tree diversity (${\geq}10cm\;gbh$) changes which yielded 56 species from 46 genera and 26 families. The studied forest sites are threatened by disturbance due to multiple reasons; cutting of trees inside of the forest, grazing by goats, construction of temple approach road, and some aspects cultural attachment of local people like constructing new, additional strctures of temple by denuding a portion of forest etc.. Tree species richness over a decade increased by four species in site SP, two species in site AP, and one species in site KR, but decreased by one species in site MM. Tree density decreased drastically by 480 (28.92%) and 102 (12.63%) stems $ha^{-1}$ respectively in sites SP and AP, but moderately increased by 82 (12.09%) stems $ha^{-1}$ in site KR and 26 (3.46%) stems $ha^{-1}$ in site MM. Tree basal area declined in site KR from $21.6m^2$ to $20.26m^2ha^{-1}$ and in site SP from 21.1 to $20.38m^2ha^{-1}$, but increased from $19.1m^2$ to $19.43m^2$ and from 15.5 to $18.63m^2ha^{-1}$ in sites AP and MM respectively. Three tree species (Allophylus serratus, Maytenus emarginata and Ehretia pubescens) were lost out of the 57 species recorded in 2003, and two species (Jatropha gossypiifolia and Streblus asper) were new additions in ten years. The long-term forest monitoring data will be valuable to understand forest dynamics and for conservation and management of this and similar tropical forests.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.97-105
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• 2011

Understanding the metapopulation structure and movement of a species are required for conserving the species. In this paper, migration patterns and connectivity of patches of a threatened butterfly, Parnassius bremeri Bremer, were postulated using the mark-release-recapture (MRR) technique in a habitat located in the mid-southern region of the Korean peninsula. A total of 194 individuals were captured (137 males and 57 females) and, of them, 93 individuals (73 males and 20 females) were recaptured during the MRR experiment. The migration analysis showed 23-150% immigration and 28-53% emigration. There were high correlations between the migrating individuals and the distance between patches, but there was no correlation between migrating individuals and patch size or between migrating individuals and the number of host plants. Consequently, the migration of butterflies occurred frequently between closer patches, while patch size and quantity of the food plant had minor effects on migration behavior. Additionally, males migrated more frequently than females. Analysis of the migration patterns of P. bremeri showed that the central patch played an important role on linking patch groups and more frequent migrations were monitored between nearby patches than between the remote patches. This study suggested that active migrations take place between the neighboring multiple patches and these are accelerated if there is a stepping-stone patch between them.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.49-55
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• 2010

There are only 10,000 Saunders' Gull's (Larus saundersi Swinhoe) surviving in the world today. But they are being threatened by coastal habitat, degradation, development pressure and disturbance by humans. Their first breeding record in Korea was in 1998 and the breeding status has been studied, however, the breeding status is not sufficient for this species. This study was performed from May 1999 to June 2009 to clarify breeding populations and trend of the Saunders' Gull population in Korea. The results indicate that the breeding population has been increasing gradually from 300 to 1,300 individuals, though disturbance increased. As threats to the breeding birds, physical environmental factors such as development and human disturbance were identified as a major threatening factors. Also, as a secondary factor, eggs and chicks are falling pray to predators. Incheon bay breeding places have been created by a landfill projects for the purpose of urban and industrial development, thus, these places will no longer be available for this species. In addition, the breeding habitat has been reduced and changed by expansions of development on the ground. Therefore, well planed management schemes should be provided for the species' breeding population to be continually breed and survive.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.97-100
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• 1975

Korean white pine (Pinus koraiensis Sieb. & Zucc.), native to Korea and currently the most important timber species in Korea is being threatened by a blister rust discase caused by a Cronartium species. The fungus has been tentatively identified as Cronartium ribicola Fischer. The fungus alternates between P. koraiensis and Pedicularis resupinata L. (a herbaceous perennial) under natural conditions in Korea although experimentally it has been shown to infect several Ribes species. The taxonomic diagnosis of the causal fungus is not fully resolved. A review of the status of this rust disease on P. koraiensis and other possible hosts in Korea and its potential international significance along with present work underway in Korea is discussed.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.685-691
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• 2016

Chewing lice (Phthiraptera) that parasitize the globally threatened swan goose Anser cygnoides have been long recognized since the early 19th century, but those records were probably biased towards sampling of captive or domestic geese due to the small population size and limited distribution of its wild hosts. To better understand the lice species parasitizing swan geese that are endemic to East Asia, we collected chewing lice from 14 wild geese caught at 3 lakes in northeastern Mongolia. The lice were morphologically identified as 16 Trinoton anserinum (Fabricius, 1805), 11 Ornithobius domesticus Arnold, 2005, and 1 Anaticola anseris (Linnaeus, 1758). These species are known from other geese and swans, but all of them were new to the swan goose. This result also indicates no overlap in lice species between older records and our findings from wild birds. Thus, ectoparasites collected from domestic or captive animals may provide biased information on the occurrence, prevalence, host selection, and host-ectoparasite interactions from those on wild hosts.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.704-713
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• 2018

Globally, the survival of many marine mammals is threatened by entanglement in fishing gear and there is also a high bycatch in Korea. This study analyzed the bycatch data of most cetacean species for Korean waters from 2011 to 2017, including the narrow-ridged finless porpoise Neophocaena asiaeorientalis, common dolphin Delphinus delphis, common minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata, and Pacific white-sided dolphin Lagenorhynchus obliquidens. A total of 12,262 cetaceans were captured as bycatch. In the Yellow and South Seas, the main species affected was the narrow-ridged finless porpoise, with 82.9% caught in stow nets and 11.5% captured in trawls. In the East Sea, the common minke whale, common dolphin, and Pacific white-sided dolphin were reported. The main common minke whale bycatch (43.5%) was in set nets, while common dolphins (49.0%) and Pacific white-sided dolphins (91.4%) were mainly caught in gill nets. The narrow-ridged finless porpoise, common dolphin, and common minke whale were most commonly reported in March, April, and May, while the Pacific white-sided dolphin was most frequently captured as bycatch in January and December. Each of these factors (season and gear responsible for bycatch) depended on the characteristics of the cetacean species. To conserve cetaceans, it is necessary to reduce the bycatch.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.27-53
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• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate the flora of Manisan (Ganghwa-gun) from April of 2017 to August of 2018. The vascular plants identified during the 12 round field surveys were a to total of 508 taxa: 107 families, 306 genera, 456 species, 7 subspecies, 43 varieties, 1 form, and 2 hybrids. The largest families were as follows; Asteraceae (66 taxa), Poaceae (59 taxa), Fabaceae (25 taxa), Cyperaceae (25 taxa), Rosaceae (22 taxa), Liliaceae (20 taxa), Polygonaceae (17 taxa), Lamiaceae (14 taxa), Ranunculaceae (13 taxa), and Caryophyllaceae (13 taxa). Among these plants, 169 taxa were recoeded for the first time from this region. The six taxa of Korean endemic plants including Clematis brachyura Maxim., Viola seoulensis Nakai, Carex brevispicula G. H. Nam & G. Y. Chung, C. erythrobasis H. $L{\acute{e}}v$. & Vaniot, Hemerocallis hakuunensis Nakai, and Lycoris flavescens M. Y. Kim & S. T. Lee were found in this region. The vascular plants on the red list according to IUCN evaluation basis were found to be two taxa: Near Threatened (NT) species of Wikstroemia trichotoma (Thunb.) Makino, and Not Evaluate (NE) species of Tylophora floribunda Miq., respectively. The floristic regional indicator plants found in this area were 26 taxa comprising three taxa of degree IV, four taxa of degree III, seven taxa of degree II, and 12 taxa of degree I. In addition, the alien plants were identified as 49 taxa and the percentage of naturalized index (NI) was 9.7%, and urbanization index (UI) was 15.3%, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.10a
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• pp.28-28
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• 2022

This paper presents the first genome assemblies of Philippine mangoes that provide valuable reference for varietal improvement and genomic studies on mango and related fruit crops. WE sequenced whole genomes of3 species, Mangifera odorata (Huani), Mangifera altissima (Paho), and Mangifera indica 'Carabao' (Sweet Elena). 'Carabao' is the major export variety of the Philippines; Paho is identified as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; Huani has fruit sap acrid which is the primary defense mechanism against insects and birds. We used Falcon, a diploid aware -de novo assembler to assemble SMRT generated long-read sequences. Falcon-unzip was employed to phase the output assembly producing larger contig sets (primary contigs) and shorter contigs corresponding to haplotypes (haplotigs). Assembly statistics were generated by comparing the assembly to a reference genome, Tommy Atkins, using Quality Assessment Tool (QUAST). Moreover, the extent of duplication and completeness of gene content was measured using Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Orthologs (BUSCO). Draft assemblies with high duplications were processed using Purge Haplotigs and Purge Dups to lessen duplications with minimal impact on genome completeness. De novo assemblies of Huani, Paho and 'Carabao' were then generated with primary contig sizes of 463.64 Mb, 508.95 Mb and 401.51 Mb respectively. These draft assemblies of Huani, Paho and 'Carabao' showed 96.90%, 95.17% and 99.07% complete BUSCOs respectively which is comparable to 'Tommy Atkins' genome (98.6%). Using two mango transcriptome data (pooled RNA-seq from different mango varieties and tissues), 91-96% or 24-30 million reads were successfully mapped back for each generated assembly indicating high degree of completeness. The results obtained demonstrated the highly contiguous, phased, and near complete genome assembly of three Philippine mango species for structural and functional annotation of gene units, especially those with economic importance.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.146-156
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• 2023

Background: Endemic species are important components in the flora of most world regions. Most of these species have become threatened and exposed to extinction within the last few years. The present study aims to evaluate the ecosystem services offered by the endemic plant taxa in Egypt and the threats that affect them. Twenty-five field visits were conducted during summer 2018 to spring 2022 to several locations all over Egypt. In each location, the main habitats, national distribution, abundance, goods and threats were recorded. Results: Egypt has 41 endemic taxa belonging to 36 genera and 20 families inhabiting 10 main habitats. Rocky surfaces and sandy formations have the highest number of endemic species. The relation between the number of endemic taxa and the abundance categories indicated that 2 taxa are rare (4.9% of the total taxa), while the remaining were very rare (95%). The most represented offered good was the medicinal uses (32 taxa = 78%), while fuel plants were only represented by 2 taxa (2 taxa = 4.9%). Besides, 14 taxa (34.1% of the total studied taxa) have at least 1 environmental service. Soil fertility (7 taxa = 50%) was the most represented, followed by sand accumulations (6 taxa out of 14 taxa = 43%), while shading plant was the least (1 taxon = 7.1%) (Rosa arabica). The most represented threat is over-cutting and over-collecting (38 taxa = 92.7%), while mining and quarrying is the least represented (4 taxa = 9.8%). Conclusions: The potential and actual goods, services and threats of the endemic taxa were assessed as follows; field observation, information collected from local inhabitants and herbalists, and a literature review. The present study recommended planning a strategy about the importance, threats and conservation of endemic taxa in Egypt that would help in the protection and rescue of these plants and increase awareness about the importance of these plants.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.853-865
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• 2022

In this study, from August to October 2019, we conducted a survey of the spatial distribution and dominant species of macrobenthos on the rocky intertidal zones of 38 specified islands distributed along the southern coast of Korea. On the basis of observation made using 50 × 50 cm quadrats, we identified a total of 80 species, among which, Mollusca were the most abundant fauna, with 54 species that accounted for 67.4% of the total, followed by Crustacea with 15 species (18.7%). The recorded numbers of Cnidaria, Porifera, and Echinodermata species ranged from 1 to 6. In terms of the regional patterns of species richness, specified islands in Yeosu were found to be the most species rich, supporting 61 species, whereas islands in Hadong, Namhae, and Chujado were found to have a similar level of species richness, ranging from 42 to 46 species. Islands in Boseong and Goheung were home to the fewest species, with only 29 species being recorded. At the sampling station scale, we noted a considerable difference in faunal richness, ranging from 6 (St. 6) to 33 (St. 20) species. Among the recorded species, Echinolittorina radiata was identified as the dominant species on 15 specified islands, with the next most abundant species being Tetraclita japonica, considered an indicator species of climate change, which was recorded on 11 islands. In terms of frequency, E. radiata, found on 36 islands, was identified as the most frequently occurring species, followed by Reishia clavigera (30 islands), Mytilisepta virgata (29), Nerita japonica (28), Ligia. exotica (27), and Littorina brevicula (26). Of the 80 species identified, 9, 4, and 2 species of Mollusca, Crustacea, and Cnidaria, respectively, are classified as Marine fauna of accepted foreign export, whereas 50 are Red List species, 44 are species of Least Concern, 3 are Data Deficient species, and 1 species was not evaluated. However, during the survey, we found no Near Threatened or Not Applicable species. On the basis of the findings of this survey, it would appear that the abundance and richness of macrobenthic fauna inhabiting the rocky intertidal zones of specified islands along the southern coast of Korea differ according to different habitat conditions, particularly with respect to the duration of exposure and the extent and properties of the substrata. The findings of this study will provide baseline data for future monitoring and management of specified islands in Korea.