• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
• /
• v.11 no.1 s.17
• /
• pp.15-18
• /
• 1975

The effect of skin extracts of Korean amphibian, poisonous snake and fresh-water fish were determined for their caerulein-like action on rabbit gall bladder strips. The isolated gall bladder strips were prepared according to the technique described by Amer and Becvar(1969). The strips were placed in a bath containing 100ml of Locke-Ringer solution maintained at $38^{\circ}C$. Oxygen was continuously bubbled through the solution. The tension of the muscle strip was initially adjusted to 0.7g. The contractile response was measured isometrically by a force-displacement transducer connected to a polygraph. In this rabbit gall bladder strip caerulein produced contraction of CCK-PZ type. The skin extract of Korean amphibian also elicited similar contraction as caerulein, which extracted from Australian amphibian, Hyla caerulea, by Erspamer et al. The calculated amount was approximately $2{\mu}g$ caerulein per gram of skin tissue in Korean amphibian and the potency was about 1/200 of that seen in Australian amphibian. The contraction of gall bladder strip by our amphibians occurs in decreasing order; Rana Nigromaculata coreana Okada, Rana nigromaculata Hallowell, Hyla arborea japonica Gunther and Bombina orientalis Boulenger. The skin extracts of poisonous snake and fresh-water fish produced no caerulein-like activity.

• Hwankyungkyoyuk
• /
• v.19 no.1 s.29
• /
• pp.104-115
• /
• 2006

This study was conducted to investigate whether attitudes and recognitions of middle and high school students regarding environmental concerns were improved after anuran call monitoring. It was a step toward monitoring local environmental changes with anuran calls. Three-striped pond frogs (Rana nigromaculata), Bullfrogs (R. catesbeiana), and Narrow-mouthed toads (Kaloula borealis) were surveyed to determine local abundance and distribution of them in 12 study sites using their advertising calls. A published booklet, which contains morphological, physiological, ecological, and acoustic information on amphibian species and methods of monitoring anuran calls were provided to monitoring students for identifying the three species. Pretest-posttest were conducted before and after monitoring from 10 April to 28 August in 2005 to determine how the monitoring students changed their attitudes on environmental issues, increased knowledges on amphibians, and improved the understanding on the cause and effect of declining amphibian populations. The amphibian monitoring program was effective to improve the students' attitudes towards conserving environments as well as the students' knowledge on general behavior and ecology of various amphibian species although their understanding about various environmental problems was not. In addition, the program increased the students' understanding on the problems of declining amphibian populations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.45-58
• /
• 2006

This study was aimed to propose the plan of creating a biotope reflecting an ecological education as well as its function as the habitats of amphibian in Namsan Urban Natural Park in Seoul. There were Cheonil mineral spring area which was located on the southern side of Namsan, wetlands which was already created on the east valley(800$m^2$) and a buffer area of the circumference(1,100$m^2$) as the biotope sites. Major fields of this study include a survey of the staus, a basic plan, a master plan; a survey of this site was focused on topography, water system, existing vegetation, wildbird, amphibian, trail; a detailed plan was focused on flow plan, planting plan, facility plan. Existing vegetation was classified into 8 types; Pinus densiflora forest, Pinus densiflora planted area, Prunus sargentii-Quercus spp. forest, Pinus rigida forest, Robinia pseudoacacia forest, artificial green space, wetlands, south beltway. There were Pinus densiflora planted area and Prunus sargentii-Quercus spp. forest as major vegetations of this site. 14 species and 33 individuals of wildbirds appeared, Rana temporaria ornativentris and Hynobius leechi were investigated in the wetlands.In particular, habitats of amphibian were divided eco-zone, buffer-zone and restore-zone, and habitats and facilities which would be suitable for the characteristics of each space were planned. As a result, environment elements of good habitats including spawn wetlands of amphibian, harbor of amphibian, water plant of wetland, wild shrubs forest, ecological landscape forest, wetland observation trail, fence of wetland protection and ramp by pebble and log were created at the site. The amphibian biotope of Namsan is rated high as an important space for conserving biodiversity. Accordingly, continuous monitoring of this biotope as a urban habitat is required as the environment changes.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.257-266
• /
• 2023

Amphibian populations are declining globally, pushing many species to the brink of extinction. To promote biodiversity and sustainable management, countries are actively researching amphibian reproductive ecology. Sperm cryopreservation is a crucial assisted reproductive technology that aids in preserving the genetic diversity of amphibians. However, because amphibian sperm cells are sensitive to osmotic stress, the optimal cryopreservation method therefore differs from species to species. This literature review offers an overview of the significance of developing cryopreservation techniques for amphibian conservation and highlights the need to create optimal cryopreservation methods and the introduction of long-term monitoring (e.g., fertilization success and offspring reproduction) to advance cryopreservation technology development. This review can be used as basic research data for amphibian conservation methods.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.229-236
• /
• 2010

We conducted field surveys of amphibians and reptiles over a two-year period in 16 lagoons along the eastern coastline of South Korea, and determined the habitat characteristics correlated with the number of amphibian and reptilian species and individuals. We documented 11 amphibian species and 8 reptilian species. The dominant amphibian species was the black-spotted pond frog (Rana nigromaculata), and the dominant reptilian species was the red-eared turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans), an invasive species. Among the 14 habitat characteristics, connectivity to mountainous area significantly affected the number of amphibian and reptilian individuals. Other factors, including emerged plant cover, salinity, pH, the number of birds for amphibians and connectivity to agricultural land, lagoon perimeter length for reptiles also influenced the number of species or individuals of them. Our results demonstrate that these lagoons are home to more amphibians and reptiles than has been previously known. To effectively conserve herpetofauna in the lagoon ecosystem, lagoons as well as surrounding wetlands, grasslands, and mountainous areas should be protected.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.11-16
• /
• 2016

Declines in amphibian populations are occurring worldwide, and have been attributed to many factors, including anthropogenic environmental changes. One of the ramifications of such declines is abnormalities in many amphibian species. A strong association has been detected between human activities and abnormalities in amphibian populations, but studies on this association are largely focused on lentic species. In this study, it was analyzed whether the degree of local human activity was associated with the rate of abnormalities in Bombina orientalis which inhabited lotic environments. We found that the proportions of abnormalities in wild populations of B. orientalis increased, when i) the closest human land use was located within 100 m from the frogs' habitat, and ii) the proportion of human land use within a 300-m radius was high. Our findings suggest that human activity has a negative impact on the fitness of nearby amphibian populations, and that wild populations very close to human-induced disturbance are affected.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.287-306
• /
• 2012

Amphibian population declines globally. Environmental contamination by heavy metals has been suspected to the one of the reason for distinction of amphibian which has obligate aquatic life style during larval period. Amphibians have been widely accepted as animal model for the study of endocrine disruption in aquatic ecosystem at molecular as well as individual levels. There are increasing need for toxicological data in amphibians at multiple endpoints for management of contamination and development of safety guidelines. Here, we reviewed toxicological information about toxicity of heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, zinc) on various end-point of amphibian.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.85-92
• /
• 2022

The amphibian breeding habitat is confirmed by mating call. In some cases, the researcher directly identifies the amphibian individual, but in order to designate the habitat, it is necessary to map the mating call region of the amphibian population. Until now, it has been a popular methodology for researchers to hear mating calls and outline their breeding habitats. To improve this subjective methodology, we developed a technique for mapping mating call regions using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The technology uses a UAV, fitted with a sound recorder to record ground mating calls as it flies over an amphibian habitat. The core technology is to synchronize the recorded sound pressure with the flight log of the UAV and predict the sound pressure in a two-dimensional plane with probability density. For a demonstration study of this technology, artificial mating call was generated by a potable speaker on the ground and recorded by a UAV. Then, the recorded sound data was processed with an algorithm developed by us to map mating calls. As a result of the study, the correlation coefficient between the artificial mating call on the ground and the mating call map measured by the UAV was R=0.77. This correlation coefficient proves that our UAV recording system is sufficiently capable of detecting amphibian mating call regions.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.103-114
• /
• 1979

The authors observed the ultrastructure of the granular glands in the amphibian skin with an electron microscope. The specimens from the experimental animals (Bombina orientalis, Bufo bufo gargarizans, Rana nigromaculata and Rana rugosa) were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde-paraformaldehyde fixative in phosphate buffer at pH 7.2 prior to fixation in 1% osmium tetroxide, dehydrated in graded ethanol and acetone, embedded in Epon 812 mixture, and sectioned with a LKB-ultramicrotome. the ultrathin sections were contrasted with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and observed with a JEOL-100B electron microscope. The results were as follws: 1. The granular gland in the amphibian skin consisted of the glandular epithelial and the myoepithelial cells. 2. The epithelial cells of the granular gland in the amphibian skin consisted of the dark cells but the light cells were also observed in that of Bombina orientalis. 3. The granular glands of the amphibian skin were in holocrine fashion. 4. The nuclei of the epithelial cells of the amphibian cutaneous granular glands were round or oval and showed small and large inforldings of nuclear envelope. Heterochromatins were mainly distributed near the nuclear envelope. Mitochondria were mainly distributed in the perinuclear portion and rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulums were developed in the cytoplasm but smooth-surfaced endoplasmic reticulums were not well developed. 5. Secretory granules were round or oval and electron-dense and less electron-dense granules were observed. 6. The authors infer that the differences in electron density of the secretory granules in the granular glands of the amphibian skin are due to difference in the concentrations of secretory substances as related to the processes of its formation, and that those chemical components are identical.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.188-191
• /
• 2018

To know if deforestation practice affects the distribution and abundance of herpetofauna in Mt. Gariwang, South Korea, we conducted field surveys over 12 times both at deforested (n=9 sites) and un-touched (control, n=12 sites) forest areas from March to October, 2017. Each survey site was approximately $100m\;long{\times}20m$ wide area, which in the middle of the site, mountain road presented. During each survey, we recorded the species and the number of amphibians and reptiles which identified. To compare environments between the two areas, we analyzed eight environmental variables, extracted from digital sources. Overall, we found one amphibian and four reptile species at deforested area, while each five amphibian and reptile species at un-touched area. The number of amphibian species significantly tended to be smaller at deforested area. The number of the survey sites where amphibians found and the number of amphibian individuals showed the same trend. For reptiles, although the number of reptile individuals showed some increases, all variables investigated were not significantly changed by deforestation practice. Our results imply that deforestation practice negatively affects amphibians, but effects of that on reptiles are not evident.