• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.561-577
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• 2015

The heavy metal accumulations of avian eggshells were studied in order to test a feral pigeon (Columba livia)'s eggshell as an indicator for the environmental monitoring of pollutants. The reviews on the eggs of the different 19 avian species showed that it is the eggshell rather than the egg content that can better reflect the heavy metals in the environment; in most cases the CVs (coefficients of variations) of the heavy metal concentrations in the eggshells were higher than those in the egg contents. This can indicate that the heavy metal accumulations are homeostatically controlled in the egg contents, but the accumulations in the eggshells are varied according to the environmental conditions. To test the reviews, the feral pigeon eggs from the two different sites, one representing urban and the other rural environment, were analyzed for lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd). The result showed that the eggshells of the urban pigeons (Hangang) had the higher metal concentrations than those of the rural pigeons (Hampyeong). The same difference can also be found in the internal organs (liver, bone) and blood. However, the analyses of the egg contents between the two sites did not reveal the differences. In other words, the result suggests that the feral pigeons, like the other avian species, are able to control the heavy metals into the egg contents homeostatically. Therefore, it is more useful to use the feral pigeon eggshell rather than the egg content in case of monitoring heavy metals in different habitats.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2015

Habitat creation for endangered species Menyanthes trifoliata L. using planting module represents a habitat type such as the rhizome grows horizontally to open water at the margin of the lake. The objectives of this mesocosm experiment are habitat creation with easy construction and low management effort, and to investigate the potential of providing a habitat for aquatic macroinvertebrates. Planting modules had three different substrates of bed soil, perlite and K-SOIL (artificial lightweight soil using bottom ash). These modules were established in two different size of the tub($1170{\times}2250{\times}300mm^3$, $900{\times}1360{\times}190mm^3$). According to the monitoring results, number of leaves and coverage of M. trifoliata showed significant difference with substrate and tub size. The number of leaves showed similar growth responses in bed soil (mean 22.979) and K-SOIL (mean 28.042) substrates but growth was poor in perlite substrate (mean 1.667). The number of leaves in the large tub was more than small tub (p=0.015). Similar responses were obtained with the coverage, the length of rhizome and the number of rhizome in M. trifoliata. A total of 21 taxa of aquatic macroinvertebrates including 1,145 individuals was found in the mesocosm. The Shannon diversity index and colonization index in the mesocosm were similar to the previous studies. These results suggest that the experimental mesocosm could provide sufficient habitats for aquatic macroinvertebrates. If planting modules use bed soil or K-SOIL by planting substrate, establish that taking into account open water surfaces for M. trifoliata growth and manage about 30cm of water depth control, then habitat creation for M. trifoilata will be successful.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.70-80
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• 2011

Estuarine ecosystem responds sensitively to natural and anthropogenic perturbations. lt is necessary to identify the direction of the change when the perturbation occurs as well as to understand the structure and functioning of estuarine ecosystem for a proper management of the area. In this study, the estuarine habitats were classified into different ecological districts so as to the switch from one district to another district could be related to the environmental change due to the perturbations. Total 16 ecological districts was defined according to the presence of barrage, salinity and vegetation characteristics. The defined ecological districts were applied to small estuaries in Goseong bay, south sea of Korea (Baedun, Guman, Maam, Goseong) to distinguish different regions which might have characteristic bottom topography, inclinations of river bottom, sediment characteristics, salinity structure and area of vegetation. Total 7 out of 16 ecological district was identified in this region; NFB (natural, fresh, bare), NHB (natural, high salinity, bare), NLV (natural, low salinity, vegetated) in natural (without barrage) estuaries and CFB (closed, fresh, bare), CFV( closed, fresh vegetated), CLV (closed, low salinity, vegetated), CHB (closed, high salinity, bare) in closed (with barrage) estuary. A comparison of environmental factors and biota between CHB and CLV demonstrated the effect of barrage on estuarine ecosystem. The height and sediment characteristics of CHB and CLV were similar but the average salinity was lower in CLV than in CHB due to the barrage, which produced favorable condition for the Phragmites australis in CLV. Information regarding the ecological districts in various sizes and location could be useful for predicting the ecosystem change due to natural and anthropogenic perturbations and for preparing management actions.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.92-96
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• 2011

Rhodococcus sp. strain DK17 possesses three megaplasmids (380 kb pDK1, 330 kb pDK2, and 750 kb pDK3). The alkylbenzene-degrading genes (akbABCDEF) are present on pDK2 while the phthalate operons which are duplicated are present on both pDK2 (ophA'B'C'R') and pDK3 (ophABCR). DK17 with an optimal temperature of $30^{\circ}C$ showed no growth at $37^{\circ}C$. When transferred to $30^{\circ}C$, however, the $37^{\circ}C$ culture began to grow immediately, indicating that $37^{\circ}C$ is not lethal but stressful for DK17 growth. In addition, when exposed to $37^{\circ}C$ even for a short time, a part of DK17 cells lost the ability to degrade o-xylene (a model compound of alkylbenzenes). When two hundred colonies were randomly selected for colony PCR for pDK2-specific akbC, ophC', or pDK3-specific ophC, a total of 29 colonies were found to have lost at least one of the three genes. PFGE analysis clearly showed that all the mutants have different megaplasmid profiles from that of DK17 wild type, which are divided into five different cases: Type I (10 mutants, pDK2 loss and acquisition of a new ~700 kb plasmid), Type II (9 mutants, pDK2 loss), Type III (8 mutants, pDK3 loss and acquisition of a new ~400 kb plasmid), Type IV (1 mutant, pDK3 loss), and Type V (1 mutant, pDK2 and pDK3 loss and acquisition of the ~400 kb and ~700 kb plasmids). The above results showing that growth temperature changes can induce physical changes in bacterial genomes suggest that environmental changes in habitats including temperature fluctuations affect significantly the evolution of bacteria.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.850-857
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• 2015

This study was aimed to identify the characteristics of nest and breeding site conditions of Chinese Egret (Egretta europhotes) that breed in the uninhabited islets of the western coast of South Korea. It is expected that the information collected through this study can contribute to providing basic information required when building and managing artificial nests in their natural breeding habitats. Chinese Egrets make their nests in the shrub layers of Long Leaf Elaeagnus (Elaeagnus macrophylla), Arrow Bamboo (Pseudosasa japonica), and Baby Brier (Rosa multiflora). A total of 50 breeding nests of Chinese Egret were investigated in June and July 2013, with area-wise distribution as follows: Seomando (11 nests), Hwangseodo (14 nests), Mokdo (10 nests), and Napdaekiseom (15 nests). Vegetation coverage (cover, %), height from the ground to the top (height, cm), thickness from top to bottom of the nest (thickness, cm), reuse period, major axis (cm), minor axis (cm), and depth (cm) of each nest were measured. According to the results of the study on the nest characteristics of 4 breeding groups, the nests in Hwangseodo had the highest coverage, the nests in Mokdo were built in the highest places, the nests in Napdaekiseom showed the longest reuse period, and the nests in Mokdo had the greatest depth. The differences in height and reuse period were significant between Mokdo and Napdaekiseom. Moreover, there were significant differences in reuse period and depth between Seomando and Hwangseodo. There were significant differences in cover, minor axis, and depth between breeding groups that built nests on Arrow Bamboo (Mokdo and Napdaekiseom) and Baby Brier (Seomando and Hwangseodo). Nest characteristics of Chinese Egret were generally similar, while some variables showed different values for different breeding groups.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.394-402
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• 2015

This study was carried out to investigate the bat (Chiroptera) fauna in Jeju Island. Bat distribution was monitored in lava tubes, sea caves, cave encampments and eco-corridors from July, 2006 to June, 2015. Bat specimens were also confirmed at the museums in Jeju Island. From the present study, we found 8 species of 6 genera belong to 3 families, which was different from the records had previously described in Jeju Island since 1928. Five species (Rhinolophus ferrumequium, Myotis bombinus, M. formosus, M. macrodactylus and Miniopterus schreibersi) were commonly found to live in lava tubes and cave enforcements. But only R. ferrumequium was found in a sea cave and five species including Murina leucogaster and Pipistrellus abramus were found in eco-corridors. We have also found seven species including Tadarida insignis in the specimens stored in local museums. From the results of this study, we actually could not found the remaining seven species (Hypsugo savii, Miniopterus fuscus, Myotis mystacinus, Myotis ikonnikovi, Myotis branditii, Myotis petax and Pipistrellus endoi). Interestingly, Myotis formosus which is known as one of endangered species and Myotis bombinus which is very rare in Korean Peninsula were currently found in Jeju Island. In addition, Tube-nosed bat (Murina leucogaster) that was discovered for the first time through this study. A variety of habitats for Chiroptera were identified, but the information is still not sufficient to understand. These results will be useful to provide a fundamental data in preserving the diversity of bats and in ecological study in Jeju Island.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.386-393
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• 2016

Agricultural ecosystem is recognized as a space for providing a variety of services, in addition to the food production that it originally encompassed, such as water purification, biological habitat, air purification, soil conservation, and landscape development. The construction of greenhouses in agricultural landscapes can cause deterioration of ecosystem services because of the increase of impermeable area and loss of biological habitats. This study aimed to compare insect diversity between different types of constructed greenhouses and paddy ecosystems. The target study area was selected by considering the distribution status of horticultural complexes and was classified as Single Vinyl Greenhouse, Multi Vinyl Greenhouse or Glass Greenhouse and they were compared with four paddies. The study locations were in Gu-Mi, Bu-Yeo, Ginje and Jin-Ju. A total of 2,333 individual insects belonging to 9 orders, 38 families, 76 genus, and 80 species were collected. The composition of orders was Hemiptera (22.37%), Coleoptera (18.42%), Hymenoptera (14.47%), Orthoptera (11.84%), and Diptera (10.53%). The average number of collected species were in the order Paddy (39.38 species) > Single Vinyl Greenhouse (35.50 species) > Multi Vinyl Greenhouse (22.50 species) > Glass Greenhouse (24.00 species). The Diversity Index (H') was Paddy (4.76) > Single Vinyl Greenhouse (4.57) > Multi Vinyl Greenhouse (4.12), and Glass Greenhouse (4.12). The Richness Index (RI) was Paddy (7.72) and Single Vinyl Greenhouse (7.03) > Multi Vinyl Greenhouse (4.99) and Glass Greenhouse (5.32). From our results, it can be seen that the biological diversity features of insects decreased when greenhouses are constructed.However, Single Vinyl Greenhouse is noted to promote insect diversity more than that by Multi Vinyl Greenhouse and Glass Greenhouse. Hence, when constructing greenhouses, it is necessary to consider insect habitat to conserve insect diversity.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.335-343
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• 2016

Of the Nak-dong Jeongmaek, five mountains, viz. Mt. Baek-byeong, Mt. Chil-bo, Mt. Baek-am, Mt. Un-ju, Mt. Go-heon, which are considered to well represent the natural environmental characteristics of Nak-dong Jeongmaek as well as its various terrain, were selected for this study. Two fixed plots were selected as sample study areas of each type of bird habitats and surveyed from May to October in 2015. According to the results of the survey conducted in the five mountains of Nak-dong Jeongmaek, a total of 47 species with 1,163 individuals birds was identified. The largest variety of species occupying a particular habitat type was found in the forest road and the ridge with 31 species. Also, the number of individuals was highest in the valley with 471 individuals. According to the results of nesting guild analysis of the vein (Pearson Chi-Square test, ${\chi}^2=13.377$, p = 0.037) by each Nak-dong Jeongmaek habitat type, the communities that belong to the canopy nesting guild showed a high frequency in development land and the valley while the communities that belong to the hole nesting guild showed a high frequency on the forest road and ridge. The results of Pearson Chi-Square test (${\chi}^2=15.555$, p=0.004) showed that the communities that belong to Bush foraging guild were most frequent in the development area and the community that belong to canopy foraging guild were most frequent inthe valley, the forest road and the ridge. These findings show that different habitat types of Nak-dong Jeongmaek support a great variety of birdlife by providing diverse and excellent resources.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.139-150
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• 1985

In order to determine the seasonal prevalence and population density of vector mosquitoes in Kyungpook Province, a survey based on average numbers of female mosquito per trap-night, were carried out during the period from May to November in 1984. Among the 34, 571 mosquitoes collected in Kyungsan county in animal shelters and human dwellings by light traps, approximately 45.0 per cent were Culex tritaeniorhynchus, 34.0 per cent Culex pipiens pallens, and 19.0 per cent Anopheles sinensis. By comparison, distribution of mosquito species in Ankang town, in which Japanese encephalitis had been reported in the past, were quite different and A. sinensis was the most abundant species, being constituted in 75.8 per cent, followed by C. tritaeniorhynchus(23.2 per cent), and C. pipiens pallens(O.6 per cent). In the general pattern of seasonal prevalence, C. tritaeniorhynchus first appeared in mid-June, and trapped in large numbers during the periods from mid-August to early September, showing a simple sharply pointed one-peaked curve, while C. pipiens pallens was found to be active through almost the entire season showing irregular curves with several peaks. The trend of seasonal distribution of A. sinensis was similar to that of C. tritaeniorhynchus, but the earliest dates of appearance and disappearance differed from that of C. tritaeniorhynchus. The results of hourly catches of mosquitoes by human baited traps have clearly shown the differences in the biting rhythm among the vector mosquitoes of this Province, such as the facts that C. tritaeniorhynchus and A. sinensis are rather constantly active all through a night with more or less inconspicuous peaks twice a night, while C. pipiens pallens exhibits an irregular curve, and the numbers of A. vexans nipponii, C. vagans and Armigeres subalbatus are very small and are not sufficient for estimating the biting rhythm. Four genera and fourteen species of larval mosquitoes collected from eighteen kinds of habitats which classified according to the categories followed by Bates (1949). The main breeding sites contributing to peak C. tritaeniorhynchus adult densities in this surveyed areas were evidently ricefields, ground pools, puddles and swamps and marshes, etc. Summarizing the results, this study indicated that the highest population density of C. tritaeniorhynchus was encountered in late August and early September, showing a simple sharply pointed one-peaked curve.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.335-340
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• 2010

The paper describes the objectives of Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) project, focusing on procedural and practical aspects. YSLME is a highly productive sea yet possibly one of the most impacted large marine ecosystems, in terms of anthropogenic stressors, due the enormous coastal population. The aim of the YSLME project is the reduction of ecosystem stress through identification of the environmental problems in the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) that are then addressed in the Strategic Action Programme (SAP). One of the major problems found to be affecting biological diversity is habitat modification through wetland reclamation, conversion and degradation. Since the early 1900's more than 40% of intertidal wetlands have been reclaimed in Korea, and 60% of Chinese coastal wetlands have been converted or reclaimed. Damaging fishing practices, pollution and coastal eutrophication have further degraded the coastal environment reducing the biological diversity. To combat this loss, the YSLME project has mounted a public awareness campaign to raise environmental consciousness targeted at all different levels of society, from politicians at parliamentary workshops, local government officer training events, scientific conferences and involvement of scientists in the project research and reporting, to university and high school students in our visiting internship programmes and environmental camps. We have also built networks through the Yellow Sea Partnership and by liaising and working with other environmental organizations and NGOs. NGO's are recognised as important partners in the environmental conservation as they already have extensive local networks that can be lacking in international organisations. Effective links have been built with many of these NGOs through the small grants programme. Working with WWF's YSESP project and other academic and research institutions we have conducted our own biodiversity assessments that have contributed to the science-based development of the SAP for the YSLME. Our regional targets for biodiversity outlined in the SAP include: Improvements in the densities, distributions and genetic diversity of current populations of all living organisms including endangered and endemic species; Maintenance of habitats according to standards and regulations of 2007; and a reduction in the risk of introduced species. Endorsement of the SAP and its successful implementation, during the proposed second phase of the YSLEM project, will ensure that biological diversity is here to benefit future generations.