• Title/Summary/Keyword: micro-ecosystem

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Development of Pollutant Removal Model in the Artificial Wetland (인공습지의 수질개선 효과 분석모델 개발)

  • Choi, Ji-Yong
    • Journal of Wetlands Research
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.51-61
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    • 2002
  • The wetland is a biologically integrated system consisting of water, soil, bacteria, plants, and animals. The wetland helps sustain the ecosystem, control the micro-climate and flood, maintain the ground water level, and provide fishing grounds. From the environmental standpoint, the wetland plays a vital role in reducing water pollution by filtering out sand and other polluted matters, producing oxygen, absorbing chemicals and nutrients. For these reasons, interest in restoring the wetlands has been steadily increasing. Artificial wetland, which is also referred to as created wetland or constructed wetland, is an alternative to natural wetland. Like natural wetland, artificial wetland is environmentally friendly and can effectively lower pollutant levels. The Korea government is actively reviewing the construction of artificial wetlands in mining and water supply areas to decrease nonpoint pollutant sources. This paper attempts to develop a pollutant removal model for the water quality improvement function of artificial wetlands. Artificial wetland can improve the quality of the water; however, depending on the type of water inflow, vegetation and hydrology, its effect can be different.

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Potential of Endophytic Diaporthe sp. as a New Source of Bioactive Compounds

  • Nagarajan, Kashvintha;Tong, Woei-Yenn;Leong, Chean-Ring;Tan, Wen-Nee
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.31 no.4
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    • pp.493-500
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    • 2021
  • Endophytic fungi are symbiotically related to plants and spend most of their life cycle within them. In nature, they have a crucial role in plant micro-ecosystem. They are harnessed for their bioactive compounds to counter human health problems and diseases. Endophytic Diaporthe sp. is a widely distributed fungal genus that has garnered much interest within the scientific community. A substantial number of secondary metabolites have been detected from Diaporthe sp. inhabited in various plants. As such, this minireview highlights the potential of Diaporthe sp. as a rich source of bioactive compounds by emphasizing on their diverse chemical entities and potent biological properties. The bioactive compounds produced are of significant importance to act as new lead compounds for drug discovery and development.

Precision monitoring of radial growth of trees and micro-climate at a Korean Fir (Abies koreana Wilson) forest at 10 minutes interval in 2016 on Mt. Hallasan National Park, Jeju Island, Korea

  • Kim, Eun-Shik;Cho, Hong-Bum;Heo, Daeyoung;Kim, Nae-Soo;Kim, Young-Sun;Lee, Kyeseon;Lee, Sung-Hoon;Ryu, Jaehong
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.43 no.2
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    • pp.226-245
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    • 2019
  • To understand the dynamics of radial growth of trees and micro-climate at a site of Korean fir (Abies koreana Wilson) forest on high-altitude area of Mt. Hallasan National Park, Jeju Island, Korea, high precision dendrometers were installed on the stems of Korean fir trees, and the sensors for measuring micro-climate of the forest at 10 minutes interval were also installed at the forest. Data from the sensors were sent to nodes, collected to a gateway wireless, and transmitted to a data server using mobile phone communication system. By analyzing the radial growth data for the trees during the growing season in 2016, we can estimate that the radial growth of Korean fir trees initiated in late April to early May and ceased in late August to early September, which indicates that period for the radial growth was about 4 months in 2016. It is interesting to observe that the daily ambient temperature and the daily soil temperature at the depth of 20 cm coincided with the values of about 10 ℃ when the radial growth of the trees initiated in 2016. When the radial growth ceased, the values of the ambient temperature went down below about 15 ℃ and 16 ℃, respectively. While the ambient temperature and the soil temperature are evaluated to be the good indicators for the initiation and the cessation of radial growth, it becomes clear that radii of tree stems showed diurnal growth patterns affected by diurnal change of ambient temperature. In addition, the wetting and drying of the surface of the tree stems affected by precipitation became the additional factors that affect the expansion and shrinkage of the tree stems at the forest site. While it is interesting to note that the interrelationships among the micro-climatic factors at the forest site were well explained through this study, it should be recognized that the precision monitoring made possible with the application of high resolution sensors in the measurement of the radial increment combined with the observation of 10 minutes interval with aids of information and communication technology in the ecosystem observation.

Dietary Transformation of Lipid in the Rumen Microbial Ecosystem

  • Kim, Eun Joong;Huws, Sharon A.;Lee, Michael R.F.;Scollan, Nigel D.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.22 no.9
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    • pp.1341-1350
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    • 2009
  • Dietary lipids are rapidly hydrolysed and biohydrogenated in the rumen resulting in meat and milk characterised by a high content of saturated fatty acids and low polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which contributes to increases in the risk of diseases including cardiovascular disease and cancer. There has been considerable interest in altering the fatty acid composition of ruminant products with the overall aim of improving the long-term health of consumers. Metabolism of dietary lipids in the rumen (lipolysis and biohydrogenation) is a major critical control point in determining the fatty acid composition of ruminant lipids. Our understanding of the pathways involved and metabolically important intermediates has advanced considerably in recent years. Advances in molecular microbial technology based on 16S rRNA genes have helped to further advance our knowledge of the key organisms responsible for ruminal lipid transformation. Attention has focused on ruminal biohydrogenation of lipids in forages, plant oils and oilseeds, fish oil, marine algae and fat supplements as important dietary strategies which impact on fatty acid composition of ruminant lipids. Forages, such as grass and legumes, are rich in omega-3 PUFA and are a useful natural strategy in improving nutritional value of ruminant products. Specifically this review targets two key areas in relation to forages: i) what is the fate of the lipid-rich plant chloroplast in the rumen and ii) the role of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase in red clover as a natural plant-based protection mechanism of dietary lipids in the rumen. The review also addresses major pathways and micro-organisms involved in lipolysis and biohydrogenation.

Grazing on Bacteria and Algae by Metazoans in the Lake-river Ecosystem (River Spree, Germany)

  • Kim, Hyun-Woo;Joo, Gea-Jae;Walz, Norbert
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.41 no.1
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    • pp.111-115
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    • 2008
  • Direct effects of zooplankton grazing activities on the natural assemblage of bacterioplankton and algae were evaluated at monthly intervals, from June to October of 2000, in the middle part of the River Spree, Germany. We quantified bacterioplankton, algae, zooplankton abundance and measured carbon ingestion rates (CIRs) by zooplankton according to two zooplankton size classes: (i) micro zooplankton (MICZ), ranging in size from 30 to $150{\mu}m$ and including rotifers and nauplii, excluding protozoans and (ii) macrozooplankton (MACZ), larger than $150{\mu}m$ and including cladocerans and copepods. CIRs were measured using natural bacterial and algae communities in the zooplankton density manipulation experiments. Algae biomass (average${\pm}$SD: $377{\pm}306{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}$, n=5) was always higher than bacterial biomass ($36.7{\pm}9.9{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}$, n=5). Total zooplankton biomass varied from 19.8 to $137{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}$. Total mean biomass of zooplankton was $59.9{\pm}52.5{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}$ (average${\pm}$SD, n=5). Average MICZ biomass ($40.2{\pm}47.6{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}$ n=5) was nearly twofold higher than MACZ biomass ($19.6{\pm}20.6{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}$ n=5). Total zooplankton CIRs on algae (average${\pm}$SD: $56.6{\pm}26.4{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}\;day^{-1}$) were $\sim$fourfold higher than that on bacteria $(12.7{\pm}6.0{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}\;day^{-1})$. MICZ CIRs on bacteria $(7.0{\pm}2.8{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}\;day^{-1})$ and algae $(28.6{\pm}20.6{\mu}gC\;L^{-1}\;day^{-1})$ were slightly higher than MACZ CIRs. On average, MICZ accounted for 55.6 and 50.5% of total zooplankton grazing on bacteria and algae, respectively. Considering the MICZ and MACZ CIRs, the relative role of transferring carbon to higher trophic levels were nearly similar between both communities in the lake-river ecosystem.

A Study on the Collection and Analysis of Tire and Road Wear Particles(TRWPs) as Fine Dust Generated on the Roadside (도로변에서 발생되는 미세먼지로써 타이어와 도로 마모입자 채집과 분석 연구)

  • Kang, Tae-Woo;Kim, Hyeok-Jung
    • Journal of the Korean Recycled Construction Resources Institute
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    • v.10 no.3
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    • pp.293-299
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    • 2022
  • Recently, various stakeholder are interested in microplastic to cause pollution of the marine's ecosystem and effort to conduct study of product's life cycle to reduce pollution of marine's ecosystem. The micorplastic refer to materials of the nano- to micro- sized units and it can be classified into primary and secondary. The primary microplastic mean the manufactured for use in the specific field such as the microbead of the cosmetic or cleanser. also, secondary mean the unintentionally generated during use of the product such as the textile crumb by the doing the laundry. Tire and Road Wear Particles(TRWPs) are also defined as secondary microplastic. Typically, TRWPs are created by friction between the tread compound's rubber of the tire and the surface of the road du ring the driving cars. Most of the generated TRWPs exist on the roadside and some of them were carried to marine by the rainwater. In this study, we perform the quantitative analysis of the TRWPs existed in fine dust at the roadside. So, we collected the dust from the roadside in Chungcheongnam-do's C site with a movement of 1,300 cars per the hour. The collected samples were separated according to size and density. And shape analysis was performed using the Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM). We were possible to discover a lot of TRWPs at the fine dust of the 100 ± 20 ㎛. And we analysis it u sing the Thermo Gravimetric Analysis(TGA) and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer(GC/MS) for the quantitative components from the tire. As a result, it was confirmed that TRWPs generated from the roadside fine dust were included the 0.21 %, and the tire and road components in the generated TRWPs consisted of the 3:7 ratio.

Relative Importance of Bottom- up vs. Top-down Controls on Size-structured Phytoplankton Dynamics in a Freshwater Ecosystem: I. Temporal and Spatial Variations of Size Structure (담수성 식물플랑크톤의 크기별 동태에 대한 상향식, 하향식 조절간의 상대적 중요도 조사: I. 크기구조의 시 ${\cdot}$ 공간적 변동)

  • Kim, Jong-Min;Sin, Yong-Sik
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.36 no.4 s.105
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    • pp.403-412
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    • 2003
  • Temporal and spatial variations of size-structured phytoplankton (chlorophyll a) were investigated over an annual cycle (February-October, 2003) to elucidate phytoplankton dynamics in the Juam Reservoir, Chonnam. Physical properties were also measured to investigate the relationship between the properties and temporal and spatial variations of size structured phytoplankton using simple linear regression. Phytoplankton (chlorophyll a) were grouped into three size classes: micro-size(> 20 ${\mu}m$), nano-size (3-20 ${\mu}m$) and pico-size (< 3 ${\mu}m$) in this study. Physical properties included water temperature, light attenuation coefficients, PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) and turbidity. Maximum chlorophyll a was observed in April, 2003 in the lower region whereas a peak of chlorophyll a developed in October, 2003 in the upper region. Large cell-sized phytoplankton (micro-size class)were dominant in the events of the chlorophyll a peaks. Potential mechanisms in the physical properties affecting the size-structured phytoplankton dynamics in the Juam Reservoir were discussed.

Relationship of mineral elements in sheep grazing in the highland agro-ecosystem

  • Fan, Qingshan;Wang, Zhaofeng;Chang, Shenghua;Peng, Zechen;Wanapat, Metha;Bowatte, Saman;Hou, Fujiang
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.33 no.1
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    • pp.44-52
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    • 2020
  • Objective: Minerals are one of the important nutrients for supporting the growth of sheep grazing in the highland, northwest of China. The experiment was conducted to investigate the relationship of both macro and micro minerals in sheep grazing in the highlands of six districts located in the Qilian Mountain of China. Methods: Samples of herbage (n = 240) and soil (n = 240) were collected at random in a "W" shape across the area designated for harvesting from 24 farms, where the sheep commonly graze in October (winter) for mineral analyses. In addition, serum samples were taken via jugular vein from 20 sheep per farm from 24 farms (n = 480 samples in total) for serum minerals analyses. Mean values of macro and micro minerals were statistically compared among districts and the correlations among soil-plant-animal were statistically analyzed and correlations were regressed, as well. Results: The results revealed that there were variations for both macro and micro minerals among districts. Statistical analysis of the correlation coefficients between herbage and sheep were significantly different for most of the minerals but not for P, Cu, and Se. Many correlation regression coefficients were found significantly different among minerals of herbage, soil, and sheep serum especially those of K, Na, Fe, Mn, and Zn (between herbage and sheep serum), and Fe and Mn (between herbage and soil), Na, Fe, Mn, and Zn (between soil and sheep serum), respectively. The regression coefficient equations derived under this experiment for prediction of Ca (R2 = 0.618), K (R2 = 0.803), Mg (R2 = 0.767), Na (R2 = 0.670), Fe (R2 = 0.865),Zn (R2 = 0.950), Mn (R2 = 0.936), and Se (R2 = 0.630), resulted in significant R2 values. Conclusion: It is inferred that the winter herbage minerals in all the districts were below the recommended levels for macro minerals which indicated there would be some mineral deficiencies in sheep grazing the herbage in these regions. Supplemental minerals may therefore play an important role in balancing the minerals available from the herbage in winter and would lead to increased productivity in sheep on the highland areas of China. These findings could be potentially applied to the other regions for improving the livestock productivity.

Design and Implementation of an Acoustic Modem for Small Underwater Devices Operating at Shallow Water (얕은 수심에서 동작하는 소형 수중 디바이스를 위한 음향 모뎀 설계 및 구현)

  • Jeon, Jun-Ho;Park, Sung-Joon
    • Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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    • v.49 no.11
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    • pp.110-117
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    • 2012
  • As the demand for underwater systems providing pollution monitoring, marine ecosystem observation, surveillance monitoring is increased, acoustic modem for short-range underwater communication is spotlighted as one of significant research topics. Typically, in shallow water, it is so hard to analyze acoustic wave which undergoes spreading, absorption, reflection and scattering through transmission that there are limited advanced results. Furthermore, in order for the modem to be loaded in a fixed node or a moving vehicle in shallow water, its size should be small enough. In this paper, we address underwater acoustic channel model and design and implement an efficient micro acoustic modem which is adequate for short-range underwater communication. The developed modem is verified in a lake by varying working range and data rate up to 500 meters and 2 kbps, respectively.

Climatological Variability of Satellite-derived Sea Surface Temperature and Chlorophyll in the South Sea of Korea and East China Sea (남해와 동중국해에서 위성으로 추정된 표층수온 및 클로로필의 장기 변화)

  • Son, Young-Baek;Ryu, Joo-Hyung;Noh, Jae-Hoon;Ju, Se-Jong;Kim, Sang-Hyun
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.34 no.2
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    • pp.201-218
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    • 2012
  • The purpose of this study is to investigate climatological variations from the sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a), and phytoplankton size class (PSC), using NOAA AVHRR, SeaWiFS, and MODIS data in the South Sea of Korea (SSK) and East China Sea (ECS). 26-year monthly SST and 13-year monthly Chl-a and PSC data, separated by whole and nine-different areas, were used to understand seasonal and inter-annual variations. SST and Chl-a clearly showed seasonal variations: higher SST and Chl-a were observed during the summer and spring, and lower values occurred during the winter and summer. The annual and monthly SST over 26 years increased by $0.2{\sim}1.0^{\circ}C$. The annual and monthly Chl-a concentration over 13 years decreased by $0.2{\sim}1.1mg/m^3$. To determine more detailed spatial and temporal variations, we used the combined data with monthly SST, Chl-a, and PSC. Between 1998 and 2010, the inter-annual trend of Chl-a decreased, with decreasing micro- and nano-size plankton, and increasing pico-size plankton. In regional analysis, the west region of the study area was spatially and temporally correlated with the area dominated by decreasing micro-size plankton; while the east region was less sensitive to coastal and land effects, and was dominated by increasing pico-size plankton. This phenomenon is better related to one or more forcing factors: the increased stratification of ocean driven by changes occurring in spatial variations of the SST caused limited contributions of nutrients and changed marine ecosystems in the study area.