• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1255-1265
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• 2019

To investigate the diversity of gastrointestinal microflora and lignocellulose-degrading enzymes in wild Asian elephants, three of these animals living in the same group were selected for study from the Wild Elephant Valley in the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve of Yunnan Province, China. Fresh fecal samples from the three wild Asian elephants were analyzed by metagenomic sequencing to study the diversity of their gastrointestinal microbes and cellulolytic enzymes. There were a high abundance of Firmicutes and a higher abundance of hemicellulose-degrading hydrolases than cellulose-degrading hydrolases in the wild Asian elephants. Furthermore, there were a high abundance and a rich diversity of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes) obtained from the gene set annotation of the three samples, with the majority of them showing low identity with the CAZy database entry. About half of the CAZymes had no species source at the phylum or genus level. These indicated that the wild Asian elephants might possess greater ability to digest hemicellulose than cellulose to provide energy, and moreover, the gastrointestinal tracts of these pachyderms might be a potential source of novel efficient lignocellulose-degrading enzymes. Therefore, the exploitation and utilization of these enzyme resources could help us to alleviate the current energy crisis and ensure food security.

• Journal of the korean veterinary medical association
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.314-319
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• 2012

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.111-122
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• 2009

The impact of Korea's joining the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals(CMS) was analyzed to examine its merits and faults as well as to discuss Korea's opportunities. Results of the analysis based on the agenda and decisions of the Conferences of the Parties, the parties performance, and other committees meetings over the last decades indicated that the affiliation of Korea into the CMS could provide various advantages and opportunities for Korea. First, Korea could upgrade its conservation activities regarding migratory species to the global aspects. Second, Korea could take initiatives for conservation of the migratory species in the Far East Asia. Third, Korea would have a better system in forecasting and problem-solving against the epidermic Avian Influenza through systematic cooperation with the CMS parties and other related international regimes. Finally, Korea will be in a better position to generate statistical data and to develop techniques to reduce the by-catches of the sharks and whales. Korea has already provided a fair and protective institutions for most of the migratory endangered species listed under Appendix I and II of the CMS. This implies that Korea may not require additional major changes to the basic acts and/or legislation. Joining the CMS may negatively impact on the fisheries and related businesses related to whales and sharks around the Ulsan and Pohang provinces. However, the obligation to protect whales and sharks demanded by the CMS is regarded as an acceptable article in Korea according to the analysis of the existing policies and scientific aspects. Nevertheless, if the joining the CMS should generate irreversible hardship for local people's livelihood and cultural aspects, Korea may ask for reservations on particular activities. Overall, we suggest that by joining the CMS, Korea could see various advantages and promotion in national policy.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.73-91
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• 2014

Recently the countries breeding bears such as China and Vietnam are promoting a policy that gives relief to wild animals through agreement with AAF and WSPA. Currently our country has lacking breeding space for the increased number of bred bears due to the prohibition of bear import and export from joining the CITES in 1992. There needs to be a place that treats, protects accepts breed bears in the terms of animal welfare. The bear park was hoped to be designed as a means to give relief to bears and promote harmony with the local society, and is made of parking area, waiting area, visitors center, treatment research management facilities, restaurants, food warehouse, food store, bear museum, sanitation facilities, gondola, plaza, rehabilitation area for wild animals, outdoor exhibition center, direct indirect experience area of wild animals, resting facilities and areas, photo zones, bear playground, bear experiencing facilities, fences, information facilities, tree protection facilities and more. The design can be used as a reference in examining alternative measures following the future change in breeding policy as a bear park example which reflected the ecology of a bear in the term of animal welfare.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.235-243
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• 2018

Loss of favorable habitats for species due to temperature increase is one of the main concerns of climate change on the ecosystem, and endangered species might be much more sensitive to such unfavorable changes. This study aimed to analyze the impact of future climate change on endangered wild animals in South Korea by investigating thermal sensitivity and vulnerability to temperature increase. We determined thermal sensitivity by testing normality in species distribution according to temperature. Then, we defined the vulnerability when the future temperature range of South Korea completely deviate from the current temperature range of species distribution. We identified 13 species with higher thermal sensitivity. Based on IPCC future scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, the number of species vulnerable to future warming doubled from 3 under RCP4.5 to 7 under the RCP8.5 scenario. The species anticipated to be at risk under RCP 8.5 are flying squirrel (Pteromys volans aluco), ural owl (Pteromys volans aluco), black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), tawny owl (Strix aluco), watercock (Gallicrex cinerea), schrenck?s bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythmus), and fairy pitta (Pitta nympha). The other 10 species showing very narrow temperature ranges even without normal distributions and out of the future temperature range may also need to be treated as vulnerable species, considering the inevitable observation scarcity of such endangered species.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.319-324
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• 2019

This study aimed to investigate the tick species and give background for tick-borne investigations in Korea. Ticks were collected from the area within 2 km radius of the 4 domestic animal farms, where they were located in mountainous areas and raising animals on pasture, and from animal bodies in 2014 and 2015. In total, 7,973 nymphal and adult ticks were collected from the farms - 7,758 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 198 Haemaphysalis flava, and 17 Ixodes nipponensis, and 1,763 were collected from animals - 729 H. longicornis from cattle; 569 H. longicornis from goats; and 297 H. longicornis, 118 H. flava, 1 I. nipponensis, and 49 Amblyomma testudinarium from wild boars. As more species of ticks were collected from wild boars than domesticated animals and their habitats, various animal hosts should be considered while investigating tick species.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.357-360
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• 2009

It is hypothesized that a number of environmental factors affect animals' behavior. Without controlling these variables, it is very hard for researchers to get not only reliable, but replicable data from various behavioral experiments testing animals' cognitive as well as emotional functions. For example, laboratory mice which had restricted environment showed different synaptic potentiation properties with wild mice (Zhao MG et al., 2009). While performing behavioral experiments, however, it is sometimes inevitable that the researcher changes the animals' environments, as by switching the cages in which experimental animals are housed and separating animals raised together into small experimental groups. In this study, we investigated the effect of environmental changes on mice's emotional behaviors by socially isolating them or reducing the size of their cage. We found that social isolation selectively increases the animals' levels of anxiety, while leaving depression-like behaviors unchanged. On the other hand, alteration of the housing dimensions affected neither their anxiety levels nor their depression-like behaviors. These results suggest that environmental variables may have a prominent impact on experimental animals' emotional behaviors and possibly their psychological states, leading to bias in the behavioral data produced from experiments.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.649-657
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• 2011

This study had targeted the Manjong Junction~Hongchun interchange section of Jungang highway in order to analyze the efficiency and improvement of the highway wild-life fences. Being analyzed wild-life fence as an effective facility for the prevention of road-kill, it had founded that the wild animals did not jump over even the two layer guardrail, concrete barrier and noise barrier, fence for rock fall. For the section with high road-kill decrease effect after installing the wild-life fence, the effect was higher at wild-life fence with the height of 1.0m where the door had not been installed and the well connected points of road facility than the area with fence height of 1.5m. The road-kill decrease effect was also high at the well managed areas even if the door has not been installed. Also, road-kill had occurred by concentrating around the end of wild-life fence after installing the fence, Moreover road-kill had also occurred around the cutting section. The door of wild-life fence had higher amount of road-kill occurrence as the installation interval was closer. it was analyzed that the door management has a lot of effect on road-kill decrease. The fence for rock fall, two layer guardrail and concrete barrier having the effect of wild-life fence installed on the road would have to be installed by connecting with wild-life fences through proper facility improvement. Although the door should not be installed if possible, it should be installed as automatic door or gravity door to prevent the door from leaving the door open. An escape route has to be formed for the prompt escape away from the road for the animals entered through the ending section of the fence. The eco-corridor has to be made by restoring the soil layer of dual purpose eco-corridor forming a planting area. Also, the dead body after the accident has to be disposed to the outer section of the road immediately in order to prevent the secondary road-kill by the predator from the road-kill. The fence has to be installed as 500m or longer in both ways, in other words 1,000m or longer, from the targeted spot of minimum accident prevention while connecting up to the bridge or box culvert, etc that are next road facilities if possible to guide wild animals safely to the eco-corridor.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.83-87
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• 1996

The effects of gibberilin ($GA_3$) on levels of endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and zeatin in both fresh and stratified American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) seeds were investigated. In our first experiment, the fresh seeds were stratified after soaked in 80 ppd $GA_3$ solution for 24 hours. We found that the IAA concentration in embryo increased by 50.7% and 82.1% respectively at the 120th day and the 188th day of stratification, and the zeatin concentration also increased by 3.8% and 51.6% respectively. In our second experiment, we treated the seeds after 134 days stratification with 80 ppm GA3 for 24 hours and then continued to stratify them. We found that the IAA concentration in embryo increased by 32.9% and 17.7% respectively at the 164th day and the 208th day of stratification while zeatin concentration increased by 22.7% and 30.6% respectively In our another experiment, we studied the effects of $GA_3$, abscislc acid (ABA) and GA, plus ABA on germination rate of seeds treated with these plant hormones during stratification. We found that when the stratified seeds whose ratio of embryo had reached 75% were treated with 80 ppm GA3 for 24 hours and then were allowed to be stratified for another 88 days, the weight and length of embryo (p < 0.05), and germination rate (p < 0.01) increased. In contrast, the 25 ppm ABA treated with for 24 hours was found to Inhibit the growth of embryo (p < 0.05) and reduce the germination rate (p < 0.05) . The experiment of combination treatment of $GA_3$ and ABA showed that $GA_3$ could relieve the inhibitory effects of the ABA on the development of the seeds.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.281-285
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• 2014

Ticks were collected from 35 animals from 5 provinces and 3 metropolitan cities during 2012. Ticks also were collected by tick drag from 4 sites in Gyeonggi-do (2) and Jeollabuk-do (2) Provinces. A total of 612 ticks belonging to 6 species and 3 genera were collected from mammals and a bird (n=573) and by tick drag (n=39). Haemaphyalis longicornis (n=434) was the most commonly collected tick, followed by H. flava (158), Ixodes nipponensis (11), Amblyomma testudinarium (7), H. japonica (1), and H. formosensis (1). H. longicornis and H. flava were collected from all animal hosts examined. For animal hosts (n>1), the highest Tick Index (TI) was observed for domestic dogs (29.6), followed by Siberian roe deer (17.4), water deer (14.4), and raccoon dogs (1.3). A total of 402 H. longicornis (adults 86, 21.4%; nymphs 160, 39.8%; larvae 156, 38.9%) were collected from wild and domestic animals. A total of 158 H. flava (n=158) were collected from wild and domestic animals and 1 ring-necked pheasant, with a higher proportion of adults (103, 65.2%), while nymphs and larvae only accounted for 12.7% (20) and 22.2% (35), respectively. Only 7 A. testudinarium were collected from the wild boar (6 adults) and Eurasian badger (1 nymph), while only 5 I. nipponensis were collected from the water deer (4 adults) and a raccoon dog (1 adult). One adult female H. formosensis was first collected from vegetation by tick drag from Mara Island, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do Province.