• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.189-194
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• 2024

Cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) is a large raptor that belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Falconiformes. It is a migratory bird that returns to Mongolia after wintering in the Korean Peninsula. In February 2015, a cinereous vulture was rescued from Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do Province as it could not fly. It was transferred to the Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center in Korea. It was found to have a closed fracture on the right radius through radiographic examination, a basic procedure. Surgery was performed at the fracture site using a shuttle pin and wire. After successful physical therapy and rehabilitation, the cinereous vulture was released in October 2015. A metal ring (150-00713) and wing tags (G/BL 3) were attached to the bird before its release for subsequent identification. Two years and 4 months later, in March 2018, the cinereous vulture was rescued and brought back to the center. It was diagnosed with secondary pesticide poisoning. After receiving treatment, a radiography test revealed no specific findings related to the previous fracture surgery. Considering that migratory birds travel long distances, it was confirmed that the treatment for reducing the fracture in the radius using a shuttle pin and a cerclage wire was suitable.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.305-315
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• 2013

This study is aimed to provide the preliminary data for conservation and management of wintering site for Anser fabalis population in Cheongna Area, Incheon Free Economic Zone, Korea through analyzing the relationship between the biotop structure of its wintering site and behavior characteristics. The main types (size and ratio) of the biotope in Cheongna Area, Incheon Free Economic Zone are reed wetlands ($6,093,762m^2$, 47.8%), rice fields without rice straw ($2,927,916m^2$, 23.0%), and rice fields with rice straw ($1,915,655m^2$, 15.0%). According to the survey carried on 13th Feb., 2013, total 33 species and 6, 535 individual birds were observed and among of them, the dominant bird was Anser fabalis showing 5,128 indiviuals, 78% of total population. As the result of analyzing the migratory route of Anser fabalis, the bird moved from roosting site to foraging site before and after sunrise and from feeding site to roosting site before and after sunset. According to the analysis of interrelation between habitat characteristics and biotope types of the bird, population density was the highest in reed wetlands among habitat types and individual appearance was the highest in water-filled rice field melting ice. The bird ate the roots and bulb of hydrophytes in reed wetlands and showed various behaviors like eating dropped grains, resting and sleeping in water-filled rice fields and eating dropped grains and resting in rice fields with and without rice straw. It is shown that the number of Anser fabalis appearing in rice fields is depended on the presence of dropped grains than types of rice field.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2019

Pintail (Anas acuta) is the major wintering bird in South Korea and known as a major mediator of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Pintail migrates long distances between Russian Siberia and Korea. This species prefers a rice paddy area as their winter habitat. The purpose of this study is to provide the data necessary for the conservation and management of bird habitats in Korea by understanding the wintering home-range and habitat of pintail in Korea. We captured six pintails using a cannon-net in the winter of 2015 and attached the GPS-mobile phone based telemetry (WT-300) on them to study the wintering home-range and wintering habitat. We analyzed the tracking location data using ArcGIS 9.0 Animal Movement Extension and calculated Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) and Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP). The average home-range in the wintering ground analyzed by MCP was $677.3km^2$ (SD=130.2, n=6) while the maximum and minimum were $847.7km^2$ and $467.5km^2$, respectively. Extents of home-range analyzed by KDE were $194.7km^2$ (KDE 90%), $77.4km^2$ (KDE 70%), and $35.3km^2$ (KDE 50%). The pintails mostly used both sea and paddy field as habitat in the winter season and utilized paddy fields more during the nighttime and than the daytime. We concluded that the home-range and habitat of pintails in the winter could be used as the reference data for the preservation of species, management of habitats, and coping with a breakout of HPAI.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.40-61
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• 2009

The Cretaceous Gyeongsang Supergroup, composed of clastic sediments mostly deposited in the lacustrine and fluvial environment, is widely distributed in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. Diverse fossils of plants, molluscs, insects, footprints of dinosaurs, pterosaurs and birds, and eggs, bones, and teeth of dinosaurs have been found from the Gyeongsang Supergroup. New types of dinosaur, pterosaur, and bird tracks recently discovered from the Gyeongsang Supergroup attract great attention from the world. Several tracksites of dinosaurs and birds were designated as Natural Monument and nationally conserved, and many efforts have given to them for nomination of UNESCO World Heritage. Bird tracks from the Gyeonsang Supergroup are Koreanaornis hamanensis, Jindongornipes kimi, Goseongornipes markjonesi, Ignotornis yangi, Uhangrichnus chuni, and Hwangsanipes choughi, which correspond approximately one third of Mesozoic bird tracks recorded from the world. The Gyeongsang Basin of the Korean Peninsula yields world most diverse bird tracks which may be called a paradise of Mesozoic birds and they are important natural heritage providing significant information about evolution and paleogeographic distribution of birds.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.37-43
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• 2008

We analyzed soil characteristics, soil seed banks, and plant communities in a small islet in Ganwol Lake from May 2005 to August 2006 to examine the forces driving plant settlement on sand bars and the effects of plant settlement patterns on nesting sites of little terns (Sterna albifrons). The soil nutrients contents in a site where the feces of wintering birds accumulate (N: 15.4 mg/kg, P: 10.5 mg/kg, LOI: 0.51 %, pH: 6.8) and a site where organic sediments accumulate (N: 20.7 mg/kg, P: 16.4 mg/kg, LOI: 0.40%, pH: 6.6) were much higher those of a control site which was not affected by bird feces and organic sediments (N: 4.1 mg/kg, P: 5.4 mg/kg, LOI: 0.41%, pH: 6.7). However, a seed bank was formed only on the site with accumulated organic sediments. Plant settlement was accelerated by feces from wintering birds and organic sediment accumulation on sand bars in Ganwol Lake. The percentage of area disturbed by human activities increased from 0.2% in May 2005 to 13.9% in August 2006, and the percentage of annual communities increased from 27.5% to 43.3%, but the percentage of open area decreased from 55.2% to 28.0% from May 2005 to August 2006. These increases in disturbed area and annual communities decreased the open area for breeding of little terns. The enlargement of P. communis and T. angustata communities was suppressed by irregular flooding. These results provide useful information for the management of little tern breeding sites for conservation purposes.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.104-116
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• 2019

Background: The composition of wild bird populations in temperate zones greatly varies depending on phenological changes rather than other environmental factors. Particularly, wild birds appearing in wetlands fluctuate greatly due to the crossover of species arriving for breeding during the summer and for wintering. Therefore, to understand the changes to species composition related to phenology, we conducted this basic analysis of populations to further the cause of the protection of wetland-dependent wild birds. Methods: It is wrong to simply divide a wild bird population investigation into seasons. This study identifies species composition and indicator species that change along with seasons. Wetlands to be surveyed are protected by natural monuments and wetland inventory and are in a state close to nature. In order to identify as many species as possible in wetlands, a survey was conducted in both shallow and deep wetlands. The water depth varied in these areas, ranging from 0.2 to 2.0 m, allowing for both dabbling and diving ducks to inhabit the area. Surveys were conducted using line-transect and distance sampling methods and were conducted at intervals of 2 weeks. The survey was conducted under the following three categories: the eco-tone and emergent zone, the submergent zone, and the water surface. The survey was conducted along a wetland boundary by observing wild birds. A PC-ord program was used for clustering, and the SAS program was used to analyze the changes in species composition. The data strongly indicates that day length is the main factor for seasonal migration periods, despite the fact that climate change and increasing temperatures are often discussed. Results and conclusions: The indicator species for determining seasons include migrant birds such as Ardea cinerea, Alcedo atthis, Anas penelope, and Poiceps ruficollis, as well as resident birds such as Streptopelia orientalis and Emberiza elegans. Importantly, increases in local individual counts of these species may also serve as indicators. The survey results of seasonal fluctuations in temperate zones shows that spring (April to June), summer (July to September), autumn (October), and winter (November to March) are clearly distinguishable, even though spring and summer seasons tend to overlap, leading to the conclusion that additional research could more clearly identify fluctuation patterns in species composition and abundance in the study area.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.294-303
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• 2013

BACKGROUND: It is well known that rice-fields can provide excellent foraging places for birds including seasonal migrants, wintering, and breeding and hence the high biodiversity of rice-fields may be expected. However, how environmental change including climate-changes on life-history and population dynamics in birds on rice-fields has not been fully understood. In order to investigate how climate-change affects population migratory patterns and migration timing, I modeled a population dynamics of birds in rice-fields over a whole year. METHODS AND RESULTS: I applied the Lotka-Volterra equation to model the population dynamics of birds that have been foraging/visiting rice-fields in Korea. The simple model involves the number of interspecific individuals and temperature, and the model parameters are periodic in time as the biological activities related to the migration, wintering and reproduction are seasonal. As results, firstly there was a positive relationship between the variation of seasonal population sizes and temperature change. Secondly, the reduced lengths of season were negatively related to the population size. Overall, the effects of the difference of lengths of season on seasonal population dynamics were higher than the effects of seasonal temperature change. CONCLUSION(S): Climate change can alter population dynamics of birds in rice-fields and hence the variation may affect the fitness, such as reproduction, survival and migration. The unstable balances of population dynamics in birds using paddy rice field as affected by climate change can reduce the population growth and species diversity in rice fields. The results suggest that the agricultural production is partly affected by the unstable balance of population in birds using rice-fields.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.301-308
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• 2008

We conducted the survey about the avian fauna, population, community and correlation between avian population and densities of the fallen rice grain in Cheonsu reclaimed area(Ganwol and Bunam Lake and reclaimed land) from Oct. 2006 to Mar. 2007. Total surveyed species number was 142 species, sum of maximum count of each species was 362,797 individuals, sum of average count of each species was 84,818 individuals. Comparing with early and late wintering season, number of species was stable in each survey time, but total population was decreased as the season progressed. Dominant species were Bean Geese Anser fabalis, Baikal Teals Anas formosa, White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons, Mallards Anas platyrhynchos and Pintails Anas acuta. Population fluctuation of the Bean Geese Anser fabalis, Baikal Teals Anas formosa, Mallards Anas platyrhynchos, PintailsAnas acuta was decreasing, but population of the White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons was stable. Number of species, total population were not significantly different among Ganwol, Bunam and Cheonsu Bay. Survey period was significantly correlated with species diversity and population in each area, and most community indices of each area were shown significant correlation. The density of the fallen rice grain was significantly different between the harvested rice paddy by big harvesting machine and small harvesting machine. Density of the fallen rice grain in stubble collected area was significantly different with area of stubble not collected. Density of the fallen rice grain was drastically decreased in the middle of wintering season, but not significantly different between Dec. 2006 and Feb. 2007. Avian population was strongly correlated with number of fallen rice grain in the same period.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.113-122
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• 2014

This study was conducted to clarify the community characteristics of wintering waterbirds in Geum River from September, 2011 to March, 2012 (1st) and from September, 2012 to March, 2013 (2nd). 63 species of waterbirds including raptors were observed during the survey. 50 species of 188,673 individuals recorded during the first survey, and 56 species of 116,611 individuals were recorded during the second survey. The dominant species was high dominance dabbling ducks by Baikal Teals, Mallards, Spot-billed Ducks, Greater White-fronted Geese, Black-tailed Gulls and Common Shelducks. We classified the wintering waterbirds into 9 taxa based on the similar ecological characteristics and analyzed the correlation with temperature. As a result, dabbling ducks, diving ducks and raptors showed positive correlation and herons and waders showed negative correlation. Geese, swans and dabbling ducks were high habitat utilization ratio at the Geumgang estuary barrage upstream area, and diving ducks, herons, waders and gulls were high habitat utilization ratio at the Geumgang estuary barrage downstream area.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.264-272
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• 2015

Understanding bird status is essential for the systematic and sustainable management of the Nakdong River Estuary, taking into consideration the relationship between ecosystems and the bird species. In this study, bird status in the Nakdong River Estuary Bird Sanctuary prior to the Four Major Rivers Project was analyzed using the bird monitoring data (2003-2011) from surveys conducted by the Busan Development Institute. The high percentage of winter visitors in terms of both species diversity (38.36%) and individual bird numbers (63.14%) suggest that the Nakdong River Estuary is an important wintering site for migratory birds. Cumulative numbers of individual birds were higher in Myungji (208,601), West Nakdong River (202,444), Eulsukdo (153,232), and Baekhap Doyodeung (150,595). The total numbers of migratory species were higher in Eulsukdo (171), Ilungdo (124), Myungji (132), and Samrak (121). Among the 232 species found in the Nakdong River Estuary, Anas platyrhynchos (17.71%) was the most common species, followed by Anas poecilorhyncha (8.85%), Larus crassirostris (6.48%), Anser fabalis (6.09%), Anas penelope (5.16%), and Calidris alpina (4.22%). Most bird taxa, except shelducks, showed annual fluctuations in individual numbers, with increasing frequency during survey periods. Of these, cormorants, swans, and gulls showed higher fluctuations than other taxa. Swans decreased drastically in numbers in 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 compared to previous years. Shore birds, gulls, wagtails, and other forest birds were also less common in 2010-2011. These results suggest that there were some environmental changes that might have affected the birds in the Nakdong River Estuary. Overall, the results suggest that habitat types affect the distribution of dominant species.