• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.253-266
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• 2011

The number of vascular plants in Mt. Cheongwan was 323 taxa, which were consisted of 89 families, 221 genera, 270 species, 47 varieties, and 6 formas. Corylopsis coreana belonged in level II of extinction crisis wild plant were found. Six taxa of Korean endemic plants of 6 families, 6 genera, 5 species, and 1 forma were distributed. And also, 40 taxa of floristic specially plants of which 29 in level I, 2 in level II, 6 in level III, 2 in level IV, and finally 1 in level V were recognized. The ratio of naturalized and urbanization index was 3.72 % and 4.14 %, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.279-284
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• 2008

The feeding ecology of endangered Cottus hangiongensis was studied in the Hosan stream from September 2006 to August 2007 by collecting them seasonally. The stomach contents of C. hangiongensis consisted mainly of aquatic insects and Nematoda, small fish, fish eggs, snails (Semisulcospira libertina), and small stones were also observed. The main aquatic insects in the order of relative importance were Diptera, Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera. The most important prey items were Chironomidae sp.1 and Hydropsyche kozhantschikovi. Change in the main prey organisms by season were Trichoptera in the spring and the summer, Diptera in the autumn, and Plecoptera in the winter by ratio of dry weight.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.130-142
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• 2006

The Weolchulsan is one of the phytogeographically important areas among national parks of Korea because this region is located in the northern limit of Southern Plant Types. The flora of the area was enlisted as 516 taxa, 106 families, 318 genera, 453 species, 59 varieties, and 4 forms. The six taxa such as Diplomorpha trichotoma, Monotropastrum globosum, Hololeion maximowiczii, Drosera rotundifolia, Utricularia japonica and Utricularia racemosa are enlisted as the Rare and Endangered Species which is categorized by the Korea Forest Service. The Ratio of Naturalized and Urbanization Index was 4.65% and 9.06%, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2020

Domestic cats (Felis catus) introduced to insular environments can be invasive predators that often threaten endemic species and cause biodiversity loss or local extinction on the island. This study was conducted from March to July 2018 to understand the population size, home range, and spatial use of cats introduced to Mara Islet (N 33° 07', E 126° 16') in Jeju Special Governing Province, the Republic of Korea. Observation records based on their natural marks revealed that there were 20 adult cats on Mara Islet. A capture-recapture method also estimated 20 adult individuals (95% confidence interval: 20-24 individuals). According to our telemetry study on ten adults deployed with GPS-based telemetry units, the home range size was 12.05±6.99 ha (95% KDE: kernel density estimation), and the core habitat size was 1.60±0.77 ha (50% KDE). There were no significant differences in the home range and core habitat sizes by sex. The home range of domestic cats overlapped with the human residential area, where they might secure easy foods. Five of ten tracked cats were active at potential breeding colonies for the Crested Murrlet (Synthliboramphus wumizusume), and six approached potential breeding areas of the Styan's Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella pleskei), suggesting the predation risk of the two endangered species by cats. This study provides novel information on the population size and home range of introduced cats on Mara Islet which is an important stopover site of migratory birds as well as a breeding habitat of the two endangered avian species. Reducing the potential negative impacts of the introduced cats on migratory birds and the endangered species on Mara Islet requires monitoring of the predation rate of birds by cats, the population trends of cats and endangered breeding birds as well as the effective cat population control and management.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.222-234
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• 2019

Fish community characteristics and habitat aspects of endangered species, Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa and Acheilognathus signifer were investigated in the Hwayangcheon Stream of Songnisan National Park, a tributary of the Hangang River, Korea from April to October 2018. During this period, there were 29 species of 8 families collected from 11 survey stations using kick nets, cast nets long bag set nets. The dominant and subdominant species were Zacco koreanus (38.81%) and Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (16.64%), respectively. The next most abundant species were Z. platypus (14.28%), Pungtungia herzi (6.92%), Hemibarbus longirostris (4.52%), Pseudogobio esocinus (3.51%), A. signifer (2.31%) and P. tenuicorpa (1.90%). Among the fish collected, 18 species (62.1%) were Korean endemic species. Endangered species were A. signifer, P. tenuicorpa and Gobiobotia brevibarba. From upstream to downstream, the dominance index has gradually decreased, but number of species and individuals, diversity and evenness has gradually increased. Also, river health (index of biological integrity) is assessed as good (St. 1~8) and very good (St. 9~11). Fish communities were divided into four sections by the similarity index based on species and their numbers, i.e., upper section (St. 1~2, 4~5), upper-middle section (St. 3, 6), middle section (St. 7~9) and lower section (St. 10~11). Endangered species, Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa inhabited in mostly lower section (St. 10~11) with rock and boulder bottoms, and age groups in April estimated from total length indicated that the 44~61 mm group is 1 year old, the 66~81 mm group is 2 years old, the 88~99 mm group is 3 years old, and the 104~107 mm group is more than 4 years old. Also, endangered species, A. signifer inhabited in middle-lower section (St. 7~11) with boulder and cobble bottoms and slow velocity, which the place inhabited by water plants. Meanwhile, their age structure in April estimated from total length indicated that the 30~43 mm group is 1 year old, the 48~58 mm group is 2 years old, the 62~77 mm group is 3 years old, and the 84~100 mm group is more than 4 years old. The sex ratio of female (47) to male (42) was 1 : 0.89.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.107 no.4
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• pp.361-377
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• 2018

The aim of this study was to examine whether the guideline by the Ministry of Environment (ME) successfully and appropriately applied the IUCN Red List criteria at regional level and the rare and endangered national list considered eligible. A certain number of vascular plants, which are widely distributed in the world or in east Asia, deemed to be ineligible for assessment at a regional level as Not Applicable category (NA), because it occurs at very low numbers in South Korea. Among 377 vascular plant taxa evaluated by the ME, NA included 238 species, which represented 63.1%. The number of synonymized species or illegitimate name species were 13 species, which accounted for 3.4%. 21 species (9.3%) were threatened at global level and 103 species were possibly candidates species list for Red List assessments at regional level in the near future. The proportion of NA or waiting list was 66.6% among the list assessed by the ME. The most common errors involved incorrectly application of species extinction in case of population extinction in South Korea to the assessment and provided incorrect interpretation of the Red List criteria at regional level. The most assessments proposed by ME were not backed up without quantitative data quality, justifications, and sources. It is suggested that the risk of extinction should be reassessed at least in the Korean peninsula within the light of their overall distribution including far eastern Russia and North eastern China in north and for Japan and Taiwan in south for regional assessment. The results obtained here using the IUCN criteria at regional level showed that the list proposed by the ME produced an overestimation of the number of threatened vascular plants. Also, the misapplication of the term 'species extinction' for regional assessment was open to some degree of subjectivity and misinterpretation.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.151-162
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• 2023

This study investigated the characteristics of fish communities and inhabiting status of the endangered species, Rhodeus pseudosericeus, in the Geumdang Stream in Korea from March to October 2021. A total of 1,698 fish in 5 families and 25 species were collected from 7 survey stations during the survey period. The dominant species was Zacco platypus (relative abundance, 46.5%), and the subdominant species was Squalidus gracilis majimae (16.7%), followed by Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (12.0%), Z. koreanus (5.7%), Pungtungia herzi (3.2%), R. pseudosericeus (2.0%), R. notatus (1.9%), and Acheilognathus rhombeus (1.8%). Nine Korean endemic species (36.0%) were collected, including R. pseudosericeus, R. uyekii, Sarcocheilichthys variegatus wakiyae, Microphysogobio yaluensis, S. gracilis majimae, Z. koreanus, Cobitis nalbanti, Iksookimia koreensis, and Odontobutis interrupta. An exotic species, Micropterus salmoides, designated as an invasive alien species (IAS), was collected downstream. The investigation of the habitat patterns of the endangered species (class II), Rhodeus pseudosericeus, showed a habitat range of about 6 to 7 km in the middle of Geumdang Stream (RP-1 to RP-4), and this species inhabited the edge with water depths of 0.3 through 1.0 m with slow water flow and many aquatic plants. According to the community analysis results, the overall dominance and evenness indexes were low, while diversity and richness indexes were high, and the cluster structure was largely divided into upstream and middle-downstream areas. The river health (fish assessment index) evaluated using fish was assessed as good (3 stations), normal (3 stations), and bad (1 station), and water quality was evaluated as good both upstream and downstream. Compared to previous studies, the number of species was relatively similar, and among the species that appeared in the past, 13 species did not appear in this survey, while 6 species appeared for the first time in this survey. Disturbance factors included river construction, many weirs, and the appearance of the ecosystem-disturbing species, M. salmoides. Since Geumdang Strem has high conservation value because it is home to many species in the Acheilognathinae subfamily, including the endangered species R. pseudosericeus, continuous attention and systematic conservation measures are required.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.39-50
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• 2024

In ecosystems within limited resources, interspecific competition is inevitable, often leading to the competitive exclusion of inferior species. This study aims to provide foundational information for the conservation and restoration management of Microphysogobio rapidus by evaluating species' ecological response to biological factors within its habitat. To understand this relationship, we collected food web organisms from site where M. rapidus coexist with Microphysogobio yaluensis, a specie ecologically similar to M. rapidus, and evaluated the trophic levels (TL), isotopic niche space (INS), and the overlap of INS among fishes within the habitat using stable isotope analysis. Our analysis revealed that the M. rapidus exhibited a higher TL than M. yaluensis, with TL of 2.6 and 2.4, respectively. M. yaluensis exhibited a broad INS, significantly influencing the feeding characteristics of most fish. Conversely, M. rapidus showed a narrow INS and asymmetric feeding relationships with other species, in habitats with high competition levels. This feeding characteristics of M. rapidus indicate that the increase in competitors sharing the similar resources lead to a decrease in available resources and, consequently, is expected to result in a decrease in their density.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2020

Investigations of distribution status and extinction threat evaluation of the Korean endemic species, Iksookimia yongdokensis were undertaken from 2017 to 2018. Among the 22 streams and 97 sampling sites investigated during the study period, samples of I. yongdokensis were collected from 9 streams at 37 sites (from Daejongcheon Stream of Gyeongju-si to Songcheon Stream of Yeongdeok-gun). The appearance of I. yongdokensis was relatively common in streams such as Hyeongsangang River (15 stations), Yeongdeok Oshipcheon Stream (4 stations), Gokgangcheon Stream (4 stations), Chuksancheon Stream (3 stations) and Daejongcheon Stream (3 stations). The main habitat of I. yongdokensis was in pools on flat-land in streams of clean water with slow velocity, and with pebble, gravel and sand bottoms. Previous records of the appearance of I. yongdokensis, indicate they were first seen at seven stations including Jangsacheon Stream, but they were not present in Songcheon Stream. Compared to our results there is evidence as noted for a 38.9% reduction in occupancy within 3 generations (10.5 years), and a decline inhabitat quality. Therefore, I. yongdokensis is now considered vulnerable (VU A2ace) based on the IUCN Red List categories and criteria. The main reasons for the decline were assumed to be dry weathering in the river, the introduction and diffusion of exotic fish species Micropterus salmoides, and river refurbishment project.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.977-985
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• 2016

The captive breeding program of the Reeve's turtle (Mauremys reevesii), which is designated as an endangered category II species by the Korean Ministry of Environment, has developed, but the reproductive physiology of the species is still not fully understood. In this study, we investigated seasonal changes in the sex steroid levels, the number and size of follicles and eggs and male-female interactive behaviors of hibernated and non-hibernated turtles between November 2014 and October 2015. Plasma estradiol level in females increased from July and peaked in the period from August to October. Plasma testosterone level in males peaked between August and September and was the lowest in March, although there were some variations depending on the patterns of hibernation. Hibernated females had fully developed eggs between early May and middle July and laid eggs between early June and late July, but non-hibernated females had eggs between early April and early June and also between middle August and late November, and laid eggs in early June, mid-October, and early February. These results suggest that hibernation could be essential for normal follicular and egg developments. Male-female interactive behaviors including courtship intensified from late August and peaked in October and November. Our findings suggest that mating period of this species is directly related to increased steroid hormone levels, but follicular and egg developments in females are not. Our results could be very useful to the successful operation of captive rearing programs of the endangered Reeve' sturtles.