• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.317-326
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• 2021

The present study was carried out with a view to understand the distribution and ecology of Clihton retropictus (Martens, 1879), a class II endangered wildlife designated and protected by the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea, and to suggest the effective conservation and management measures for this species and its habit. First, the distribution of Clihton retropictus was investigated nationwide, and environmental factors such as salinity and substratum were analyzed in consideration of the ecological characteristics of this species. In addition, the individual size, density, and movement of Clihton retropictus per each district surveyed were analyzed. Due to its nature of inhabiting in the brackish water zone, the analysis showed that the salinity of this species was 0.7 ~ 16.6‰ at low tide and 1.0 ~ 17.3% at high tide. It was learned from the analysis of substratum that its composition in each river under investigation was slightly different, but most of substratum had a higher composition ratio than gravel (pebble, 16 ~ 64 mm). On the other hand, the size of each individual was checked by measuring the length of its diameter, and there was almost no change in the individual when the inhabited range of Clihton retropictus was short. However, there was tendency that the longer the habitat range, the bigger the individual size. From surveying the population density by season, it was made clear that, during the summer (July to August) and fall (September to October), the density was relatively higher while the number of individuals decreased significantly during winter (November to December) when the water temperature was lowered. In an effort to effectively establish conservation and management measures, the moving distance was measured, and it became known that, during the surveys in summer and fall when the individuals were active, the individuals moved in more distances than during the winter survey. The results of this study are expected to be utilized as basic data for establishing effective management plans such as creation of habitats for Clihton retropictus, its migration projects and selection of migration destinations which get unavoidable due to development projects.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.311-316
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• 1999

Community organization of the drosophilid flies was investigated with respect to the seasonal variation of the species abundance at the natural forests on Mt. Soribong in Kwang-nung (Kyung-Ki Do, Korea) from May to October 1996. The dominant species were Amiota okadai. Scaptomyza pallida, Hirtodrosophila sexvittata. Drosophila bizonata. D. unispina. and D. brachynephros in the annual collection. A. okadai was found with numerically dominance in April and was found in June with less superiority. S. pallida showed their highest peak in occupational in May and after soon they decreased. There was a remarkable increase in the numbers of H. sexvittata in July. This increase may be coincident with the appearance of fungi which provide a breeding site for this species in the forest. On the other hand, D. biauraria and D. triauraria showed their highest peak in May and after soon they decreased, and in September they made the lower peak again. Four species (D. anguraria. D. brachnephros, D. nigromaculata, D. unispina) of qunaria group were found with dominance in August to September. These results suggest that the predominant species in the forest avoid niche overlap by means of seasonal separation of breeding, which is strongly affected by factors associated with season in the deep wooded forests.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.166-173
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• 2017

Morphological and population characteristics of the Cottus koreanus were investigated at Hoam stream from October 2015 and April 2016. This is the first record on C. koreanus not only from Hoam stream (the upstream region of Daejong stream, Gyeongsangbuk-do Gyeongju-si Yangbuk-myeon Hoam-ri) but also from the stream flowing into the Samcheogosip stream, in the southern part of East Sea, Korea. The distribution of C. koreanus ranged from Girim temple to Yongyeon waterfall, about 1.2 km, and the water surface were about $3,600m^2$. The population size was assumed to 1,656 individual number, 46 object per $100m^2$. The morphometric characteristics of C. koreanus in the Hoam stream and the Han river are very similar except that the population at Hoam stream shorter head length, ventral fin ray length, pectoral fin ray length and mouth width when compared with the population at Han river. Other than that, the two populations showed the same meristic characters. Frequency analysis of total length indicated that the group with 40~59 mm in total length was one year old, the 60~79 mm was two years old, and the group over 80 mm was three years old. The average number of eggs in the ovaries was estimated as 361 (239~468) per matured female. The number of matured eggs size in ovaries was $2.6{\pm}0.21$ (23.~3.1) mm and this species was large eggs type. Calculation of the length-weight relation of C. koreanus showed the value of constant a as 0.00001 and b as 3.01, and the Condition factor (K) was 1.26 an on average.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.226-238
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• 2011

Ichthyological fauna and community structure were surveyed in the Naeseong Stream around the planed Yeongju Dam, Yeongju City, Gyeongsangbuk-do from April 2007 to October 2009, During the survey period, 27 species (25 genera, 10 families) were collected. Cyprinid fish comprised 63.0% (17 species) and cobitid fish comprised 7.4% (2 species). Ten of the 27 species (37.0%) were endemic species. The dominant and subdominant species based on the number of individuals was Zacco platypus (43.2%) and Zacco koreanus (15.8%), respectively. Introduced from the other native rivers and exotic fish were Opsariichthys uncirostris amurensis, Leiocassis ussuriensis, and Micropterus salmoides (11.1%). The declining population density of Zacco koreanus and its subdominant status represents a change, since, up until the mid 1990's, it was widely distributed throughout the area and was the dominant species. The distribution area of Zacco koreanus decreased in size; by 2009, it no longer inhabited the lower reaches of the Naeseong Stream. On the other hand, Zacco platypus remained the dominant species throughout the area, except for the upper-reaches of the water-course. Gobiobotia naktongensis inhabited all areas of Naeseong Stream, which mainly has a sandy bottom. Analyses of the fish community revealed species diversity, even-ness and dominant indices were 0.881, 0.615, and 0.230 respectively. These results showed that the main river, in which the water width and flow are abundant and which has various habitats, has a higher species diversity (0.829) than the tributary (0.735).

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.169-182
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• 2022

This study was conducted to predict the distribution of rare·endemic plants (Sophora koreensis Nakai) in the border forests where wildfire damage occurred and to quantify the damage. For this purpose, we tried to derive more accurate results through forest area damage (NBR) according to the Burn severity of wildfires, damage by tree species type (Vegetation map), and MaxEnt model. For Burn severity analysis, satellite imagery (Landsat-8) was used to analyze Burn severity (ΔNBR2016-2015) and to derive the extent of damage. To prepare the Vegetation map, the land cover map prepared by the Ministry of Environment, the Vegetation map prepared by the Korea Forest Service, and the vegetation survey conducted by itself were conducted to prepare the clinical map before and after the forest fire. Lastly, for MaxEnt model analysis, the AUC value was derived by using the habitat coordinates of Sophora koreensis Nakai based on the related literature and self-report data. As a result of combining the Maxent model analysis data with the Burn severity data, it was confirmed that 45.9% of the 44,760 m² of habitat (predicted) area of Sophora koreensis Nakai in the wildfire damaged area or 20,552 m², was damaged.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.469-477
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• 2018

Hanabusaya asiatica is an endemic species whose distribution is limited in the mid-eastern part of the Korean peninsula. Due to its narrow range and small population, it is necessary to protect its habitats by identifying it as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) adopted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In this paper, we estimated potential natural habitats for H. asiatica using maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) and identified candidate sites for KBA based on the model results. MaxEnt is a machine learning algorithm that can predict habitats for species of interest unbiasedly with presence-only data. This property is particularly useful for the study area where data collection via a field survey is unavailable. We trained MaxEnt using 38 locations of H. asiatica and 11 environmental variables that measured climate, topography, and vegetation status of the study area which encompassed all locations of the border region between South and North Korea. Results showed that the potential habitats where the occurrence probabilities of H. asiatica exceeded 0.5 were $778km^2$, and the KBA candidate area identified by taking into account existing protected areas was $1,321km^2$. Of 11 environmental variables, elevation, annual average precipitation, average precipitation in growing seasons, and the average temperature in the coldest month had impacts on habitat selection, indicating that H. asiatica prefers cool regions at a relatively high elevation. These results can be used not only for identifying KBAs but also for the reference to a protection plan for H. asiatica in preparation of Korean reunification and climate change.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.243-248
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• 2015

This study was conducted to predict the changes of potential distribution for invasive alien plant, Conyza bonariensis in Korea. C. bonariensis was found in southern Korea (Jeju, south coast, southwest coast). The habitats of C. bonariensis were roadside, bare ground, farm area, and pasture, where the interference by human was severe. Due to the seed characteristics of Compositae, C. bonariensis take long scattering distance and it will easily spread by movement of wind, vehicles and people. C. canadensis in same Conyza genus has already spread on a national scale and it is difficult to manage. We used maximum entropy modeling (MaxEnt) for analyzing the environmental influences on C. bonariensis distribution and projecting on two different RCP scenarios, RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5. The results of our study indicated annual mean temperature, elevation and temperature seasonality had higher contribution for C. bonariensis potential distribution. Area under curve (AUC) values of the model was 0.9. Under future climate scenario, the constructed model predicted that potential distribution of C. bonariensis will be increased by 338% on RCP 4.5 and 769% on RCP 8.5 in 2100s.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.108-118
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to provide baseline ecological data for the conservation of the Manchurian trout habitat through the investigation of the growth status of Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis, and Pearson's correlation analysis (PCA) between the B. lenok tsinlingensis population and the use of the land around Gyebangcheon stream. Sampling was conducted twice in July, September, and October 2018. During the July and September surveys, 882 individuals belonging to 13 species from six families were collected. The dominant species was Rhynchocypris kumgangensis and the subdominant species was Zacco koreanus. The total number of B. lenok tsinlingensis collected was 99. The results of the length-weight relationship in the B. lenok tsinlingensis population were analyzed with a regression coefficient b value of 3.1272 and a condition factor (k) value of 0.0006. Therefore, the growth condition of B. lenok tsinlingensis was regarded as fairly good. The QHEI(Qualitative habitat evaluation index) value in the B. lenok tsinlingensis habitat was 119.5(±0.5)-153.5(±0.5), indicating optimal-suboptimal conditions. As a result of the HIS (Habitat suitability index) analysis, it was confirmed that the optimal habitat for B. lenok tsinlingensis was 0.45-0.55m and >1 m in water depth, 0.55-0.65 m s^-1 in water velocity, and boulder in the substrate. The ratio of the land use in this study site was analyzed as 66.26-96.31% for forest and grassland areas, 0.00-23.79% for agricultural areas, 0.00-4.19% for urbanized areas, and 3.69-8.87% for others. Correlation analysis of the number of B. lenok tsinlingensis and various factors revealed statistically significant correlations between QHEI and forest and grassland areas, agricultural areas, and urbanized areas.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.138-147
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• 2022

Paddy fields are important habitats for maintaining the biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems. Recently, as the need for safe food and biodiversity conservation has increased, the rice cultivation methods have undergone changes. This study was conducted to investigate the fish fauna in Environmentally Friendly Paddy fields (EFP) and Conventional Paddy fields (CP), and compare the characteristics of Misgurnus anguillicaudatus and Aphyocypris chinensis populations in EFP and CP. A total of 2,703 fish were collected and classified into six families and 13 species. Our results showed that there was a difference in the proportion of fish populations in the two paddy fields, and the number of individuals in EFP was higher than in CP. The weight values of M. anguillicaudatus were higher in EFP than in CP, and the total length, body length, and weight values of A. chinensis were higher in EFP than in CP. Conditional factor(K) values also showed similar trends in EFP and CP. Our results indicate that the farming practices in paddy fields have a significant effect on the characteristics of M. anguillicaudatus and A. chinensis populations, and the results of this study can be used as basic data for securing biodiversity in future agricultural ecosystems.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.718-728
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• 2015

The fish community and inhabiting status of introduced fish were surveyed at nine stations of Gangeungnamdae stream from September 2013 to May 2014. A total of 36 species of fourteen families were collected from the survey stations and among them, Pungitius sinensis was identified as endangered species. There were nine Korean endemic species (25%) including Coreoleuciscus splendidus. Dominant species were Rhynchocypris steindachneri (St. 1), Zacco koreanus (St. 2, 4, 5, 6), Ladislabia taczanowskii (St. 3)), Zacco platypus (St. 7, 8) and Tribolodon hakonensis (St. 9). Of the 11 introduced species fishes in Gangeungnamdae stream, L. taczanowskii, Pungtungia herzi, Coreoleuciscus splendidus, Squalidus gracilis majimae, Pseudogobio esocinus, Rhynchocypris kumgangensis, Z. platypus, Z. koreanus, Koreocobitis rotundicaudata, Liobagrus andersoni and Coreoperca herzi were released from Han river water zone in Korean. Rapidly expanded population and distribution of introduces fishes were Z. platypus, Z. koreanus, P. herzi and S. gracilis majimae, but L. taczanowskii, C. splendidus, R. kumgangensis were not rapidly expanded population. Settlement but very small population fishes were C. herzi and L. andersoni. When reduced 3% fishes of relative abundance with previous data (1973), R. steindachneri, Orthrias toni, Iksookimia pacifica, Plecoglossus altivelis, P. sinensis and Gymnogobius urotaenia, and R. steindachneri was most reduced from 56.1% to 12.9%.