• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.244-253
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• 2007

In this study, mortality, body wet weight, health assessment, and short-term behavioral mode were observed to determine the effects of ultrasound on the ecological response of the carp Cyprinus carpio. Mortality in the treatments was less than 5% during ultrasound exposure (31 dB re 1 ${\mu}Pa$, $14{\sim}15$ kHz) and there were no significant differences among the replicates (P>0.05). The treatments, based on mean wet weight, exhibited greater effect than the controls, but the magnitude of the differences was not large. Skins and tail fins of some test animals exposed to the controls and intensive treatment groups had light injury such as hemorrhaging, whereas, damages in other organs such as eyes, other fins, parasites, thymus, and gills were not observed (P>0.05). Sudden stimuli in low intensity at a short distance caused a directional avoidance of the fish from the sound. However, the carp exposed to ultrasound at the large scale field was not observed clear behavior changes. Overall results suggest that fish exposed to the low-intensity ultrasound had no serious stress during the tests.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.38-46
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• 2012

This study carried out current status, characteristics, and problems of coastal environment management on semi-enclosed Masan Bay in Korea and suggests cost-effective and eco-friendly water quality management policy. The pollutants from terrestrial sources into the Bay have apparently environmental pollution problems, such as eutrophication, red tide, and hypoxia. The carrying capacity of the Bay is estimated by hydrodynamic model and ecosystem model, material circulation including bivalve in ecosystem is analyzed by the growth model of bivalve. The resulting reduction in the input load was found to be 50~90%, which is unrealistic. When the efficiency of water quality improvement through bivalve farming was assessed based on the autochthonous COD, 30.7% of the total COD was allochthonous COD and 69.3% was autochthonous COD. The overall autochthonous COD reduction rate by bivalve aquaculture farm was found to be about 6.7%. This study indicate that bivalve farming is about 31% less expensive than advanced treatment facilities that remove both nitrogen and phosphorous.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.395-408
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• 2013

Environmental condition can induce changes in early life-history traits in order to maximise the ecological fitness. Here I investigated how temperature change and variation in human aquatic activity/behaviour affect early life-history consequences in fish using a dynamic-state-dependent model. In this study, I developed a general fish's life-history model including three life-history states depend-ing on foraging activity, such as body mass, mass of reproductive tissue (i.e., gonadal development) and accumulated stress (i.e., cellular or physiological damage). I assumed the level of foraging activity maximises reproductive success-ultimately, fitness. The model predicts that growth rate, development of reproductive tissues and damage accumulation are greater in higher temperature whereas higher human aquatic activity rapidly reduced the growth rate and development of reproductive tissue and increased damage accumulation. While higher foraging activity in higher temperature is less affected by human aquatic activity, the foraging activity in lower temperature rapidly declined with human aquatic activity. Moreover, lower survival rate in higher temperature or human aquatic activity was independent on mortality rate due to human aquatic activity or mortality rate when foraging activity, respectively. However, the survival rate in lower temperature or human aquatic activity was dependent on these mortality rates. My findings suggest that including of early life-history traits in relation to climate-change and human aquatic activity on the analysis may improve conservation plan and health assessment in aquatic ecosystem.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.413-413
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• 2019

하천과 호수에서 남조류의 이상 과잉증식 문제(이하 녹조문제)는 담수생태계의 생물다양성을 감소시키며, 음용수의 이취미 원인물질을 발생시켜 물 이용에 장해가 된다. 또한 독소를 생산하는 유해남조류가 대량 증식할 경우에는 가축이나 인간의 건강에 치명적 해를 끼치기도 한다. 그 동안 국내에서 녹조문제는 댐 저수지와 하구호와 같은 정체수역에서 간헐적으로 문제를 일으켰으나, 4대강사업(2010-2011)으로 16개의 보가 설치된 이후 낙동강, 금강, 영산강 등 대하천에서도 광범위하게 발생되고 있어 중요한 사회적 환경적 이슈로 대두되었다. 한편, 대하천에 설치된 보 구간에서 빈번히 발생하는 녹조현상의 원인에 대해서는 전 지구적 기온상승에 따른 기후변화의 영향이라는 주장과 유역으로부터 영양염류의 과도한 유입, 가뭄에 따른 유량감소, 보 설치에 따른 체류시간 증가 등 다양한 의견이 제시되고 있으나, 대상 유역과 수체의 특성에 따라 녹조 발생의 원인이 상이하거나 또는 다양한 요인이 복합적으로 작용하기 때문에 보편적 해석(universal interpretation)이 어려운 것이 현실이다. 따라서 각 수계별, 보별 녹조현상에 대한 정확한 원인분석과 효과적인 대책 마련을 위해서는 집중된 실험자료와 데이터마이닝 기법에 근거로 한 보다 과학적이고 객관적인 접근이 이루어져야 한다. 본 연구에서는 2012년 보 설치 이후 남조류에 의한 녹조현상이 빈번히 발생하고 있는 낙동강 4개보(강정고령보, 달성보, 합천창녕보, 창녕함안보)를 대상으로 집중적인 현장조사와 실험분석을 수행하고, 수집된 기상, 수문, 수질, 조류 자료에 대해 통계분석과 다양한 데이터모델링 기법을 적용하여 보별 남조류 우점 환경조건과 이를 제어하기 위한 주요 조절변수를 규명하는데 있다. 연구대상 보 별 수질과 식물플랑크톤의 정성 및 정량 실험은 2017년 5월부터 2018년 11월까지 2년에 걸쳐 실시하였으며, 남조류 세포수 밀도와 환경요인과의 상관성 분석을 실시하고, 단계적 다중회귀모델(Step-wise Multiple Linear Regressions, SMLR), 랜덤포레스트(Random Forests, RF) 모델과 재귀적 변수 제거 기법(Recursive Feature Elimination using Random Forest, RFE-RF)을 이용한 변수중요도 평가, 의사결정나무(Decision Tree, DT), 주성분분석(Principal Component Analysis, PCA) 기법 등 다양한 모수적 및 비모수적 데이터마이닝 결과를 바탕으로 각 보별 남 조류 우점 환경요인을 종합적으로 해석하였다.

• 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.52 no.2
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• pp.81-93
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• 2019

Phytoplankton is one of the important primary producers providing organic matter through photosynthesis in aquatic environments. In order to determine a temporal and spatial variation in primary productivity after weir construction in the Nakdong River, we investigated carbon uptake rates using in-situ $^{13}C$ labeling experiments and identified algal communities contributing to primary productivity using HPLC-CHEMTAX analysis from October to December, 2017. The primary productivity gradually decreased from fall to early winter season ($249{\sim}933mgC\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ in October, $64{\sim}536mgC\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ in November and $60{\sim}274mgC\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ in December, respectively). This is attributed to the temporally declining light intensity and the decreasing biomass and physiological activity of phytoplankton in winter. The contribution of diatoms to the phytoplankton community in the Nakdong River was approximately 63% at all the sampling sites and seasons, while the contribution of cryptophytes increased from 9% in October to 32% in November and December. The temporal changes in the primary productivity and the dominant phytoplankton species in the mid and downstream weirs of the Nakdong River was investigated for the first time, after construction of the weirs, and major environmental factors controlling the temporal variation in primary productivity and phytoplankton communities were identified in this study. We suggest that seasonal field investigations will provide further information on the major environmental factors which affect the annual variation of primary productivity and phytoplankton communities.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.160-171
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• 2022

This study investigated the characteristics of fish communities, habitat characteristics and the age of Lefua costata in the Jusucheon of Gangneung-si, Korea from January to December 2013. The survey collected 23 species belonging to ten families from 6 survey stations. The dominant and subdominant species were Zacco koreanus (relative abundance, 22.1%) and Rhynchocypris steindachneri (20.1%), respectively. The next most abundant species were Tridentiger brevispinis (10.7%), Orthrias nudus (9.7%), Zacco platypus (8.6%), Lefua costata (7.9%), Iksookimia koreensis (6.0%) and Pungitius sinensis (3.0%). Among the fish species collected, one species, P. sinensis, was class II endangered wildlife by the Ministry of Environment, and four species (Z. koreanus, I. koreensis, Silurus microdorsalis and Cottus koreanus), were endemic to Korea. Additionally, five migration fish species (Tribolodon hakonensis, Hypomesus nipponensis, Gasterosteus aculeatus, Oncorhynchus keta and Plecoglossus altivelis) were collected. The similarity index based on species composition and numbers separated fish communites in the Jusucheon according to main section, i.e., uppermost(St. 1), upper (St. 2~4), middle (St. 5), lower (St. 6). Ecosystem health of Jusucheon Stream (fish assessement index) evaluated using fish was assessed as very good (5 stations) and good (1 station). The main inhabit of L. costata was the middle-lower stream of aquatic plants habitats with mud bottoms, very slow water velocity and water depth 40~80 cm. The age groups for L. costata (female) estimated by the frequency distribution of total length in the spawning season (May) indicated that the 24~37 mm is 1-year old, the 38~51 mm group is 2-year old, the 52~63 mm is 3-year old, 64~77 mm is 4-year old and the 80~91 mm is more than 5-year old. Finally, characteristics of fish communities, habitat characteristics and the age of Lefua costata in the Jusucheon was discussed.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.109-125
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• 2023

This study was conducted to select target fish species as baseline research for accumulation analysis of major hazardous chemicals entering the aquatic ecosystem in Korea and to analyze the impact on fish community. The test bed was selected from a sewage treatment plant, which could directly confirm the impact of the inflow of harmful chemicals, and the Geum River estuary where harmful chemicals introduced into the water system were concentrated. A multivariable metric model was developed to select target candidate fish species for hazardous chemical analysis. Details consisted of seven metrics: (1) commercially useful metric, (2) top-carnivorous species metric, (3) pollution fish indicator metric, (4) tolerance fish metric, (5) common abundant metric, (6) sampling availability (collectability) metric, and (7) widely distributed fish metric. Based on seven metric models for candidate fish species, eight species were selected as target candidates. The co-occurring dominant fish with target candidates was tolerant (50%), indicating that the highest abundance of tolerant species could be used as a water pollution indicator. A multi-metric fish-based model analysis for aquatic ecosystem health evaluation showed that the ecosystem health was diagnosed as "bad conditions". Physicochemical water quality variables also influenced fish feeding and tolerance guild in the testbed. Eight water quality parameters appeared high at the T1 site, indicating a large impact of discharging water from the sewage treatment plant. T2 site showed massive algal bloom, with chlorophyll concentration about 15 times higher compared to the reference site.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.603-614
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• 2022

This study investigated the characteristics of fish communities in the Bangtaecheon Stream in Korea from April to October 2020. The survey collected 4,640 fish of 26 species in 9 families from 11 survey stations. The dominant and subdominant species were Rhynchocypris kumgangensis(relative abundance at 31.5%) and Zacco koreanus(27.8%), respectively. The next most abundant species were Ladislavia taczanowskii(15.9%), Pungtungia herzi(4.0%), Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis(3.7%), Microphysogobio longidorsalis(2.4%), and Zacco platypus(2.3%). Among the collected fish species, 17 (65.4%) were Korean endemic species, 4 (15.4%), including Acheilognathus signifer, Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa, Gobiobotia brevibarba, and B. l. tsinlingensis,were class II endangered wildlife as designated by the Ministry of Environment, and 1 species, Hemibarbus mylodon, was a natural monument. Moreover, two landlocked species (B. l. tsinlingensisand C. koreanus) were also collected. Additionally, four cold-water species (R. kumgangensis, L. taczanowskii, B. l. tsinlingensis,and Cottus koreanus) were collected, and all of them mainly inhabited the upper and middle streams. Fish community analysis showed a tendency for dominance and uniformity to decrease and abundance and diversity to increase from upstream to downstream and that the community structure was divided into upstream and downstream groups. The river health was rated as excellent (9 stations) and good (2 stations). Compared to the previous studies, three species (Carassius auratus, Leiocassis ussuriensis,and Siniperca scherzeri) appeared in the past but did not appear in this survey, and three species (Opsariichthys uncirostris amurensis, Microphysogobio yaluensis,and Orthrias nudus) that did not appear in the past appeared in this survey. Bangtaecheon Steam is well-preserved, and climate-sensitive species, endangered wildlife, and natural monuments inhabit the stream. Therefore, continuous attention and systematic conservation measures are required.