• Water Engineering Research
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• 제3권4호
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• pp.259-267
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• 2002

South Africa has developed a policy and law that calls and provides for the equitable and sustainable use of water resources. Sustainable resource use is dependent on effective resource protection. Rivers are the most important freshwater resources in the country, and there is a focus on developing and applying methods to quantify what rivers need in terms of flow and water quality. These quantified and descriptive objectives are then related to specified levels of ecological health in a classification system. This paper provides an overview of an integrated and systematic methodology, where, fer each river, and each river reach, the natural condition and the present ecological condition are described, and a level/class of ecosystem health is selected. The class will define long term management goals. This procedure requires each ecosystem component to be quantified, starting with the abiotic template. A modified flow regime is modelled for each ecosystem health class, and the resultant fluvial geomorphology and hydraulic habitats are described. Then the water chemistry is described, and the water quality changes that are likely to occur as a consequence of altered flows are predicted. Finally, the responses to the stress imposed on the biota (fish, invertebrates and vegetation) by modified flow and water quality are predicted. All of the predicted responses are translated into descriptive and/or quantitative management objectives. The paper concludes with the recognition of active method development, and the enormous challenge of applying the methods, implementing the law, and achieving river protection and sustainable resource-use.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제34권3호
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• pp.323-331
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• 2011

Biodiversity and the community composition of micro-eukaryotic organisms were investigated in the Upo wetland in Korea using molecular analysis. Molecular identification was performed using cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA). The genomic DNA was isolated directly from soil samples. The COI and SSU rDNA regions were amplified using universal primers and then sequenced after cloning. In a similarity search of the obtained sequences with BLAST in the Genbank database, the closely related sequences from NCBI were used to identify the amplified sequences. A total of six eukaryotic groups (Annelida, Arthropoda, Rotifera, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, and Stramenopiles) with COI and six groups (Annelida, Arthropoda, Rotifera, Alveolata, Fungi, and Apicomplexa) with SSU rDNA genes were determined in the Upo wetland. Among 38 taxa in 20 genera, which are closely related to the amplified sequences, 10 genera (50%) were newly reported in Korea and five genera (25%) were shown to be distributed in the Upo wetland. This approach is applicable to the development of an efficient method for monitoring biodiversity without traditional taxonomic processes and is expected to produce more accurate results in depositing molecular barcode data in the near future.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제33권4호
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• pp.317-323
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• 2010

Nutrient availability is a critical component of agroecosystems, and is relevant to both above- and below- ground interactions. The principal objective of this study was to determine how the cessation of fertilization affects the communities of weeds and soil organisms in a corn/wheat field. Changes in dominant weed species, substrate-induced respiration, and the population density of nematodes and microarthropods were evaluated. Microbial substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and the population density of microarthropods decreased following the cessation of fertilization and were partly correlated with the aboveground weed biomass. The cessation of organic fertilizer application but continuing application of inorganic fertilizer reduced the population density of nematodes. In response to the cessation of fertilization, weed communities were dominated by species with little dependency on fertilization. Amaranthus retroflexus was identified as the most dominant species in the corn field; however, it was replaced by Digitaria ciliaris after the cessation of fertilization. In the wheat field, the cessation of fertilization led to a rapid reduction in the biomass of most weeds, except for Vicia angustifolia, supposedly as the result of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Additionally, the fact that weed biomass was partially correlated with SIR or the population density of microarthropods may reflect a mutual feedback between soil organisms and weeds. The results indicate that the cessation of fertilization alters communities of weeds and soil organisms through changes in weed biomass and interactions with symbiotic microorganisms.

• ALGAE
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.289-301
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• 2016

Floating debris provides substrates for dispersal of organisms by ocean currents, including algae that thrive on plastics. The 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Tohuku, Japan resulted in large amounts of debris carried by the North Pacific Current to North America from 2012 to 2016. In 2015-2016, the plastics in the debris bore a complex biota including pink algal crusts. One sample (JAW4874) was isolated into culture and a three-gene phylogeny (psbA, rbcL, and SSU) indicated it was an unknown member of the red algal class Stylonematophyceae. It is a small pulvinate crust of radiating, branched, uniseriate filaments with cells containing a single centrally suspended nucleus and a single purple to pink, multi-lobed, parietal plastid lacking a pyrenoid. Cells can be released as spores that attach and germinate to form straight filaments by transverse apical cell divisions, and subsequent longitudinal and oblique intercalary divisions produce masses of lateral branches. This alga is named Tsunamia transpacifica gen. nov. et sp. nov. Sequencing of additional samples of red algal crusts on plastics revealed another undescribed Stylonematophycean species, suggesting that these algae may be frequent on drift oceanic plastics.

• 한국환경생태학회지
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• 제12권4호
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• pp.381-388
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• 1999

1998년 5월 3일부터 11월 8일까지 한려해상국립공원 중 거제도 일대에서 양서류 및 파충류상을 조사한 결과 양서류는 총 2목 5과 9종, 파충류는 1목 3과 9종이 관찰되어 덕유산 주왕산 설악산 국립공원 등, 타 국립공원의 생물상보다 상대적으로 풍부한 결과로 나타났다. 특정야생동물로 도롱뇽, 두꺼비, 산개구리, 아무르산개구리, 무자치, 능구렁이, 실뱀, 살모사와 까치살모사 등 9종의 양서류 및 파충류를 관찰 및 탐문으로 조사할 수 있었다. 또한 외래종인 황소개구리가 1개 지역에 집중 분포하였는데 국립공원구역에 더 이상 확산되는 것을 막기 위한 특별한 관리가 요구되었다.

• 환경영향평가
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• 제20권5호
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• pp.675-684
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• 2011

In nature, the overall effect of heavy metals on the biota can be influenced by a number of environmental factors like soil characteristics and air pollution by elevated $CO_2$. Pillbugs (Isopoda, Armadillium vulgare) take up heavy metals with their food and store them mainly in the vesicles of hepatopancreas. They accumulate certain metals, occur in relatively large numbers, are easily collected and identified, and provide sufficient material for analysis. The species are decomposing litter well and soil impurities into N and P. Therefore, it has been suggested that total body concentration of metals in pillbugs could be positively correlated to the levels of environmental exposure and that pillbugs could be used as biological indicators of metal pollution and global change by $CO_2$. The aim of the study is to determine effects of heavy metal concentrations in soil and elevated $CO_2$ on pillbugs' body accumulation of heavy metal and growth rate. In this study, the concentrations of six metals (Fe, Mg Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd) have been determined. Pillbugs (N=287) were collected at five sites during Jul-Aug, 2006. Cu and Zn concentrations in the body were much higher than in the soils(1.39-41.70 times). This indicated that bioaccumulation of some of the heavy metals were increasing in the food-chain. The high bioconcentration of lead in Sangam may be partly associated with reclaimed land uses.

• 생태와환경
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.317-326
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• 2011

With its recent advances, nanotechnology is now being applied to various areas. Despite the benefits of nanoparticles, their risk in the environment has caused controversy, which is now becoming an international issue. Nanoparticles can easily infiltrate into cells, accumulate in biota, and may cause adverse effects in the levels of molecules, cells and organisms, and in the community. If nanoparticles are released into the environment, they can be transferred to organisms in the ecosystem, and eventually to the human body through the food chain. In this study, the research trend of the trophic transfer of nanoparticles in the food chain was investigated. Although a few investigations have been conducted regarding this topic, the trophic transfer of nanoparticles is becoming a significant issue in the area of nanotoxicology due to the potential risk to humans via the biomagnification process. While previous studies have demonstrated evidence of the trophic transfer of nanoparticles intensive future studies are needed to provide further information on the properties of nanomaterials, the exposure media, and the in vivo mechanisms such as uptake, accumulation, and depuration.

• 한국지하수토양환경학회지:지하수토양환경
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• 제16권6호
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• pp.122-132
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• 2011

Mercury accumulates in biota mainly as methylmercury. In nature, methylmercury shows high affinity to organic matter and $CH_3Hg^+$-organic matter complexation affects the mobility and bioavailabiity of methylmercury. In this study, we examined the methylmercury binding sites in an aquatic humic acid as affected by the pH condition using Hg $L_{III}$-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). We evaluated methylmercury binding humic ligands using methylmercury-thiol, methylmerury-carboxyl, and methylmercury-amine complexation models. When $CH_3Hg^+$-to-humic reduced sulfur ratio is 0.3, we found that most of $CH_3Hg^+$ binds to thiol ligands at pH 5 and 7. At pH 7, however, some carboxyl or amine ligand contribution is observed, unlike at pH 5 where $CH_3Hg^+$ almost exclusively binds to thiol ligands. The carboxyl or amine ligand contribution may indicate that some types of thiol ligands in the natural organic matter have relatively low complexation constants or acid dissociation constants compared to those of some carboxyl or amine ligands. Analysis results indicate that ~0.2 fraction of methylmercury binds to amine or carboxyl ligands and ~0.8 to thiol ligands at pH 7.

• 한국지하수토양환경학회지:지하수토양환경
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.7-14
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• 2010

Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) supports a decision-making process such as establishment of environmental quality criteria. Soil quality criteria (SQC) are essential to protect soil organisms from the exposure to various soil contaminants. In this study, ERA methodologies of advanced countries for soil pollution were extensively compared to propose the ERA approach suitable for soil ecosystem in Korea. The soil ERAs in European Chemical Bureau(ECB), The Netherlands, and Canada can be classified as deterministic ecological risk assessment (DERA), and probabilistic ecological risk assessment (PERA) based on species sensitivity distribution (SSD). We propose three ERA methods according to abundance and reliability of soil ecotoxicity data. The method considered land use such as residential/agricultural, and industrial/commercial uses. The taxonomic groups of soil organism were classified as 'Class' level including different trophic levels (Magnoliopsida or Liliopsida, Clitellata, and Insecta or Secernentea). This study can be used to estimate the soil quality criteria to protect soil biota.

• 생태와환경
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.41-52
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• 2013

To decide on the designation of a tidal-flat Provincial Park, a study area was defined in line with domestic and international case studies of Provincial Parks. A survey on landscape, geology, biota, and cultural resources was conducted in four tidal-flat areas including Bigeum-myeon and Docho-myeon, which are part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Shinan, Jeollanam-do. To identify areas most suitable to be designated as Provincial Park, a PSR evaluation process was adopted. This has resulted in the selection of the 'Palgupo' area surrounding Bigeum, Docho, Haui, Shinui, Jaeun, Amtae, Palgeum, Anjwa and Jangsan. Also the tidal-flat areas at Aphae-myeon, which are ecologically linked with the Jeungdo Tidal-flat Provincial Park, were included. The selected areas resulting from this study will meet various characteristics of tidal-flat ecosystems including naturalness, ecological network, rarity and eco-cultural diversity. After the tidal-flat Provincial Park has been specified, there is a need to perform a long-term sustainable management plan.