• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Biology Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.69-69
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• 2002

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.24-34
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• 2010

This study was carried out to analyze some influences on ecological health conditions, threaten by various stressors such as physical, chemical and biological parameters. We collected samples in 2008 from three zones of upstream, midstream and downstream, Gap Stream. We applied multi-metric fish assessment index (MFAI), based on biotic integrity model to the three zones along with habitat evaluations based on Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI). We also examined fish fauna and compositions, and analyzed relations with MFAI values, QHEI values, and various guild types. Chemical parameters such as oragnic matter (BOD, COD), nutrients (TP, $NH_3$-N), coli-form number (as MPN), and suspended solids (SS) were analyzed to identify the relationship among multiple stressor effects. Using the sentinel species of Zacco platypus, the population structures and condition factors were analyzed along with DNA damages related with genotoxicant effects by comet assay. This study using all these parameters showed that stream condition was degraded along the longitudinal gradient from upstream to downstream, and the downstream, especially, was impacted by nutrient enrichment and toxicant exposure from the point source, wastewater treatment plant. Overall results indicated that our approaches applying various parameters may be used as a cause-effect technique in the stream health assessments and also used as a pre-warning tool for diagnosis of ecological degradation.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.107-119
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• 2016

Background: Previous studies on the biological integrity on habitat and landuse patterns demonstrated ecological stream health in the view of regional or macrohabitat scale, thus ignored the mesoscale habitat patterns of pool, riffle, and runs in the stream health analysis. The objective of this study was to analyze influences on the mesohabitat structures of pool, riffle, and run reaches on the fish guilds and biological integrity in Geum-River Watershed. Results: The mesohabitat structures of pool, riffle, and run reaches influenced the ecological stream health along with some close relations on the fish trophic and tolerance guilds. The mesoscale components altered chemical water quality such as nutrients (TN, TP) and BOD and these, then, determined the primary productions, based on the sestonic chlorophyll-a. The riffle-reach had good chemical conditions, but the pool-reach had nutrient enrichments. The riffle-reach had a predominance of insectivores, while the pool-reach has a predominance of omnivores. Also, the riffle-reach had high proportions of sensitive fish and insectivore fish, and the pool-reach had high proportions of tolerant species in the community composition. The intermediate fish species in tolerance and omnivorous fish species in the food linkage dominated the community in the watershed, and the sensitive and insectivorous fishes decreased rapidly with a degradation of the water quality. All the habitat patterns were largely determined by the land-use patterns in the watershed. Conclusions: Trophic guilds and tolerance guilds of fish were determined by land-use pattern and these determined the stream health, based on the Index of Biological Integrity. This study remarks the necessity to include additional variables to consider information provided by mesohabitats and land-use distributions within the selected stream stretch. Overall, our data suggest that land-use pattern and mesohabitat distribution are important factors to be considered for the trophic and tolerance fish compositions and chemical gradients as well as ecological stream health in the watershed.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.356-368
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• 2010

In this study, we applied approach of integrative star-plot area (SPA), chemical water quality and habitat conditions (QHEI) to diagnoze ecological conditions at the eight sampling sites of Sapkyo Stream. These outcomes were compared with biological health based on the Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) using fish assemblage. And then, we evaluated the integrative ecological health condition using the star-plot method. This approach based on the sum of all the star-plot areas over these water and habitat characteristics. It was developed to reflect an integrative assessment of the ecological health in the stream. The biological health, based on the model values of IBI indicating "fair-poor" condition according to the criteria. Physical habitat health, based on the QHEI, averaged 123 indicating a "good-fair" condition. Also, chemical health, based on simply BOD values indicating "poor grade" according to the criteria of the Ministry of Environment Korea (MEK). The SPA indicating that 50% of the all was impaired condition and the most sampling sites were downstream sites influenced by the point and non-point sources. Overall our results suggest that the ecological health impact was a combined effect of eutrophication and habitat degradations in the stream. The approach of SPA can be used as a tool to evaluate the integrative health of stream environment and to identify possible causes of observed effects.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.123-133
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• 2022

Purpose: This study investigated the trajectory of subjective health status in married postmenopausal women and aimed to identify predictive factors affecting subjective health status. Methods: Data were obtained from women who participated in wave 4 (2012) of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women & Families Longitudinal Study and continued to the latest phase (wave 7, 2018). A latent growth model (LGM) was used to analyze data from 1,719 married postmenopausal women in the framework of the ecological system theory. Results: The mean age of the participants at wave 4 was 56.39±4.71 years, and the average subjective health status was around the midpoint (3.19±0.84). LGM analysis confirmed that subjective health status decreased over time (initial B=3.21, slope B=-0.03). The factors affecting initial subjective health were age, body mass index, frequency of vigorous physical activity (microsystem level), marital satisfaction (mesosystem level), and medical service utilization (macrosystem level). Medical service utilization and the frequency of vigorous physical activity were identified as predictive factors affecting the slope in subjective health status. The model fit was satisfactory (TLI=.92, CFI=.95, and RMSEA=.04). Conclusion: This analysis of the trajectory of subjective health status of married postmenopausal women over time confirmed that subjective health is influenced by overall ecological system factors, including the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. Therefore, it is necessary to assess physical activity and support policies promoting access to medical services in order to improve the subjective health status of married postmenopausal women.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.412-421
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• 2017

Objectives: To establish a system for integrated risk assessment of EDCs in Korea, infrastructure for providing toxicity data of ecological media should be established. Some systems provide soil ecotoxicity databases along with aquatic ecotoxicity information, but a well-structured ecotoxicity database system is still lacking. Methods: Aquatic and soil ecotoxicological information were collected by a toxicologist based on a human readable data (HRD) format for collecting ecotoxicity data that we provided. Among these data, anomalies were removed according to database normalization theory. Also, the data were cleaned and encoded to establish a machine-readable data (MRD) ecotoxicity database system. Results: We have developed a multi-purpose ecotoxicity database model focusing on EDCs, ecological species, and toxic effects. Also, we have constructed a web-based data searching system to retrieve, extract, and download data with greater availability. Conclusions: The results of our study will contribute to decision-making as a tool for efficient ecological risk assessment of EDCs in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.8-18
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• 2019

The objectives of this study were to analyze the influence of chemical water quality on fish guilds, pollution tolerance and the multi-metric ecological health, based on the Fish Assessment Index (FAI) in the main stream of Mangyeong River between 2009-2016. The quality of water with specific conductivity, TP, and $NH_4-N$ got worse dramatically in the down region. During the study, a total of 50 species were collected and the most dominant species was Zacco platypus. Also known as tolerant species, accounted 22.9% of the total abundances, thus indicating a trophic degradation. The downstream region (S5) had the highest number of fish external abnormalities, indicating a degradation of ecological health, based on the fish assemblages. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that relative abundance of tolerant fish species and omnivore fish species had a significant positive correlation(r>0.30, p<0.05) with values of BOD, conductivity and $NH_4-N$. Whereas, the relative abundance of the sensitive species and insectivore species had a significant negative relations (r<-0.30, p<0.001) with the parameters. The mean obtained from the multi-metric fish model, based on the FAI of all sites was 47 (n=40). This indicated a "fair condition" in the ecological health, and the downstream regions (S3-S5) were judged as "bad condition", indicating an influence of the chemical degradation on the ecological health.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.731-741
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• 2015

The objectives of study were to evaluate fish species compositions of trophic guilds and tolerance guilds and apply ecological fish assessment (EFA) models to Bekjae Weir, Keum-River Watershed. The EFA models were Stream Index of Biological Integrity (SIBI) used frequently for running water and Lentic Ecosystem Health Assessment (LEHA) used for assessments of stagnant water. The region of Bekjae Weir as a "four major river project" was originally a lotic ecosystem before the weir construction (2010, $B_{WC}$) but became more like lentic-lotic hybrid system after the construction (2011, $A_{WC}$). In the analysis of species composition and ecological bioindicator (fish), fish species with a preference of running water showed significant decreases (p < 0.05), whereas the species with a preference of stagnant water showed significant increases (p < 0.05). After the weir construction, relative abundances of tolerant species increased, and the proportion of insectivores decreased. This phenomenon indicated the changes of biotic compositions in the system by the weir construction. Applications of SIBI and LEHA models to the system showed that the two model values decreased at the same time after the weir construction ($A_{WC}$), and the region became more like lentic-lotic hybrid system, indicating the degradation of ecosystem health. The model values of SIBI were 19 and 16, respectively, in the BWC and AWC, and the health conditions were both "C-rank". In the mean time, the LEHA model analysis showed that the values was 28 in the BWC and 24 in the AWC, thus the health was turned to be "B-Rank" in the BWC and "C-Rank" in the AWC. indicating a degradation of ecological heath after the weir construction.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.45-64
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• 2002

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.356-362
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• 2023

Identifying the distribution of species and specific factors related to it is very important because it is habitat conservation that is greatly linked not only to ecological research but also to human health. After all, protecting each one's habitat will protect wildlife and further maintain a healthy ecosystem. Therefore, in this study, data were collected, compared, and analyzed through existing studies and field-oriented surveys. The results of the survey confirmed high species diversity in agricultural areas and forest areas that can reduce moisture supply and moisture loss, and the non-segmental environment, that is, ecological connectivity, was largely influenced by amphibian species diversity. It was confirmed that the non-fragmented environment, that is, ecological connectivity, was greatly affected by amphibian species diversity. In addition, the three factors that affect amphibian survival are: It was identified as the effect of not establishing a buffer space, the effect on the ecological transformation around the habitat during the summer rainy season, and the effect on the disconnected ecological environment.