• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.202-211
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• 2019

Oceanic islands are biologically important for their unique assemblages of species and high levels of endemism and are sensitive to environmental change because of their isolation and small species source pools. Habitat destruction caused by human landscape development is generally accepted as the main cause of extinction on islands, with exotic species invasion a secondary cause of extinction, especially on tropical islands. However, secondary impacts of human development (e.g., general degradation through resource use and exotic species introduction) are understudied on temperate islands. To determine secondary impacts of human development on the understory vegetation community, 90 field sites on Ulleung Island, South Korea, were sampled during the summer of 2016. Understory vegetation was chosen as it is a proxy for ecosystem health. Diversity and percent cover of introduced, native, and endemic species were tested against proximity to developed areas and trail usage using a model selection approach. Diversity was also tested against percent cover of three naturalized species commonly found in survey plots. The main finding was that distance to development, distance to town, and trail usage have limited negative impacts on the understory vegetation community within best-supported models predicting native and introduced cover and diversity. However, endemic species cover was significantly lower on high usage trails. While there are no apparent locally invasive plant species on the island at the time of this study, percent cover of Robinia pseudoacacia, a naturalized tree species, negatively correlated with plot diversity. These findings indicate that forests on Ulleung Island are not experiencing a noticeable invasion of understory vegetation, and conservation efforts can be best spent preventing future invasions.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.888-895
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• 2015

Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and subsequent sub-cloning and sequencing were used in this study to analyze the molecular phylogenetic diversity and spatial distribution of bacterial communities in different spatial locations during the cooling stage of composted swine manure. Total microbial DNA was extracted, and bacterial near full-length 16S rRNA genes were subsequently amplified, cloned, RFLP-screened, and sequenced. A total of 420 positive clones were classified by RFLP and near-full-length 16S rDNA sequences. Approximately 48 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were found among 139 positive clones from the superstratum sample; 26 among 149 were from the middle-level sample and 35 among 132 were from the substrate sample. Thermobifida fusca was common in the superstratum layer of the pile. Some Bacillus spp. were remarkable in the middle-level layer, and Clostridium sp. was dominant in the substrate layer. Among 109 OTUs, 99 displayed homology with those in the GenBank database. Ten OTUs were not closely related to any known species. The superstratum sample had the highest microbial diversity, and different and distinct bacterial communities were detected in the three different layers. This study demonstrated the spatial characteristics of the microbial community distribution in the cooling stage of swine manure compost.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.335-340
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• 2010

The paper describes the objectives of Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) project, focusing on procedural and practical aspects. YSLME is a highly productive sea yet possibly one of the most impacted large marine ecosystems, in terms of anthropogenic stressors, due the enormous coastal population. The aim of the YSLME project is the reduction of ecosystem stress through identification of the environmental problems in the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) that are then addressed in the Strategic Action Programme (SAP). One of the major problems found to be affecting biological diversity is habitat modification through wetland reclamation, conversion and degradation. Since the early 1900's more than 40% of intertidal wetlands have been reclaimed in Korea, and 60% of Chinese coastal wetlands have been converted or reclaimed. Damaging fishing practices, pollution and coastal eutrophication have further degraded the coastal environment reducing the biological diversity. To combat this loss, the YSLME project has mounted a public awareness campaign to raise environmental consciousness targeted at all different levels of society, from politicians at parliamentary workshops, local government officer training events, scientific conferences and involvement of scientists in the project research and reporting, to university and high school students in our visiting internship programmes and environmental camps. We have also built networks through the Yellow Sea Partnership and by liaising and working with other environmental organizations and NGOs. NGO's are recognised as important partners in the environmental conservation as they already have extensive local networks that can be lacking in international organisations. Effective links have been built with many of these NGOs through the small grants programme. Working with WWF's YSESP project and other academic and research institutions we have conducted our own biodiversity assessments that have contributed to the science-based development of the SAP for the YSLME. Our regional targets for biodiversity outlined in the SAP include: Improvements in the densities, distributions and genetic diversity of current populations of all living organisms including endangered and endemic species; Maintenance of habitats according to standards and regulations of 2007; and a reduction in the risk of introduced species. Endorsement of the SAP and its successful implementation, during the proposed second phase of the YSLEM project, will ensure that biological diversity is here to benefit future generations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.85-95
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• 2015

Recent years, nationwide projects for ecological restoration are implemented with emerging issues on the stream ecosystem. In order to enhance effectiveness of the ecosystem restoration and reduce negative impact, the appraisal of effectiveness through the follow-up monitoring and the adaptive management process are executed in consecutive phase. In this study, planning phase, monitoring and adaptive management in Hakui stream which is part of An Yang stream restoration project is introduced as representative ongoing case of effective adaptive management. The aim of this study is to verify the adaptive management process and suggest direction of effective restoration. Restoration project of Hakui stream resulted in increasing number and diversity of species (vegetation, fish, bird, invertbrates, amphibian and reptilia) according to monitoring from 2004 to 2013, and enhancing natural river landscape by evaluation of river naturalness among 2001(before restoration), 2007 (after), 2015 (recent). However, excessive vegetation expansion or sediment deposition on channel over time caused unexpected results such as terrestrialization or degradation of habitats. Adaptive management action such as removing disturbance species (Humulus japonicus)(2007), coppicing willow (2007), release of march snail (2007), creation of wetland (2014) were implemented based on monitoring results. And then appraisal of management action was discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.66-71
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• 1992

The ecological distribution of endomycorrhizas in evergreen woody species native to the evergreen forest ecosystem of Tadohae-haesang National Park in southern Korea in February, 1989 was studied. The abundance and diversity of vesicular-arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal fungi were also determined. The spore densities ranged from 14 to 326 per 100 g of soil. Most of the spores of mycorrhizal fungi collected from 25 soil samples belonged to the genera Glomus and Gigaspora. The frequency and number of spores in Camellia japonica varied with location. Spores belonging to the genus Gigaspora were not found in Camellia japonica in Yesongri evergreen forests adjacent to the sea. Glomus sp. was the major constituent of the spore assemblage at this site. The most abundant species in Camellia japonica in the Yesongri evergreen forests in Pogildo was Glomus borealis. In the soil of a mountain at Buwhangri, in the central location of the island at an elevation of 250 m, Gigaspora sp. was present and Glomus sp. was a major constituent of the spore assemblage. In the urban area of Haenam spore densities were much higher than in the Pogildo area. The most abundant species in Camellia japonica in the urban area of Haenam was Gigaspora sp..

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.168-175
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• 2007

We report here on the cultivation of numerous novel bacterial species from a eutrophic freshwater pond. A total of 60 strains, 15 strains per each culture medium, were obtained from the surface of a eutrophic freshwater pond by employing a conventional dilution-plating method with four different kinds of culture media, including R2A, 1/10R2A, PCA, and 1/10PCA. Among the 60 strains isolated, 27 strains showed less than 97% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to validly published species, and thus they are considered to comprise 19 novel species. Of the 27 strains assigned to the novel species, the majority of the strains (20 strains) were affiliated with the Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria. The remaining 7 strains were affiliated with the Gammaproteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Deinococci. Because we have isolated 19 novel species from a usual freshwater pond using a conventional culturing technique, our results suggest that an unexplored ecosystem, even if it looks like a common ecosystem found elsewhere, harbors diverse unidentified microbes, which will be definitely further characterized.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.253-261
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• 2015

The chemical water quality and fish assemblage of Dong Stream to assessment of environmental improvement after discharge seawater were investigated from July to December 2013. BOD and DO were significantly different between before and after discharge seawater, while pH and SS did not significant. A total of 11 fish species, 218 individuals and 10,525.1g were collected. Dominant fish species were Mugil cephalus, Konosirus punctatus, Acanthogobius flavimanus and Leiognathus nuchalis which account for 77.5% of total individuals collected, and they were estuarian species. Peak number of species and individuals, and biomass occurred in September, whereas diversity index were highest in November. The water ecosystem of Dong Stream have been changed estuarian environment. As a result of stream assessment on water quality and ecosystem, water quality have been improved as 'III' grade. These results suggested that stream restoration policies such as drain pipes maintenance, management of pollution sources and riverbed dredging to improve environment and recover habitate of Dong Stream were need for set up and establishment of regular monitoring system.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• no.spc9
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• pp.73-79
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• 2016

In the present study, to explore the current status of mammals that inhabit Jindo Island, Jeollanam-do, South Korea, a survey was conducted from July 6 to July 9, 2016. Using several survey methods, such as Sherman's live trap, footprint, caves, excretions, and road-kill investigations, the mammals observed on Jindo Island were found to be from 5 orders and 9 families, including 12 species in total. Among them, three species of small mammals were Mogera wogura, Crocidura shantungensis, and Apodemus agrarius. Additionally, two legally protected species were found through excretion observations. Lutra lutra and Prionailurus bengalensis, which were designated to endangered wild animal classes I and II, respectively. The survey results can be used as a valuable resource for identifying the distribution and habitat status of mammals in the Jindo-gun area, as well as for building a database for ecosystem preservation.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1141-1152
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• 2013

Insect fauna were surveyed in 2011 at Ungok wetland, Obeygol, located in Gochang, Jeonbuk, Korea. In total, 149 species belonging to 11 orders and 57 families were surveyed. Among them, Lepidopterans composed 23.5% (35 species) of the total insect numbers surveyed, comprising the most abundant group, and followed by Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Odonata with a composition of 22.1% (33 species), 17.4% (26 species), and 10.1% (15 species), respectively. Bothrogonia japonica Ishihara was the most dominant species, and followed by Gastrophysa atrocyanea Motschulsky and Celastrina argiolus (Linnaeus). Phytophagous insects accounted for 60 percent of the total species. Dominance index was the highest in spring by 0.21. Diversity, richness, and evenness indices were the highest in summer by 4.07, 11.84 and 0.96, respectively. In the study area, the legally-protect species were grouped into five groups; 9 export-restricted species, 17 endemic species, 28 indicator species, 1 climate-sensitive biological indicator and 3 southern characteristic species. Additionally, twenty forest insect pest species were surveyed, belonging to 5 orders and 15 families. Therefore, it is required to conduct long-term monitoring and appropriate management based on the ecological characteristic of the habitats to continuously conserve and maintain of wetland.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.389-395
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• 2015

The composition of the Martes flavigula diet has been extensively studied, but little is known about its insect component. This study characterized the insect diet and insect nest materials in the feces of M. flavigula. A total of 952 fecal samples were collected in Jirisan National Park from January 2009 to November 2011, and 1379 species or taxonomic groups were identified. M. flavigula fed on insects (8.7%) and bee wax (5.0%), which comprised 2.9% and 4.4% of the dry weight of M. flavigula feces, respectively. A total of 12 insect species belonging to 8 families in 3 orders were identified. The most frequently found insects were Hymenoptera (frequency of occurrence, FO, 89.1), including Vespa simillima simillima (FO, 37.3) and Vespula koreensis koreensis (FO, 20.0). The Vespidae constituted the majority of the insect diet in autumn when the diversity of marten's prey was strongly reduced, probably because the numbers of social insects were sufficient for M. flavigula. In addition, the data suggest that M. flavigula attacks the nests of social wasps in late autumn when males do not have a venomous sting and new queens are less aggressive than workers. Bee wax appeared in all seasons and the highest rate was from spring to early summer. However, the remains of honeybees were not found in feces; thus, M. flavigula presumably eats honey but not honeybees.