• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.337-342
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• 2012

Information about the mating behaviors of an endangered species is critical for the understanding of the natural history of the species as well as in situ and ex situ breeding programs designed to rehabilitate field populations. We describe the mating behaviors of the Mongolian racerunner (Eremias argus), an endangered species in South Korea. The mating of this species consists of precopulatory, copulatory, and postcopulatory stages and is composed of 12 different mating behaviors. During the postcopulatory stage, other males or females not involved in mating show more interference behaviors than during the precopulatory and copulatory stages. The male E. argus has an extraordinarily long postcopulatory bite, which may function as a type of mate-guarding behavior. This study is the first report on the mating behavior of a South Korean reptile.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.325-331
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• 2010

In this study, we have evaluated the physical characteristics of neonate, female, and male Mongolian racerunners (Eremias argus) and determined the age structure of a population of the species in a field located in Taean-gun, Chungnam, South Korea. The physical parameters of females and males, including snout-vent length (SVL), head length, head width, and body mass were found to be significantly interrelated. Male Mongolian racerunners exhibited significantly longer heads than the females, but other physical parameters, such as SVL, head width, and body mass did not differ between the female and male specimens. In the study population, the females ranged in age from two to eleven years old and the males ranged between two to eight years of age. The number of females and males, when separated into different age classes, did not differ within each age class. Male Mongolian racerunners evidenced greater SVL growth coefficients than the females, but asymptotic SVL did not differ between the females and males.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1999.10b
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• pp.157.2-157
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• 1999

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.391-396
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• 1998

Herpetofauna of the Naesorak in Sorasan National Park was carried out both June 30, 1997~July 3, 1997. 6 species of 5 Families in Amphibian and 3 species of 3 families in Reptilian were observed in thes survey. It was observed relatively poor biota to Kaya, Sokri, and Chri National Park in Korea. There were three Specific Endangered Animal assigned by Minister of Environment such as Bufo stejnegeri, Rana dybowskii and Eremius argus. Especially Eremius argus was abundantly distributed around Limansuryonjang. So Limkansuryonjang should be conserve for Eremias argus's stable environmental condition.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.668-674
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• 2012

This study was conducted to find the sexual size dimorphism(SSD) in morphometric characters of three species, Eremias argus, Takydromus amurensis and T. wolteri in lacertid lizard from Korea. Six external traits, snout-vent length, tail length, head length, head width, forelimb length and hind-limb length were focused to compare two sexes among the each three lizards. Student's t-test was used to compare the adult SVL between the sexes for each species. For the other parts of the body, a one-way analysis of covariance(ANCOVA) with SVL as the covariate was used. In all these species, males have longer tail and head than females like general lacertid lizard. In addition, male E. arugus have broader head and longer forelimbs and hind-limbs than conspecific females. Likewise, male T. wolteri have broader head than females. In the three lacertid lizards from Korea, snout-vent length did not significantly differ between the sexes. To understand the causes for SSD in SVL, ecological information, such as the presence/absence of male-male combat and the correlation between the SVL of female and litter size, is required. Therefore, further ecological study on the three species of lacertid lizard from Korea will make it possible to explain the reason SSD is not found in SVL.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.307-313
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• 2011

Although lizards are important hosts for hard ticks (Ixodidae), very few studies have been conducted in South Korea. To determine whether or not hard ticks can infest lizards endemic to South Korea, we examined 77 lizards of four species (Eremias argus, Sincella vandenburghi, Takydromus amurensis, and Takydromus wolteri) that were collected at 22 different sites between April and October 2010. We confirmed that all four lizard species can be infested by Ixodes nipponensis larvae or nymphs. Of the 62 E. argus examined, we found an average of 12.5 larvae on two lizards and an average of one nymph on one lizard. We found seven nymphs on one S. vandenburghi. We found an average of two nymphs on two of the five T. amurensis and an average of one nymph on four of the nine T. wolteri. Ixodes nipponensis larvae and nymphs were found most frequently on the foreleg axillae (87.8%), followed by the forelegs (7.3%), the eyelids (2.4%), and the ears (2.4%) of the lizards. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of I. nipponensis infestations of lizards endemic to South Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.943-953
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• 2023

This study analyzed the ecological characteristics of the wetland protection area at tthe Nakdong River through vegetation and biota surveys, which showed that brackish water meets fresh water, a unique ecological environment has been created, biodiversity is high, and diverse habitats are distributed. Eleven plant communities, including four woody communities and seven grass communities, are distributed along the coast, and a total of 514 species, including 11 endangered wildlife species, were identified in terms of species diversity. Among them, the species diversity of the Eulsuk-do area was found to be relatively higher than that of other Barreir Islands areas. The presence of a population of Sterna albifrons on Sinja-do and a population of Eremias argus on Jinwo-do, an area outside the boundaries of the wetland protection area, confirmed the conservation value of the wetlands and the need to expand the boundaries of the wetland protection area. It is judged that this information can be used as basic information for a systematic conservation and management plan for the wetland protection area at the Nakdong River Estuary and as basic data to support the establishment of a policy.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.381-396
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• 2017

Understanding species distribution plays an important role in conservation as well as evolutionary biology. In this study, we applied a species distribution model to predict hotspot areas and habitat characteristics for endangered herpetofauna species in South Korea: the Korean Crevice Salamander (Karsenia koreana), Suweon-tree frog (Hyla suweonensis), Gold-spotted pond frog (Pelophylax chosenicus), Narrow-mouthed toad (Kaloula borealis), Korean ratsnake (Elaphe schrenckii), Mongolian racerunner (Eremias argus), Reeve's turtle (Mauremys reevesii) and Soft-shelled turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis). The Kori salamander (Hynobius yangi) and Black-headed snake (Sibynophis chinensis) were excluded from the analysis due to insufficient sample size. The results showed that the altitude was the most important environmental variable for their distribution, and the altitude at which these species were distributed correlated with the climate of that region. The predicted distribution area derived from the species distribution modelling adequately reflected the observation site used in this study as well as those reported in preceding studies. The average AUC value of the eigh species was relatively high ($0.845{\pm}0.08$), while the average omission rate value was relatively low ($0.087{\pm}0.01$). Therefore, the species overlaying model created for the endangered species is considered successful. When merging the distribution models, it was shown that five species shared their habitats in the coastal areas of Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheongnam-do, which are the western regions of the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, we suggest that protection should be a high priority in these area, and our overall results may serve as essential and fundamental data for the conservation of endangered amphibian and reptiles in Korea.