• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated the water quality and fish community of the Gudam Wetland, a riverine wetland in the middle-upper reaches of the Nakdong River, during March-October 2020. The main results were as follows: average annual flow rate: 45.0±23.7 m³/s, flow velocity: 0.4±0.3 m/s, water depth: 1.4±0.4 m, water temperature: 17.5±0.8℃, pH: 7.8±0.2, electrical conductivity: 121.6±19.0 ㎲/cm, dissolved oxygen concentration: 11.4±0.9 mg/L, suspended solids concentration: 3.8±2.0 mg/L, and the water quality was classified as Ia (very good). A total of 754 individual fish belonging to 4 orders, 7 families, and 19 species were investigated. Cyprinidae was the dominant group, with 13 species. The dominant species was Zacco platypus (39.3%), followed by Pseudogobio esocinus (17.5%). There were 8 (42.1%) endemic Korean species and 1 exotic species, Micropterus salmoides. Four species were carnivores, six were insectivores, and nine were omnivores. Regarding tolerance to environmental changes, 6 species were tolerant, 11 had intermediate tolerance, and 2 were sensitive. Fish community analysis revealed dominance of 0.57, diversity of 2.04, evenness of 0.69, and richness of 2.72, indicating a diverse and stable fish community. The fish assessment index showed that the assessment class was B (average 62.5), which was higher than that of major streams of the Nakdong River (class C). For sustainable conservation of the Gudam Wetland, management strategies such as minimizing aggregate collection and preventing inflow of non-point pollutants are required.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.99-110
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• 2016

The objective of this study was to analyze chemical water quality, ecological characteristics of fish compositions, and ecosystem health before- (B_wc; 2008-2009) and after-the weir construction (A_wc; 2011-2012) at Juksan Weir and Seungchon Weir of Yeongsan River watershed. Suspended solids (SS) and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) in Juksan Weir increased, whereas nutrients such as total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) decreased in the epilimnetic water. In Juksan and Seungchon weirs, fish species distribution analysis in the periods of B_wc and A_wc showed that sensitive species were rare and tolerant species were dominant in the community. In the analysis of trophic guild, relative abundance of carnivore species are increased to 22% and 12%, respectively, after the constructions of Seungchon Weir and Juksan Weir. Mann-Whitney U-tests of nonparametric statistical analysis indicated that omnivore and carnivore species had significant differences (p < 0.05) between the B_wc and A_wc. The massive population growth of an exotic species, Micropterus salmoides, was evident in Seungchon Weir to influence on the structures of fish communities. The model values of mean Index of Biological Integrity (IBI), based on fish assemblages, were < 15, which indicates "poor" condition in the river health, and the significant difference of IBI values was not found between the B_wc and A_wc.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.142-156
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• 2020

This study surveyed Gyeongan Stream, a tributary of the Han River Drainage System, from April to October 2017 to investigate the characteristics of fish communities. The survey collected 40 species of 11 families from 48 survey stations using kick nets and cast nets. The dominant and subdominant species were Zacco platypus (48.0%) and Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (17.7%), respectively. The next most abundant species were Pungtungia herzi (6.8%), Z. koreanus (5.0%), Carassius auratus (4.3%), Squalidus gracilis majimae (2.7%), and Rhodeus notatus (2.5%). Among the fish collected, 14 species (35.0%) were Korean endemic species, and the exotic species were Micropterus salmoides, Lepomis macrochirus, and Cyprinus carpio (Israeli type). The land-locked species were Plecoglossus altivelis, Rhinogobius brunneus, and Cottus koreanus, while the species sensitive to climate change was C. koreanus. The community analysis showed that the dominance was higher at the uppermost stream station, whereas diversity and abundance tended to be lower at the upstream station and higher toward the downstream station. The community structure was largely divided into rivers (uppermost stream, upstream, and middle-lower stream) and lake. The river health was mostly good (23 stations, 47.9%) and fair (15 stations, 31.3%). Comparison with past surveys showed that 12 species identified in the past surveys did not appear in this survey; nine species appeared for the first time in this survey; and the ecosystem disturbance species - M. salmoides and L. macrochirus - tended to spread more widely gradually.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.195-202
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• 2011

This study analyzed and modeled the relationships between the probabilities of two exotic species occurrence (i.e. largemouth bass and blue gill) and environmental factors such as climatic and geographical variables using Generalized Additive Models (GAM), Generalized Liner Models and Classification Tree Analysis (CTA). The most moderate occurrence probability of largemouth bass was predicted using GAM with an area under the curve (ADC) of 0.88 and Kappa of 0.42, while those of blue gill was suggested by using CTA with an AUC of 0.92 and Kappa of 0.44. The most significant environmental variable in terms of changes in deviance for both species was the annual air temperature for the occurrence probability. Dams had stronger effect on the occurrence of largemouth bass than blue gill. Model development and prediction for the occurrence probability of fish species and richness are necessary to prevent further spread of exotic fishes such as largemouth bass and blue gill because they can threaten habitats of native river ecosystem through various mechanisms.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.89-96
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• 2017

The majority of freshwater ornamental fish are imported and distributed domestically, causing high risk of exposure to exotic pathogens and drug resistant bacteria in Korea. Aeromonas hydrophila is known as a common species of fresh water bacteria and opportunistic fish pathogen, as well as a species causing zoonotic infection. In this study, we isolated motile aeromonads from various imported freshwater ornamental fish and studied the characters of the isolates. Imported freshwater ornamental fish were purchased on day 1 after the fish were deposited in the aquarium. Bacteria were isolated from the liver, kidney and spleen of fish using 0.5% NaCl containing tryptic soy agar medium. Bacteria were grouped on the basis of their morphological characteristics. The colonies with clear zone on starch-ampicillin agar (SA agar) were tentatively identified as Aeromonas spp. Two hundred and twenty-six strains, about 70% of total isolates were assumed to be Aeromonas spp. Nine isolates were further identified based on the result of the API 20E test and PCR using primers specific for A. hydrophila 16S rRNA gene. The isolates were identified as A. hydrophila and the API 20E test showed differences in trisodium citrate, D-sucrose, D-melibiose, amygdalin and L-arabinose availability between the nine isolates and standard A. hydrophila. The susceptibilities of the isolated bacteria to 10 antibacterial agents were confirmed by the disk diffusion method. Isolated strains were found to be resistant to amoxicillin and ampicillin and sensitive to florfenicol. However, 7 isolates showed multiple drug resistances to erythromycin, oxytetracycline, nalidixic acid etc. Pathogenicity of the isolates was determined by the artificial challenge test on goldfish (Carassius auratus). Three isolates caused 60 ~ 80% mortality in goldfish within 5 days after the initiation of challenge. These results indicate that multiple drug resistant, highly pathogenic and exotic A. hydrophila can spread to domestic aquarium and the preventive treatment of fish before sale is necessary.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 2016

Background: The objectives of this study were to establish a swimming capability model for largemouth bass using the FishXing (version 3) program, and to determine the swimming speed and feasibility of fish passage through a waterway tunnel. This modeling aimed to replicate the waterway tunnel connecting the Andong and Imha Reservoirs in South Korea, where there is a concern that largemouth bass may be able to pass through this structure. As largemouth bass are considered an invasive species, this spread could have repercussions for the local environment. Results: Flow regime of water through the waterway tunnel was calculated via the simulation of waterway tunnel operation, and the capability of largemouth bass to pass through the waterway tunnel was then estimated. The swimming speed and distance of the largemouth bass had a positive linear function with total length and negative linear function with the flow rate of the waterway tunnel. The passing rate of small-size largemouth bass (10-30 cm) was 0%at a flow of $10m^3/s$ due to rapid exhaustion from prolonged upstream swimming through the long (1.952 km) waterway tunnel. Conclusions: The results of FishXing showed that the potential passing rate of large size largemouth bass (>40 cm) through the waterway tunnel was greater than 10%; however, the passage of largemouth bass was not possible because of the mesh size ($3.4{\times}6.0cm$) of the pre-screening structures at the entrance of the waterway tunnel. Overall, this study suggests that the spread of largemouth bass population in the Imha Reservoir through the waterway tunnel is most likely impossible.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.1 s.110
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• pp.63-72
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• 2005

The fish fauna and community structure were investigated in the Lake Cheongpyeong, Korea, from August 2003 to April 2004. During the period, 43 species belonging 10 families were collected. There were 18 Korean endemic species 41.9%. The five dominant species numerically were A. gracilis (17.4%), Zacco platypus (14.6%), A. yamatsutae (13.2%), Hemibarbus labeo (11.9%), Rhinogobius brunneus (11.7%), and Zacco temmicki (3.0%). The five dominant species in biomass were Erythroculter erythropterus (15.07 kg), H. labeo (13.21 kg), Carassius cuvieri (6.47 kg), A. gracilis (6.05 kg), and Z. platypus (4.71 kg). Of 6 exotic fishes in the lake C. cuvieri, Lepomis macrochirus and Micropterus salmoides were originated from foreign countries but Anguilla japonica, Tridentiger brevispinis, and Chaenogobius urotaenius were introduced from other watershed in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.119-124
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• 2018

Diversity of fish fauna and species list collected from the Imha-Dam Reservoir of the Nakdonggang River system were reviewed based on the published materials from 1992 to 2016. As a result of the present study, 46 freshwater fish species/subspecies belonging to 36 genera, 11 families, 4 orders were reported in the Imha-Dam Reservoir. Of them, Cyprinidae occupied 58.7% (27 species), Cobitidae 10.9% (5 spp.), Gobiidae 6.5% (3 spp.), and Siluridae, Centropomidae, Centrarchidae were 4.3% (2 spp.) in the number of species, respectively. The dominant species in the number of individuals was Erythroculter erythropterus (40.1%, 9,333 inds.), and the subdominant species was Opsariichthys uncirostris amurensis (9.8%, 2,281 inds.). Among 46 species/subspecies, 17 species (37.0%) were identified as endemic species to Korea. Three species were endangered fish species by the Ministry of Environment of Korea, five translocated species, and three exotic species were reported.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 2009

The fish community was investigated from March to October 2007 in Gwangneung Arboretum. During the survey period, 22 species belonging to 9 families were collected. Among them, one species (Coitus koreanus) was classified as an endangered species in Korea, and exotic fish was Micropterus salmoides. Nine species (40.9%) were endemic species of Korea. Dominant species was R. oxycephalus (St. 1) and Z. platypus (St. 2-7). According to analysis of community based on the diversity, evenness and richness indices, fish community seems to be more stable in the St. 3. The distributions of Silurus microdorsalis, Cottus koreanus and Odontobutis platycephala were confined to the Bongseonsa Stream in the Wangsuk Stream watershed. When our data were compared with the previous data (1932), 17 species were not sampled, but 7 species could new taxa fiend its existence at the Bongseonsa Stream. We believe that Hemibarbus mylodon, Acheilognathus signifer and Zacco koreanus disappeared in the Wangsuk Stream watershed and A. signifer and Z. koreanus need to be restored at the Bongseonsa Stream.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.42-52
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• 2021

In order to secure basic data on biodiversity for wetland conservation and management used the data from Wetland Protected Area surveys conducted in South Korea (2015-2019) to analyze the distribution of fish from a total of 15 orders, 45 families, 134 species, and 12,972 individuals. The predominant species identified were Zacco platypus (Temminck and Schlegel) (19.47%) and Zacco koreanus (Kim, Oh and Hosoya) (8.16%). Of all emergent species, 52.9% (n=71 species) were freshwater species, 26.9% (n=36) were brackish species, 3.0% (n=4) were migratory species, 27% (n=36) were marine species, and 9.0% (n=12) were riffle benthic species. Overall, 5.2% (n=7 species) were endangered species, 3.0% (n=4) were exotic species, and 23.1% (n=31) were Korean endemic species. The eight identified Wetland Protected Areas (WPA) were classified based on their habitat characteristics and on the analysis of their emergent fish communities, as estuarine (n=2), coastal dune (n=1), marsh (n=2), stream (n=2), and stream-marsh (n=1) types. The environmental factors revealed to have the greatest influence on the species diversity of emergent fish were maintenance and repair, installation of reservoirs, and construction of artificial wetlands around them. The present study offers basic information on the diversity of fish species in different Wetland Protected Area types that can be used to inform conservation and management decisions for WPA.