• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.167-173
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• 2015

The purpose of study is to identify trophic pathways from organic matter to macroinvertebrates in terms of the consumer and to characterize the food webs in an intermittent stream system of the Echi River in Japan. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of macroinvertebrates and their potential food sources indicated the scraper (Psephenoides spp., Ecdyonurus levis) and collector-gatherer (Ephemera strigata, Paraleptonphlebia chocolata) feed on periphyton and POM (particulate organic matter) in situ. Davidius lunatus, and Hexatoma spp., which were identified as predators, may feed upon Ephemera strigata and Stenelmis larvae, respectively. At station characterized by seepage water, the ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of Ecdyonurus levis, Lymnaea auricularia, and Rhyacophila nigrocephala larva probably showed relatively lower values according to its diets. Even in homogenous species, the trophic pathways of macroinvertebrates in situ exhibited considerable variation; this reflected the trophic pathways from organic matter to the consumer depending on habitat characteristics in stream.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.27 no.11
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• pp.1007-1021
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• 2018

Community dynamics of benthic macroinvertebrates and biological evaluation of water quality were investigated at Gigyecheon of Pohang and Gyeongju, Korea. The survey was carried out at 8 sites from May to October, 2017. As a result, total of 104 species under 54 families, 15 orders, 8 classes in 4 phyla with 5,052 individuals were revealed. The number of species was the most abundantly identified in aquatic insects, 76 species under 34 families, 6 orders. Among them, the order Odonata was the most abundant taxon as 21 species(20.2%). The most abundant individuals were collected in the phylum Mollusca as 1,453 individuals(28.8%). Various species appeared dominantly at each site by season, and the most dominant species was Caridina denticulata denticulata belonging to the class Malacostraca with 0.08 of dominance index. According to the results of community structure analyses, the diversity and richness indices were the highest at site II, the evenness index was the highest at site I, and the dominance index was the highest at site IV. The number of species and individuals of gathering collectors were the highest among functional feeding groups. Those of sprawlers were the highest among habitat orientation groups. The ESB showed a tendency to change according to season and site, and it was the highest in May at most surveyed sites. The KSI was also somewhat fluctuated according to season and site. From these indices, average biological water quality was evaluated as class II.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.370-376
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• 2018

It is important to consider interaction between species in understanding structure and function of the biological community. Current ecological issues such as climate change and habitat loss emphasize the significance of the concept of species interaction in that varying species' interaction across environmental gradients may lead to altered ecological function and services. However, most community studies have focused on species diversity through analysis of quantitative indices based on species composition and abundance data without considering species interactions in the community. 'Ecological network analysis' based on network theory enables exploration of structural and functional properties of ecosystems composed of various species and their interactions. In this paper, network analysis of Cheonggye stream as a case study was presented to promote uses of network analysis on ecological studies in Korea. Cheonggye stream has a simple biological structure with link density of 1.48, connectance 0.07, generality 4.43, and vulnerability 1.94. The ecological network analysis can be used to provide ecological interpretations of domestic long-term monitoring data and can contribute to conserving and managing species diversity in ecosystems.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.270-282
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• 2023

Lower termites need symbiotic microbes for cellulose digestion. Elizabethkingia miricola strain BM10 has been proposed as a symbiotic microbe that assists in low-temperature digestion and metabolism of Reticulitermes speratus KMT1, a termite on Bukhan Mountain, Seoul, Korea. In E. miricola strain BM10, β-glucosidase genes expressed at 10℃ were identified, and the psychrophilic enzymatic characteristic was confirmed by heterogeneously expressed proteins. Crude β-glucosidase in the culture broth of E. miricola strain BM10 showed specific enzymatic properties, and its substrate affinity was 4.69 times higher than that of Cellic CTec2. Among the genes proposed as β-glucosidase, two genes, bglB_1 and bglA_2, whose gene expression was more than doubled at 10℃ than at 30℃, were identified. They were heterogeneously expressed in Escherichia coli and identified as psychrophilic enzymes with an optimal reaction temperature of about 20℃-25℃. In this study, E. miricola strain BM10, a symbiotic bacterium of lower termites, produced psychrophilic β-glucosidases that contribute to the spread of the low-temperature habitat of a lower termite, R. speratus KMT1.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.52-63
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• 2013

Benthic macroinvertebrates were investigated in Yongdam-dam and Hapcheon-dam resions from June to October 2011, Korea. Yongdam-dam and Hapcheon-dam are geographically contiguous, but they are classified as other water system. Experiment site(YE-1, 2, 3; HE-1, 2, 3) which is thought to be affected by dam, control site(YC-1, 2; HC-1, 2) which is thought not to be affected by dam were selected. Species composition, macroinvertebrate communities, composition of the functional feeding groups, habitat orientied groups and community stability were assessed Yongdam-dam and Hapcheon-dam regions. Ten sites were selected for quantitative(Surber sampler $30cm{\times}30cm$) of benthic macroinvertebrates. As a results, a total of 6,369 individuals including 69 species, 33 families, 12 orders, 6 classes and 4 phyla were recognized in Yongdam-dam region. Also, a total of 5,728 individuals including 81 species, 44 families, 13 orders, 5 classes and 4 phyla were recognized in Hapcheon-dam region. Dominance index was 0.27~0.50(mean${\pm}$SD $0.38{\pm}0.09$), diversity index was 2.22~2.97($2.67{\pm}0.29$), evenness index was 0.63~0.76($0.72{\pm}0.06$) and richness index was 4.43~7.06($5.69{\pm}0.99$) in Yongdam-dam region. Dominance index was 0.40~0.81($0.59{\pm}0.18$), diversity index was 1.40~2.39($2.00{\pm}0.43$), evenness index was 0.38~0.68($0.56{\pm}0.13$) and richness index was 4.04~5.80($4.95{\pm}0.70$) in Hapcheon-dam region. In the functional feeding groups, filtering-collectors and gathering-collectors were the highest in the whole sites. In the habitat orientied groups, burrowers, clingers and swimmers were considerably occupied in all sites. As a result of community stability analysis, experiment sites has been identified much as species high resistance and resilience to environmental changes in Yongdam-dam. Control sites has been identified much as species low resistance and resilience to environmental changes in Hapcheon-dam. Species belonging to the Igroup is considered to be important in the river ecosystem stability of large dams downstream areas.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.277-286
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• 2021

Background: As trade increases, the influx of various alien species and their spread to new regions are prevalent and no longer a special problem. Anthropogenic activities and climate changes have made the distribution of alien species out of their native range common. As a result, alien species can be easily found anywhere, and they have nothing but only a few differences in intensity. The prevalent distribution of alien species adversely affects the ecosystem, and a strategic management plan must be established to control them effectively. To this end, hot spots and cold spots were analyzed according to the degree of distribution of invasive alien plants, and major environmental factors related to hot spots were found. We analyzed the 10,287 distribution points of 126 species of alien plants collected through the national survey of alien species by the hierarchical model of species communities (HMSC) framework. Results: The explanatory and fourfold cross-validation predictive power of the model were 0.91 and 0.75 as AUC values, respectively. The hot spots of invasive plants were found in the Seoul metropolitan area, Daegu metropolitan city, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, southwest shore, and Jeju island. Generally, the hot spots were found where the higher maximum temperature of summer, precipitation of winter, and road density are observed, but temperature seasonality, annual temperature range, precipitation of the summer, and distance to river and sea were negatively related to the hot spots. According to the model, the functional traits accounted for 55% of the variance explained by the environmental factors. The species with higher specific leaf areas were more found where temperature seasonality was low. Taller species preferred the bigger annual temperature range. The heavier seed mass was only preferred when the max temperature of summer exceeded 29 ℃. Conclusions: In this study, hot spots were places where 2.1 times more alien plants were distributed on average than non-hot spots (33.5 vs 15.7 species). The hot spots of invasive plants were expected to appear in less stressful climate conditions, such as low fluctuation of temperature and precipitation. Also, the disturbance by anthropogenic factors or water flow had positive influences on the hot spots. These results were consistent with the previous reports about the ruderal or competitive strategies of invasive plants instead of the stress-tolerant strategy. The functional traits are closely related to the ecological strategies of plants by shaping the response of species to various environmental filters, and our result confirmed this. Therefore, in order to effectively control alien plants, it is judged that the occurrence of disturbed sites in which alien plants can grow in large quantities is minimized, and the river management of waterfronts is required.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.347-354
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• 2009

This study was conducted on the biological control effects of the natural enemy, Amblyseius cucumeris, against Polyphagotarsonemus latus. The broad mite moved to a new habitat after the carrying capacity of the preferred habitat on the upper leaf has been reached. Population dynamics between predator, Amblyseius cucumeris, and prey, P. latus, were quite well synchronized since the predator followed the movement of the prey. In predation test by Amblyseius cucumeris on P. latus, A. cucumeris fed on 8.8, 15.2, 27.0 and 30.3 individuals/day under the temperatures of 15, 20, 25, and $30^{\circ}C$, respectively. The A. cucumeris larva, protonymph, deutonymph, adult male, and adult female fed on 0.5, 1.6, 5.2, 3.8, and 27 individuals of adult P. latus per day, respectively, under $25^{\circ}C$ condition. The functional response curve of adult P. latus to the densities of A. cucumeris showed Holling's Type II curve. The consumption of prey by A. cucumeris increased with the prey density increase, but the consumption rate decreased. The critical ratio of predator vs. prey effectively to suppress (98% over) the population of P. latus by releasing A. cucumeris was 1:40 on red pepper.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.36 no.4 s.143
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• pp.318-323
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• 2005

The leaves (KPL) of Kalopanax pictus (KP) are used as a vegetable or a functional food in Korean society. The stem bark (Kalopanacis Cortex, KPS) has been traditionally used to treat neurotic pain, rheumatoid arthritis and diabetic disease. This research was undertaken to demonstrate that the leaf extract of KP (KPL) has also the antinociceptive and antiinflammatory effects like the extract (KPS) of Kalopanacis Cortex and to compare the activity levels of several extracts obtained from KP. Antinociceptive and antiinflammatory effects were measured against the extracts described as followings; KPL-1 (the MeOH extract obtained from the leaf shoot of KP collected on May), KPL-2 (the MeOH extract from KP collected on June), KPL-3 (the MeOH ectract from KP with no thorns), KPS-1 (MeOH extract from KPS of a Korean habitat), KPS-2 (MeOH extract from KPS of a Chinese habitat). The antimociceptive test undertaken by acetic acid-induced writhing, hot plate-, and tail-flick methods using mice. The anti-inflammatory test was also undertaken by measuring the edema in the carrageenan-induced test. The order of activity potency in the antinociceptive and antiinflammatory assays was commonly shown as followings: KPL-3>KPS>1>KPS-2>KPL-1>KPL-2. This order was also observed in acetic acid-induced vascular permeability test. The antiinflammatory activity in carrageenan-induced assay was also observed as the following order: KPL-3>KPS- 1>PS-2>KPL-1>KPL-2. In addition, adjuvant-induced rats were used for a model to assess the oxidative stress. Treatment of the rat with the extracts reduced serum thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), hydroxy radical(OH) and superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity caused by FCA together together with the inhibition of hepatic TBARS level and lipofuscin content. The above finding suggests that the leaf extract has the antinociceptive and antinflammatory activity. It is also suggested that KPL-3 with more potent activity than other tested extracts could be developed for a new available biomaterial.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.237-246
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• 2022

Owing to their high bioproductivity and unique physical environment, estuarine wetlands are gaining importance in national biodiversity management and habitat conservation. With regard to conservation and management of estuarine wetlands, this study analyzed the ecological characteristics of Gahwacheon Estuarine Wetland, an open estuary with various habitat types. Data from vegetation and biotic surveys have shown that 12 plant communities of five physiognomic vegetation types, including lentic herbaceous vegetation, halophytic herbaceous vegetation, and chasmophytic herbaceous vegetation. Due to the discharge of Namgang Dam and the effect of the tide, vegetation are distributed along the narrow waterside area. In terms of biodiversity, a total of 715 species, including 12 endangered wildlife species, were identified. Species diversity was relatively high in sections I and III where various riverbed structures and microhabitats were distributed. Due to the effect of the brackish water area following the inflow of seawater, endangered wildlife of various functional groups were also found to be distributed, indicating the high conservation value of that area. The collection of ecological information of the Gahwacheon Estuarine Wetland can be used as a framework for establishing the basis for conservation and management of the estuarine ecosystem and support policy establishment.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2023

In Korea, wetland policies are currently being pursued through long-term plans such as nationwide wetland surveys and wetland conservation basic plans. However, most policies focus on understanding the status of wetlands, such as their area, distribution, and biodiversity, and there is a lack of awareness regarding the need to conserve and manage wetland ecosystems as a single organism. Therefore, this study aims to identify potential riverine wetland sites that can be ecologically connected by considering functional aspects such as floodplain, biodiversity, habitat provision, and tourism resources. This study attempted to select a candidate site that could potentially provide ecological connectivity with three wetlands in the Nakdonggang River water system : Upo Wetland, Hwapocheon Wetland, and Junam Reservoir. 63 wetlands and 7 candidate sites located in 15 subwatersheds of the Nakdonggang River were analyzed, and the most suitable candidate site for ecological connectivity was selected based on the calculated scores. A suitability analysis was conducted using 9 evaluation factors to evaluate candidate sites, and the scoring method, using quantile, was applied to these factors. As a result, Upo2(Hopo) was selected as the most suitable site for ecological connectivity, receiving the highest score 36. Therefore, it is believed that Upo2(Hopo) can serve as a floodplain, habitat, biodiversity enhancer, and tourism resource while being the most suitable for ecological connectivity.