• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.3
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• pp.511-518
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• 2023

This study examined the association between functional sequence variants (FSVs) of myosin heavy chain 3 (MYH3) genotypes and collagen content in a Landrace and Jeju native pig (JNP) crossbred population. Four muscles (Musculus longissimus dorsi, Musculus semimembranosus, Musculus triceps brachii, and Musculus biceps femoris) were used for the analysis of meat collagen content, and the same animals were genotyped for the FSVs of the MYH3 gene by using PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism). Three FSVs of MYH3 genotypes were identified and had genotype frequencies of 0.358, 0.551, and 0.091 for QQ, Qq, and qq, respectively. QQ animals for the FSVs of the MYH3 genotypes showed higher collagen content in their M. longissimus dorsi (p < 0.001), M. semimembranosus (p < 0.001), M. triceps brachii (p < 0.001), and M. biceps femoris (p < 0.001) than qq homozygous animals. After the validation of this result in other independent populations, the FSVs of MYH3 genotypes can be a valuable genetic marker for improving collagen content in porcine muscles and can also be applied to increase the amount of collagen for biomedical purposes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.205-220
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• 2023

This study aimed to analyze the needs and interests of the public on endangered wildlife using complaint big data. We collected 1,203 complaints and their corresponding text data on endangered wildlife, pre-processed them, and constructed a document-term matrix for 1,739 text data. We performed LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) topic modeling and network analysis. The results revealed that the complaints on endangered wildlife peaked in June-August, and the interest shifted from insects to various endangered wildlife in the living area, such as mammals, birds, and amphibians. In addition, the complaints on endangered wildlife could be categorized into 8 topics and 5 clusters, such as discovery report, habitat protection and response request, information inquiry, investigation and action request, and consultation request. The co-occurrence network analysis for each topic showed that the keywords reflecting the call center reporting procedure, such as photo, send, and take, had high centrality in common, and other keywords such as dung beetle, know, absence and think played an important role in the network. Through this analysis, we identified the main keywords and their relationships within each topic and derived the main issues for each topic. This study confirmed the increasing and diversifying public interest and complaints on endangered wildlife and highlighted the need for professional response. We also suggested developing and extending participatory conservation plans that align with the public's preferences and demands. This study demonstrated the feasibility of using complaint big data on endangered wildlife and its implications for policy decision-making and public promotion on endangered wildlife.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.177-201
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• 2022

Following the adoption of the global plant conservation strategies at the Conference of the Parties for Biodiversity Conservation, diligent actions to achieve each targets are actively carried out. In particular, the need for ecological conservation research to achieve targets 2 and 7 of GSPC-2020 has increased. The priority taxa to accomplish the objectives of GSPC-2020 are rare and endemic plants. In particular, endemic plants with limited distribution in specific regions are evaluated to face a high risk of extinction. To address the necessity to preserve endemic plants, we investigated the distribution of Prunus choreiana H. T. Im, a Korean endemic plant. After that, we examined the vegetational environment of the habitat of P. choreiana and evaluated its population structure. The productivity of its fruits and the effects of pollinators on fruit production were evaluated as well. The fruiting ratio was calculated based on the number of flowers produced. Lastly, we observed the annual growth characteristics of P. choreiana. The habitats of P. choreiana did not show a specific type of vegetation. All of them were located in a limestone area of Gangwon-do in the central Korean Peninsula and occupied a site where the coverage of the tree layer and the sub-tree layer was not high or did not exist. The population structure of P. choreiana contained a high proportion of mature plants capable of producing fruits and a low proportion of seedlings and Juvenile plants. We found that the production of fruits required pollinators and was affected by the performance of each plant. Although P. choreiana produces many flowers, only a maximum of 20% and only 2-6% on average bear fruits. These flowering characteristics may be due to pollinators' low abundance and activity during the flowering season (between mid-March and early April), suggesting that many flowers are needed to attract more pollinators. We rarely observed the re-establishment of seedlings in the population of P. choreiana. Despite that, we predict the population to persist owing to its long lifespan and periodic production of numerous fruits. However, if the tree layer and sub-tree layer in competing status with P. choreiana increase their crown density, they are expected to inhibit the growth of P. choreiana and affect the risk of its extinction. Therefore, the current changes in the vegetational environment of the habitats are expected to decrease the number and extent of P. choreiana in the long term. The results of this study may serve as primary and important data necessary for the achievement of GSPC-2020 objectives.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.185-195
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• 2022

This study conducted a survey over spring and autumn from 2014 to 2020 to confirm the ecological characteristics of the size of streams and habitats, centering on the ecological landscape conservation area, and a total 256 species of benthic macroinvertebrates in 105 families, 25 orders, 8 classes, and 5 phyla appeared. In terms of appearance species, by region, the rate of appearance of Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera was high in regions consisting of lotic area and the rate of appearance of Coleoptera and Odonata was high in regions consisting of lentic areas. When comparing the population of Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera (EPT) groups by region, they were classified into three groups: upstream area, mainstream area, and lentic areas, and it was confirmed that the population ratio of EPT changed as it moved from upstream to downstream. As the stream order increased, the number of species and populations increased. The Shredder group (SH) tended to decrease as the size of stream increased(r=0.9925), and the Collector-Filtering (CF) tended to increase as the size of stream increased(r=0.9319). It was confirmed that the Scraper (SC) replaced each other between species with the same ecological status as it went downstream from upstream, and it is thought that the SC did not differ significantly by stream order. In order to maintain a healthy ecosystem in the designation and management of ecological landscape conservation areas, it is necessary to consider ecological factors such as competition and physico-chemistry factors such as water quality and substrate conditions. Therefore, if the competent authority designated survey areas including buffer areas that include streams and physical habitats of various sizes, it will be advantageous to the conservative area and securing more biological resources.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.358-371
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• 2020

As climate change is expected to lead to a severe reduction of biodiversity, studies to investigate the reasons for habitat loss, growth decline, and death of Korean fir (Abies koreana Wilson), endangered alpine/subalpine species in Korea, have been conducted for years but found no clear answer yet. This study reviewed previous studies on Korean fir published in the journals in the past 40 years, 1980 through 2020, into 10-year units, examined the study trend by period, region, and subject with a focus on ecological studies, and analyzed the study results. The ecological studies were categorized into evolutionary ecology, physiological ecology, population ecology, and landscape ecology. Based on the results, we suggested the required research fields in the future. We found a total of 73 papers published in the past 40 years and 48 (65.8%) of them published in the past 10 years. In terms of region, Mt. Halla accounted for the most as 41 papers were on it. In terms of ecological subjects, the physiological ecology accounted for the most with 38, and the evolutionary ecology accounted for the least with 10. The review of the study results showed that many studies identified water stress caused by the water resource imbalance due to temperature increase and spring precipitation reduction following climate change as the main reason for the decline and habitat loss of Korean fir. However, recent studies suggested other factors, such as soil environment, disturbing organisms, and climatic events. The cause of the decline and death of the Korean fir not yet being clearly identified is that most of the studies dealt with the basic content, were carried out intermittently, and were concentrated in some regions. Therefore, we need long-term studies with advanced technology in each study subject at a local scale to find the cause of Korean fir decline and present sustainable management and conservation. Moreover, it is necessary to extend our study subjects to ecosystem ecology and systems ecology to integrate the results from various study subjects for a comprehensive understanding of the reason for Korean fir declines. The results of comprehensive studies could provide clearer answers for Korean fir's declines and the alternatives of conservation management and practices.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.516-524
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• 2015

This study was characteristics of bird community conducted to from 2009 to 2010 in Sihwa South Grassland, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Total 49 species were recorded and the sum of maximum counts was 2,258 individuals. Species diversity was 2.21 and the species richness was 6.22. In South Reclaimed, we recorded maximum score of 38 species. and maximum score of 1,083 individuals in Dinosaur Egg Fossil. Comparison between areas were use average species diversity and species richness. Mostly Dinosaur Egg Fossil and South Reclaimed were higher than Sihwa Lake upstream. As a results of the ANOVA test, all areas were different. also, Sihwa Lake upstream only difference was that the bird community. In the season there was a significant difference between the Number of species and species richness. Number of species and species richness were significant differences depending on the season. but individuals and species diversity were no significant differences. In the year there was a no significant difference between the Number of species and individuals. but species diversity and species richness were significant differences. As a result, Between areas was different patterns of bird communities. but including water space Dinosaur Egg Fossil and South Reclaimed were showed a similar bird communities and bird diversity was higher. In the season, the resident was using of consistent patterns. but, There were differences depending on the migratory patterns of populations. In the year, every year was communities of a similar patterns. Sihwa South Grassland is of the high conservation value ecosystem as the only domestic. Propose an opinion for maintaining biodiversity when planning future habitat composition and environmental decrease.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.204-216
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• 2024

Understanding the trade-off effect in ecosystem services and measuring the interrelationships between services are crucial for managing limited environmental resources. Accordingly, in this study, we identified the dominant trends and increases and decreases in ecosystem services derived from changes in land cover over about 30 years and tracked changes in the relationships between ecosystem services that occurred over time. Through it, we determined the relationship between land cover changes and ecosystem service changes, as well as the distinct characteristics of service changes in different areas. The research primarily utilized the InVEST model, an ecosystem service assessment model. After standardizing the evaluation results between 0 and 1, it went through principal component analysis, a dimensionality reduction technique, to observe the time-series changes and understand the relationships between the services. According to the research results, the area of urbanized regions dramatically increased between 1989 and 2019, while forests showed a significant increase between 2009 and 2019. Between 1989 and 2019, the national ecosystem service supply witnessed a 13.9% decrease in water supply, a 10.5% decrease in nitrogen retention, a 2.6% increase in phosphorus retention, a 0.9% decrease in carbon storage, a 1.2% increase in air purification, and a 3.4% decrease in habitat quality. Over the past 30 years, South Korea experienced an increase in urbanized areas, a decrease in agricultural land, and an increase in forests, resulting in a trade-off effect between phosphorus retention and habitat quality. This study concluded that South Korea's environment management policies contribute to improving ecosystem quality, which has declined due to urbanization, and maximizing ecosystem services. These findings can help policymakers establish and implement forestry policies focusing on sustainable environmental conservation and ecosystem service provision.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.27-43
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• 2017

The objectives of the study were to evaluate fish compositions, endangered species, community structure, physical habitat, and general water quality for a preliminary environmental impact assessment of Jeokbyeok River on the road construction between two regions. Total number of species and total number of individuals, based on CPUE, were 23 and 1186, respectively. The endangered species (I, II) as the legal protection species were Pseudopungtungia nigra (79 samples) Gobiobotia brevibarba) (5) Gobiobotia macrocephala (2), indicating a requiring of endangered species conservation. In the meantime, exotic species and ecological disturbing species such as Micropterus salmoides and Lepomis macrochirus, were not present, indicating a well conserved area. According to fish community analysis, values of species diversity index were high (range: 0.788 - 1.030), and the dominance index were low (range: 0.097 - 0.183), indicating that the fish community in this area was maintained well without high dominacne by specific species. Also, fish analysis on tolerance guilds and trophic guilds showed that the proportions of sensitive species were largely exceeded the proportions of the tolerant species, while the proportions of insectivore species were largely exceeded the proportions of the omnivore species. This outcome suggests that the ecosystem was well maintained in terms of tolerance and trophic compositions (food chain). Ecological health, based on the multi-metric fish model of Fish Assessment Integrity (FAI), reflected those fish conditions. In other words, values of FAI model averaged 82.4, which means a "good condition" in the criteria of ecological health by the Minstry of Environment, Korea. In addition, general water quality and physical habitat analyses showed that the system was in good condition. Under these conditions, if the road constructions between the two regions happen in the future, inorganic suspended solids may increase in the waterbody, and this may result in indirect or direct influences on the physical habitats and food chain as well as fish compositions, so the ecological protections and prevention strategy from the soil erosion are required in the system.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.352-366
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to offer the basic data to the habitat conservation and management by surveying and analysing the ecological characteristics such as the flora, vegetation structure and soil of Rhodotypos scandens habitat. The flora were summarized as 131 taxa including 57 families, 99 genera, 107 species, 1 subspecies, 17 varieties and 6 forms. The life forms grouped as in the follows; the megaphanerophytes(MM) were 21 taxa, 24 taxa of the microphanerophytes(M), 30 taxa of nanophanerophytes(N), 6 taxa of chamaiphytes(Ch), 20 taxa of hemicryptophytes(H), 17 taxa of geophytes(G), 12 taxa of therophytes(Th) and 1 taxa of hydrophytes(HH). The present conditions of communities were 8 types including Zelkova serrata, Quercus aliena, Ulmus parvifolia, Rhamnella frangulioides, Castanea crenata, Albizia julibrissin, Celtis sinensis and Robinia pseudoacacia. In case of the dominant species by layers, the tree layer species were Zelkova serrata, Quercus aliena, Ulmus parvifolia, Castanea crenata, Albizia julibrissin, Celtis sinensis and Robinia pseudoacacia, and the subtree layer species were Rhamnella frangulioides, Q. aliena, Z. serrata, A. julibrissin, U. parvifolia and Broussonetia kazinoki. The shrub layer species was Rhodotypos scandens. In the results of analyzing the diversity index, $H^{\prime}{_{max}}$ from 1.691 to 2.610, from 2.197 to 3.466 in H'max, from 0.646 to 0.903 in J' and from 0.097 to 0.354 in D. In the results of analysing the soil, there showed that acidity was 5.6, 0.5dS/m of electrical conductivity(EC), 59.1mg/kg of available $P_2O_5$, 49.7% of organic matter content, $0.4cmol^+/kg$ of exchangeable $K^+$, $13.5cmol^+/kg$ of exchangeable $Ca^{2+}$, $3.3cmol^+/kg$ of exchangeable $Mg^{2+}$.