• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.654-663
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• 2019

Pollinators, which are important organisms in pollination ecology, have been highly valued for their economic contributions to crop production in the agricultural and biotechnology industries. As the production of over 70% of farm products, such as fruits, are mediated by pollinators, bees are important and useful insects to humans. However, pollinators are now seriously threatened with their numbers decreasing annually and their biodiversity being negatively affected by ongoing climate change, misuse of land, change of geographical features, and use of pesticides to increase agricultural production. Thus, surveys and analyses of the emergence and distribution of wild bees are important for conservation and management practices designed to help them continue to play their ecological and agricultural roles despite negative pressures, such as climate and topography changes. We surveyed pollinators, especially wild bees, at 51 research sites in South Korea every two to four weeks for two years from 2017 to 2018 using ez-Malaise traps and analyzed the temporal and spatial distribution of wild bees. The bees showed a normal temporal distribution that peaked between July and August. The bees' working period lasted until November. The spatial distribution of wild bees showed a significant correlation with latitude, and different bees were identified depending on the local habitat. No significant correlation was found for longitudinal distribution with regression analysis (p > 0.05), but this study identified locally specific wild bees. Although we could not predict significant distribution according to longitude, Further studies should be able to analyze the difference in the distribution of wild bees according to the climate, topography, and land-use patterns by humans. The results of this study provide basic information on pollinator distribution, which can be useful in agriculture and for the conservation and management of biodiversity in South Korean pollination ecology.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.3 s.113
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• pp.341-351
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• 2005

Ecological stream health, based on the index of biological integrity (IBI) , was evaluated at five sampling locations of Youdeung Stream during August-October 2004. For the study, we also analyzed spatial and temporal patterns of conventional water quality over tine period of 1995 ${\sim}$ 2004, using the water chemistry dataset, obtained from the Ministry of Environment, Korea. The water quality parameters used here were conductivity, total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand $(BOD_5)$, chemical oxygen demand $(COD_{mn})$, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). The multi-metric model values averaged 27.8 in the stream and ranged 24 ${\sim}$ 32. The health condition was judged as 'Fair' to 'Poor' conditions, according to the stream health criteria of US EPA (1993). Longitudinal variation occurred from the upstream to downstream reach; largest differences in all water quality variables occurred between Site 5 and the other sites. This was mainly attributed to the impacts of wastewater treatment plants near the locations. Also, relative proportions of tolerance and omnivore species increased in downstream reaches. The model values, however, did not match the values, based on water quality parameters. We assume that this may be associated with primarily reduced water volumn during dry season in the stream along with modified physical habitat conditions.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.81-91
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• 2020

As part of method for ecologically utilizing abandoned paddy, potential of the abandoned paddy as a target site for ex-situ conservation of 9 endangered species of different life form was confirmed by considering the nature of rice paddy. In order to create Dum-bung, a component of traditional Korean rice paddy, a part of the abandoned paddy was modified to change the water environment. The seeds, asexual reproductive and sexually reproductive individuals of each endangerd species were transplanted into the abandoned paddy to observe the survival rate and phenological response for 1 year, and then monitored for 2 years. As a result, Hydrophyte 4 taxa (Euryale ferox, Saururus chinensis, Dysophylla yatabeana, Menyanthes trifoliata), Geophyte taxa 1 (Epilobium hirsutum), and Hemicryptophyte taxa 1 (Cicuta virosa) could be introduced into the abandoned paddy. In particular, Euryale ferox, Dysophylla yatabeana, and Menyanthes trifoliata should be introduced into Dum-bung, and Saururus chinensis, Epilobium hirsutum, and Cicuta virosa should be introduced into paddy wetland. Growth of Euryale ferox and Brasenia schreberi was inhibited by herbaceous species, and the growth of Epilobium hirsutum was inhibited by herbivores. Therefore, in order to help efficient settlement of endangered plants introduced in abandoned paddy, it is necessary to remove herbs that inhibit growth and to manage herbivores. In addition, it is necessary to prevent the collapse of paddy bank by planting on the paddy field trees or herbaceous forming vegetation mat. When using abandoned paddy ecologically, it is effective to diversify the moisture environment by creating a Dum-bung to increase biodiversity.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.39 no.2 s.116
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• pp.145-156
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• 2006

The objective of this study was to evaluate biological health conditions and physicochemical status using multi-metric models at five sites of the Keum-Ho River during August 2004 and June 2005. The research approach was based on a qualitative habitat evaluation index (QHEI), index of biological integrity (IBI) using fish assemblage, and long-term chemical data (1995 ${\sim}$ 2004), which was obtained from the Ministry of Environment, Korea. For the biological health assessments, regional model of the IBI in Korea (An,2003), was applied for this study. Mean IBI in the river was 30 and varied from 23 to 48 depending on the sampling sites. The river health was judged to be "fair condition", according to the stream health criteria of US EPA (1993) and Barbour et al. (1999). According to the analysis of the chemical water quality data of the river, BOD, COD, conductivity, TP, TN, and TSS largely varied epending on the sampling sites, seasons and years. Variabilities of some parameters including BOD, COD, TP, TN, and conductivity were greater in the downstream than in the upstream reach. This phenomenon was evident in the dilution by the rain during the monsoon. This indicates that precipitation is a very important factor of the chemical variations of water quality. Community analyses showed that species diversity index was highest (H=0.78) in the site 1, while community dominance index was highest in the site 3, where Opsariichthys uncirostris largely dominated. In contrast, the proportions of omnivore and tolerant species were greater in the downstream reach, than in the upstream reach. Overall, this study suggests that some sites in the downstream reach may need to restore the aquatic ecosystem for better biological health.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.146-154
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• 2016

In this study, understanding the habitats on spot-billed duck that wintering-breed in the korea, which using the GPS-Mobile based Telemtry (WT-200), I tried to take advantage as the basic data of the protection and management of the habitats of the waterbirds of Korea. Study area is Gyeonggi-do Bokhacheon, Chonmichon, Chungcheongnam-do Gokugyochon, Chungcheongbuk-do Byeongcheoncheon, Jeollabuk-do Mangyunggang, which Five rivers and Jeju Island reservoir, I have attached the tracking of the location(WT -200) to the twenty-five spot-billed ducks. among twenty five ducks, twelve ducks moved to overseas countries, the arrival site was China, North Korea, Russia. Moving average distance was 683km, the largest distance was 1,238km. The average northbound starting date was April 26. The average daily movement distance of thirteen ducks remaining in the domestic country is $1.0{\pm}0.89km$, maximum travel distance was 23.8km. The average daily movement distance of wintering prior to average going north dating is a 0.9km, is the largest 14.6km, the breeding season is an average 1.3km, maximum was 14.4km. Spot-billed duck used the rivers in domestic country most frequently, following was rice field, a filed, reservoir. It used the river most frequently during the wintering period, in the breeding season it used paddy paddies most frequently. While wintering, during the day and night's utilization rate was the highest in the river, but utilization rate was incleased on filed, paddy filed at night. During breeding season, daytime and night's utilization rate was the highest but, utilization rate was increased on river and utilization rate was decreased on river. In accordance with time change, spot-billed duck showed different tendency in paddy fields, and they utilized the filed adjacent to rivers mostly.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.391-400
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• 2015

In order to investigate the distribution and species composition of fish in shallow wetlands that might be affected by environmental factors, we investigated the physicochemical parameters, macrophytes biomass, and fish assemblage in 24 shallow wetlands in South Korea from May to June, 2012. In this study, a total of 20 fish species were identified, and Cypinidae were found to be the most dominant species. Physicochemical parameters and macrophyte biomass were different in the survey sites, and macrophytes biomass, in particular, showed a positive relationship with fish abundance in stepwise multiple regression (df=1, F=32.00, P=0.001). According to the result of the cluster analysis between survey sites, the survey sites were divided into three groups in accordance with species composition of fish in relation to macrophytes biomass. In the wetlands of the first group, Lepomis macrochirus which belongs to Centrarchidae was found to be dominant and other fish assemblages were hardly seen. In the second group, unlike the first group, Carassius auratus that belongs to Cypinidae was found to be dominant. In the third group, Lepomis macrochirus was found to be as dominant as the first group but various other fish species appeared. Where there was abundance of the main food sources (i. e. zooplankton) of fish in the survey sites, there were more diverse macrophyte biomass. Consequently, it is proven that macrophytes strongly affect the species composition and abundance of fish, and high biomass of macrophytes support high assemblage of fish. Based on these results, we recommend establishing diverse aquatic macrophytes communities when restoring or creating wetlands to assure high diversity of fish species that use macrophytes as their habitat.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2020

Migratory birds use a variety of breeding and wintering sites, and it is particularly important to understand more information on breeding and feeding sites for the conservation and management of endangered species. Black-faced spoonbills (Platalea minor) are an international endangered species distributed in East Asia. The majority of black-faced spoonbills breed on uninhabited islets off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula during the breeding season, and they are distributed in East Asia such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, southern China, Japan, and Jeju island during the winter season. In this study, we used a wild animal location tracking system to analyze and compare home ranges of three black-faced spoonbills spending the post-fledging stage in Gujido islet in Incheon and Chilsando islet in Yeonggwang each in 2015. The tree black-faced spoonbills in Guji islet showed a home range in coastal areas in Hwanghaenam-do and Gangneung-gun. The home range size (mean±SD) was estimated to be 425.49±116.95 ㎢ using 100% MCP, 43.61±18.51 ㎢ using KDE 95%, and 7.46±3.68 ㎢using KDE 50%. The tree black-faced spoonbills in Chilsando islet showed a home range in the Baeksu tidal flat and the Buan Saemangeum area with a size of 99.38±55.29 ㎢ using 100% MCP, 19.87±6.05 ㎢ using KDE 95%, and 1.16±0.53 ㎢ using KDE 50%. The figured indicated that the tree black-faced spoonbills breeding in Gujido islet had a wider home range than those breeding in Chilsando islet. During the post-fledging stage, the home ranges of black-faced spoonbills were mostly breeding in mudflats. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize human intervention, such as the construction of roads and structures and the human access, to protect the habitats during the period.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.157-169
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate the ecological characteristics and vegetation structures of Eurya japonica in Busan. As a result of the TWINSPAN and DCA analysis, 89 plots of 100㎡ each were divided into 3 communities: Quercus serrata-Pinus densiflora-E. japonica community, Pinus thunbergii-E. japonica community, and P. thunbergii-Camellia japonica community. Community I consisted of the Quercus serrata-Pinus densiflora-E. japonica which was mainly located in the high altitude inland. While Q. serrata and P. densiflora competed in the tree layer, the dominant species of the understory layer was E. japonica. Since Carpinus tschonoskii, one of the climax species, was distributed evenly from shrub to tree layers, it was likely that deciduous oak trees or Carpinus tschonoskii would become dominant species in community I. In community I, E. japonica was found in higher altitude than the other evergreen broad-leaved tree and was expected to maintain their tree vigor even if the vegetation structure is converted into the deciduous forest. Community II, the P. thunbergii-E. japonica community, was predicted to maintain its tree vigor unless there were unexpected disturbance factors. Community III, consisting of P. thunbergii-C. japonica and located in Dongbaek Island, was under artificial management. In community III, P. thunbergii was the only species in the tree layer, while C. japonica was predominant in the understory layer. E. japonica and various evergreen broad-leaved tree species were present in the understory layer and shrub layer, which were unmanaged areas. Therefore, it is expected that unless C. japonica is continuously managed, E. japonica is likely to become the dominant species. There were also various evergreen broad-leaved species, such as Machilus thunbergii and Pittosporum tobira, present in the shrub layer. If the temperature continues to rise, the habitat is expected to become evergreen broad-leaved forests in the future as P. thunbergii community declines. The result of Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis of E. japonica and species appearing in 89 plots showed that 9 species were had a statistically significant relationship (p<0.05). Four species, including P. tobira and Q. dentata, had a positive correlation. Five species had a negative correlation, and C. japonica, which had the same ecological position as E. japonica, showed the most negative correlation at -0.384.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.418-430
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• 2009

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the topography of land and vegetation and the preferred habitat of wintering cranes. Investigations were conducted twelve times in Cheorwon basin, South Korea, during two wintering seasons (12/2005 - 2/2006; 1/2007 - 2/2007). The density of rice grain in the middle of rice paddies was higher than that of the areas along the edge of rice paddies. However it was observed that red-naped cranes preferred to feed along the edges of rice paddies rather than to feed in the middle of the paddies. White-naped cranes, on the other hand, Preferred to feed in the middle of paddies. To be more specific, red-crowned cranes preferred feeding sites such as levees of the paddies or the areas where the level of the rice beds was comparatively more elevated. But the preference of the white-naped cranes turned out to be just the opposite. Another finding was that both red-naped cranes and white-naped cranes preferred concealed areas for their feeding site, and the frequency rate of their feeding in concealed areas has little to do with weather factors. This finding contradicts a widely accepted view that cranes prefer open spaces for their feeding site. Besides, red-crowned cranes, compared with white-naped cranes, preferred to feed in more concealed areas. The frequency rate of feeding in both concealed areas and non-concealed areas had little to do with the size of feeding flocks. There was no difference between a flock of fewer than five cranes and a flock of more than five cranes in terms of frequency rate of their feeding. In conclusion, the result of these investigations indicate that red-naped cranes comparatively prefer concealed areas for their feeding site, and white-naped cranes are less prone to them, and there is no direct connection between their preference of feeding site or frequency and the size of their flock. This is presumed to be the characteristics unique to their individual species.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.381-391
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of artificial disturbances occurring during water conveyance frequency on benthic macro-invertebrate by comparing and analyzing data before and after the construction of Boryeong dam in Boryeong-si, Chungcheongnam-do. We conducted the survey eight times in four points from April 2016 to September 2017. A total of 13,447 individuals from 125 species, 70 families, 19 orders, 7 classes, and 4 phyla were collected. The result of the community analysis showed that the dominant index was 0.55 (${\pm}0.07$) to 0.47 (${\pm}0.08$), diversity index was 2.06 (${\pm}0.26$) to 2.23 (${\pm}0.28$), evenness index was 0.69 (${\pm}0.05$) to 0.70 (${\pm}0.04$), and richness index was 3.43 (${\pm}0.72$) to 4.03 (${\pm}0.91$). After conveyance, the dominance decreased while the diversity, evenness, and richness increased. The result of the functional group analysis showed the portion of scrapers, filtering-collectors increased while that of shredders, gathering-collectors decreased in the functional feeding group and that the proportion of climbers and clingers increased while that of burrowers and sprawlers decreased in the habitat orientation group. The result of analysis of community stability showed that St. 1 and St. 2 decreased resistance and resilience after conveyance and new species appeared in the III characteristics group while St. 3 and St. 4 did not show much difference. The result of multidimensional scaling analysis showed that the variation of similarity was the highest at St. 1 after conveyance, and the variation of similarity at St. 4 was the lowest.