• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.185-194
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• 2014

Seasonal monitoring was implemented to understand the influence of macrophyte bed structure on the composition and trophic interaction of aquatic organisms (algae, zooplankton, macro-invertebrate, and fish) in a shallow wetland (Upo Wetland, South Korea). Distinct division of the plant assemblage (reed zone and mixed plant zone) was observed. The reed zone was composed solely of Phragmites communis, whereas the mixed plant zone comprised a diverse macrophyte assemblage (Salvinia natans, Spirodela polyrhiza, Trapa japonica, Ceratophyllum demersum, and Hydrilla verticillata). Most of the aquatic organisms were more abundant in the mixed plant zone than in the reed zone, and this was positively associated with the seasonal development of macrophyte cover. Stable isotope analysis showed seasonal interactions among aquatic organisms. The majority of aquatic animal (zooplankton, Odonata, and Ephemeroptera) were dependent on epiphytic particulate organic matter (EPOM), and the dependence on EPOM gradually increased toward autumn. Interestingly, Lepomis macrochirus consumed Ephemeroptera and zooplankton in both macrophyte zones, but Micropterus salmoides depended on different food items in the reed zone and the mixed plant zone. Although, M. salmoides in the reed zone showed food utilization similar to L. macrochirus, it consumed Odonata or small L. macrochirus in the mixed plant zone. Based on these results, it appears that differences in the structure of the two macrophyte zones support different assemblages of aquatic organisms, strongly influencing the trophic interactions between the aquatic organisms.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.138-147
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• 2020

The Singil Stream, flowing into an artificial lake, Lake Shihwa (South Korea), experiences a strong anthropogenic pressure with continuous organic matter (OM) inputs from rural, urban, and industrial areas. In this study, we investigated suspended particulate matter (SPM) and streambed sediments collected along the Singil Stream in 2014 and 2016, by applying a dual element approach (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) to identify OM sources. The SPM and streambed sediment samples from the indusrial area showed higher organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations (or contents) than those from the other areas, with distinctively lower δ¹⁵N values. Accordingly, our dual element approach indicates that the industrial area was the predominant OM source influencing OM quality and thus water quality of the Singil Stream flowing into Lake Shihwa during the study periods. However, further studies are necessary to better constrain OM sources in the Singil Stream since OM sources from the industrial area appear to be complex.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2019

Background: Han River estuary is a national wetland reserve near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between South Korea and North Korea. This trans-boundary estuary area has been well preserved and shows distinctive plant communities along the salinity gradient. To elucidate energy flows and nutrient cycling in this area, we studied trophic relations between the dominant sesarmid crab, Sesarma dehaani, and food sources in three wetlands with different environments along the estuarine gradients. Results: Stable isotope signatures (${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$) of the crabs were significantly different among the sites and body size classes. Seasonal changes in ${\delta}^{13}C$ of small crabs were distinct from those of large individuals at all the sites. The isotopic values and fatty acid profiles of the crabs were more different among the sites in September than in May. In May, large-sized crabs utilized more plant materials compared to other dietary sources in contrast to small-sized crabs as revealed by a stable isotope mixing modeling, whereas contributions to diets of crabs were not dominated by a specific diet for different body size in September except at site 1. Based on PCA loadings, fatty acid content of $18:3{\omega}3$, known as a biomarker of plant materials, was the main factor to separate size groups of crabs in May and September. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ value of sediment had high correlation with those of small-sized crabs at site 1 and 2 when 1-month time lag was applied to the value for crabs during the surveyed period. Conclusions: Based on the stable isotope and fatty acid results, the consumption habits of S. dehaani appear to be distinguished by sites and their size. In particular, smaller size of S. dehaani appears to be more dependent on fewer food sources and is influenced more by the diet sources from the sediments in Han River estuary.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.97 no.4
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• pp.357-362
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• 2008

We compared the morphological characters and stable isotopes of seeds of wild simulated ginseng with those of cultivated field ginseng. Seeds were collected from ten areas for wild simulated ginseng and two areas for cultivated field ginseng. The length, width, thickness and number of seeds per gram were measured and the ratio of stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen was analysed as well. There was a overlapping variation of morphological characters and the ratio of stable isotope of the wild simulated ginseng among study areas. In Geumsan area, compared with the seed of cultivated field ginseng, the seed of wild simulated ginseng was significantly small and light, and the ${\delta}^{15}N$(‰) of wild simulated ginseng was lower than that of cultivated field ginseng. However, it is somewhat impossible to compare the regional variation of the unique value of ${\delta}^{15}N$(‰) among study areas of wild simulated ginseng. We can suggest the value of ${\delta}^{15}N$(‰) can be used as detection factor for cultivation regime like chemical fertilization and organic farming.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.127-134
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• 2014

Organic carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of particulate organic matter (POM) were determined at 7 stations (6 stations in Han river and Paldang dam outflow station) from May to October 2013, in order to understand the origin of POM at the Han river. ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of POM in four stations showed significant seasonal changes season, but ${\delta}^{15}N$ values were enriched in around Kyeongan stream (K). POC, PN and Chl-a concentration showed a similar seasonal pattern in Kyeongan stream, with an apparent decrease from July to August. POC and PN concentration has a higher correlation with Chl-a concentration in Kyeongan stream (K). ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of POM has a lighter value during lower Chl-a concentration peroid, compared to other seasons. Our results revealed that Kyeongan stream (K) seemed to be influenced by substantial amount of organic manure or fertilizer input in 2013, compared to the previous year (2012). These results suggest that the analysis of stable isotope ratios is a simple but useful tool for the identification of organic matter origin in aquatic environments.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.39-50
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• 2024

In ecosystems within limited resources, interspecific competition is inevitable, often leading to the competitive exclusion of inferior species. This study aims to provide foundational information for the conservation and restoration management of Microphysogobio rapidus by evaluating species' ecological response to biological factors within its habitat. To understand this relationship, we collected food web organisms from site where M. rapidus coexist with Microphysogobio yaluensis, a specie ecologically similar to M. rapidus, and evaluated the trophic levels (TL), isotopic niche space (INS), and the overlap of INS among fishes within the habitat using stable isotope analysis. Our analysis revealed that the M. rapidus exhibited a higher TL than M. yaluensis, with TL of 2.6 and 2.4, respectively. M. yaluensis exhibited a broad INS, significantly influencing the feeding characteristics of most fish. Conversely, M. rapidus showed a narrow INS and asymmetric feeding relationships with other species, in habitats with high competition levels. This feeding characteristics of M. rapidus indicate that the increase in competitors sharing the similar resources lead to a decrease in available resources and, consequently, is expected to result in a decrease in their density.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.358-365
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• 2019

We measured the body composition, including bone mineral density (BMD) and food resource availability using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of body condition of 4 anuran species(Hyla japonica, Glandirana rugosa, Pelophylax nigromaculatus, Lithobates catesbeianus) in South Korea. Additionally, the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were employed to determine the food resource availability of anurans. We figured out the relationship between the body composition, including BMDs and food resource availability. The body composition and BMDs did not differ between male and female while there was difference among the species. Food resource availability and BMDs were the highest in L. catesbeianus, the lowest in H. japonica. BMDs tended to increase with higher food resource availability. Body composition and BMDs, which represent the body condition of an individual, can be used as an ecological indicator to assess the stability of the habitat of anurans.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.493-505
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• 2020

Food web structures in the lower trophic levels of the seas around the Korean peninsula were investigated in August 2019 using stable isotopes. There were variable ratios of the carbon (-26.18 ~ -20.61 ‰) and nitrogen stable (5.36 ~ 15.20 ‰) isotopes in the particulate organic matter (POM). Most of the organisms ingested micro-POM as a major food source, but this varied spatially. The chaetognaths (3.40 ± 0.61) occupied the highest trophic level. The isotope mixing model showed that the proportions (13 ~ 51 %) of some organisms (i.e., copepods and euphausiids) reflected the relative contributions as major food sources for chaetognaths at each site.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.04a
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• pp.28-30
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• 2005

Because of high population diversity in soil microbial communities, it is difficult to accurately assess the capability of biodegradation of toxicant by microbes in soil and sediment. Identifying biodegradative microorganisms is an important step in designing and analyzing soil bioremediation. To remove non-important noise information, it is necessary to selectively enrich genomes of biodegradative microorganisms fromnon-biodegradative populations. For this purpose, a stable isotope probing (SIP) technique was applied in selectively harvesting the genomes of biphenyl-utilizing bacteria from soil microbial communities. Since many biphenyl-using microorganisms are responsible for aerobic PCB degradation In soil and sediments, biphenyl-utilizing bacteria were chosen as the target organisms. In soil microcosms, 13C-biphenyl was added as a selective carbon source for biphenyl users, According to $13C-CO_2$ analysis by GC-MS, 13C-biphenyl mineralization was detected after a 7-day of incubation. The heavy portion of DNA(13C-DNA) was separated from the light portion of DNA (12C-DNA) using equilibrium density gradient ultracentrifuge. Bacterial community structure in the 13C-DNAsample was analyzed by t-RFLP (terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism) method. The t-RFLP result demonstates that the use of SIP efficiently and selectively enriched the genomes of biphenyl degrading bacteria from non-degradative microbes. Furthermore, the bacterial diversity of biphenyl degrading populations was small enough for environmental genomes tools (metagenomics and DNA microarrays) to be used to detect functional (biphenyl degradation) genes from soil microbial communities, which may provide a significant progress in assessing microbial capability of PCB bioremediation in soil and groundwater.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.242-251
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• 2012

To investigate foodweb of aquatic ecosystem in the Tamjin River, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes ratios of aquatic organisms, as well as environmental indicators based on the water, were determined in this study. Various organisms such as fishes (Coreoperca kawamebari, Zacco platypus, Cobitis lutheri, and Pungtungia herzi) and periphyton (epilithon and epiphyte), and particulate- and coarse particulate organic matters (POM and CPOM) were collected in upper (Tamjin River, Yuchi Stream, and Omcheon Stream) and lower (TJ-1~TJ-5) reaches of Jangheung Dam. The nitrate concentration and ${\delta}^{15}N$ signature of POM and organisms (invertebrates and fish) were found to be more enriched toward the downstream section of the river. It was determined that allochthonous matter occurring from a tributary alters the chemical character of water, as well as the isotopic signature of organisms contained therein. Attached algae (ephilithon) were identified as a base component of the benthic foodchain further downstream.