• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.265-273
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• 2015

It is the better to take preventative measures against the natural intrusion in advance from invasive alien species that reduce biodiversity and cause economic loss to humans. If the prevention of intrusion and spread fails, we need to make active control and eradication. This study aims to introduce nutria (Myocastor coypus) control cases performed in the United Kingdom and the United States and to provide information for the contribution of nutria management measure improvements. The nutria eradication campaign in the United Kingdom was developed as a long-term plan based on sufficient understanding on the management target and objective and suitable support. Sufficient information on nutria was accumulated and the management strategy was flexibly modified according to the changes in management that were proactively reflected in the field. Regarding the eradication project at Chesapeake Bay in the United States, based on long-term ecological information, more advanced capture technology than in the United Kingdom were introduced and the eradication plan, strategy and implementation were configured by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the eradication campaign in the United Kingdom. The successful cases in the United Kingdom and the United State provide an information on how to improv the nutria management measure. For the eradication of nutria, it is necessary to reach a consensus between stakeholders and to form a consultative group between related organizations for periodic communication. Opinions on the field must be actively accepted in the consultation process for strategy and policy decision, and the eradication plan needs to be developed based on a management index. The eradication plan is required to be managed, evaluated and adjusted in a systematic way. Scientific management must be introduced and the management performance must be evaluated objectively so that a practical plan can be flexibly adjusted. It is also required to secure a long-term budget support and a stable organization and to input a concentrated budget at the proper period when there is high efficiency of eradication.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.165-178
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• 2020

This study investigated the exotic mammals introduced to Korea to present the basic data necessary for ecological risk assessment and the establishment of an alien species management database. For this purpose, a list of alien mammals introduced to Korea was established by investigating alien mammals introduced for zoo exhibits purposes, alien mammals in breeding environments traded between individuals, and alien mammals introduced into nature. A total of 163 taxa were identified as alien mammals introduced to Korea. There were 139 taxonomic groups of ornamental alien mammals, including 11 orders, 44 families, 129 species and 10 subspecies; 28 taxonomic groups of alien mammals traded between individuals, including five orders and 19 families; and eight taxonomic groups of alien mammals introduced into nature, including four orders, seven families, seven species, and one subspecies. For the effective management of alien mammals introduced to Korea, it is important to collect basic information, such as a list of all species introduced, their populations, and introduced areas. It is also necessary to apply proactive management policies according to the degree of potential risk by preemptively evaluating the ecological risks that may arise from the introduction of alien species into natural ecosystems. For the eight taxonomic groups of Capra hircus, Cervus nippon taiouanus, Felis catus, Myocastor coypus, Oryctolagus cuniculus, Ondatra zibethicus, Ovis aries, and Rattus norvegicus identified to be introduced into the natural ecosystem of Korea, the provision of proliferation control measures at the national level, continuous monitoring of changes in diffusion trends, and immediate response based on the degree of change are required.

• Korean System Dynamics Review
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.53-74
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• 2015

Nutria(Myocastor coypus) is one of the most notorious invasive species in many countries. The Nutria's original range was South America like Brazil, Chile and Argentina. But it has been introduced to North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia including Korea, by fur ranchers. Like most invasive and disturbing species, nutria not only destroys habitats but also impacts many native species throughout most of its range with destructive feeding behavior. The purpose of this study is to investigate the dynamics of survival mechanism, population increase and spatial distribution, and eradication effect of Nutria on Nakdong River Area with the systems thinking. The result of this study revealed that Nutria can survive during winter with the behavior that the colder the winter was, the more deeply it burrowed. Further, the study uncovered the dynamics that nutria has survived more and more strongly during the extreme cold winter in almost every region and their population has increased dramatically as a result of the uncontrolled reproduction. Finally, the result showed that the action delay in eradicating Nutria, which was originated from the information delay of perception of nutria's survival and reproduction structure, reinforced the spread of Nutria across the nation.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.159-175
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• 2014

A taxonomic study of small mammals (Erinaceomorpha, Soricomorpha and Rodentia) was conducted in order to find out the scientific names which have been used in Korea. The synonymy of each species and taxonomical research was reviewed and confirmed in this study. The species names are rearranged based on recent studies. Among the various confused names, available names were adopted such as follows: C. shantungensis shantungensis known as Crocidura suaveolens; C. shantungensis quelpartis known as C. dsinezumi; Rattus tanezumi known as R. rattus, called black rat, roof rat and ship rat, respectively. Apodemus sylvaticus (Muridae, wood mouse) is excluded in the checklist based on indistinct previous records and ambiguous habitation on the Korean Peninsula, and neighbors. In addition, we provide a new Korean vernacular name for Myocastor coypus, called the "Nutria" in Korea. We reflect that several species are repositioned to other genera. A checklist of Korean small mammals and synonym list for each species is provided to avoid confusion of scientific names in Korea. In this study, the list of small mammals in Korea is arranged to 33 species, 20 genera, 8 families, and 3 orders.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.5
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• pp.527-529
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• 2014

This study reports the first case of Capillaria hepatica infection in a nutria in Korea. Ten nutrias, captured near the Nakdong River, were submitted to our laboratory for necropsy. White-yellowish nodules were found in the liver of 1 of the nutrias at necropsy. Histologically, the lesions were granulomatous, and infiltrations of lipid-laden macrophages, eosinophils, and several multinucleated giant cells were observed. The lesions consisted of numerous eggs and necrotic hepatocytes. The eggs were lemon-shaped and had polar plugs at the ends of both long sides. The eggs were morphologically identified as those of C. hepatica. Worldwide, C. hepatica infection in nutrias is very rare. Nutrias are a kind of livestock, as well as wildlife; therefore, an epidemiological study for parasitic infections needs to be conducted.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.316-326
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• 2013

This study has researched the national expansion, dispersion of nutria and investigated its inhabitation status for the past 3 years. The report has shown that the number of nutria habitat, reported to be distributed in 9 cities or districts in 2010, has been increased to 13 in 2012. In the research of 629 nutria habitats, 95.9% of habitat traces were found in Busan-Kyungnam area. From the research of relative density by location type for the 6 survey areas in these 5 areas above, it was shown 3.98(${\pm}2.56$)ind./100m in 2010, 2.90(${\pm}2.69$)ind./100m in 2011 and 1.39(${\pm}0.66$)ind./100m in 2012. From the research of relative density by habitat types, it was shown 3.48(${\pm}2.15$)ind./100m in palustrine wetland area, $1.01{\pm}(0.25)ind.$/100m in river area and $3.69{\pm}(2.83)ind.$/100m in riverine wetland area. It was shown that the annual average density in the areas has slightly been decreased for the past 3 years between 2010 and 2012. It also reported that the habitat density in the river area is a bit lower than that in the wetland area. Currently it can be determined that the nutria has fully adapted themselves to the various local environments of wetland, river, stream, and so on in Korea and the Relative density could be remarkably increased especially in the favorable condition like a wetland. As the ones living in the area with over-density could be spread out to other areas, the efficient management plan to control should be prepared considering ecological conditions.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.203-214
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to estimate the concentrated distribution area of nutria (Myocastor coypus) and potential suitable habitat and to provide useful data for the effective management direction setting. Based on the nationwide distribution data of nutria, the cross-validation value was applied to analyze the distribution density. As a result, the concentrated distribution areas thatrequired preferential elimination is found in 14 administrative areas including Busan Metropolitan City, Daegu Metropolitan City, 11 cities and counties in Gyeongsangnam-do and 1 county in Gyeongsangbuk-do. In the potential suitable habitat estimation using a MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy) model, the possibility of emergency was found in the Nakdong River middle and lower stream area and the Seomjin riverlower stream area and Gahwacheon River area. As for the contribution by variables of a model, it showed DEM, precipitation of driest month, min temperature of coldest month and distance from river had contribution from the highest order. In terms of the relation with the probability of appearance, the probability of emergence was higher than the threshold value in areas with less than 34m of altitude, with $-5.7^{\circ}C{\sim}-0.6^{\circ}C$ of min temperature of the coldest month, with 15-30mm of precipitation of the driest month and with less than 1,373m away from the river. Variables that Altitude, existence of water and wintertemperature affected settlement and expansion of nutria, considering the research results and the physiological and ecological characteristics of nutria. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect them as important variables in the future habitable area detection and expansion estimation modeling. It must be essential to distinguish the concentrated distribution area and the management area of invasive alien species such as nutria and to establish and apply a suitable management strategy to the management site for the permanent control. The results in this study can be used as useful data for a strategic management such as rapid management on the preferential management area and preemptive and preventive management on the possible spreading area.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.182-197
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• 2020

This study investigated the home range and characteristics of activities to contribute to the improvement of management techniques and the successful promotion of management policies of invasive nutria, which is a representative invasive species of South Korea. Six individuals were captivated for the study. Remote radio tracking on three of them was carried out followed by the analysis of the results. The average home range of the follow-up individuals were confirmed to be 0.043 ㎢ at MCP 95%, 0.085 ㎢ at K 95%. It was 0.018 ㎢ at K 50%, which is the core space. In 95% MCP, males exhibited the home range with 0.058 ㎢, showed wider home range 0.046 ㎢ than females who showed 0.012 ㎢, and showed a wider home range 0.015 ㎢ more at night than during the day. As a result of comparing the results of this study with the case studies of overseas studies, it is determined that the magnitude of the derived home range is the result of a stable habitat in which the procurement of food resources is smooth and human interference is limited. The daily moved distance of males was larger than that of females, with a maximum moved distance of 1,278 m per day. Activity at the study site is high from around sunset to around 6 A.M., 10 P.M., 7 P.M., 1 A.M., and 5 A.M., and high around sunrise and low during the daytime such as 2 P.M., which reflected the propensity of nocturnal animals to act. The results of this study on the home range and activity in nutria can be used as useful data forimproving the management of invasive alien species for the installation and operation of traps, the spatial setting of controlled areas, and the calculation of the amount ofresources together with a basic understanding of nutria's behaviors in South Korea.