• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1999.10b
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• pp.174.2-174
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• 1999

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1999.10b
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• pp.174.1-174
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• 1999

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.193-197
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• 1999

A peroxidase-antiperoxidase method was used to detect the cells showing immunoreactivities to six hormone antibodies in the alimentary tracts of six frog species, Rana nigromaculata, R. rugosa, R. amurensis coreana, R. catesbeiana, Bombina orientalis, and Hyla arborea japonica, inhabiting Korea. The cells immunoreactive to gastrin and cholecystokinin-8 were observed in the pylorus of the stomachs and in the small intestines of all frog species examined. In contrast, these somatostatin-immunoreactive cells were identified in the esophagus and the whole gastrointestinal tracts, but were absent from the large intestines in R. rugosa, R. catesbeiana, B. orientalis and H. arborea japonica. The pancreatic polypeptide (PP)-immunoreactive cells represented their distribution limited to the small intestines of R. amurensis coreana and H. arborea japonica, and they were additionally identified in the pylorus of the stomachs in the other four species. Serotonin- and glucagon- Immunoreactive cells revealed different regional distributions in which the former were observed throughout the whole alimentary tracts in all frog species investigated, whereas the latter were not found in these regions at all. Endocrine cells were relatively abundant in the pyloric portion of the stomach compared to other organs. The present study showed that all endocrine cells except for PP had a similar distribution in the alimentary tracts of all frog species used.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.425-432
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• 2006

The tadpoles of 12 Korean anuran species, including Bombina orientalis, Bufo gargarizans, B. stejnegeri, Hyla japonica, Kaloula borealis, Rana dybowskii, R. huanrenensis, R. coreana, R. nigromaculata, R. chosenica, R. rugosa, and R. catesbeiana, were classified based on their morphological characteristics. We collected eggs or tadpoles of the 12 Korean anuran species from Gangwon, Incheon, Chungcheong, and Gyeonggi districts in 2005 and 2006 breeding seasons. When the tadpoles reached at $27{\sim}37$ Gosner's developmental stages, we described morphological characteristics of the tadpoles of each anuran species and measured their physical parameters such as total length, body length, and body mass. After that, we chose 12 morphological characteristics to identify each species and to use them as classification keys such as eye location, caudal musculature pattern, spiracle location, oral disc morphology, and labial tooth row formula. In this paper, we presented classification keys, morphological characteristics, and drawings for the tadpoles of 12 anuran species.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.48-57
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• 2016

The distribution of fish (Cobitidae and Cyprinidae) and amphibians together with related environmental factors were surveyed at 30 randomly selected rice-fields (15 flooded unmanaged rice fields (FUR) and 15 unflooded managed rice fields (UMR)) near the Yedang reservoir in Korea, eight times from May to August in 2012. The total number of species captured from the entire survey area was 13 species with 8 families of fish and 5 species of amphibians. The number of species of Cyprinidae fish captured in FUR was higher than that in UMR. Upon the comparative analysis on the distribution of fish and amphibians in FUR and UMR, it was found that the number of Cyprinidae fish captured in FUR was significantly higher than that in UMR while the number of Cobitidae fish captured in UMR was higher than that in FUR. According to the analysis on the environmental factors that affect the distribution of fish, Cyprinidae fish tend to appear in rice-fields, that were flooded in winter, near the Yedang reservoir while Cobitidae fish tend to appear in rice fields that draws its water supply from forest reservoir and have a good water drainage system. In case of amphibians, the number of tadpoles captured in UMR was higher than that in FUR. Rana catesbeiana was dominant in FUR and Rana nigromaculata was dominant in UMR. Upon the analysis on the environmental factors that affect the distribution of tadpoles, it was found that Rana catesbeiana tadpoles tend to appear in rice fields, that were flooded in winter, near Yedang reservoir while Rana nigromaculata tadpoles tend to appear near mountains and far from the Yedang reservoir.

• Hwankyungkyoyuk
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• v.19 no.1 s.29
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• pp.104-115
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• 2006

This study was conducted to investigate whether attitudes and recognitions of middle and high school students regarding environmental concerns were improved after anuran call monitoring. It was a step toward monitoring local environmental changes with anuran calls. Three-striped pond frogs (Rana nigromaculata), Bullfrogs (R. catesbeiana), and Narrow-mouthed toads (Kaloula borealis) were surveyed to determine local abundance and distribution of them in 12 study sites using their advertising calls. A published booklet, which contains morphological, physiological, ecological, and acoustic information on amphibian species and methods of monitoring anuran calls were provided to monitoring students for identifying the three species. Pretest-posttest were conducted before and after monitoring from 10 April to 28 August in 2005 to determine how the monitoring students changed their attitudes on environmental issues, increased knowledges on amphibians, and improved the understanding on the cause and effect of declining amphibian populations. The amphibian monitoring program was effective to improve the students' attitudes towards conserving environments as well as the students' knowledge on general behavior and ecology of various amphibian species although their understanding about various environmental problems was not. In addition, the program increased the students' understanding on the problems of declining amphibian populations.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.157-163
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• 2012

Oxidative stress has been reported to be one of causes of neuritis. This study examined antioxidative activities of methanol extracts of six amphibian species known to be medicinal animals (Rana catesbeiana, R. coreana, R. rugosa, R. dybowskii, R. nigromaculata, and Hyla japonica) and investigated their effects of inhibiting nitric oxide (NO) production and cytotoxicity on the murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells. As inflammation is closely associated with reactive oxygen species, assays on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity, superoxide anion radical scavenging activity and NO scavenging activity of the extracts of the six species were performed to investigate their antioxidative activity. The results obtained were as follows; All extracts showed antioxidative activity, and the activity of R. dybowskii was the highest in comparison among those. Anti-inflammatory effects of the extracts were also examined, the five extracts except that of R. rugosa did not show cytotoxicity for RAW264.7 cells at the maximal concentration ($1,000{\mu}g\;mL^{-1}$). Selectivity index, meaning NO scavenging activity compared to cytotoxicity, showed the highest level in the extract of R. dybowskii. These results will be very useful basic data for future studies on prevention and treatment of human diseases to understand the biological roles of amphibian extracts throughout the antioxidative or anti-inflammatory pathways.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2012

Yellow bitterns (Ixobrychus sinensis) are a small wetland bird common to Asian countries including South Korea, Japan, and China. The aim of this study is to describe diet of yellow bitterns during the breeding season in artificial wetland of northeastern South Korea between May to August 1999-2001. For the purposes of this paper, we observe the frequency of nest visiting by parents during the chick rearing period. A total of 98 boluses regurgitated by 52 chicks aged 1 day to 11 days after hatching form the sample and are shown to contain 323 food items. A bolus contained mean 3.8 items and weighs 0.2 g to 7.7 g. The most regularly occurring food items recorded are fish (63%) and insets (33%). In terms of fish, top mouth minnows (Pseudorasbora parva) and crucian carps (Carassius auratus) are frequently observed. In terms of insects, there are mosquitoes (Diptera), instars of dragonfly (Libelluidae), damselflies (Coenagrinonidae) and water bugs (Diplonychus japonicus). Yellow bitterns were also shown to feed on bull frogs (Rana catesbeiana), shrimp (Palaemonidae), and spiders (Araneae). The size of fish in a bolus ranged from 15.56 mm to 93.73 mm (mean, 37.08 mm). The amount of food can be observed to increase with the age of chicks (r = 0.279, P = 0.025, N = 64) but parents did not provide larger fish as chicks grew. Parent birds visited nests more frequently when they have a larger brood ($F_{1,21}$ = 14.529, P = 0.001). Our results suggest that fish is the most important prey during the breeding season and that age of chicks is related to amount of diet in yellow bitterns.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.94-111
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• 2023

In order to establish an effective management strategy for invasive species early detection and regular monitoring are required to assess their introduction or dispersal. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is actively applied to evaluate the fauna including the presence of invasive species as it has high detection sensitivity and can detect multiple species simultaneously. In Korea, the applicability evaluation of metabarcoding is being conducted mainly on fish, and research on other taxa is insufficient. Therefore, this study identified the feasibility of detecting invasive species in Korea using eDNA metabarcoding. In addition, to confirm the possibility of detection by taxa, the detection of target species was evaluated using four universal primers (MiFish, MiMammal, Mibird, Amp16S) designed for fish, mammals, birds, and amphibians. As a result, target species (Trachemys scripta, 3 sites; Cervus nippon, 3 sites; Micropterus salmoides, 7 sites; Rana catesbeiana, 4 sites) were detected in 17 of the total 55 sites. Even in the selection of dense sampling sites within the study area, there was a difference in the detection result by reflecting the ecological characteristics of the target species. A comparison of community structures (species richness, abundance and diversity) based on the presence of invasive species focused on M.salmoides and T.scripta, showed higher diversity at the point where invasive species were detected. Also, 1 to 4 more species were detected and abundance was also up to 1.7 times higher. The results of invasive species detection through metabarcoding and the comparison of community structures indicate that the accumulation of large amounts of monitoring data through eDNA can be efficiently utilized for multidimensional ecosystem evaluation. In addition, it suggested that eDNA can be used as major data for evaluation and prediction, such as tracking biological changes caused by artificial and natural factors and environmental impact assessment.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.402-407
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• 2019

In this study, we investigated the habitat characteristics of a reservoir in Gyeongju City, Gyeongbuk, in which a large group of Mauremys reevesii (endangered species Class II and natural monument No. 453 in Korea) was discovered. We examined the biotic and abiotic factors that directly and indirectly threaten the survival of M. reevesii within the habitat. The reservoir where M. reevesii was discovered was built for agriculture and surrounded by submerged trees, dam, forests, reeds, and farmland (paddy field). All of the M. reevesii were found only in the submerged trees on the north side of the reservoir. We found 28 M. reevesii (8 juveniles) and 21 M. reevesii (16 juveniles) from field surveys on May 10th and August 9th, 2018, respectively. A number of red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) and American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana), which threaten the survival of M. reevesii, were also found in and around the reservoir. Moreover, there were signs of excavation of cultural asset, chemical fertilizer, and household garbage, all of which are considered to be major threats to the survival of M. reevesii, all over the reservoir. Newborn turtles in this year were not observed. However, we estimated that natural breeding had sufficiently occurred since we observed many young turtles in the reservoir. Furthermore, the presence of young T. s. elegans individuals can be a persistent problem for M. reevesii as they are competing species. In conclusion, in-situ conservation method should be considered for protecting the endangered turtle and their habitat.