• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.298-302
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• 2022

South Korea has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. However, summers are extremely hot and humid, which negatively affects industrial animal production. Hanwoo are native cattle that have traditionally been raised in the natural environment of Korea. The present study investigated the effects of birth and lactation season on the birth and weaning weights of Hanwoo calves. Data were collected from 100 local breeding farms between 2016 and 2021. A total of 56,970 (males, 29,530; females, 27,440) Hanwoo calves were classified according to sex or birth and weaning season (March-May, spring; June-August, summer; September-November, fall; and December-February, winter). The birth weight of Hanwoo calves differed according to the birth season. As such, birth weight of the summer-born calves was the lowest. Additionally, the 90-day weaning weight was positively correlated with birth weight. Interestingly, however, the 90-day weaning weight was not related to the birth season but was related to the 2-month seasonal effect during the lactation period. Furthermore, the 90-day weaning weight was the lowest during the summer lactation period. In the beef cattle industry, daily weight gain is an important economic characteristic related to feed efficiency and growth. Our findings will contribute the management of Hanwoo cattle and analysis of changes in economic characteristics due to high temperatures.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.149-157
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• 2019

This study interested on management of broodstock and the effect of raise the temperature for promotion of maturity in Tresus keenae. For management of broodstock, we performed indoor and outdoor culture. In addition, broodstock was put in exposure and immersion condition. This experimental design is aimed at knowing the optimal management of broodstock. In addition, we investigated the promotion of maturity, growth and survival rate when raise the temperature of the breeding seawater of broodstock in winter season. Result that, the management of broodstock was shown to be more effective obesity and survival rate in outdoor culture than indoor culture. In addition, there is no anthropogenic food supply in management and it is easy to management because it is kept under natural environmental conditions. Therefore, It is considered appropriate to management to outdoor culture. In raise the temperature, survival rate was lower in the experimental group than in the control group. However, obesity was significantly increased compared with the control group. Also, gonad showed that the sex maturity was promoted. If sex maturation is not developed due to seasonal water temperature, the promotion of sexual maturity through heating is considered to be an effective method in terms of artificial seed production.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.920-935
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• 2024

Embryo transfer plays a crucial role in enhancing the breeding value of livestock; it has been applied in Hanwoo cattle, which is a popular breed for beef production in Korea. Both in vivo-derived (IVD) and in vitro-produced (IVP) embryos are used for this purpose; however, IVP embryos have been preferred recently owing to advancements in ovum pick-up (OPU) technology and genomic selection. Despite technological advancements, comprehensive data on large-scale OPU/IVEP/embryo transfer in Hanwoo cows are lacking. In this study, 16 elite Hanwoo donor cows were selected on the basis of specific criteria. Oocytes were retrieved from 241 cows using OPU. The collected cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) were matured, fertilized, and cultured in vitro to produce transferable embryos. Embryos were classified according to their developmental stage and then transferred to 675 recipient cows. A total of 3,317 COCs were collected, with an average of 13.76 COCs per cow. The number of transferable embryos produced per cow was 3.7. Hanwoo OPU-derived IVP embryos exhibited a higher production yield than the global average, indicating a stable IVEP environment. Both fresh and frozen IVP embryos yielded similar conception rates; hence, the use of vitrified-thawed embryos in transfer plans feasible. However, frozen-thawed embryos at Stage 7 had a lower conception rate than those at earlier stages. There was no significant difference between the conception rates of sexually mature heifers and postpartum cows used as recipients. The male-to-female offspring ratio increased as the developmental stage progressed. Seasonal effects on conception rates were not observed; however, higher abortion rates and a higher proportion of male offspring were observed during winter. This study provides valuable data for the Korean embryo transfer industry, enabling more strategic growth of the domestic Hanwoo embryo industry.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.828-835
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• 2011

This study was conducted to understand the characteristics of bird community, migration, nesting guild, ordination analysis of observed frequency of birds at Jeju Experimental Forests (JEFs) from November 2006 to September 2007 with surveys of two areas by line transect methods and point-count methods at five areas for three consecutive days in each month. Among observed 58 species could be classified into the 24 residents, 9 summer visitors, 9 winter visitors and 16 passage migrants according to migration habit. In species composition, passage migrants are dominant birds at study areas whereas summer and winter visitors are most dominant birds at mainland's forests. We could divide two groups of bird community in the view of monthly species composition, one is November to February group, the other March to July group by ordination analysis. Number of species did not show seasonal fluctuation which is common pattern of bird community in mainland. This pattern reflects that species composition can change during breeding and non-breeding periods, but overall number of species did not change. This can be related with the high use of passage migrants at study area, also suggests that the JEFs can be highly utilized as stopover sites during migration. At mainland's forests, we can observe about five species of woodpeckers, however we just observed the only one species of White-backed Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos leucotos) at study areas. In the view of nesting guild, breeding birds can be grouped into the 9 bush-& ground nesters, 8 canopy nesters, 7 hole nesters and one house nesters. Among hole nesters, we can observe only one species of primary cavity nesters White-backed woodpecker, and the five secondary cavity nesters, that is three species of tits, tricolor flycatchers (Ficedula zanthopygia) and ruddy kingfishers (Halcyon coromanda). Therefore, White-backed woodpeckers can be regarded as a keystone species and forest practice should consider the careful conservation of this species.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.231-241
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• 2008

The present study was designed to clarify aspects of the annual reproductive cycle of the fresh water mitten crab, Eriocheir japonicus inhabiting Sumjin river, and to determine the adequate conditions of temperature, photoperiod and salinity on the gonadal maturation and breeding of adult female crabs. Based on the seasonal changes of GSIs and gonadal histology of adult crabs, the annual reproductive cycle could be divided into 4 periods as follows: previtellogenesis period (from September to October) when GSIs were low value and ovaries had oocytes in previtellogenesis stage and meiotic prophase stage; maturing period (from November to March of the next year) when GSIs increased gradually and ovarian oocytes accumulated yolk globules; spawning period (from April to June) when high value of GSI of female was kept and ovigerous female appeared; resting period (from July to August) when GSIs decreased rapidly, and vitellogenic oocytes degenerated. Gonadal maturation was influenced by water temperature, but not photoperiod and salinity. GSI more increased in experimental regime of $18^{\circ}C$ than that of $10^{\circ}C$ regardless of photoperiod conditions (12L12D and 15L9D). However, in $26^{\circ}C$ regime of both photoperiod conditions, the value of GSI was not changed, and vitellogenic oocytes were not observed. Spawning was considerably influenced by water temperatures and salinities regardless of photoperiods. Vitellogenic female crabs did not spawn at $10^{\circ}C$ in any salinity conditions. However, at $18^{\circ}C$ and $26^{\circ}C$, over a half of rearing female crabs spawned in condition of 30% sea water (salinity 9.6%o) and 60% sea water (salinity 19.2%o), while no female spawned in freshwater condition (salinity 0.0%o).

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2013

This study assesses of efficiency of oocyte recovery and in vitro development for during the non breeding season in goat. Thirty-four matured goats, maintained in a pen under natural day length and fed hay ad libitum, were pretreated with progestagen implanted CIDR for 10 days. Superovulation treatment of the goats received twice daily intramuscular injections of a total of 70 mg FSH for 3 days from Day 8 of CIDR. All the gonadotropin treated goats were injected with 10 mg $PGF_2{\alpha}$ on Day 8 and 400~600 IU hCG in the afternoon on Day 10. Oocytes were recovered by follicle aspiration or oviduct flushing at 35 to 40 h after hCG injection through mid-ventral incision. The in vivo matured oocytes were activated by ionomycin (5 min) and 6-DMAP (3.5~4 h). The activated oocytes were cultured in mSOF medium containing 0.8% BSA at $38.5^{\circ}C$ in an atmosphere of 5% $CO_2$, 5% $O_2$, 90% $N_2$ for 7~8 days. There was no significant difference in the mean number of CL and in vivo matured and follicular oocytes recovered. But, quality of I+II grade follicular oocytes was lower (p<0.05) in the prepubertal goat (25.0%) than the adults (52.4%). The same results were also observed in the cleavage and blastocyst rate of activated oocytes. The clavage and blastocyst rate from prepubertal derived oocytes were lower (p<0.05) in the prepubertal goat (54.5%, 23.3%) than the adult goat (86.8%, 46.6%). Considering overall these results, we suggest that maturation of donor goats is a major factor affecting recovered oocytes quality and in vitro development of activated goat oocytes. There was no significant difference in oocyte quality between seasonal treatments.

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.311-323
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• 1994

This study was conducted to observe seasonal and individual changes in semen characteristics and sperm freezability, and sperm penetration into zona-free hamster eggs in Korean native goats. Buck response and change in semen characteristics to electrical stimulations was evaluated for four seasons throughout 2 years and percentage of motile sperm and normal apical ridge acrosome was investigated after equilibration and thawing for 4 seasons with 5 bucks. Sperm penetration rate was evaluated for 4 bucks. 1. Probe insertion at depth of 7cm and repeated stimulation for 3 sec was more effective(P<0.05) in buck response and semen collection than those of other conditions. 2. Semen characteristics from electrojaculation was signficantly(P<0.005) higher in spring and fall for semen volume, in spring and summer for sperm concentration and in fall for sperm motility than those in other seasons, respectively. However, there were no differences in total sperm among seasons. 3. Buck response to electrical stimulation showed significant difference(P<0.05) among individuals in all 3 seasons except winter. Significant individual difference in semen volume was only in spring and summer, but there was no indivudual difference in sperm concentration and total sperm in all season. 4. Washing of semen before freezing treatment was greatly(P<0.05) beneficial to sperm motility after thawing, no matter whether ejaculates exhibit egg yolk coagulation or not. 5. Sperm motility after glycerol equilibration was significantly(P<0.05) low in summer semen and motility after thawing was greatly(P<0.05) higher in winter semen than in other seasons. Freezability of unwashed sperm was significantly difference among bucks, but a yearly freezability of washed sperm after chilling and thawing were no differences among bucks and percentage of normal apical ridge acrosome were not different among seasons and bucks. 6. There was no significant difference in sperm motility after thawing between egg yolk levels in summer, although 20% level gave more higher motility than 5% level. 7. In summer, 3.2% glycerol and 3-h equilibration gave greatest percentage(P<0.05) of sperm motility and normal apical ridge acrosome after thawing. 8. Sperm penetration rate into zona-free hamster eggs was not different between bucks and seasons. Overall, it is concluded that to obtain maximum sperm output and successive semen freezing by electrojaculation method, buck selection with good response in all season could be basically considered and that seasonal effect on sperm freezability was more greater than that of individual bucks.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.19-35
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• 2001

Outlines for plasma $estradiol-17\beta$, components, electrophoretic patterns, and ultrastructural changes were obtained in female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) during the seasonal reproductive cycles. Plasma $estradiol-17\beta$ under the natural conditions, exhibited distinct seasonal variation, peaking very late in vitellogenic season during September, decreasing gradually the halt of spawning in December, and ultimately falling during the early stages of seasonal ovarian recrudescence in February and March. This change in $estradiol-17\beta$ appeared to stimulate vitellogenin production as evidenced by increases in plasma calcium, phosphorus, glucose, albumin and total protein levels. The electrophoretic patterns of late maturing or spawning oocytes were stained more intensively than those of late perinucleolus oocytes (molecular weights of approximately 70,000 and 200,000). Two protein bands were found in the SDS-PAGE separation, coincident with the $estradiol-17\beta$ hormone peak. Gonadosomatic indices (GSI) significantly increased from October to January, and showed the highest peak in January, coinciding with the numerically abrupt increase of ripe ova in female. A positive correlation (r=0.701, p<0.01) was established between plasma $estradiol-17\beta$ levels and the gonadosomatic index during the prespawning. The highest level of hepatosomatic index (HSI) observed in December. During the breeding season (December), the gonadotropes were large and filled with GTH-containing inclusions such as granules and globules. The vitellogenic phase began as late perinurleolus oocytes became transformed into early maturing oocytes through the accumulation of yolk, and oocytes reached the late maturing stages as the ooplasm was completely packed with yolk. Marked ultrastructural changed in the granulosa cells during nuclear migration involve the dilation of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the appearance of the rod-shaped mitochondria with tubular cristae. Microvilli (finger-like projections), from the zona radiata and from the oocyte grew, and made contact with each other in the pore canals of the zona radials during vitellogenesis, but were withdrawn as the zona radiata became more compact and devoid of pore canals during oocyte maturation. The zona radiata grew to a tripartite structure such as an outer thin homogeneous layer, and two inner thick helicoidal layers (zona radials interna and zona radiata externa). Under the normal conditions, the ovarian follicle influenced the histological development and periodical secretion of the hormones , sufficient for a oogenesis and gonadal steroid production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1108-1117
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• 2003

In Guadeloupe small ruminants (SR) are reared for meat production under pasture conditions. Intensive rotational grazing systems (irrigated, fertilised and high stocked) allow reasonable levels of production but generate high post-grazing residues. Experiments were designed to control them. A system in which residuals were mown (RM) was tested in comparison to the control system (Residuals Remained, RR). The same design was carried out for two years with Creole goat (G) and Martinik sheep (S). An accelerated reproductive rate (3 parturitions over 2 years) was carried out. Systems were compared at three parturition seasons per year(dry, intermediate and rainy seasons). Each group was composed of 20 goats ($36.0{\pm}2.5kg$) or 20 ewes ($46.8{\pm}2.4kg$). The female body traits did not vary according to pasture management and seasons. The stocking rate averaged 1,400 kg LW/ha. The mean fertility rate for does varied significantly (p<0.05) within the kidding season, from $80.4{\pm}0.5%$ to $93.7{\pm}2.9%$ while the mean litter size was $2.30{\pm}0.07$ total kids born. No effect of pasture system was observed. Corresponding values for ewes were $83.2{\pm}12.8%$ vs. $75.6{\pm}12.5%$ (p<0.05) and $2.43{\pm}0.24$ vs. $2.03{\pm}0.29$ (p<0.01) total lambs born for SRM and SRR ewes, respectively. A seasonal effect was observed upon ewe performances. The preweaning mortality of kids and lambs averaged 16.3% and 14.4%, respectively. It was 7 and 9 percentage points more (p<0.01) for RR than for RM kids and lambs, respectively. For both species, weaning took place at an average age of $81.4{\pm}3.6days$. In Creole kids, live weight at birth and at weaning were $1.9{\pm}0.2kg$ and $8.9{\pm}0.8kg$, respectively. In the Martinik sheep, the traits averaged $2.9{\pm}0.2kg$ and $18.9{\pm}0.9kg$. For both traits in both species, significant (p<0.05) group${\times}$season interactions were recorded. The consequences of elimination of post-grazing residues varied according to the SR species, the environmental conditions and the animal physiological status. The forage characteristics were not limiting factors since forage availability in the RM systems (2,300 and 2,600 kg DM/ha, respectively) and chemical composition were at satisfactory levels (CP content averaged 12 and 10%). It is recommended to develop new grazing system which would allow the use of post-grazing residues instead of mowing the refusals.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.359-367
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: As natural wetlands are decreased by increment of human demand, the importance of rice fields as an alternative habitat for waterbirds is well documented. However, the relationship between waterbirds use and management practice of rice fields has not been fully understood. The present study attempted to understand the changes in temporal abundance of waterbirds and their preference for habitat types in rice fields all year round. METHODS AND RESULTS: Waterbirds census were conducted in rice fields around Asan bay in Korea during April 2009-March 2010 and April 2011-March 2012. In the bird counts, the locations of the observed birds on a 1/2,500 map were recorded along with the local habitat type (paddy, ditch, levee, road). Thirty five species of waterbirds recorded in the rice fields during the survey period and three major groups (shorebirds, herons, and waterfowls) were characterized according to season and micro-habitat use. Shorebirds visited a flooded paddy for feeding during their spring migration season (April-May), and herons used the rice field as feeding sites during their breeding periods (April-October). Most waterfowls were observed in a dry paddy to feed a fallen rice seed and stubs during the winter season (September-March). Waterbird groups selectively used micro-habitats in rice field. Shorebirds and waterfowls mainly preferred at rice paddies, while herons were attracted to most habitat types. CONCLUSION(S): Rice fields supported various waterbirds all year round and waterbird communities using the rice fields were dramatically changed according to seasonal change of rice field condition.