• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.50 no.1
• /
• pp.137-147
• /
• 2017

The identity of toxin producers remains only hypothesis unless there were identified by strain isolation and analytical confirmation of both the cyanotoxin production and the genetic identity of the monoculture. The purposes of this study were to identify a morphologic and phylogenetic classification in Aphanizomenon flos-aquae strains isolated from the Nakdong River and to investigate the potential ability of the strains to produce toxins such as saxitoxin and cylindrospermopsin using target genes. The 16S rRNA and sxtA, sxtI, cyrA, cyrJ genes were analyzed on two strains (DGUC001, DGUC003) isolated from the Nakdong River. Morphological features of the strains were observed a shape of aggregated trichomes in parallel fascicles which can reach up to macroscopic size and a hyaline terminal cell without aerotope. In addition, the 16S rRNA phylogenetic analyses showed that the strains were identified as the same species with high genetic similarity of 98.4% and grouped within a monospecific andsupported cluster I of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae selected from GenBank of the NCBI. The cyrA and cyrJ genes encoding for the cylindrospermopsin-biosynthesis were not detected in the present study. The sxtA gene was in detected both the two strains, whereas the sxtI gene which had been suggested as a suitable molecular marker to detect saxitoxin-producing cyanobacteria was not found both the strains. Thus, the two strains isolated from Nakdong River were identified as the same species of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae Ralfs ex Bornet et Flahault 1888, the two strains were confirmed as potential non-producing strains of the saxitoxin and cylindrospermopsin.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.121-129
• /
• 2020

This study investigated the change of benthic macroinvertebrates community due to erosion control dams installed in Wonju, Gangwon by comparing the data before and after a rainy season. It selected a closed-type erosion control dam (boulder stone), an open-type erosion control dam (buttress), and a control area and surveyed two upstream points and two downstream points four times between March and September 2019. The flow velocity mostly increased in the closed-type, open-type, and control areas but decreased in St. 3 after the rainy season. The number of benthic macroinvertebrates species and their populations mostly decreased after the rainy season, and the rate of decrease in the populations in the open-type and control areas were more similar than the closed-type area. Species and populations of the EPT groups mostly decreased after the rainy season. A result of the similarity analysis showed that the closed-type and open-type areas were separated by 38.4% with the control area before the rainy season, but the open-type and control areas were separated by 51.3% with the closed-type area after the rainy season. A result of the principal components analysis (PCA) based on axis 1 showed that the closed-type area had a positive value before and after the rainy season, and the open-type and control areas had a negative value before and after the rainy season. The open-type area was more correlated with the control area than the close type. The analysis of the EPT groups showed the distribution of Ephemeroptera in the closed-type area and Trichoptera in the open-type and control areas. The result of this study shows that the installation of erosion control dam can cause changes in benthic macroinvertebrates community and that the open-type area had a smaller difference community difference from the control area after the rainy season than the closed-type area.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.500-509
• /
• 2021

This study investigated the characteristics of a macrobenthos community and sediment environment and assessed the health of tidal flats along the west coast of Korea. A survey was conducted from Ganghwa-do to Mokpo, Jeollanam-do in April (spring) and August (summer) 2017, and April (spring) 2018. The sediment grain sizes in the Chungcheongnam-do region were coarser, and the sediment in the Gyeonggi-do·Incheon, Jeollanam-do, and Jeollabuk-do regions were finer. A total of 140 macrobenthic species were collected from this study and using a cluster similarity analysis of the macrobenthos community, they were divided into four groups. Group2 was associated with Manila clam farm stations, and Ruditapes phillipinarum, Nephtys polybranchia and Lumbrineris nipponica were dominant. Group4 included some sites with finer sediment composed relatively, and Eteone longa and Nemertea unid. appeared at a high frequency. From the health assessment of the western tidal flat, the ISEP and BHI indices had a "High status," and the AMBI index had a "Good status." In conclusion, the tidal flats along the west coast of Korea have good ecological health. However, pollution indicator species such as Theora lata and Capitella capitata have appeared in some areas. Therefore, periodic administration and interventions are necessary to prevent deterioration of the tidal flat environment.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.21-31
• /
• 2024

Macromia daimoji Okumura, 1949 was designated as an endangered species and also categorized as Class II Endangered wildlife on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in Korea. The spatial distribution of this species ranged within a region delimited by northern latitude from Sacheon-si(35.1°) to Yeoncheon-gun(38.0°) and eastern longitude from Yeoncheon-gun(126.8°) to Yangsan-si(128.9°). They generally prefer microhabitats such as slowly flowing littoral zones of streams, alluvial stream islands and temporarily formed puddles in the sand-based lowland streams. The objectives of this study were to analyze the similarity of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in M. daimoji habitats, to predict the current potential distribution patterns as well as the changes of distribution ranges under global climate change circumstances. Data was collected both from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and by field surveys from April 2009 to September 2022. We adopted MaxEnt model to predict the current and future potential distribution for M. daimoji using downloaded 19 variables from the WorldClim database. The differences of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in the mainstream of Nakdonggang were smaller than those in its tributaries and the other streams, based on the surrounding environments and stream sizes. MaxEnt model presented that potential distribution displayed high inhabiting probability in Nakdonggang and its tributaries. Applying to the future scenarios by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), SSP1 scenario was predicted to expand in a wide area and SSP5 scenario in a narrow area, comparing with current potential distribution. M. daimoji is not only directly threatened by physical disturbances (e.g. river development activities) but also vulnerable to rapidly changing climate circumstances. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the habitat environments and establish conservation strategies for preserving population of M. daimoji.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.84 no.4
• /
• pp.465-478
• /
• 1995

The objective of this study was to investigate the impacts of large-scale timber harvesting on the environment of a mature hardwood forest. To achieve the objective, the effects of harvesting on forest environmental factors were analyzed quantitatively using the field data measured in the study sites of Seoul National University Research Forests [(Mt.) Paekunsan] for two years(1993-1994) following timber harvesting. The field data include information on vegetation, soil mesofauna, physicochemical characteristics of soil, surface water runoff, water quality in the stream, and hillslope erosion. For comparison, field data for each environmental factor were collected in forest areas disturbed by logging and undisturbed, separately. The results of this study were as follows : The diversity of vegetational species increased in the harvested sites. However, the similarity index value of species between harvested and non-harvested sites was close to each other. Soil bulk density and soil hardness were increased after timber harvesting, respectively. The level of organic matter, total-N, avail $P_2O_5$, CEC($K^+$, $Na^+$, $Ca^{{+}{+}}$, $Mg^{{+}{+}}$) in the harvested area were found decreased. While the population of Colembola spp., and Acari spp. among soil mesofauna in harvested sites increased by two to seven times compared to those of non-harvested sites during the first year, the rates of increment decreased in the second year. However, those members of soil mesofauna in harvested sites were still higher than those of non-harvested sites in the second year. The results of statistical analysis using the stepwise regression method indicated that the diversity of soil mesofauna were significantly affected by soil moisture, soil bulk density, $Mg^{{+}{+}}$, CEC, and soil temperature at soil depth of 5(0~10)cm in the order of importance. The amount of surface water runoff on harvested sites was larger than that of non-harvested sites by 28% in the first year and 24.5% in the second year after timber harvesting. The level of BOD, COD, and pH in the stream water on the harvested sites reached at the level of the domestic use for drinking in the first and second year after timber harvesting. Such heavy metals as Cd, Pb, Cu, and organic P were not found. Moreover, the level of eight factors of domestic use for drinking water designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea were within the level of the first class in the quality of drinking water standard. The study also showed that the amount of hillslope erosion in harvested sites was 4.77 ton/ha/yr in the first year after timber harvesting. In the second year, the amount decreased rapidly to 1.0 ton/ha/yr. The impact of logging on hillslope erosion in the harvested sites was larger than that in non-harvested sites by seven times in the first year and two times in the second year. The above results indicate that the large-scale timber harvesting cause significant changes in the environmental factors. However, the results are based on only two-year field observation. We should take more field observation and analyses to increase understandings on the impacts of timber harvesting on environmental changes. With the understandings, we might be able to improve the technology of timber harvesting operations to reduce the environmental impacts of large-scale timber harvesting.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.350-358
• /
• 2013

Both 13-week and 1-year studies in dog were required for pesticide registration in domestic pesticide control authority. It is raising issue up whether to request 1-year dog study of pesticides using non-food crop. So at this investigation, relevant toxicity test to establish acceptable daily intake (ADI), target organs, difference of no-observed adverse-effect levels (NOAELs) in 13-week and 1-year of 166 active ingredients are analyzed. The data were evaluated to determine if the 13-week dog study and the long term studies in two rodent species (mice and rats) without 1-year dog study were sufficient for the identification of NOAELs and lowest observed adverse effect levels (LOAELs) for the derivation of ADI. Toxicity end points and dose response data from 13 week and 1-year studies were compared. The analysis showed that 68 ADIs of the 166 pesticides were established from dog studies. Major target organs of dog studies were liver in 49 cases, body weight change in 21 cases, cholinesterase inhibition in 16 cases, and alteration in hematology in 14 cases. Similarity of target organ in 13-week and 1-year was 73%. 22 of 40 pesticides had similar critical effects regardless of duration and had NOAELs within a difference of 1.5-fold of each other. For the remaining 18 pesticides, 14 items had lower NOAELs in the 1-year study than 13-week study primarily due to dose selection and spacing. In only 10% of the cases were additional toxic effects identified in the 1-year study that were not observed in the 13-week study.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
• /
• v.60 no.3
• /
• pp.381-387
• /
• 2015

This study was firstly conducted to investigate changes of vegetation and soil characteristics in reclaimed land applied with solidified sewage sludge for the cultivation of bioenergy crops. Each vegetation survey site was approximately $15m{\times}3m$ on the inside of each experimental plot that consisted of 50% (A-1), 30% (A-2), 15% (A-3), and 5% (A-4) mixture of solidified sewage sludge, and original reclaimed soil (ORS). After the application of solidified sewage sludge, we monitored the changes of vegetation and soil properties for three years. In first year, soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and exchangeable $Ca^{2+}$ content was 9.4~10.8, $9.10{\sim}14.41\;dS\;m^{-1}$, and $62.1{\sim}204.2\;cmol\;kg^{-1}$, respectively, while three years later, it decreased to 8.1~8.4, $1.65{\sim}5.98\;dS\;m^{-1}$, and $21.9{\sim}43.1\;cmol\;kg^{-1}$, respectively. These results indicated that several of soil chemical elements which have nagative impacts on the plant growth in the plots of mixtures of solidified sewage sludge, steadily declined as the years go by. The vegetations in each survey site were recorded as 6 families and 12 species in 2014, while the vegetations were not occurred at all survey sites in 2012, and only halophytes as Phragmites australis and Suaeda asparagoides were observed in 2013. Diversity of vegetation, which was calculated by shannon index (H'), increased as the season progressed at each experimental plot applied with solidified sewage sludge. In original reclaimed soil, however, there was showed the high community similarity of vegetation due to the fact that P. australis and S. asparagoides were only occurred for survey periods.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.97-105
• /
• 2011

This study investigated the community structure and spatio-temporal variation of macrobenthic assemblages around Gijang Province, East Sea of Korea. Macrobenthos collected seasonally using a modified van Veen grab sampler from March to November 2006. A total of 157 macrobenthic fauna were collected. The overall average macrobenthos density were $552 \;ind/m^2$. The species number of macrobenthos was in the range from 62 in winter and spring to 122 in autumn. On the other hand, abundance fluctuated between 6,540 (in spring) and 17,920 (in autumn) inds./$18m^2$. Cluster analysis and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (nMDS) were applied to assess the spatio-temporal fluctuation in the macrobenthic assemblages. Cluster analysis and nMDS ordination analysis based on the Bray-Curtis similarity identified 3 station groups. The group 1 (station 8~10, 12, 13, 17 and 18) was characterized by high abundance of the polychaete Lumbrineris longifolia, the bivalve Ennucula tenuis and the Amphipoda spp., with mean phi range from $6.2{\Phi}$ to $7.1{\Phi}$ (above 50m water depth). The group 2 (station 5~7, 11, 14~16) was numerically dominated by the po1ychaete Ampharete arctica and the bivalve Theorafragilis (mean phi: $6.0{\sim}7.0{\Phi}$; within 40 m water depth). Finally group 3 (station 1~4) was characterized by high density of the polychaetes Magelona japonica and Sternaspis scutata, with mean phi range from $3.5{\Phi}$ to $6.9{\Phi}$ (below 30 m water depth). In conclusion, the Macrobenthic community structure showed a distinct spatial and temporal trend, which seemed to be related to the water depth and sediment composition.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.166-173
• /
• 2006

This research has been performed to clarify the relationship between hydrogeochemistry and bacterial community structure in groundwater contaminated with landfill leachate. We collected and analyzed samples from 5 sites such as leachate (KSG1-12), treated leachate (KSG1-16), two contaminated groundwaters (KSG1-07 and KSG1-08) and non-contaminated groundwater (KSG1-13). pH was 8.83, 8.04, 6.87, 6.87 and 6.53 in order; redox potential (Eh) 108, 202, 47, 200 and 154 mV; electric conductivity (EC) 3710, 894, 1223, 559 and 169.9 $\mu$S/cm; suspended solids (SS) 86.45, 13.74, 4.18, 0.24 and 11.91 mg/L. In KSG01-12, the ion concentrations were higher especially in $Cl^-$ and $HCO_3^-$ than other sites. The concentrations of Fe, Mn and $SO_4^{2-}$ were higher In KSG1-07 than in KSG1-08, and vise versa in $NO_3^{2-}$. In the comparison of DGGE fingerprint patterns, the similarity was highest between KSG1-13 and KSG1-16 (57.2%), probably due to common properties like low or none contaminant concentrations. Otherwise KSG1-08 showed lowest similarities with KSG1-13 (25.8%) and KSG1-12 (27.6%), maybe because of the degree of contamination. The most dominant bacterial species in each site were involved in $\alpha$-Proteobacteria (55.6%) in KSG1-12, $\gamma$-Proteobacteria (50.0%) in KSG1-16, $\beta$-Proteobacteria (66.7%) in KSG1-07, $\gamma$-Proteobacteria (54.5%) in KSG1-08 and $\beta$-Proteobacteria (36.4%) in KSG1-13. These results indicate that the microbial community structure might be changed according to the flow of leachate in grounderwater, implying changes in concentrations of pollutants, available electron accepters and/or other environmental conditions.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.29-35
• /
• 2010

To compare the quality of manufactured goods distributed in the domestic markets, 6 isolates of Dongchongxiacao products, namely, 4 Paecilomyces tenuipes specimens (J2P, 901A, 901B, and 901C), 1 Cordyceps militaris specimen (901D), and 1 Cordyceps sinensis specimen (CI-1), were analyzed for their physicochemical properties and sequence-structure relationships. P. tenuipes (J2P), a kind of Dongchongxiacao, was successfully inoculated on silkworms by percutaneous infection of Rural Development AdminstraionNam et al., 1999); fruiting bodies were then formed on the complete surface of the pupa. Since P. tenuipes (J2P) from silkworm larva was also proved to have remarkable pharmacological activities, it has been produced in bulk and has been successfully sold to buyers in the Korean market. Additionally, imitation products such as 901A, 901B, 901C, 901D, and CI-1 were sold simultaneously, resulting in deterioration of product quality. This research focuses on establishing quality standards to discriminate between the original and imitation products circulating in the market. The products obtained for the experiments included J2P, 901A, 901B, 901C, 901D, and CI-1; proximate analysis was performed for these products. The hosts and methods of conidia inoculation for proliferation of mycelia differed among the products. P. tenuipes (J2P) was proliferated in live silkworm larvae, and dead silkworm pupae were used to produce 901A, 901B, and 901C. On the other hand, 901D was produced on hulled rice medium. Quality analysis of C. sinensis revealed that CI-1, which was imported from China, smelled bad and proved to be a counterfeit with the fruiting body glued to the insect by twigs. The results of the proximate analysis of 901A, 901B, 901C, and 901D were similar to those of J2P with respect to the moisture content. Otherwise, J2P contained higher crude protein than 901A, 901B, 901C, and 901D, but contained very low fat. C. militaris (901D) and C. sinensis (CI-1) had low crude protein content-12.79% and 9.78% respectively-as compared to that of J2P, which was 62.38%. In contrast to the crude ash content of 6.4% in J2P, the crude ash content of CI-1 was 18.51% and this specimen was found to contain many impurities. phylogenetic analysis of P. tenuipes revealed that the sequence similarity of J2P, 901B, and 901C was in the range of 92.3~92.7%. Additionally, differences in the sequences were found at the positions 65 bp, 436 bp, 441 bp, 463 bp, etc.