• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.26 no.2 s.42
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• pp.268-281
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• 1993

The aquatic quality of the Naktong river after two or three months in June, 1991 with phenol spillage from a electrical factory in Kumi was investigated. The samples were collected at six sites of the Naktong river basin and Kachang and Kongsan lakes. Phenol was not detected from all water samples. Turbidity was very much increased to the down stream in the Naktong river. The BOD and COD values exceeded the 2nd grade(3mg/l) of the Korean standard quality of Environmenal Water Act at the all sampling sites of the Naktong river. Especially, the value of COD at Kaejin (12.5mg/l) was poorly classified as to the 5th grade of water class for the environmental quality standards. Organophosphorous pesticides such as parathion, malathion, fenitrothion and diazinon were investigated but not detected. Diazinon was only detected at the Ilsan bridge(1.42ppb), Okkye stream(6.95ppb), Waekwan bridge(0.32ppb), Gangjung reservior(0.13ppb), Kaejin (0.05ppb). Of the carbamates such as carbanyl, isoprocarb and cabofuran, the carbofuran was detected all sites except tap water, and Kachang and Kongsan lakes. The content of heavy metals such as Cd, Pb, Zn, Fe, Mn, Hg were not exceeding for drinking water standards at the all sampling region, but only mecury was detected from Okkye stream(0.018ppb) and Kaejin (0.09ppb). In the regions of Kachang and Kongsan lakes, the content of heavy meatals were lower than that of reservior of Naktong river.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.392-402
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• 2012

In this study, to analyze the stream health using fish assemblage and make effective management, we conducted fish monitoring in the Hoeya River basin and neighboring streams. A total of 33 species classified into 12 families were collected from 29 sites in 2007. Dominant species was Zacco platypus (Relative abundance, RA: 24.8%), and subdominant species was Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (RA: 16.2%). Eight Korean endemic species and 4 exotic species were identified. Moreover, two species (Opsariichthys uncirostris amurensis and Hemiculter eigenmanni) were translocated from other basin. To evaluate stream health of the study sites, Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) was applied, based on fish assemblages. Overall, IBI values were "C (Fair)" or "D (Poor)" condition, according to the grade except two sites which recorded "B (Good)". The correlation between land use pattern of surrounding watershed and IBI was analyzed to verify impact of development on stream health using fish assemblage. As a result, when percentage of the developmental groups increased, IBI values were decreased (Pearson correlation, r=-0.425, p=0.022). In contrast, increment of percent forest and grass land was positively correlated with IBI (r=0.556, p=0.002). The agricultural group and IBI did not significantly correlate with each other (r=-0.231, p=0.333). In this study, we identified a relationship between land use of surrounding watershed and stream health using fish data (i.e. IBI). These results could be provided useful fundamental information to establish management and restoration plan in the Hoeya River basin and other rivers distributed in Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.99-109
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• 2009

In general, manual calibration is commonly used for the stream water quality modelling. Because the manual calibration depends upon the subjectivity and experience of the researcher, it has a problem with the objectivity of the modelling. Thus, the interest about the automatic calibration by the optimization technique is deeply increased. In this study, Influence coefficient algorithm and Genetic algorithm are introduced to develop an automatic calibration model for the QUAL2K that are the latest version of the QUAL2E. Genetic algorithm, used in this study, is very simple and easy to understand but also applicable to any complicated mathematical problem, and it can find out the global optimum solution effectively. The developed automatic calibration model is applied to the Gangneung Namdaecheon. The calibration results about the 11 water quality variables show the good correspondence between the calculated and observed water quality values.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.731-741
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• 2015

The objectives of study were to evaluate fish species compositions of trophic guilds and tolerance guilds and apply ecological fish assessment (EFA) models to Bekjae Weir, Keum-River Watershed. The EFA models were Stream Index of Biological Integrity (SIBI) used frequently for running water and Lentic Ecosystem Health Assessment (LEHA) used for assessments of stagnant water. The region of Bekjae Weir as a "four major river project" was originally a lotic ecosystem before the weir construction (2010, $B_{WC}$) but became more like lentic-lotic hybrid system after the construction (2011, $A_{WC}$). In the analysis of species composition and ecological bioindicator (fish), fish species with a preference of running water showed significant decreases (p < 0.05), whereas the species with a preference of stagnant water showed significant increases (p < 0.05). After the weir construction, relative abundances of tolerant species increased, and the proportion of insectivores decreased. This phenomenon indicated the changes of biotic compositions in the system by the weir construction. Applications of SIBI and LEHA models to the system showed that the two model values decreased at the same time after the weir construction ($A_{WC}$), and the region became more like lentic-lotic hybrid system, indicating the degradation of ecosystem health. The model values of SIBI were 19 and 16, respectively, in the BWC and AWC, and the health conditions were both "C-rank". In the mean time, the LEHA model analysis showed that the values was 28 in the BWC and 24 in the AWC, thus the health was turned to be "B-Rank" in the BWC and "C-Rank" in the AWC. indicating a degradation of ecological heath after the weir construction.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.260-269
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• 2009

Hwabuk Dam has been under construction to reduce flood damage in Nakdong River watershed and to supply stable water for middle area of Gyeongbuk Province. Therefore, fish investigation in up and downstream of the dam was conducted from 2004 to 2008 in order to determine any negative effect on fish community due to dam construction and to use as fundamental data for conserving species diversity and maintaining stream health. According to data analysis on water quality, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, suspended solids, and total E-coli had seasonal variation, but they did not significantly differ in sites. However, biological and chemical oxygen demand, chlorophyll-a, nitrogen, and phosphorus representing organic matter and nutrient concentration were higher in upper site and decreased to lower site so that they differed by site. Concentration of arsenic among the heavy metals was less than 0.05 mg $L^{-1}$, which is regulated for protection of human health in water quality standard, except for 0.092 mg $L^{-1}$ in June 2005. During the study period, the total number of fish caught from the 6 sites was 10,263 representing 7 families 19 species. Among them, dominant and subdominant species were Korean chub (Zacco koreanus, 62.5%) and Chinese minnow (Rhynchocypris oxycephalus, 10.6%) which inhabit mostly in mid and upper streams, Korea. Among the 19 species, Korean endemic species were 9 species (47.4%) including Korean slender gudgeon (Squalidus gracilis majimae), Korean dark sleeper (Odontobutis platycephala), and Korean shiner (Coreoleuciscus splendidus). There was several individuals of the $1^{st}$-class endangered species, Naktong nose loach (Koreocobitis nahtongensis), caught in 2005${\sim}$2007, and no introduced species of fish was found in entire sampling period. According to result of community analysis, dominance index decreased toward lower site, but diversity and richness indices increased toward lower site. The equation of length-weight relationship on the dominant species was TW=0.000003$(TL)^{3.2603}$. The parameter b in the equation was greater than 3.0 indicating good nutritional condition in the populations. Compared to populations of Korean chub in other streams, the population in Hwabuk Dam watershed had higher mean of condition factor by size indicating better growth rate. With fish fauna and multi-metric health assessment model in each sampling attempt, index of biotic integrity (IBI) was evaluated and it resulted mostly in good (26${\sim}$35) and excellent (36${\sim}$40) condition in all sites, and the mean of IBI was the highest in site 5. The results indicate that it is very important to study not only environmental impact assessment with fish composition but also stream health assessment in order to conserve healthy aquatic ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.684-693
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to analyze fish communities in the Wonju stream located in Wonju-si in Gangwon-do, and to evaluate the health of the stream through past and present changes. We performed investigations four times from May 2015 to September 2016. In the survey, 5,201 individuals which belonged to 27 species and 9 families were collected. Zacco platypus was the dominant species and Pungtungia herziwas the subdominant species. Eight Korean endemic species (Acanthorhodeus gracilis, Zacco koreanus, Coreoleuciscus splendidus, Squalidus gracilis majimae, Microphysogobio yaluensis, Iksookimia koreensis, Koreocobitis rotundicaudata, Coreoperca herzi) were observed and showed a ratio of 16.54%. The fish community of dominance ($0.72{\pm}0.10$), diversity ($1.37{\pm}0.32$), evenness ($0.61{\pm}0.13$), and richness ($1.70{\pm}0.23$) were evaluated. According to our analysis of tolerance guilds, the total individual number of intermediate species was higher than the sensitive and tolerant species. As a result of the trophic guild analysis,the omnivore and insectivore species were relatively high. The value of the qualitative habitat evaluation index (QHEI) in the wonju stream was averaged 121.2 (${\pm}23.4$), indicating a suboptimal condition. Stream health showed that the fish assessment index (FAI) value was an A to C grade in the Wonju stream. A correlation coefficient analysis with FAI and various factors was analysed statistically, and had a high correlation in QHEI, with the omnivore species, insectivore species, intermediate species, sensitive species, dominance, diversity, evenness, and richness.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.150-158
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• 2018

The deteriorating role of Nakdong River due to the Four Major Rivers Project has caused a series of problems, including water pollution, drying streams, aggravation of the hydroecology. Geumho River and Gyeongseong-cheon had a higher concentration index and is believed to impact the water quality of the main stream. The influence index of Geumho River and Nam River between 2015 and 2016, which have a large amount of discharge, was the highest among the tributaries in terms of the load material balance. Showing the highest average concentration and average load in the index assessment, Geumho River is believed to require an intensive management for improving the water quality of the main stream. Furthermore, when the cumulative percentage of the average concentration and average load was compared based on the water quality improvement of the tributaries mixed to Nakdong River, which was set to 60%, Geumho River, Nam River, Topyeong-cheon, and Cha-cheon, which showed the highest ratio in that order, were determined to require a water quality management program as a priority.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.473-478
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• 2012

To protect human health and manage increasing hazardous chemicals in stream area, it is necessary to expand water quality hazardous items based on risk assessment with proper monitoring data. Also, it is essential to set up the suitable monitoring frequency to produce reliable exposure data to derive water quality guidelines. However, there has been no harmonized monitoring frequency for risk assessment in both domestic and international monitoring systems. In addition, the monitoring frequency for risk assessment has been selected as 'Research needs' in the International Conference on Deriving Environmental Quality Standards for the Protection of Aquatic Ecosystems (EQSPAE) of 2011. In this study, Cases of UNEP/WHO, EU, European countries, USEPA, ANZECC/ARMCANZ, CCME, Japan, and Korea were analyzed to propose the monitoring frequency for risk assessment. Monitoring frequencies depending on environmental conditions, monitoring object, measurement parameters, and monitoring duration were extensively collected. We observed that a monthly monitoring has been applied at most of organizations including EU, USEPA, and UNEP/WHO. In this study, monitoring frequency of minimum 6 times during 3 years were proposed to conduct the risk assessment based on the current domestic status. However, it is necessary to make agreements among interested parties, and perform additional studies about optimal monitoring frequency to protect the aquatic ecosystem and human health in Korean rivers and streams.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.384-401
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• 2016

The vegetation assessment indicator has been developed recently as a biological part of the integrated assessment system for river environment to improve the efficiency of river restoration projects. This study carried out to test the vegetation assessment indicator and to reset its grade criteria on experimental streams. We classified and mapped vegetation communities at the level of physiognomic-floristic composition by each assessment unit. A total of 204 sampling quadrats were set up on the 68 assessment units at 5 experimental streams. By analyzing the vegetation data collected, we examined the appropriate numbers of sampling quadrats, the criteria of vegetation index score, classification of vegetation community, and grade criteria for vegetation assessment. The developed vegetation assessment indicator composed with the vegetation complexity index (VCI), the vegetation diversity index (VDI), and the vegetation naturalness index (VNI) was proved to reflect the current conditions of the streams sufficiently. The contribution of vegetation naturalness index to grading by vegetation assessment indicator was larger, but three indexes were closely correlated to each other. Also there was more clearer discrimination of grading with the application of adjusted criteria of vegetation assessment indicator and the standardized classification of vegetation community, but the stream segment type did not influence the vegetation assessment grade significantly.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.329-336
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• 2012

This study evaluated ecological health, using various biomarkers and bioindicators, of pale chub (Zacco platypus) as a sentinel species, in Daejeon Stream, South Korea, during AprilMay 2011. The biomarkers and bioindicators were compared among three sites of control: Reference ($C_z$), transition ($T_z$), and the urban zones ($U_z$); and the 7-Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, DNA damage, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, and vitellogenin (VTG) concentrations were more significantly increased in the $U_z$ than in the $C_z$. Also, physiological markers such as condition factor, liver somatic index, visceral somatic index, and gonad somatic index were significantly increased in the $U_z$ than in the $C_z$. For the health assessments, three categorized parameters of blood chemistry, molecular biomarkers, and physiological bioindicators were standardized and calculated as a star-plot, representing values of Integrated Health Response (IHR). Values of IHR had more significant (P<0.05) increases in the $U_z$ than any other zones, indicating an impairment of ecological health by organic matter, nutrients (N, P), and toxic chemicals. This study is based on low levels of biological organization approach of molecular and physiological biomarkers and bioindicators, so further study of high-levels of biological organization approach such as community and population is required for overall range of health assessments. The approach of IHR values, however, may be useful in providing early warning of future impacts on ecological health.