• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.80 no.4
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• pp.369-378
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• 1991

Major statutory nature protection areas include Nature Parks, Nature Reserves. Nature Ecological System Protected Areas. Biosphere Reserves, Nature Protected Forests, Wildlife Sanctuaries, and Protection Forests with total area of 1,124,000 ha. These protected areas cover almost 18% of the forested area. The number of visitors of NPs reached over 33 million per year with sharp increasing rate over the years. To protect the deteriorated hiking trails and camp grounds caused by overuse, two management policies have been implemented : cooking prohibition and natural rest rotation system. While prohibition of cooking is based on the fact that most of the solid wastes in nature parks are leftovers of cooking, natural rest rotation system is mainly for rehabilitation of deteriorated areas by natural processes. The system has closed 47 trails(in 27 mountains) throughout the country since January 1991, which is scheduled to continue 3 years. Due to the lack of accumulated scientific knowledge on how, when and where to close, application of the system leaves much to be desired. This paper discusses the current efforts to protect the natural resources for recreational use and suggests future directions for an effective policy implementation.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.87-100
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• 2003

It is important to understand the potential human health implications of exposure to environmental chemicals that may act as hormonally active agents. It is necessary to have an understanding of how pharmaceutical and personal care products and other chemicals affect the ecosystem of our planet as well as human health. Endocrine disruption is defined as the ability of a chemical contaminating the workplace or the environment to interfere with homeostasis, development, reproduction, and/or behavior in a living organism or it's offspring. Certain classes of environmentally persistent chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, furans, and some pesticides can adversely effect the endocrine systems of aquatic life and terrestrial wildlife. Research continues to support the theory of endocrine disruption. However, endocrine disruption researches have been applied to proteomics poorly. Proteomics can be defined as the systematic analysis of proteins for their identity, quantity and function. It could increase the predictability of early drug development and identify non-invasive biomarkers of tonicity or efficacy. Proteome analysis is most commonly accomplished by the combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D/E) and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) sr protein chip array and SELDI-TOF MS. Proteomics have an opportunity to play an important role in resolving the question of what role endocrine disruptors play in initiating human disease. Proteomics can also play an imfortant role in the evaluation of the risk assessment and use of risk management and risk communication tools required to address public health concerns related to notions of endocrine disruptors. Understanding the need for the proteomics and possessing knowledge of the developing biomakers used to abbess endocrine activity potential will he essential components relevant to the topic of endocrine disruptors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.17-27
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• 2014

Wild boars are one of the major wild life animals of which the number has increased a lot because there has been any predator and/or competitor in the Korean ecosystem. The increase of their number was a cause damaging crops in farm lands during the growing season in South Korea. This study was done to recognize the spatial pattern of farm lands damaged by wild boars. Totally 2,342 farms were known damaged by wild boars in 2012, and used to statistically analyze the perspectives of the farm land damages by wild boars in ArcMap v. 9.3. Damages by wild boars frequently happened in the western part of Gyeongnam Province including Jinju city, Tongyoung city and Namhae county. Most farm lands damaged were located nearby large mountains in this area. It might cause the number of wild boars increased in this area, which could finally stimulate the increase of farm land damaged by the species. Farm land damages by wild boars were also coincident with the preference of wild boars on their food. They preferred crops (e.g., sweet potato and corn) in uplands and rice paddies and orchards. The reason of their preference on rice, upland crops and fruits was related to the efficiency of their getting much more energy in a unit area. Another reason for the species to come into a rice paddy would be that they enjoy mud bath in there for scraping off parasites such as ticks and lice. Wild boars were seemed much overcrowded during the period from July to October when most of crops and fruits get ripen. About three-quarters of total farm land damages happened in this period. This analysis also said that 1,915 fields (81.8% of total targets) appeared within the 100-meter buffer from boundaries of mountain areas. This meant that wild boars were more sensitive to the anthropogenic land uses than we expected. They seemed to conservatively try their feeding activities in farm lands with paying attention to the human activity.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.181-189
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• 2018

This study was performed to analyze the dynamics and distributional condition of biological community and to support the basic information about the estuarine ecosystem management by using the intensively surveyed results by each taxon experts around Tamjin river. We analyzed the biological diversity, abundance, correlation among species, and ecological characteristics about 11 taxa groups including vegetation, fish, birds, mammals, etc. in the Tamjin river estuarine ecosystem. We classified vegetation types into 7 physiognomic types and 18 communities according to habitat conditions with the physical environments and salinity. In total, 1125 species including 9 species of endangered species were identified in research area. The species composition and distributional characteristics of each taxon were corresponded to the environmental characteristics of the estuarine ecosystem. Especially, the species diversity and distribution were clearly distinguished in the river according to the difference of the environmental factors such as flow rate, salinity, and soil. Despite the disturbance factors such as barrage and levees, the biodiversity and its distribution were evaluated to be high level under the current environmental conditions. However, loss or reduction of wildlife habitat due to reclamation, embankment, barrage installation and expansion of farmland has been identified as a major threat to the diversity and health of the local ecosystem. The results of this study can be used as a basic data to cope with various development pressure and damage crisis of the whole estuaries including Tamjin river.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.467-473
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• 2019

The amputation of body parts of wild animals can affect their activities in the wild and the behavior of mothers raising their cubs can cause behavioral characteristics in their offspring. In 2017, an Asiatic black bear was caught in a snare at the Jirisan National Park and had a right forefoot amputation. It was released into the wild the same year and gave birth to two cubs. The seasonal analysis of the behavioral rites of five females who gave birth in the same year as this individual showed specific home ranges, activity altitudes, and movement distances compared to other populations. Physical disabilities in the mother could lead to difficulties in food activity, hibernation, and cub-rearing, but the bear's maternal instincts helped to overcome difficulties in the wild and ensure the cubs' survival. It also became a special experience in the process of promoting the restoration of Asiatic black bears at Jirisan National Park. Although the Asiatic black bear's cubs, which grew up in difficult conditions compared to other populations, are not currently causing problems, continuous monitoring will help determine the success of the disabled mother cub-rearing study. Furthermore, these case studies will be used to establish long-term management directions and plans for conflicts with people from various perspectives.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.219-230
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• 2013

Species distribution modeling is one of the most effective habitat analysis methods for wildlife conservation. This study was for evaluating the suitability of species distribution to distance between forest patches in Seoul city using tits. We analyzed the distribution of the four species of tits: varied tit (Parus varius), marsh tit (P. palustris), great tit (P. major) and coal tit (P. ater), using the landscape indexes and connectivity indexes, and compared the resulting suitability indexes from 100m to 1,000m. As factors affecting to the distribution of tits, we calculated landscape indices by separating them into intra-patch indices (i.e. logged patch area (PA), area-weighted mean patch shape index (PSI), tree rate (TR)) and inter-patch indices (i.e. patch degree (PD), patch betweenness (PB), difference probability of connectivity (DPC)), to analyze the internal properties of the patches and their connectivity by tits occurrence data using logistic regression modeling. The models were evaluated by AICc (Akaike Information Criteria with a correction for finite sample sizes) and AUC (Area Under Curve of ROC). The results of AICc and AUC showed DPC, PA, PSI, and TR were important factors of the habitat models for great tit and marsh tit at the level of distance 500~800m. In contrast, habitat models for coal tit and varied tit, which are known as forest interior species, reflected PA, PSI, and TR as intra-patch indices rather than connectivity. These mean that coal tit and varied tit are more likely to find a large circular forest patch than a small and long-shaped forest patch, which are higher rate of forest. Therefore, different strategies are required in order to enhance the habitats of the forest birds, tits, in a region that has fragmented forest patches such as Seoul city. It is important to manage forest interior areas for coal tit and varied tit, which are known as forest interior species and to manage not only forest interior areas but also connectivity of the forest patches in the threshold distance for great tit and marsh tit as adapted species to the urban ecosystem for sustainable ecosystem management.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.105-111
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• 2015

In late December 2013, the Ebola virus emerged from West Africa. The outbreak started in Guinea and rapidly spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Initially, the virus is spread to the human population after contact with infected wildlife and then spread person-to-person through direct contact with body fluids such as blood, sweat, urine, semen, and breast milk. The Ebola virus infects endothelial cells, mononuclear phagocytes and hepatocytes. It causes massive damage to internal tissues and organs, such as blood vessels and the liver, and ultimately death. Most tests for the virus RNA rely on a technology called reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). While this method is highly sensitive, it is also expensive, requiring skilled scientists, and delicate power supplies. The strip analytical technique (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or ELISA) detects antigens or antibodies to the Ebola virus. This test is cheap and does not require electricity or refrigeration. Despite ongoing efforts directed at experimental treatments and vaccine development, current medical work on the Ebola viral disease is largely limited to supportive therapy. Thus, rapid and reliable diagnoses of the Ebola virus are critically important for patient management, infections, prevention, and control measures.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.13-30
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• 2018

In terms of environmental friendly land use and objective environmental assessment, legislative assessment items of Environmental Conservation Value Assessment Map (ECVAM) consists of designated areas related to conservation and protection, and areas that are planned to be designated in the future. However, the gap with the reality due to omission of several protection areas and land use regulations, and assessment grades according to 3 division land use map of forest, agricultural land, and urbanized area, results in low application and utilization of ECVAM. Therefore in this study, the legislative assessment of the ECVAM was performed with new assessment items and its new ratings, to suggest an improvement in legislative assessment items of the ECVAM. As a result, legally protected areas of inhabited islands under absolute conservation, special wildlife protection districts, protected marine areas, environmental preservation sea areas, scenic spots, forest protection zone, traditional temple preservation zone, and 45 zone or district related to regulation of land use were additionally designated as new legislative assessment items. New grade ratings were given to each additional assessment items in consideration of the restrictions on acts. As a result of the legislative assessment based on the new assessment items and new grades, the 1st grade area increased by 3.47%, and the 2nd grade area increased by 19.35%. The 3rd grade area decreased by 8.54%, the 4th grade area increased by 2.95%, and 5th grade increased by 2.91%. In addition, the out-of-grade area decreased by 20.14%, considered to be a realistic assessment based on land use. With the improved legislative assessment, it is possible to provide a more accurate environmental assessment map. Increase usage of ECVAM is expected in providing regulations of land use and base data for integrated land management of land environmental planning.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.664-696
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• 2014

This study was carried out to investigate the insect diversity in the islands of Daecheong-do and Socheong-do, Incheon, Korea. The survey was conducted six times throughout the day and night from June to October 2011. As a result, a total of 336 species, belonging to 78 families of 9 orders of insects were collected: 286 species, of 75 families in 9 orders from Daecheong-do and 106 species, 42 families and 8 orders from Socheong-do. 744 species, belonging to 103 families of 10 orders were identified in total including previous reference. Lepidoptera was the most commonly identified order with 439 species of 29 families (59%), and the next most commonly identified order was Coleoptera with 124 species of 27 families (16%). Among them, Copris tripartitus and Fabriciana nerippe, endangered species of wildlife fauna in Korea, were found in this study. Also, 2 species (Coenonympha oedippus, Lycaena dispar) belonging to IUCN Red List, 25 species belonging to Management of Exportable species, 5 species belonging to Endemic species, 6 species belonging to Korean Red List, 77 species belonging to Designated species and 2 species belonging to Climate-sensitive Indicator species were recorded. In this study, 147 species of 58 families and 43 species of 24 families were newly added in Daecheong-do and Socheong-do, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.30-41
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• 2017

Mammals in Korea have been studied in various fields such as animal science, veterinary medicine, laboratory animal science, ecology, and genetics. As the importance of biodiversity has been emphasized recently, conservation and management of mammals have attracted much public attention. However, in spite of such an increase in scientific research and public interest, it is still difficult to find a report or summary to grasp the trend of mammalian research in Korea. The purpose of this study is to provide the basic data for future plans of the detailed research area and the related policies by grasping the research trends of mammals in Korea. Using text-ming and co-word analysis, we analyzed 392 mammalian research papers published in Korean national journals as of 2015. Our results showed that the number of mammalian research papers published in Korea has gradually increased and that the research target species have also become increasingly diverse. The major research areas identified through text-mining and co-word analysis are (1) evolution/phylogenetics/genetics, (2) environmental science/ecology, (3) embryology/reproductive biology/cell biology, (4) veterinary medicine related to parasites, (5) parasitology related to rodents, (6) bacteriology/virology, (7) anatomy/cell biology/laboratory animal science, (8) veterinary science related to morphology and anatomy, (9) animal science, (10) marine mammalogy, and (11) Chiroptera (bat) research. Environmental science/ecology has been the most active field among the 11 research areas in recent times, and the proportion of research has increased sharply compared to the past. Environmental science/ecology is the core of biodiversity conservation, and as the importance of biodiversity has been emphasized in recent years, researchers' interest in mammal ecology appears to have increased. We expect that the results of this study will be useful for future research plan and related policies on mammals in Korea.