• Title/Summary/Keyword: biological index

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The change of validity of blood zinc protoporphyrin test by different cut-off level in lead workers (연취급 근로자들의 혈중 ZPP 농도 선별기준에 따른 정확도의 변화)

  • Kim, Yong-Bae;Ahn, Hyun-Cheol;HwangBo, Young;Lee, Gap-Soo;Lee, Sung-Soo;Ahn, Kyu-Dong;Lee, Byung-Kook
    • Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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    • v.30 no.4 s.59
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    • pp.741-751
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    • 1997
  • Measurement of blood lead (PbB) and blood zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) are most common biological indices to identify the individual at risk for excess or the health sequences by lead exposure. Because PbB is known most important and reliable index of lead exposure, PbB is often regarded as a gold standard to detect lead exposure. But in Korea PbB is a secondary test item of detailed health check-up with positive finding of screening test in most occasion. Our lead standard requires all lead workers to take annual heath-check twice a year for investigation of their health effect due to lead exposure. Blood ZPP is one of most important index to detect high lead absorption in lead workers as a screening test. Measurement of blood ZPP is known ,well to correlate with PbB in steady state of exposure in most lead workers and is often used as a primary screening test to detect high lead absorption of lead workers with the advantage of simplicity, easiness, portability and low cost. The current cut-off criteria of blood ZPP for further detailed health check-up is $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ which is supposed to match the level of $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ of PbB according to our standard. Authors tried to investigate the validity of current criteria of cut-off level $(100{\mu}g/d\ell)$ of blood ZPP and possible another better cut-off level of it to detect the lead workers whose PbB level over $40{\mu}g/d\ell$. The subjects in our study were 212 male workers in three small scale storage battery industries. Blood ZPP, PbB and hemoglobin (Hb) were selected as the indices of lead exposure. The results were as follows. 1. The mean of blood ZPP, PbB and Hb in lead workers were $79.5{\pm}46.7{\mu}g/d\ell,\;38.7{\pm}15.1{\mu}g/d\ell,\;and\;14.8{\pm}1.2g/d\ell$, respectively. There were significant differences in blood ZPP, PbB and Hb by industry (P<0.01). 2. The percents of lead workers whose blood ZPP were above $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ in the group of work duration below 1, 1-4, 5-9 and above 10 years were 8.6%, 17.2%, 47.6%, and 50.0%, respectively. The percents of lead workers whose PbB were above $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ in those were 31.4%, 40.4%, 71.4%, and 86.4%, respectively. 3. The percents of lead workers whose PbB were below $40{\mu}g/d\ell$, $40-59{\mu}g/d\ell$ and above $60{\mu}g/d\ell$ were 54.7%, 34.9% and 10.4%, respectively. Those of lead workers whose blood ZPP were below $100{\mu}g/d\ell$, $100-149{\mu}g/d\ell$ and above $150{\mu}g/d\ell$ were 79.2%, 13.7% and 7.1%, respectively. 4. Simple linear regression of PbB on blood ZPP was statistically significant (P<0.01) and as PbB was $40{\mu}g/d\ell$, blood ZPP was $82.1{\mu}g/d\ell$. 5. While the highest sensitivity and specificity of blood ZPP test to detect lead workers with PbB eve. $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ were observed in the cut-off level of $50{\mu}g/d\ell$ and $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ of blood ZPP, respectively, the highest validity (sensitivity+specificity) of blood ZPP to detect lead workers with PbB over $40{\mu}g/d\ell$ was observed in the cut-off level of around $70{\mu}g/d\ell$ of blood ZPP. But even with optimal cut-off level of around $70{\mu}g/d\ell$ of blood ZPP, still 25.0% of false negative and 20.7% false positive lead workers were found. As the result of this study, it was suggested that reconsideration of current blood ZPP cut-off of our lead standard from $100{\mu}g/d\ell$ to somewhat lower level such as around $70{\mu}g/d\ell$ and the inclusion of PbB measurement as a primary screening test for lead workers was highly recommended for the effective prevention of lead workers.

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Total Mercury Contents in the Tissues of Zacco platypus and Ecological Health Assessments in Association with Stream Habitat Characteristics (하천 서식지 특성에 따른 피라미(Zacco platypus)의 총수은 함량 및 생태 건강성 분석)

  • Lee, Eui-Haeng;Yoon, Sang-Hun;Lee, Jae-Hoon;An, Kwang-Guk
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.41 no.2
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    • pp.188-197
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    • 2008
  • This research was a preliminary case study to determine the levels of total mercury in the tissues of sentinel species (Zacco platypus) and ecological health in relation to habitat characteristics and chemical conditions. We collected fishes in Gap Stream during June$\sim$October 2007 and analyzed the total mercury from five types of tissues such as liver, kidney, gill, vertebrae and muscle of Zaceo platypus using Direct Mercury Analyzer (DMA-80, US EPA Method 7473). Mean concentrations of total [Hg], based on all tissues, was 67.2 and $20.7\;{\mu}g\;kg^{-1}$, in the upstream and downstream site, respectively, indicating 3 times greater level in the upstream. In other words, the levels were higher in the pristine upstream than the downstream influenced by the wastewater disposal plant. Chemical water quality, based on BOD, COD and nutrients (TN, TP) showed that severe degradation occurred in the downstreams than the upstreams. Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) using fish multi-metric model averaged 32, indicating a "good$\sim$fair" condition and varied from 42 (excellent$\sim$good) at S2 to 22 (fair$\sim$poor) at S5 depending on the sites sampled. Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) in the all sites averaged 142, which was judged as "good" habitat health, but showed a high variation (181 in Site 2 vs. 67 in Site 5). Overall data suggest that health conditions, based on IBI and QHEI, was better in the upstream sites but the mercury bioaccumulation levels in the fish tissues were opposite. We believe that measurements of various parameters are required for a diagnosis of integrative ecosystem health.

Freshwater Fish Fauna and Ecological Health Assessment of the Agricultural Reservoirs in Jecheon City, Korea (제천시 농업용저수지의 어류상 및 생태건강성평가)

  • Han, Jeong-Ho;Kim, Jae Hwan;Lee, Sang-Bo;Paek, Woon-Kee
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.307-321
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    • 2018
  • Fish fauna and lentic ecosystem health assessment in freshwater were analyzed in the two reservoirs (Uirim Reservoir(Ur) and Solbangjuk Reservoir(Sr)) of the Jecheon City during May-September 2017. Total numbers of the species and genus (7 family) sampled were 21 and 16, respectively. Cyprinidae was most dominant taxa, which accounted for 11 species (52.4%) of the total species, and the relative abundance, based on the number of individuals, was 318 individuals (46.2%). Subdominant families were taxa of Centrachidae (2 species; 264 ind. (38.4%). The dominant species, based on the relative abundance, were Squalidus chankaensistsuchigae(22.7%). Subdominant species were Lepomis macrochirus(19.5%, 134 ind.) and Micropterus salmoides(18.9%, 134 ind.). Trophic state index of Korea ($TSI_{KO}$), based on chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus (TP) and chlorophyll-a (CHL),ranged mesotrophic state. The purpose of this study was to apply a multi-metric model of Lentic Ecosystem Health Assessments (LEHA) for environmental impact assessments of two reservoirs and assessed the ecological health model values. Trophic composition's metrics showed that tolerant species (56.8%, 98.3%) and omnivore species (43.9%, 65.6%) dominated the fish fauna in the two reservoirs (Ur and Sr) of Jecheon City, indicating a biological degradation in the aquatic ecosystem. The relative proportions of Micropterus salmoides, also showed greater than 16.3% (Ur), 31.1% (Sr) of the total, indicating a ecological disturbance. The average value of LEHA model was 22 (Ur) and 12 (Sr) in the reservoirs, indicating a "poor condition (Ur)" and "very poor condition (Sr)" by the criteria of MOE (2014).

The Comparative Studies on the Distribution and Species Composition of Forest Community in Korea and Japan around the East Sea (한국과 일본의 동해안 지역에 분포하는 산림군락의 종조성과 분포에 관한 비교 연구)

  • Yun, Jong-Hak;Hukusima, Tukasa;Kim, Moon-Hong;Yoshikawa, Masato
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.25 no.3
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    • pp.327-357
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    • 2011
  • This study compared the species composition and distribution of the forest communities between Korea and Japan using vegetation releve database. The study included the eastern and southern Korean Peninsula, Is. Jeju, Is. Ulreung, northern Kyushu, central part of Japan and Is. Tsushima and divided in fourteen region with major mountain as the center. Seventy-nine forest communities were classified by tabular comparison with the total of 1844 releves. In the composition table, fifty-four groups of plant species were listed. Some grew in one area exclusively, while others were present in multiple locations. This study showed the similarity and heterogeneity of species composition among study areas. We grouped fourteen types showing similar physiognomy for forest communities. The physiognomical features of the vertical vegetation zones in the study area were similar, however, dominant species and species composition were different between the regions. In the lowland zone, Castanopsis-Type dominated by Castanopsis cuspidata var. sieboldii or Castanopsis cuspidata were distributed in the study area except for northern part of the Korean Peninsula and Is. Ulreung. Additionally, Persea thunbergii-Type was distributed widely in the lowest part of the study area, however, it showed the simplification of the species composition in the Korean Peninsula and Is. Ulreung. In the hilly zone, evergreen forest composed by Abies firma-Type distributed in northern Kyushuand Is. Tsushima, but it was absent in the other study region. The difference in forest community was conspicuous, especially in the montane zone. Deciduous broadleaved forests composed Quercus(D)-Type and Fagus-Type widely distributed in the montane of study area. However, forest community dominated by Quercus mongolica and Fagus multinervis flourished in Korea. On the otherhand, forest community dominated by Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata, Fagus crenata and F. japonica distributed in Japan. In the sub-alpine zone, evergreen coniferous forest composed Abies-Quercus(D)-Type, Abies koreana-Type, and Pinus pumila-Type were distributed in the Korean Peninsula and Is. Jeju. Forests composed Taxus cuspidata var. nana-Type, Abies mariesii-Type, and Pinus pumila-Type distributed in the central part of Japan. As a result of DCA ordination, evergreen broadleaved forests of the whole study area showed the lower scores along the first axis, while deciduous and coniferous forests showed the higher scores. The forest types of western part of Japan were located the higer scores, forest types of the Korean Peninsula were located the lower scores, and forest types of Is. Jeju located in the middle. Warmth index (WI) and Annual range of temperature in climate factor were highly correlated on the first axis. The first axis reflected the gradient from oceanic climatic to continental one. The higher the altitude and further geographically, the lower the similarity among communities and the peculiarity of community appeared stronger. The historical background reflecting local flora has strongly influenced on development of community.

Sexual Maturation and Feeding Habit of Korean Mandarin Fish, Siniperca scherzeri (Perciformes, Centropomidae) in the Seomjin River and Imjin River, Korea (섬진강과 임진강에 서식하는 쏘가리 Siniperca scherzeri (Perciformes, Centropomidae) 집단의 성 성숙 및 섭식특징)

  • Lee, Wan-Ok;Baek, Jae-Min;Lee, Jong-Ha;Kim, Kyeong-Hwan;Kim, Chi-Hong;Yoon, Seung-Woon
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.26 no.1
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    • pp.57-66
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    • 2012
  • This study was conducted to investigate the reproductive ecology of the Korean Mandarin Fish, Siniperca scherzeri in Seomjin River and Imjin River from April to October 2008. After have investigating the relationship between standard length (SL) and Gonadosomatic index (GSI) of Siniperca scherzeri, we can conclude that the body length of maturation was over 200mm SL in case of females and over 180mm SL in males. The GSI of the females that were from Seomjin river was the highest in April (7.43%), and gradually decreased after May (5.55%) and June (3.58%). The GSI was decreased sharply in August and indicated the lowest value in September (0.44%). The GSI of the females that were from Imjin river showed similar tendency of females' GSI from Seomjin river. The GSI of males from Imjin river was totally higher than that of females, it was 5.96% in April, and 8.03% in May. It was lowered in early June, and late June, it indicated 2.12%. In September, it was the lowest value (0.20%), and increased after October (0.54%). The result of histological study of ovary presented similar result of the study of GSI in Seomjin river and Imjin river. The ratio that fishes constitute in stomach contents of Siniperca scherzeri was 92% in Seomjin river and 90% in Imjin river. Digestion of food organisms and the ratio of unidentifiable fishes in stomach contents was fairly high, and it was 50% in Seomjin river and 72.2% in Imjin river. In the period of study, eating ratio was very low 38.3% (36 ind.) in Seomjin river and 21.8 (53 ind.) in Imjin river.

Effects of Mulberry Leaves Powder on Lipid Metabolism in High Cholesterol-Fed Rats (뽕잎분말이 고콜레스테롤 식이 투여 흰쥐의 지질대사에 미친 영향)

  • Kim, Ae-Jung;Kim, Sun-Yeou;Choi, Mi-Kyeong;Kim, Myung-Hwan;Han, Myung-Ryun;Chung, Kun-Sub
    • Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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    • v.37 no.4
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    • pp.636-641
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    • 2005
  • Mulberry leaves, high in dietary fiber and some nutritional materials, are thought to have hypocholesterolemic effect. Therefore, effect of mulberry leaf powder on serum lipid profiles were studied using rats with diet-induced hypercholesterolemia. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed AIN-93 diet (control group), and diets containing high-cholesterol and 0% mulberry leaves powder, high-cholesterol and 5% mulberry leaves powder, and high-cholesterol and 10% mulberry leaves powder for 4 weeks. Hypercholesterolemia was induced by adding 1% cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid to all diets except in control group. Although no differences were observed in food intake and initial body weight among groups, mulberry leaf treatment resulted in significant decreases in food efficiency ratio and body weight gain. Mulberry leaf treatment decreased serum lipid profiles, atherogenic index, cardiac risk factor, low density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, serum aspartate transaminase, and liver lipid levels. High density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, serum HDL-cholesterol, and fecal lipid levels increased, suggesting mulberry leaves could improve hyperlipidemia and liver action, thereby proventing cardiovascular disease.

The Flora of Mt. Papyeong (Gyeonggi-do Prov.) in Western Area of DMZ, Korea (서부 DMZ 인근접경 지역의 파평산(경기도) 일대의 식물상)

  • NamGung, Ju;Yoon, Chang Young;Ha, Young-Ho;Kim, Joo-Hwan
    • Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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    • v.32 no.4
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    • pp.355-378
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    • 2019
  • We investigated the flora of vascular plants in Mt. Papyeong which is located in the northern part of Paju and the border of western DMZ through 13 surveys from April 2016 to August 2019. The vascular plants of Mt. Papyeong include 410 taxa; 361 species, 9 subspecies, 36 varieties, and 4 forms from 257 genera of 91 families. Among 410 taxa, we characterize endemic species, rare and endangered plants, floristic regional indicator plants, and climate change adapted plants in Korea. Specifically, there are 9 Korean endemic plants designated by Korea National Arboretum and 6 taxa by Korean Ministry of Environment. According to IUCN evaluation, there are 13 rare and endangered plants in Mt. Papyeong. On the other hand, 2 taxa were listed in a red list suggested by Korean Ministry of Environment. The floristic regional indicator plants include 46 taxa which are composed of 2 species of IV degree, 13 taxa of III degree, 11 taxa of II degree, and 20 taxa of I degree. Also, 27 naturalized plants were identified, and the percentage of Naturalized Index (NI) and Urbanization Index (UI) were 6.58%, and 8.43%, respectively. We hope that this investigation provide a valuable data for applying the further studies on the biodiversity and strategy of conservation of environment in the DMZ and Paju areas.

Physicochemical Properties of Diverse Rice Species (품종별 쌀의 이화학적 특성)

  • Choi, Ok-Ja;Kim, Yong-Doo;Shim, Jae-Han;Noh, Myeong-Hee;Shim, Ki-Hoon
    • Food Science and Preservation
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.532-538
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    • 2012
  • Seven rice varieties (Dasan, Keunseon, Goami, Baekjinju, Seolgaeng, Hangangchal and Heukseol) were used to study the physicochemical properties of dry milled (200-mesh) rice flour species. The moisture and crude protein contents of rice were 15.00-15.10% and 6.09-8.21%, respectively. The crude lipid and crude ash of rice were 0.21-1.02% and 0.37-1.62%, respectively. As for the Hunter's color value, the L value was highest in the Dasan flour (96.47); the a value was highest in the Heukseol flour (5.03); and the b value was highest in the Baekjinju flour (3.36). The water aborption index was highest in the Goami flour (1.45), and the water solubility index was highest in the Hangangchal flour (9.16%). The amylose contents of the rice flour species were highest in the Goami (26.42%) rice flour, followed by the Dasan (19.39%), Seolgaeng (19.24%), Keunseon (18.06%), Heukseol (15.52%), Baekjinju (9.16%), and Hangangchal (0.84%) rice flour. In the X-raydiffractin patterns of the diverse species, seven tice varieties showed A-type crystallinity. As for the amylogram properties, the initial pasting temperature was 58.00-$69.03^{\circ}C$. The maximum viscosity was highest in the Dasan flour. The Heukseol flour had the lowest maximum viscosity, breakdown, and setback. In terms of the thermal properties of the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), the onset temperature was 59.03-$66.84^{\circ}C$; the peak temperature, 66-70-$72.82^{\circ}C$; and the end temperature, 74.06-$78.66^{\circ}C$. The enthalpy (${\Delta}H$) was lowest in the Heukseol flour (7.59 J/g) and highest in the Seolgaeng flour (11.36J/g).

Application of Stable Isotopic Niche Space to Large River Monitoring: Analysis of Benthic Macroinvertebrates of the Seongchon Wier (안정동위원소비를 활용한 생태지위면적 분석의 수생태계 평가 가능성 분석: 영산강 승촌보의 저서성 대형무척추동물을 대상으로)

  • Seo, Dong-Hwan;Oh, Hye-Ji;Jin, Mei-Yan;Oda, Yusuke;Kim, Hyun-Woo;Jang, Min-Ho;Choi, Bohyung;Shin, Kyung-Hoon;Lee, Kyung-Lak;Lee, Su-Woong;Chang, Kwang-Hyeon
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.27 no.6
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    • pp.685-694
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    • 2018
  • We measured ecological niche space (ENS) using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of benthic macroinvertebrates to estimate its applicability for large river assessment. In particular, we compared ENSs of selected macroinvertebrates between upper and lower area of Seungchon Weir in Yeongsan River to estimate the impact of weir on biological community. We also measured basic water quality and community indices including benthic macroinvertebrates index (BMI) to estimate their correlations with calculated ENS. ENS was calculated using the Bayesian Stable Isotope in R statistics (package "SIBER"). The results showed that seasonal variations in water quality and community indices were found, but there was no apparent tendency between upper and lower area of the Seungchon Weir in June (before rainy season) and August (after rainy season). However, ENS of benthic macroinvertebrates markedly decreased across the weir in both June and August regardless of changes in water quality. This means the physical change of the stream due to the weir cause decrease of ecological isotopic niche space of benthic macroinvertebrates regardless of water quality, suggesting physical modification by the weir can affect the interaction between habitat condition and macroinvertebrates. Therefore, the ecological isotopic niche space can be a useful supplementary indicator for the river ecosystem assessment.

Fish Community Characteristics and Habitat Aspects of Endangered Species, Rhodeus pseudosericeus in Heuk Stream, a Tributary of the Han River Drainage System (한강지류 흑천의 어류군집 특성 및 멸종위기종 한강납줄개의 서식양상)

  • Ko, Myeong-Hun;Myung, Ra-Yeon;Kim, Hyeong-Su
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.266-279
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    • 2019
  • We investigated the characteristics of fish communities and habitat status of endangered species Rhodeus pseudosericeus in Heuk Stream, a tributary of the Han River, from April to October 2018. During this period, we collected 47 species of 14 families from 10 survey stations using kick nets, cast nets, and long bag set nets. The dominant and subdominant species were Zacco platypus (37.6%) and Z. koreanus (13.8%), respectively. The next most abundant species were Squalidus gracilis majimae (11.1%), Pungtungia herzi (7.7%), Rhodeus pseudosericeus (5.0%), Microphysogobio yaluensis (4.3%), and Hemibarbus longirostris (3.0%). Among the fish collected, 19 species (40.4%) were Korean endemic species. Endangered species were R. pseudosericeus and Acheilognathus signifer while exotic species were Micropterus salmoides and Oncorhynchus mykiss, and land-locked species were Plecoglossus altivelis and Rhinogobius brunneus. The community analysis showed that the dominance and evenness indexes were mostly low and that the diversity and richness indexes were high. Moreover, the river health (index of biological integrity) was mostly excllent (1 site is good, 9 sites are very good). R. pseudosericeus inhabited widely from St. 3 to St. 9 in Heuk Stream, and its population size was large. Age groups for R. pseudosericeus estimated by the frequency distribution of total length in spawning season (April) indicated the 32~45 mm group as 1-year old, the 46~59 mm group as 2-years old, 60~69 mm group as 3-years old, and the 70~89 mm group as 4-years or older. Total length range of male and female was similar, and the sex ratio of female (426) to male (394) was 1 : 0.95. A. signifer, which had been released in Heuk Stream, inhabited from St. 4 to St. 5, but its population size was small. Lastly, this paper discusses a conservation plan for fish in Heuk Stream.