• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2021

Invasive species threaten global biodiversity as well as human livelihood and much of the global lands are vulnerable to these threats. Numerous freshwater turtles from the northern hemisphere have been introduced in East Asian countries, including the Republic of Korea. Knowing turtle's behavioral ecology is valuable to manage introduced populations and a distinctive behavior is basking for behavioral thermoregulation. To understand the possibility of using basking to enhance trapping, we tested thermotaxis in the river cooter (Pseudemys concinna). Turtles were placed in an aquarium containing heated and non-heated mats under controlled water and air temperature, air humidity and light. We found that P. concinna stayed significantly longer on heated mats than on unheated control mats in 11 out of 18 trials, demonstrating that heat source is a potential attractant for P. concinna. We recommend the use of heat source to bait traps used for population control of invasive freshwater turtles.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.461-471
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• 2017

Population genetic studies of 10 groups of Iksookimia pacifica were conducted to investigate the genetic diversity and population genetic structure across its known range in South Korea. Population DNA sequences of one mitochondrial gene (mtCOI) and three nuclear genes (IRBP, EGR2B, RAG1) were examined in samples collected from ten streams that flow into the East Sea. Both mitochondrial and nuclear sequences exhibited significant differentiation among populations except a few cases. The Bayesian analysis of the multi-locus genotypes inferred from the DNA sequences of nuclear genes clustered the individual fish largely into two geographical groups: a northern group (from Baebong stream to Cheonjin stream) and a southern group (Yangyangnamdae stream to Gangneungnamdae stream). Given that the streams flowing into the East Sea are geographically isolated water systems, such separation of genotypes can be interpreted by the geographical separation of common ancestors into north and south that had colonized South Korea. Since the initial geographical separation of the ancestral population by north and south, the ancestral groups seem to have experienced further differentiation into the current genetic clusters through the physical isolation of streams by the East Sea in each region. It is notable that many individuals in the Jasan stream formed a genetic cluster with those of Yangyangnamdae and Gangneungnamdae streams which are distant from each other. In addition, mitochondrial gene showed low genetic differentiation between some neighboring populations and very low level of genetic diversity in several populations. The present population genetic study will provide valuable information for the conservation and management of the Korean endemic fish species, I. paicifica.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.557-569
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• 2023

Amphibians are the world's most threatened group of animals, with approximately 41% facing extinction. Contrary to this global trend, the number of amphibian species in Korea has increased by approximately 53.3% over the past 20 years. In particular, salamanders within the genus Hynobius showed even greater diversity, with the number increasing three-fold from two species to seven. However, morphological and ecological traits required for the clear differentiation of these animals are yet to be determined, leading to much confusion. In this study, we investigated the validity of using size traits for species identification, as this method is currently considered a rule of thumb when differentiating Geoje salamanders (Hynobius geojeensis), cryptic Uiryeong salamanders (H. perplicatus), and Korean small salamanders (H. unisacculus). Our study revealed that sex, study period, and habitat were all factors associated with significant differences in snout-vent length, head width, and body weight. Differences in these size traits were evident both between and within species. Our results show that body size traits applied in the recent classification of the three new salamander species could not be seen as a suitable criterion. Such identification methods based solely on body size not only cause great confusion in the field but will also limit future research on Korean Hynobius salamanders.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1264-1270
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• 2012

The ecotoxicological effects of nanomaterials on animal, plant, and soil microorganisms have been widely investigated; however, the nanotoxic effects of plant-soil interactive systems are still largely unknown. In the present study, the effects of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on the soil-plant interactive system were estimated. The growth of plant seedlings in the presence of different concentrations of ZnO NPs within microcosm soil (M) and natural soil (NS) was compared. Changes in dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and soil bacterial community diversity were estimated based on the microcosm with plants (M+P) and microcosm without plants (M-P) in different concentrations of ZnO NPs treatment. The shoot growth of M+P and NS+P was significantly inhibited by 24% and 31.5% relative to the control at a ZnO NPs concentration of 1,000 mg/kg. The DHA levels decreased following increased ZnO NPs concentration. Specifically, these levels were significantly reduced from 100 mg/kg in M-P and only 1,000 mg/kg in M+P. Different clustering groups of M+P and M-P were observed in the principal component analysis (PCA). Therefore, the M-P's soil bacterial population may have more toxic effects at a high dose of ZnO NPs than M+P's. The plant and activation of soil bacteria in the M+P may have a less toxic interactive effect on each of the soil bacterial populations and plant growth by the ZnO NPs attachment or absorption of plant roots surface. The soil-plant interactive system might help decrease the toxic effects of ZnO NPs on the rhizobacteria population.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.105-111
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• 2004

This study is aiming at examining the possibilities to develop eco-friendly waterfront, and discusses characteristics of the organic worldview which has been emerged as new development or eco-friendly paradigm in recent science against the mechanical worldview of modem times. The orientation of waterfront development is characterized as unity, diversity, dynamics and mutuality. In addition, I examined the factors for waterfront design according to the locational, decorativeand visual properties of urban$.$architecture to find out concrete factors of its design. This study suggests the factors for waterfront design making use of organic properties, by examining the orientation for organic development of eco-friendly waterside environment and showing correlation between the factors of specific design, and their examples.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.442-448
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• 2007

This study was carried out to assess the improved aspects of ecological conditions in a small stream, where eco-technological restorations such as gabion-crib mattress arrangement and soil-arresting wicker fence work had already been made up to stabilize the physically and ecologically damaged streambank. Six metrics by diatoms including species richness, Shannon diversity, saprobic index by DAIpo, percent sensitive diatoms, percent of Achnanthes minutissima, dominant index were analysed to assess the ecological integrity of small stream. By generalizing the changed values of six metrics on the stream flow from upper point(ST.1) to lower point(ST.3), it was found that the effect value of ecological condition improvement went up to as much as 33.9% on the average. The results suggested that eco-technological restoration treatment applied to this study is considerably effective for preserving the ecological integrity of small stream.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.176-181
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• 2015

Biodiversity is plummeting worldwide, and the major causes of such decline include habitat degradation and climate change. While cities do contribute to the negative impact to the environment, they can also serve as strategic centres for conservation programs. Sites qualifying as biogeographic islands within metropolitan Seoul were studied for the occurrence of two hylid species: the endangered Hyla suweonensis and the abundant H. japonica. This study demonstrates that neither habitat diversity nor surface area, but solely the occurrence of aggregated rice paddies is a requisite for H. suweonensis, hypothetically due to its strict breeding requirements. On the contrary, H. japonica occurrence was not affected by any of these factors, and all types of habitats studied were adequate for this species. The presence of an endangered species within the boundaries of one of the most populated metropolises suggests a strong natural resilience, which should be enhanced with appropriate actions. We emphasize that the management plans therein can, and should, be used as the first step in the conservation of H. suweonensis in metropolitan Seoul.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.275-281
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• 2019

One key step in the plant restoration process is the collection of seeds from the field. For the selection of source populations of target plant species for translocation purposes (reintroduction or reinforcements), several approaches are possible. A practical method involves the use of data from reciprocal transplant studies. If no direct data are available, knowledge of population genetics and the phylogeography of the target species can serve as an alternative. In this short review, we briefly propose guidelines for those collecting seeds for plant species restoration based on population genetics theory, focusing on two main questions: Where does the plant material come from and how are sources designated, and how are seeds efficiently collected from local populations? While genetic data on a larger scale (phylogeography and population genetics) are needed to form a reply to the first question, similar data on a smaller scale (fine-scale genetic structures within populations) are necessary to shed light on the second issue.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.179-187
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• 2010

The Theory of Island Biogeography describes that the number of species on an island affected by island area and distance from the mainland. This study was performed to compare and analyze the community structure of the macro-invertebrates in three isolated islands, around Korean waters in terms of the Theory of Island Biogeography. Macrobenthic animals were collected using a modified underwater quadrat in August 2009. A total of 104 macrobenthic species were sampled with a mean density of 399 individuals $m^{-2}$ and biomass of 1,506.70 g $m^{-2}$. Based on the abundance and biomass data, there were 10 dominant species accounting for approximately 67.17% of total individuals. The highest densities were found in the amphipoda Amphipoda spp., the bivalvia Modiolus agripetus and Mytilus coruscus, the Sipunculida Phascolosoma scolops and the polychaeta Syllidae unid.. On the contrary, the top ten species made up 95.66% of the total biomass while the three most abundant, the bivalves M. coruscus, Streostria circumpicta and M. agripetus. The conventional multi-variate statistics (cluster analysis and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling) applied to assess spatial variation in macrobenthic assemblages. Cluster analysis and nMDS ordination analysis based on the Bray-Curtis similarity identified 2 station groups. The group 1 was consisted with Gageodo (except for lower station at Transect 2) and Dokdo station and was numerically dominated by the polychaetes Eunice antennata and Syllidae unid., the cirripedia Megabalanus rosa and the bivalvia M. coruscus. However, group 2 was associated with Sohwado station and was characterized by high abundance of the anomura Petrolisthes japonicus, the gastropoda Lirularia pygmaea and the brachiopoda Coptothyris grayi. In conclusion, these results suggested that the species diversity and community structure of macrobenthos in three isolated island seemed slightly related to island area and distance from the mainland.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.37-44
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• 2008

Soil ecology has important roles in global ecosystems. However, soil ecological quality information is being ignored when assessing ecological impact of construction actions. And methods for classifying and assessing soil ecological quality have been very little established in comparison to those for animal and plant ecosystems. In this study, it was examined whether soil ecological quality information has influence on determining an eco-friendly route for a road construction project. For this, sensitivity analysis was systematically performed by varying the relative significance (weights) of soil ecological quality information among natural environmental and ecological factors. When the weight of soil ecological quality was greater than just 14%, the soil ecological quality information significantly influenced the determination of the eco-friendly routes for a specific road construction project. This demonstrates that soil ecological quality information has to be considered for more reliable environmental impact assessment, and also supports the validity of use of soil ecological quality information and its mapping technique in planning and siting of eco-friendly construction projects.