• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.545-551
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• 2010

A new family of DC to AC converters, referred to as multilevel inverter, has received much attention from industries and researchers for its high power and voltage applications. One of the conventional techniques for implementing the switching algorithm in these inverters is optimized harmonic stepped waveform (OHSW). However, the major problem in using this technique is eliminating low order harmonics by solving the nonlinear and complex equations. In this paper, a new approach called the "bacterial foraging algorithm" (BFA) is employed. This algorithm eliminates and optimizes the harmonics in a multilevel inverter. This method has higher speed, precision, and convergence power compared with the genetic algorithm (GA), a famous evolutionary algorithm. The proposed technique can be expanded in any number of levels. The purpose of optimization is to remove some low order harmonics, as well as to ensure the fundamental harmonic retained at the desired value. As a case study, a 13-level inverter is chosen. The comparison results by MATLAB software between the two optimization methods (BFA and GA) have shown the effectiveness and superiority of BFA over GA where convergence is desired to achieve global optimum.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.237-244
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• 2007

We investigated the foraging habitat preferences of herons and egrets in an agricultural area in Asan city, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. In the study area, rice fields were the most abundant habitat type (86.8%) and total suitable feeding habitat was greater in the northern area (59.0%) than the southern area (22.5%) of the colony. Most feeding herons and egrets were located in the northern area of the colony. The number of feeding individuals in a given area was related to the available feeding area (Pearson correlation, r=0.773, p<0.001 for field habitats; r=0.901, p<0.001 for freshwater habitats). Feeding habitat preferences differed among species. Grey herons (Ardea cinerea), great egrets (Egretta alba), and black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) used reservoirs and ditches. However, intermediate egrets (E. intermedia) and cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) were dependent on rice fields. The little egret (E. garzetta) was a habitat generalist using all types of habitats. The two largest species, grey herons and great egrets, fed at deeper site than little egrets and foraged in deeper sites in reservoirs than in ditches (${\chi}^2-test,\;{\chi}^2{_3}=26.6$ and p<0.001 for grey herons, ${\chi}^2{_3}=17.5$ and p<0.001 for great egrets). All species displayed seasonal changes in feeding habitat use and these changes were related with changes in availability of feeding habitats.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.184-191
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• 2018

During the breeding season, some Eurasian Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus osculans) in Yubu Island foraged in the open mudflat area nearby the breeding ground, instead of the tide water line area, main feeding site throughout the year. We found significant differences in foraging behavior and prey species diversity between the two different feeding site types. Even though the birds took more steps for most probably searching preys, their feeding success was much lower in the open mudflat area than the tide water line area. The multiple peck and boring methods were more frequently adopted to catch polychaetes on the open mudflat area, whereas the single peck method was dominant and gastropods and bivalves were main preys in the tide water line area. This study suggests that the bird shows flexible foraging strategy of shifting feeding site, foraging behavior and preys for better reproductive success.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.395-408
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• 2013

Environmental condition can induce changes in early life-history traits in order to maximise the ecological fitness. Here I investigated how temperature change and variation in human aquatic activity/behaviour affect early life-history consequences in fish using a dynamic-state-dependent model. In this study, I developed a general fish's life-history model including three life-history states depend-ing on foraging activity, such as body mass, mass of reproductive tissue (i.e., gonadal development) and accumulated stress (i.e., cellular or physiological damage). I assumed the level of foraging activity maximises reproductive success-ultimately, fitness. The model predicts that growth rate, development of reproductive tissues and damage accumulation are greater in higher temperature whereas higher human aquatic activity rapidly reduced the growth rate and development of reproductive tissue and increased damage accumulation. While higher foraging activity in higher temperature is less affected by human aquatic activity, the foraging activity in lower temperature rapidly declined with human aquatic activity. Moreover, lower survival rate in higher temperature or human aquatic activity was independent on mortality rate due to human aquatic activity or mortality rate when foraging activity, respectively. However, the survival rate in lower temperature or human aquatic activity was dependent on these mortality rates. My findings suggest that including of early life-history traits in relation to climate-change and human aquatic activity on the analysis may improve conservation plan and health assessment in aquatic ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.483-492
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• 2019

During the breeding season, both adults and immature Eurasian Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus osculans) were observed to feed on prey, such as gastropods (Umbonium thomasi) and bivalves, at the tide water line around Yubu island in Korea. To determine differences in the foraging efficiency between the adult and immature birds, we recorded the feeding behavior using digiscoping with a telescope and a smartphone. We compared the pace, the prey search rate, the proportion of prey search techniques, the feeding success rate, the handling time, and the heads-up rate between the adult and immature birds. There were significant differences in the proportion of prey search techniques when gastropods were consumed and in the prey search rate and heads-up rate when bivalves were consumed but there were no significant differences in feeding success rates. Therefore, although the immature birds on Yubu Island were inferior to adults during the breeding season and they lacked the proficiency to locate prey, their overall foraging efficiency was similar to adults. This was considered to be due to the continuous eating of bivalves during the wintering season, which requires a high level of foraging efficiency.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.293-300
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• 2003

This study examined the foraging activities and the Influence of excessive foraging activity by B. ignitus workers on the quality of cherry-tomato fruits in cherry-tomato green-house. The peak time of pollination by B. ignitus worker was recorded at 8:00 and the average of foraging time on each flower was 11.7 secs. The total pollinating time of B. ignitus was 41 mins and 37 secs and its total number of visiting flowers was 195.2. The average time of staying on flowers was 8.8 ${\pm}$5.4 secs when two bumblebees were allowed to pollinate per Pyong (3.954 square yards) in the green house of tomatoes for 24 hours, but it was two times shorter (4.0${\pm}$3.1 secs) compared with that when one bumble-bee was allowed to pollinate per Pyong for one hour. The stamen color of tomato flowers visited by the bumblebee for one hour was brown while the stamen color for 24 hours was dark brown due to the frequent visiting. The average fruit bearing rate of the 4th-6th clusters of tomatoes visited for one hour was 48.9%, which was not significantly different from those allowed to visite for 24 hours. However, the number of seeds of flowers visited for 24 hours was 64.0, which was more than 55.3 seeds of flowers visited for one hour. The weight of fruit was 25.4 g and 24.4 g, respectively. The sweetness was not different significantly between one and 24 hours of visit (P > 0.05). The result revealed that end pro-duct of cherry-tomato was not influenced by over foraging activity of B. ignitus workers on tomato flowers.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.134.2-134
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• 2001

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Fisheries Technology Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.270-272
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• 2002

Competitive species have the same spatial distribution (habitat) and foraging behavior (niche), while non-competitive species have either different feeding behavior or spatial distribution. Therefore, ecological segregation among species of fish results rfom differences in foraging behavior and spatial distribution (Allen, 1984; Zhang 1988). To explore these ecological strategies among major small fish pelagics in Korean waters, distribution of CPUE in the Korean large purse seine fishery were examined. (omitted)

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Environment and Ecology Conference
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• 2007.04a
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• pp.176-177
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• 2007

We determined how presence of heterospecific individuals in the vicinity of a focal individual affects the behavior of two critically endangered species of cranes on their wintering grounds at Cheolwon in the Korean Demilitarized Zone(DMZ). The Red-crowned crane, Grus japonensis, is larger than the White-naped crane, Grus vipio, and it dominates the White-naped crane in aggressive interactions. We showed that the dominant species increases foraging activity in the presence of the subordinate species presumably because of scrounging of the food from the subordinate. Because interspecific interactions may affect avian endangerments this behavioral findings should be taken into account when managing winter refuges for the two engendered crane species.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Entomolohy Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.56-56
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• 2001