• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.233-241
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• 2008

Functional feeding groups (FFGs) of benthic macroinvertebrates are guilds of invertebrate taxa that obtain food in similar ways, regardless of their taxonomic affinities. They can represent a heterogeneous assemblage of benthic fauna and may indicate disturbances of their habitats. The proportion of different groups can change in response to disturbances that affect the food base of the system, thereby offering a means of assessing disruption of ecosystem functioning. In this study, we used benthic macroinvertebrate communities collected at 650 sites of 23 different water types in the province of Overijssel, The Netherlands. Physical and chemical environmental factors were measured at each sampling site. Each taxon was assigned to its corresponding FFG based on its food resources. A multilayer perceptron (MLP) using a backpropagation algorithm, a supervised artificial neural network, was applied to evaluate the influence of environmental variables to the FFGs of benthic macroinvertebrates through a sensitivity analysis. In the evaluation of input variables, the sensitivity analysis with partial derivatives demonstrates the relative importance of influential environmental variables on the FFG, showing that different variables influence the FFG in various ways. Collector-filterers and shredders were mainly influenced by $Ca^{2+}$ and width of the streams, and scrapers were influenced mostly with $Ca^{2+}$ and depth, and predators were by depth and pH. $Ca^{2+}$ and depth displayed relatively high influence on all four FFGs, while some variables such as pH, %gravel, %silt, and %bank affected specific groups. This approach can help to characterize community structure and to ecologically assess target ecosystems.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.420-426
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• 2008

This study compared and analyzed EPT ratio, EPT richness and EPT number(number of species and individuals) of a total of 9 selected sites individually using EPT-group of aquatic insects in Musim stream, also compared similarity ratio between the sampling sites using UPGMA(Unweighted Paired Group Method using Arithmetic average) based on analysis subsequent to species structure of aquatic insects, and compared and analyzed a functional feeding groups(FFGs) of aquatic insects based on stream order. As a result, the aquatic insect group of 2,269 individuals is classified as 71 species, 36 families, and 8 orders, and EPT ratio and EPT richness at sites 3(0.72 and 3.89, respectively) were found to be relatively higher than those at the other sites; by contrast, those at site 9(0.03 and 0.09, respectively) were relatively low. EPT number of species and individuals was found to be lowest at site 9. As a result of UPGMA analysis, the sampling sites in Musim stream were divided into three groups, including A1(site 1, 7, 8), A2(site 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and B(site 9). According to the results of FFGs, there was not shown specific difference in the number of functional feeding groups by each sites; however, there appeared a little more shredders and scrappers in the upper and mid stream comparing to other sampling sites while collector-filterers and collector-gatherers were found to be dominant in number in the lower stream. According to this research result, the sampling sites in Musim stream were found to have an effect on not only EPT richness, EPT ratio, and EPT number but also FFGs structure.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.680-688
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• 2011

This study was performed to find out the distribution aspect of benthic macroinvertebrates according to altitude in a mountain stream (a main stream: Buk stream, a tributary: Hangye stream) of Seoraksan. The survey was conducted from August to November in 2010. All survey sites were very sound because the mountain was being maintained as a protection area of the national park. Water quality and the composition of substrata were similar in all sites. Benthic macroinvertebrates of 3 phyla, 4 classes, 9 orders and 84 species occurred in the stream. Along with the decline of altitude, shredders of the functional feeding groups (FFGs) decreased, while collector filterers increased. In particular, collector filterers increased sharply at the altitude of 600 ~ 500 m (S.E.L.). Benthic macroinvertebrates showed low similarity between the uppermost site and the lower sites. Altitude appeared to be a significant factor that influence the structure and distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate community.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.spc
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• pp.10-18
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• 2014

The habitat characteristic of the Gammarus sobaegensis which is one of the Amphipoda kinds has been found inhabiting in the inter mountain stream at Ganseong stream. From the investigation, the main inhabitant area of the G. sobaegensis maintained the water temperature under $10^{\circ}C$ during the spring and autumn season, and the electric conductivity was also maintaining under $40{\mu}Scm^{-1}$. For the precipitation, for this year when the monthly accredited rainfall did not exceed 800 mm, it did not affect maintaining the population of the G. sobaegensis but when the monthly accredited rainfall exceeded 1,000 mm it was found to be working as a unfavorable condition for maintaining the population. The effect especially from this kind of rainfall created the flow of G. sobaegensis as well as the flow of the fallen leaves which are the food resources and affected the population of the G. sobaegensis as a multiple interruption reason. Among the Functional Feeding Groups (FFGs) distribution depending on the use of the food resources the shredders showed up in the ratio of 20% in the site 1~3, and showed a big difference with the site 4~7 as it showed up in the ratio near 10%. Also, after comparing the variation of the individual number among the G. sobaegensis and shredders at the site 1~3 where G. sobaegensis mainly shows up, it showed the same variation pattern except for 2009.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.259-266
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• 2006

Community analysis based on functional feeding groups of aquatic insects in Wonju stream was assessed with the composition of aquatic insects collected for four times at the area from May to November, 2004. The total 92 species of aquatic insects in 62 genera, 37 families, and 8 orders were collected during the period of the investigation. The distribution of the numbers and movements of aquatic insects proved the Woniu stream to be healthy except for St. 7 and St. 9. In the main streams, the occupancy ratio of shredders and scrapers of the functional feeding groups(FFGs) gradually decreased from St. 1 to St. 9 while collectors-gathering and collectors-filtering remarkably increased. In St. 2, the shredders and scrapers posted a higher ratio compared to those in tributaries, and it had the quality of mountain streams. With the results of analysis on the similarity matrix(UPGMA) between each sites of Wonju stream, St. 1, 2, St. 3-8 and St. 9 were classified as the upper stream, the middle stream, and the lower stream area, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.328-336
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• 2014

Nakdan weir, which is located in the second weir among the 8 weirs of Nakdong River, had been constructed from Nov. 2009 to Nov. 2011. To analyze the effect of Nakdan weir construction on benthic macroinvertebrates, we studied 2 sites around Nakdan weir (upstream and downstream) from 2007 to 2014. The average numbers of species and individuals were decreased after the construction (in 2012~2014, 51 species $895inds.\;m^{-2}$) than before construction (in 2007~2009, 25 species $84inds.\;m^{-2}$), especially in upstream site of Nakdan weir. After the construction, especially in 2012, dominance indices (DI) were increased by the decline of some specific taxon population, such as Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, etc. After construction, individual ratios of GC (Gathering Collectors) and P (Predator) of FFGs (Functional feeding groups) and BU (Burrowers) of HOGs (Habitat orientation groups) were higher than before construction. So the results of this study indicate that the changes by a weir construction, such as the decline of shallow depth area, reduced velocity of water flow and increased ratio of sand bed, etc., can affect the benthic macroinvertebrate communities variously.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.190-203
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• 2021

Water quality, benthic macroinvertebrate communities, and other factors were investigated to explore the effects of the effluent discharge from a sewage treatment plant into Jwagwang stream in Busan in 2019. During the study period, the flow rate of this stream was in the range of 10,400 m³/day to 52,200 m³/day except for the discharge of about 24,000 m³/day of the effluent. After discharge, the flow velocity increased by about 65% and the water depth increased by about 40%. At sites downstream of the discharge point, BOD, COD, TOC, T-N, T-P, and other water quality values were worse than those of the upstream sites. The periphytic algal chlorophyll-a concentrations in the natural substrata were higher than those of the upstream sites, especially in May and August. However, at sites downstream of the discharge point, the individual numbers of Annelida were decreased and individual numbers of the insecta of arthropoda were increased. Also, species numbers and the diversity and dominance indexes were improved in the sites downstream of the discharge point. The functional feeding groups (FFGs) of collector-filterers were increased and the habitat orientation groups (HOGs) of sprawlers, burrowers, and clingers were especially increased at the sites with additional reclaimed wastewater effluent flow. Regardless of the effluent discharge, BMI, an indicator of ecological stream health using benthic macroinvertebrate species, did not show large gaps between the study points. Although the water quality of the sites downstream of the discharge point was much worse than those upstream, their ecosystem soundness was better than those of the upstream sites from an ecological perspective.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.36 no.1 s.102
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• pp.21-28
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• 2003

Community composition and functional feeding groups of aquatic insects according to stream order were investigated from the Gapyeong Creek, a typical mid-sized Korean stream in Gyeonggi -do, Korea, in April 2000. For field investigations, the main watercourse and three major tributaries of the stream that belong to stream order ll to Vll were divided into reaches (ca. $1{\sim}4$ km in distance). Aquatic insects were sampled from one or two sites each reach (total 30 sites) using a Surber sampler ($50{\times}50$cm, mesh 0.75 mm). As a result of the quantitative samplings(two Surber samplings at riffle and pool/run per site; total $2{\times}30$=60 Surber samplings) and additional qualitative samplings, a total of 164 species of aquatic insects in 103 genera, 54 families, and 8 orders were collected from the stream. Those aquatic insects were composed of Trichoptera (56spp.: 34.1%), Ephemeroptera (43 spp.: 26.2%), Diptera (25spp.: 15.2%), Plecoptera (23 spp.: 14.0%), Coleoptera (6 spp.: 3.7%), Odonata (6 spp.:3.7%), Hemiptera (3 spp.: 1.8%), and Megaloptera (2 spp.: 1.2%); EPT-group (122 spp.:74.4%) or EPT-group plus Diptera (147 spp.: 89.6%) occupied most of the aquatic insect community; relatively larger number of species occurred in the mid-stream reaches (order III-Vl). The quantitative samplings throughout the study sites yielded a total of 26,286 individuals of aquatic insects ($136{\sim}2522$ inds./0.5 $m^2$, mean 906.4inds./0.5 $m^2$) that belongs to Ephemeroptera (11,994 inds.: 45.6%), Diptera (8730 inds.:33.2%), Trichoptera (4123 inds.: 15.7%), Plecoptera (1213 inds.: 4.6%), Coleoptera (204 inds.: 0.8%), Odonata (13 inds.: 0.05%), Megaloptera (5 inds.: 0.02%), and Hemiptera (4inds.: inds.: 0.02%); average number of individuals of aquatic insects increased as the stream order increased: average numbers of individuals of Bllecoptera and Trichoptera decreased and increased, respectively, as the stream order increased. Tolerant species such as Chironomidae spp., Uracanthella rufa and Hydropsychidae spp. were particularly abundant in the down stream reaches (order Vll) . Species diversity indices (H`) and dominance indices (Dl) were relatively higher and lower, respectively, in the mid-stream reaches (order $IV{\sim}VI$). Shredders occupied the smallest partand collector-gatherers were most abundant among the functional feeding groups(FFGs); collector-filterers considerably increased in the down stream reaches (orders Vl and VII); scrappers were relatively evenly distributed throughout the stream reaches: predators were relatively more abundant in the uppermost stream reaches(order ll) . Overall, the characteristics of aquatic insect comminity and FFGs in the Gapyeong Creek are largely similar to those in the normal streams of temperate deciduous forest in the northern hemisphere that is explained by the river confineum concept.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.58-70
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• 2016

An investigation was carried out to study the diversity of aquatic insects, functional feeding groups (FFGs), habitat oriented groups (HOGs), and species-specific distribution in the Taean area in Korea from June to August, 2015. As a result, a total of 72 species belonging to 30 families and six orders were identified in all the investigated regions. Odonata (22 spp.: 30.56%) was the largest group in species richness followed by Coleoptera (21 spp.: 29.16%), Hemiptera (17 spp.: 23.61%) and Diptera (8 spp.: 11.11%) while for Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera, only two species (2.78%) were found. In addition, Plecoptera and Megaloptera inhabiting clean and flowing waters were not found. In the FFGs, predators (48 spp.: 66.67%) were relatively larger as represented by Odonata, Coleoptera, and Hemiptera, whereas shredders and scrapers were lower in proportion. The dominant groups of HOGs were swimmers (24 spp.: 33.33%), climbers (18 spp.: 25.0%), and sprawlers (12 spp.: 16.67%), which were characterized as aquatic insects community of island. Four species: Cybister lewisianus Sharp, Helophorus auriculatus Sharp, Agrypnia pagetana Curtis, Diplonychus esakii Miyamoto & Lee that are designated as Endangered, Near Threatened, and Vulnerable (Korean Red List) have been found to inhabitthe Taean area. Also, two species belonging to the exportable species group (Ceriagrion auranticum Fraser, Paracercion melanotum (Selys)) and one species belonging to the climate-sensitive biological indicator group (Ischnura elegans (Van der Linden)) were identified. In this study, four significant species including the Endangered are presented on the Korean distribution map based on the information in the national ecosystem survey accumulated for 7 years (2006-2012) by the Ministry of Environment.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.353-361
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• 2011

This study was conducted to examine the effects of sedimentation caused by highland agriculture on benthic macroinvertbrate assemblages in upper Song Stream from 2006 to 2009. The mean concentrations of water quality parameters (pH, DO, EC, TDS, TN, and TP) were gradually increasing toward downstream but ORP was decreased. Furthermore, biological habitats at lower reaches were more homogeneous and unstable due to sand deposition than those at upper sites. A total 106 species of benthic macroinvertbrates in 47 families, 11 orders, 6 classes, and 5 phyla were identified during whole field surveys. Song Stream showed great declines of overall biological attributes along its longitudinal gradients, particularly in taxa richness and abundance. Of all functional groups scrapers and clingers were most affected against the degradation of habitat quality, whereas collector-gatherers and burrowers showed the opposite case. It was found that such results had close correlations with water quality parameters and substrate composition which played an important role in structuring macroinvertebrate communities. In conclusion, this study represents that disturbance caused by highland agricultural activities had negative effects on benthic macroinvertebrate communities by leading to sand deposition at adjacent stream ecosystems.