• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.293-304
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• 2020

Background and objective: This study was carried out to assess the relationship between the internal and external environments and the ecological items in five sites with a high level of artificial use intensity prior to the establishment of Geumgang River riparian ecological belts. Methods: The sites were classified into forest type, cultivated land type and urbanized type in accordance with their respective locational types. Ecological items including plant ecology such as proportion, naturalization index and urbanization index of native species were analyzed and animal ecology such as the number of species and population of wild birds, amphibians and reptiles, mammals, and butterflies and dragonflies, which are indicator insects, were investigated. In addition, species diversity indices of wild birds, butterflies and dragonflies found in all the subject lands were computed. Results: Among the plant ecological items, the ratio of native species in the forest type was higher than 90%, which was a satisfactory level, while the naturalization and urbanization indices were less than 10%. The number of species in the animal ecological characteristics was reduced in the order of forest type, cultivated land type and urbanized type. As the results of correlation analysis, the internal area of the planted area showed a negative correlation with the total of individuals. The area of grasslands showed a positive correlation with the number of dragonfly species and the total number of individuals, thereby illustrating that wet grasslands have positive effects. The area of surrounding forests, as an external environment, had a negative correlation with the urbanization index (UI) but a positive correlation with the inhabitation of butterflies and the total number of species. Conclusion: The results confirmed the need for more diversified special compositions including planted land, grassland, wetland, bodies of water and waterways within the subject land in the wetland ecological belt along with the need for surrounding forest location and preservation from the perspective of purchase and restoration of land for enhancement of wider biodiversity in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.65-77
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• 2014

The ecosystem of Jaemin stream, flowing into the center of Gongju-si, had been damaged by low water quality and lack of water quantity of the steam. However, after applying the SSB (Sustainable Structured wetland Biotop) system to the flood plain and the upstream of Jaemin stream, the efficiency of ecological water purification and ecological restoration are as follows. Through the constant maintenance and monitoring from year 2009 to year 2013 after restorative design and construction the average influent concentration of BOD5 was 4.2 mg/L, and the average effluent concentration was 1.8 mg/L, reaching ecological water purification rate of 57%. As for the T-N, the average influent concentration was 9.983 mg/L, and the average effluent concentration was 6.303 mg/L, showing the rate of 37%. For the T-P, the average influent concentration was 0.198 mg/L, and the average effluent concentration was 0.098 mg/L, being the rate of 51%. The vegetation of Jaemin stream monitored for 2 years after the restoration was composed of 51 species in 28 families which show high ratio of planted native species. As for the animals in the site, 5 species in 3 families of reptiles and amphibians, 34 species of 23 families of birds, and 3 species in 2 families of mammals were monitored, indicating that the bio-diversity of the site has improved, as well.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.95-107
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• 2016

The gold-spotted pond frog(Pelophylax chosenicus) classified as an Anura in Amphibia is sharply decreasing due to various changes of habitats environment, and designated as IUCN Red List Threatened species(VU; Vulnerable) internationally and domestic endangered species Class-II; therefore, it's in urgent need of the research on habitats restoration of the gold-spotted pond frog in order to prevent its extinction. This study was carried out to verify the effect after restoration by introducing the inhabitation elements deducted by the literature research and a field survey on the habitats for the gold-spotted pond frog in danger of regional extinction in the urban area of Ansan city, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. Accordingly, the capacity for bio-species was increased by expanding the area of habitats into $11,845m^2$, and securing the place for hibernation and corridors and discharge within the habitats, etc. As a result of the monitoring the number of individuals increased by 9.5 times as the reproductive success rate of the gold-spotted pond frog got higher, and by virtue of improvement in the habitats, biodiversity increased to 183 species(4 species of amphibians and reptiles, 4 species of mammals, 17 species of birds, 53 species of insects(terrestrial/Benthic), 4 species of fish, and 102 species of plants). It might be possible to verify the restoration effect of the habitats through continuous monitoring, and suggest the restoration model on the habitats for continuously survivable the gold-spotted pond frog in the urban area by deducting the matters to be improved.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.15-26
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• 1998

In order to assess the present status of the fragmentation of ecosystem and the building of ecological corridor, 79 EISs(Environment Impact Statements) which were conducted in Kyunggido and Kangwondo have been reviewed using 36 analysing factor. The results obtained from this study were as follows: a. The most frequently appearing type of ecosystem fragmentation was 'mountain vs. mountain type in topography' and '2 vs. 2 grades in the degree of green naturality.' b. The most frequently listed fauna in EISs included squirrels and wild rabbits for mammals, grass snake and pit viper for reptiles, and tree frog and true tree frog for amphibians. c. Among the EISs for 50 projects, the construction of ecological corridor mentioned in only 4 projects and other structures such as drainage duct and closed conduit in 14 projects were suggested as ecological corridor. There were no corridors suggested in 32 projects. Thus, in case of using other structures for wildlife animals but ecological corridors, it should be accompanied by incidental facilities for including animal movement.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.136-141
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to compare the bird crossing of roads by type (Expressway 1, railroad-provincial road and Highway 4) and the crossing of roads according to the size of birds. The greatest number of avian species and individuals crossing road per 10 minutes were found on railroad-provincial road ($8.96{\pm}1.92$ and $29.33{\pm}11.94$, respectively), while the lowest number of avian species and individuals were found on Expressway 1 ($2.96{\pm}1.04$ and $6.13{\pm}2.89$, respectively), which has the widest width. In addition, the number of small-sized bird (<20 cm) crossing the Expressway 1, railroad-provincial road, and Highway 4 was lower than that of the medium-sized bird (${\geq}20cm$). Current wildlife crossing structures have been focused on mammals, amphibians and reptiles, but future structures should also consider birds.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.89-99
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• 2014

The cultivation of biomass crops is now global demand for decreasing emissions of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) from fossil fuel. Miscanthus species have been studied as a suitable crop for biomass production, due to its characteristics of fast growth and high biomass. In Korea, Miscanthus species have gained wide attention as an option for biomass production alternative to fossil fuels, recently. New strain of giant Miscanthus has been developed and two large trial sites for the giant Miscanthus production were built in the lower reaches of the Geum River. To evaluate the ecological influence of the giant Miscanthus as an bioenergy crop for the future, we investigated the impact of the construction of the giant Miscanthus production fields on the biota and also compared it with biota in paddy fields near the study sites. The biota including plants, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, avifauna, insects, and bugs was investigated. The plant diversity of the giant Miscanthus production fields was poorer than the paddy fields because the high height of the giant Miscanthus might hinder the growth of other plants. However, the giant Miscanthus production fields serves habitat to animals, leading to rich diversity of animals including avifauna, insects, and bugs. The rich diversity of the animals in the giant Miscanthus production fields coincides with the fact that the giant Miscanthus was grown without any pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer. This study showed that the giant Miscanthus can influence on biota and further long term study is needed to elucidate the interaction between the diversity of biota and the giant Miscanthus.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.389-394
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• 2013

Taxidermied specimen is the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals (all vertebrate species of animals including mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes) for display or for other sources of study. But, as these studies are weighted toward ecologic study, related studies on management and conservation environment are short. Also, the analysis of poisonous gas has not yet been studied. Therefore, this study will be suggested proper preservation methods through the analysis of deterioration on taxidermied specimen by poisonous gas. As a result, 4 types of major chemicals were detected in UV deterioration test, 7 types in RH and formaldehyde deterioration test. As a result of SPME, Naphthalene to be used as antiseptic were detected in all of the test conditions. Acetic acid that is VOCs were detected for factor. Moreover as the higher humidity it was, the concentration of chemicals were decreased.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.281-284
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• 2019

Efficient management of road-kill data is difficult at national scale when there are many organizations that are in charge of different road types. Here, we described the first case to integrate road-kill data through Korea Road-kill Observation System (KROS) by the Korean government. The system was launched in June 2018 to approximately 3,000 road menders. During 15 months, 5,812 road-kill observations were registered on KROS including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Of them, about 86 % was occupied by five species (Hydropotes inermis, Felis catus, Capreolus pygargus, Nyctereutes procyonoides, and Canis lupus familiaris) listed in number of occurrences. The observed road-kill frequency rapidly increased until April 2019 and peaked on May 2019. However, as the system is just starting, the results from KROS cannot be treated as the exact representation of road-kill trend in the country. Although the efficient method to manage national road-kill statistic is arranged, still there are some limitations to overcome to make the system stable.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.657-663
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• 2014

This study was conducted to investigate the difference in feeding habits of Red-Tongued Viper Snakes, according to available foods sources and areas. The effects of differences in food sources were found on Red-Tongued Viper Snake inhabited in the Jeju Island and its islet Gapado, from May 2006 to Nov. 2010. The food sources for the Red-Tongued viper snake population in the Jeju Island were found to be as follows: Chinese red-headed centipedes (Scolopendra subspinipes mutilans), Jeju Salamanders (Hynobius quelpaertensis), Japanese tree Frogs (Hyla japonica), Narrow-mouthed Toad (Kaloula borealis), Dybowski's Brown Frogs (Rana dybowskii), Black-spotted Pond Frogs (Rana nigromaculata), Smooth Skinks (Scincella vandenburghi), Asian Keelback Snakes (Amphiesma vibakari), Lesser White-toothed Shrews (Crosidura shantungensis), Hallasan Shrews (Sorex caecutiens hallamontanus), and Jeju Striped Field Mice (Apodemus chejuensis). This implies that Red-Tongued Viper Snakes mainly feed on amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals. Among these, amphibians occupied the highest portion at 55.2% followed by mammals at 20.7%, centipedes at 13.8%, and reptiles at 10.3%. On the contrary, Red-tongued viper snake population in Gapado only feed on Chinese red-headed centipedes and Smooth Skinks (S. vandenburghi). Since only a small amount of nutrient can be obtained from Chinese red-headed centipeds or Smooth Skinks, this feeding habit for Red-tongued viper snake would adversely effect on the growth or regeneration. The reason why Red-Tongued viper snake population in the Gapado mainly feed on Lizard and Centipedes in spite of relatively various available food sources, might be due to the low density of other food sources in the Gapado. Red-Tongued viper snake could be feeding on foods that are low in quality but are easily accessible, to minimize energy consumption on searching for other more nutritious foods. A snake tends to select the size of its food depending on the size of its own head. The positive correlation was found between the size of the heads of Red-Tongued viper snakes from the Jeju island and the diameter of their foods. The head size was larger in the males than females in viper snake population from the Jeju Island, which might effect on their selection of foods. However, no significant difference was found between the sizes of the head and the food in the Red-Tongued viper snake population from the Gapado. The findings of this study would provide meaningful data, which directly shows that even within the same viper species they choose different available food sources according to their inhabitance. This leads to their growth and adaptation to their environment which is beneficial for sustaining of its population.

• BMB Reports
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.773-782
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• 2007

Different isolates of the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produce multiple crystal (Cry) proteins toxic to a variety of insects, nematodes and protozoans. These insecticidal Cry toxins are known to be active against specific insect orders, being harmless to mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. Due to these characteristics, genes encoding several Cry toxins have been engineered in order to be expressed by a variety of crop plants to control insectpests. The cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis, and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, are the major economically devastating pests of cotton crop in Brazil, causing severe losses, mainly due to their endophytic habit, which results in damages to the cotton boll and floral bud structures. A cry1Ia-type gene, designated cry1Ia12, was isolated and cloned from the Bt S811 strain. Nucleotide sequencing of the cry1Ia12 gene revealed an open reading frame of 2160 bp, encoding a protein of 719 amino acid residues in length, with a predicted molecular mass of 81 kDa. The amino acid sequence of Cry1Ia12 is 99% identical to the known Cry1Ia proteins and differs from them only in one or two amino acid residues positioned along the three domains involved in the insecticidal activity of the toxin. The recombinant Cry1Ia12 protein, corresponding to the cry1Ia12 gene expressed in Escherichia coli cells, showed moderate toxicity towards first instar larvae of both cotton boll weevil and fall armyworm. The highest concentration of the recombinant Cry1Ia12 tested to achieve the maximum toxicities against cotton boll weevil larvae and fall armyworm larvae were 230 ${\mu}g/mL$ and 5 ${\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The herein demonstrated insecticidal activity of the recombinant Cry1Ia12 toxin against cotton boll weevil and fall armyworm larvae opens promising perspectives for the genetic engineering of cotton crop resistant to both these devastating pests in Brazil.