• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.528-534
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• 2009

Styan's Grasshopper Warblers (Locustella pleskei) are vulnerable species distributed in East-Asia only. Its known breeding sites in Korea are remote islets including Hongdo Islet, Chilbal Islet, Mara Islet, and Chuja Islets, and, therefore, the breeding biology of this species is still poorly known. This study was conducted on Mara Islet (N $33^{\circ}$ 06', E $126^{\circ}$ 16') from May to September 2008 to investigate the breeding status and breeding site characteristics of the grasshopper warblers. A total of 11 breeding pairs and their nests were found on trees and shrubs at artificially planted forests and hedges of Pinus thunbergii. The grasshopper warblers preferentially utilized the shrub trees for nesting places, and major nesting trees were Camellia japonica, Pittosporum tobira and Pinus thunbergii as nesting trees. Average heights of nesting trees and nests were $2.77{\pm}1.10m$ and $1.75{\pm}0.56m$, respectively. The grasshopper warblers selected lower shrubs and trees for nesting than randomly selected ones around them, probably to avoid strong and prevailed winds in flat and un vegetated environments on Mara Islet. The shape of nests was a round bowl-type, and measurements of nests were $11.9{\pm}0.5cm$ in exterior nest diameter, $11.1{\pm}1.1cm$ in height of exterior nest, $5.8{\pm}0.4cm$ in interior nest depth, and 6.0cm in interior nest diameter. It incubated eggs until the early August on Mara islet, and incubation periods of Mara Islet was possibly later than that of other areas. Furthermore, the clutch size in the study area was three, and they laid smaller number of eggs than normal clutch size (4~5 eggs) reported in other areas. Although we could not observe any nest predator on this species in the study area, selective cutting and pruning of trees will diminish dense shrub layer of forests. Therefore, it may affect the breeding of this threatened species which prefers dense shrubs of artificially planted forest of Pinus thunbergii. This study suggests that detailed and consistent further research on breeding biology and habitats of the grasshopper warblers are needed to conserve and manage of Pinus thunbergii forests on Mara Islet as an important breeding site of Styan's Grasshopper Warblers.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.850-857
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• 2015

This study was aimed to identify the characteristics of nest and breeding site conditions of Chinese Egret (Egretta europhotes) that breed in the uninhabited islets of the western coast of South Korea. It is expected that the information collected through this study can contribute to providing basic information required when building and managing artificial nests in their natural breeding habitats. Chinese Egrets make their nests in the shrub layers of Long Leaf Elaeagnus (Elaeagnus macrophylla), Arrow Bamboo (Pseudosasa japonica), and Baby Brier (Rosa multiflora). A total of 50 breeding nests of Chinese Egret were investigated in June and July 2013, with area-wise distribution as follows: Seomando (11 nests), Hwangseodo (14 nests), Mokdo (10 nests), and Napdaekiseom (15 nests). Vegetation coverage (cover, %), height from the ground to the top (height, cm), thickness from top to bottom of the nest (thickness, cm), reuse period, major axis (cm), minor axis (cm), and depth (cm) of each nest were measured. According to the results of the study on the nest characteristics of 4 breeding groups, the nests in Hwangseodo had the highest coverage, the nests in Mokdo were built in the highest places, the nests in Napdaekiseom showed the longest reuse period, and the nests in Mokdo had the greatest depth. The differences in height and reuse period were significant between Mokdo and Napdaekiseom. Moreover, there were significant differences in reuse period and depth between Seomando and Hwangseodo. There were significant differences in cover, minor axis, and depth between breeding groups that built nests on Arrow Bamboo (Mokdo and Napdaekiseom) and Baby Brier (Seomando and Hwangseodo). Nest characteristics of Chinese Egret were generally similar, while some variables showed different values for different breeding groups.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.181-192
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• 1993

The spawning and growth of eightspine stickleback,Pungitius sinensis kaiborae (Tanaka, 19151, were investigated in the Chavang Stream from March 1990 to february 1991 as a part of study on its life history. Nest building, spavming and parental behaviors were similar to those known on the sticklebacks of Europe, North America and Japan. Bht f sinensis kaibarae in the Chayang Stream, peculiarly, showed only superficial gluing behavior in nest building phase and made two nurseries iust behind the nest in Parental Phase. The individuals with fully mature eggs were found from late February to late June. The fecundity of an adult female was about 21 to 110 (mean 47.07) eggs and the diameter of kllv matured ovarian eggs ranged 1.3 to 1.5 mm. The smallest female with fully mature eggs was 25.8 mm in body length and had 21 eggs. The relationship between the number of mature eggs in ovary and body length was No. of eggs = 2.857BL -55.134 (r = 0.890). The number of deposited eggs in a nest was 27 to 637 and thew were composed of several clusters of various developmental stages. The distribution pattern of gonadsomatic index (GSl) against the body length shown that in females 1+ year-old fishes mainly participate in spawning but in males 11 and 2+ year-old fishes equally participate. From the fluctuat지n pattern of GSI and the number of mature eggs in ovary, it was assumed that the spawning season was from February to June and the peak of spawning was early March to late April. The newly hatched vouns was found at late April and their body length was about 10 mm. The vouns (O+) grew rapidly until late August. Then their srowth was slowed down and finallY ceased in midautumn. The young reached about 35 mm BL in their first year of life. The halting of growth was lasted to next Sune when the spawning season would be nearly closed. They (1+) began to grow asain from late june, grew rapidly until tate september and reached about 415 mm BL. Then there was no more grouvth until to die as 2+ yearold fish. Therefore it was assumed that the life span of P. sinensis kaibarae in the Chavang Stream would be about ko years. The relationship between the body length and the body weight was logBW = 2.9541ogBL -4.802 (r = 0.998).

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.3 s.91
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• pp.282-294
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• 2000

The reproductive ecology and the early life history of Macropodus chinensis were investigated in aquarium. Mature male made the bubble nest and spawned with wrapping the female and reverse posture. The parental male protected the offspring until the larvae depart the bubble nest. Egg productivity and egg hatching rate were the highest at water temperature in $28^{\circ}C$ and $26^{\circ}C$ respectivity than any other artificial temperature. The eggs were buoyant, globular and 0.95${\sim}$1.05 mm in diameter. Cleavage was progressed at intervals of 15 minutes. Eggs hatched in 42${\sim}$44hours after fertilization and the newly hatched larvae were 3.0${\sim}$3.2 mm in total length. The lawae were 4.5${\sim}$5.4 mm in 4${\sim}$5 days after hatching and fed on the food with dispersion from the nest. In 40${\sim}$45 days after hatching, all fin rays completely developed, and juveniles reached 18.2${\sim}$23.5 mm in total length. In 90${\sim}$110 days after hatching, body from of young fishes were similar to adult with 37.4${\sim}$48.2 mm and represented secondary sexual characters longer than 45.0 mm in total length, and about 120 days, fishes began spawning(water temperature for ontogenesis: $26.0{\pm} 1^{\circ}C$).

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.545-550
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• 2006

Ten supernormal clutches of little terns Sterna albifrons and seven clutches having mixed eggs by little terns and kentish plovers Charadrius alexandrinus were recorded during the breeding seasons of 2003$\sim$2005 at Ganwol lake, Hongsung-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. The frequency of egg retrieval by Little Terns was higher after the second egg laying regardless of the clutch size and incubation stage. The frequency of egg retrieval was high at all incubation stage. When experimental eggs were placed within 15 cm from the nests, the percentage of egg retrieval was highest (almost 100%). However the percentage dropped rapidly over 35$\sim$55 cm range and finally to zero at 60 cm distance. Little terns retrieved all kinds of eggs set near their nests regardless of its kind or size. This study suggests that egg retrieval by little terns may be a source of the nest with supernormal and mixed egg clutch observed in this species.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Entomolohy Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.92-92
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Environment and Ecology Conference
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• autumn
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• pp.107-109
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• 2004

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 2003.08a
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• pp.132.1-132
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• 2003

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.70-70
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• 2003

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.537-540
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• 2015

Social parasitism is occasionally found in some Polistes and Vespa species, such as Vespa dybowskii. We report a discovey of interspecific facultative social parasitism by Polistes sp. (possibly P. mandarinus) on Polistes djakonovi Kostylev in two rural areas of South Korea. P. djakonovi is very similar to Polistes sp. in its body color patterns except that the mark on the clypeus is different. In nest 1 (65 cells), we found 5 females of P. djakonovi and 4 females of Polistes sp. on 30 July 2014, whereas nest 2 (102 cells) contained 12 females and 16 males of P. djakonovi, and 3 females of Polistes sp. on 28 August 2013. Although we found the two nests in July and August, P. djakonovi seems to have been exploited by Polistes sp. at the end of the preemergence period (early to mid-June). The two nests found in this study had mainly white cocoon caps of P. djakonovi with several yellow ones of Polistes sp. In most cases of social parasitism, intruders have a larger size of the body or some body parts than the host in order to usurp the host; in contrast, this study showed that the hosts had lager bodies than the intruders.