• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.343-352
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• 2015

The landscape setting of a habitat strongly influences the distribution, abundance, and species composition of waterfowl. Thus, habitat assessment is very important to understand the habitat characteristics that sustain waterfowl assemblages. In this study, we hypothesized that the excessive use of artificial materials when new wetlands are constructed negatively influences wintering waterfowl. To test this hypothesis, we measured environmental factors, assessed habitat, and investigated waterfowl at 13 artificial wetlands in the Nakdong River Basin. There were greater numbers of waterfowl species and individuals in artificial wetlands with high habitat assessment scores. In contrast, environmental factors did not affect waterfowl distribution. In particular, features of natural habitats, such as macrophytes and sandbars, and the surrounding land-use patterns were important factors for sustaining waterfowl assemblages in each created wetland. Our results show that promoting naturalness in wetlands and surrounding areas would increase the species diversity and abundance of waterfowl. Further, complex habitats, such as wetlands and some terrestrial habitats, support both aquatic and terrestrial species because mixed habitats feature a larger array of food sources than more limited habitats do.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.311-316
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• 2010

We estimated the nitrogen and phosphorus loads of wintering waterfowl feces in Lake Paldang. The average number of individual birds that belonged to Anatidae species was 2,852.5 from 2005 to 2008 in Lake Paldang. The number of Anatidae reached 97.4% of the total number of individual birds. For evaluating the loading amounts of N and P by waterfowl to Lake Paldang, the feces dry weight (g/day) of each Anatidae species was estimated by multiplying the body weight of the each bird by 2.25% and assumed that N and P in feces contain 1.46% and 0.33%, respectively. We assigned probability 1/3 to the nutrient decomposition of the bird feces in water. The nitrogen loading by wintering waterfowl feces was 0.06 ton/year and the phosphorus loading was 0.001 ton/year. These amounts were 0.0002% of all N loadings and 0.0001% of all P loadings. Therefore the wintering waterfowl might have little impact on the water quality in terms of eutrophication in Lake Paldang.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.291-299
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• 2012

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of the addition of wintering waterfowl's feces prior to planting rice on nutrient dynamics, rice growth, and decomposition of rice straws in a controlled mesocosm. Waterfowl's feces and rice straws were placed on paddy soils in a mesocosm and the water level maintained at 5 cm. The amounts of supplied feces were 0 (control), 222, and 444 g/$m^2$. While the addition of feces showed no immediate effects, nutrients in the surface water increased in the month following treatment. Nutrients increased to a greater degree in the treatments with more feces added. Simultaneously, the decomposition of rice straws was promoted, indicating that more nutrients would be made available over time. The rice showed high productivity in the period during which nutrient level was increased, when rice needs more nutrients for the tillering stage. Therefore, the wintering waterfowl's feces could be associated with increased productivity during the growing season of rice through promoting nutrient supply and rapid decomposition of rice residue.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.365-372
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• 2018

The Wintering Waterbird Census of Korea was started in 1999 and monitors 200 major migratory sites in South Korea. Waterfowl counts have been undertaken for more than 20 years since; however, a limited number of studies have analyzed the temporal patterns of waterfowl population. In this study, we analyzed population size changes of wintering whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) at 112 monitoring sites from 2001 to 2018. The average number of whooper swans was $4,296{\pm}42.66$ and there was a trend for an increase in population size across the survey period. We found that the population in the Nakdong River Estuary, one of the major wintering sites over 18 years (26.22% of the national population), had rapidly decreased (-0.77% per year). Conversely, the whooper swan population in the Junam Reservoir and Sihwa Lake increased (+1.64%, +0.54% per year, respectively). Estuaries showed the highest dominance of whooper swans among the five different habitat types, accounting for 32.13% of the population. Reservoir/lakes had 30.60% of the total population and reclaimed lakes(18.24%), river (13.11%), and coast (5.93%) followed. The annual distribution of the whooper swan population in South Korea has been affected by various habitat conditions resulting from human activities and urbanization. To better understand the complex factors that can cause rapid changes in wintering waterfowl populations, it is necessary to integrate the data from the bird census program with environmental conditions to conduct in-depth pattern analyses over longer time periods.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.165-169
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• 2006

As a Biodiversity Management Plan in S. Korea, barley fields are being prepared for the wintering migratory birds. However, the effectiveness of barley fields as a feeding habitat has not been evaluated. In 2003/04 wintering period, we installed exclosures in the barley fields to evaluate the waterfowl grazing effectiveness. Approximately 8,000 waterfowls used the Dongup Reservoir System and utilized the barley fields during the daytime. The white-fronted goose Anser albifrons occupied more than 90% of the all barley-feeding waterfowls. Waterfowls significantly impacted to the shoot density and biomass of barley. In the closed plot, barley shoot density gradually increased to $267{\pm}27/m^2$ in January, 2004. Shoot density in open plots (site 1) declined sharply from.15 December ($189{\pm}18/m^2$) to 5 January 2004 ($25{\pm}11/m^2$). However, barley shoot density in open plots (site 2) was stable in January 2004 because of human disturbances. The changes in barley biomass and shoot density showed similar trend in both open and closed plot. From the exclosure experiment, it was clear that barley fields were important feeding habitat for wintering waterfowls in this area. Further, human disturbances such as noise from traffic and other human activities (farming and hiking) had significant impact on waterfowls' grazing activity. Collectively, winter barley fields were effective for waterfowl feeding, but the location of barley fields should be carefully selected for the maximum utilization of the barley feeding.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.571-576
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• 1997

The playas of the Southern High Plains (SHP) of Texas, USA are an important habitat for over one million wintering waterfowl. However, the recent trend toward the modification of playas for agricultural use is threatening winter habitat of waterfowl in this region. Diurnal activity budgets of wintering mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) were conducted from 1 October to 31 March, 1983-1984, and 1984-1985) at three habitat types; steep-sided pits, terraced pits, and open lakes. All seven activity patterns (feeding, locomotion, resting, comfort, courtship, alert, and agonistic) were different (P<0.05) among the three habitat types for wintering mallards on the SHP of Texas. Terraced pits supported more feeding activity (27.8%) (P<0.001) than steep-sided pits (11.2%) or open lakes (2.6%) due to their abundance of natural seeds and aquatic invertebrates. Hens (17.5%) fed more than drakes (11.7%) (P<0.05). Locomotion (32.2%) and alert (2.8%) behavior across the three habitat types showed the highest level during the early morning (6:00-9:00 AM). Paired mallards rested more (37.9%) than unpaired mallards (25.8%) (P<0.05). Agonistic activity was highest (2.4%) in terraced pits throughout the season.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.301-308
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• 2008

We conducted the survey about the avian fauna, population, community and correlation between avian population and densities of the fallen rice grain in Cheonsu reclaimed area(Ganwol and Bunam Lake and reclaimed land) from Oct. 2006 to Mar. 2007. Total surveyed species number was 142 species, sum of maximum count of each species was 362,797 individuals, sum of average count of each species was 84,818 individuals. Comparing with early and late wintering season, number of species was stable in each survey time, but total population was decreased as the season progressed. Dominant species were Bean Geese Anser fabalis, Baikal Teals Anas formosa, White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons, Mallards Anas platyrhynchos and Pintails Anas acuta. Population fluctuation of the Bean Geese Anser fabalis, Baikal Teals Anas formosa, Mallards Anas platyrhynchos, PintailsAnas acuta was decreasing, but population of the White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons was stable. Number of species, total population were not significantly different among Ganwol, Bunam and Cheonsu Bay. Survey period was significantly correlated with species diversity and population in each area, and most community indices of each area were shown significant correlation. The density of the fallen rice grain was significantly different between the harvested rice paddy by big harvesting machine and small harvesting machine. Density of the fallen rice grain in stubble collected area was significantly different with area of stubble not collected. Density of the fallen rice grain was drastically decreased in the middle of wintering season, but not significantly different between Dec. 2006 and Feb. 2007. Avian population was strongly correlated with number of fallen rice grain in the same period.