During a recent study to understand an interaction of Collembola community and their environmental factors, two species in the genus Folsomia, F. quadrioculata Tullberg 1871 and F. octoculata Handschin 1925, were found in the forest of South Korea. From 2013 to 2015, these two species were sampled from six mountains and F. quadrioculata or F. octoculata was the dominant species in 5 sampling sites among 6 sampling sites. F. quadriocualta and F. octoculata were found in litter of deciduous and pine forest, respectively. Therefore, the major tree species seems to be one of the important factors determining their habitat. F. quadiroculata is newly recorded from the Korean Peninsula and F. octoculata is redescribed based on new materials from South Korea.
The objectives of this study were to analyze the influence of chemical water quality on fish guilds, pollution tolerance and the multi-metric ecological health, based on the Fish Assessment Index (FAI) in the main stream of Mangyeong River between 2009−2016. The quality of water with specific conductivity, TP, and NH4-N got worse dramatically in the down region. During the study, a total of 50 species were collected and the most dominant species was Zacco platypus. Also known as tolerant species, accounted 22.9% of the total abundances, thus indicating a trophic degradation. The downstream region (S5) had the highest number of fish external abnormalities, indicating a degradation of ecological health, based on the fish assemblages. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that relative abundance of tolerant fish species and omnivore fish species had a significant positive correlation (r>0.30, p<0.05) with values of BOD, conductivity and NH4-N. Whereas, the relative abundance of the sensitive species and insectivore species had a significant negative relations (r<−0.30, p<0.001) with the parameters. The mean obtained from the multi-metric fish model, based on the FAI of all sites was 47 (n=40). This indicated a “fair condition” in the ecological health, and the downstream regions (S3−S5) were judged as “bad condition”, indicating an influence of the chemical degradation on the ecological health.
To investigate the characteristics of seasonal environment and phytoplankton community structure in the coastal area of Dokdo, a survey of Dokdo around waters was conducted during the four seasons. Phytoplankton of 4 phylum 72 species in four seasons were collected in Dokdo around water. The seasonal mean abundance of phytoplankton were 3.32×104 cells L-1 in winter, 1.04×104 cells L-1 in spring, 0.28×104 cells L-1 in summer, and 4.86×104 cells L-1 in autumn in Dokdo around water. During winter, the diatoms Chaetoceros spp. had dominated. During spring, when the nutrients in the euphotic layer were depleted, the nano-flagellates and Cryptomonas appeared at surface layer. In summer, the abundance of phytoplankton was relatively low, which lead to occurrence of diatoms such as genus of Chaetoceros, Rhizosolenia, and Skeletonema. In autumn, Pseudo-nitzschia spp. was the most dominant species and tropical species such as Amphisolenia sp. and Ornithocercus magnificus were observed, implying that they may have introduced within warm water current such as Kurosiwo Current. Therefore, although natural phytoplankton communities in the vicinity water of Dokdo are mainly influenced by Tsushima Warm Current branched Kurosiwo Current, their population dynamics was affected on the spatio-temporal change of physicochemical factors by short-term wind events, namely “island effect”. Long-term survey research is needed to facilitate food-web response in marine ecosystem associated with phytoplankton biomass and physicochemical factors including the warm water current in oligotrophic offshore water of Dokdo, which may have significant role for sustainable use of Dokdo.
The toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum isolated from the southern coast of Korea was described under light and scanning electron microscopy, and its large subunit (LSU) rDNA was sequenced. In addition, the effects of temperature and salinity on its growth were investigated. The cells of G. catenatum, as viewed under the electronic microscope, were green-brown color, 38.1-77.4 μm in length and 26.1-40.8 μm in width. The epicone was conical, while the hypocone was trapezoidal. The nucleus was located at the central part of the cell. The apical groove was horseshoe-shaped and small pores were irregularly distributed on the cell surface. Molecular phylogeny based on LSU rDNA gene sequences showed that the Korean G. catenatum and previously reported species formed a monophyletic clade within Gymnodinium sensu stricto clade. The maximum growth rate of 0.37 day-1, was obtained at 25°C and 35 psu, and the maximum cell density of 1,073 cells mL-1, was observed at 20°C and 25 psu. However, G. catenatum did not grow at temperature <15°C and <30°C. These results suggest that environmental conditions of summer and autumn in the southern coast of Korea may be favorable for the growth of G. catenatum.
This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of pH on the mineral nutrient uptake and growth of the four Chinese chives species. The Chinese chives species used in the experiment were the cultivated species grown in the farm (cultivated Allium tuberosum) and three wild species of wild Allium tuberosum, A. thunbergii and A. senescens. The pH levels of soil medium were set to be 4.5, 6.5, and 7.5. Fresh weight (FW) of cultivated A. tuberosum was highest at all pH levels. The increase of soil pH increased the FW of the wild A. tuberosum and A. thunbergii, but no difference was noted for the A. tuberosum and A. senescens. Plant height was higher in the order of wild A. tuberosum, A. thunbergii, and cultivated A. tuberosum and A. thunbergii. Notably plant height of the wild A. tuberosum increased significantly by the pH increase. The Zn content of the wild A. tuberosum was shown to be significantly higher than that of the other species and increased with the increase of soil pH. This indicates that there is a close relationship between the plant height and Zn content in Chinese chives plant. Principal component analysis for characterizing closely related A. species using the factors of plant growth and amounts of nutrients uptake showed that the cultivated A. and wild A. tuberosum were in the 4th quadrant of the graph which are classified as the same species, while A. senescens and thunbergii was in 1st and 3rd quadrant indicating different species, respectively.
This study analyzed the water quality characteristics and developed empirical models prior to and after the construction of Baekje Weir, in the Geum River watershed between 2004-2017. The comparative evaluation of the surface water chemistry before and after the four major river projects on the weirs indicated that total phosphorus (TP), based on annual data, rapidly decrease after the construction of the weir while the total nitrogen (TN) decreased. Conversely, chlorophyll-a (CHL) concentration, which is a good indicator of primary productivity, increased after the construction of the weir together with an increase in specific conductivity. Simply put, the construction of the weir led to the decrease in concentrations of N and P due to the increased water residence time (WRT), whereas the CHL : TP ratio greatly increased in magnitude. The regression analysis of the empirical model indicated that CHL had no significant relation (r=0.068, p=0.6102, n=58) with TP before the weir construction, but had a relation with TP after the weir construction (r=0.286, p<0.05, n=56). Therefore, such conditions resulted in an increase in primary productivity on a given unit of phosphorus, resulting in frequent algal blooms. In contrast, seasonal suspended solids (SS) and TP increased during the monsoon period, compared to the pre-monsoon, thereby showing positive correlations (r>0.40, p<0.01, n=163) with precipitation. If the government consistently discharges water from the weir, the phosphorus concentration will be increased due to its reversion to a lotic waterbody from a lentic waterbody hereby reducing algal blooms in the future.
The objective of this study was to verify the stability of nutrient composition by using herbal medicine by-products as an alternative food source and to examine the growth effect on Protaeria brevitarsis seulensis larvae. As a result of comparing the nutritional components of food source, crude protein, crude fat, and crude ash content, except crude fiber content, was high in both non-fermented and fermented medicinal herbal by-products. Especially, crude protein content was highest. Cadmium, lead, mercury, and other heavy metals were not detected and thus stability as alternative food was confirmed. The growth comparison based on the feeding sources showed no significant difference between the fermented oak sawdust fed control group and the herbal medicine by-products fed laboratory group from week 1 to week 3. The weight of a 4 week larva was 0.137 g in the control group and 0.671 g in the laboratory group and so began to reveal differences at a significant level (p<0.05). As a result of comparing weights of Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae according to the level of herbal medicine by-product addition, HMB40 recorded the heaviest weight in week 7. Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant difference in each body weights of HMB40 and HMB80 at week 5 (p<0.05). These results indicate that if the shipping date of an edible insect is a third instar larva, it arrives at the time of shipment at week 5. Thus feeding HMB40 and HMB80 at the 5th week is the most effective.
An asteroid specimen that belongs to the genus Henricia was collected from the waters near Ongpo harbor, Jeju Island using fishing net on 24 January 2017. The specimen was identified as Henricia anomala Hayashi, 1973, which belongs to the family Echinasteridae and order Spinulosida. Henricia anomala was first described by Hayashi, 1973, who captured it from Sagami Bay at a depth of 110-116 m. This species can be distinguished from other Henricia species by short arms (R/r=4), abactinal spines lining the abactinal plates and bearing about two to five spinelets, closely meshed abactinal skeleton, composed of small rod-like and subtriangular plates, a narrow papular area containing one or two papulae, and adambulacral armature composed of five to seven bluntly pointed spinelets. This is the first report of Henricia anomala in Korea.
Bisphenol A (BPA), a representative endocrine disrupting chemicals, has adverse effects on growth, development and reproduction in aquatic organisms. The object of this study was to investigate the modulation of antioxidant enzyme - coding genes using quantitative real time RT - PCR (qRT - PCR), enzyme activity and total protein content, to understand oxidative stress responses after exposure to BPA for 48 h in brackish water flea Diaphanosoma celebensis. The BPA (3 mg L-1) significantly upregulated the expression of Cu / Zn - SOD, Mn-SOD, and catalase (CAT ) mRNA. Three GST isoforms (GST-kappa, GST-mu, and GST-theta) mRNA levels significantly increased at the rate of 0.12 mg L-1 of BPA. In particular, GST-mu showed the highest expression level, indicating its key role in antioxidant response to BPA. SOD activity was induced with a concentration - dependent manner, and total protein contents was reduced. These findings indicate that BPA can induce oxidative stress in this species, and these antioxidants may be involved in cellular protection against BPA exposure. This study will provide a better understanding of molecular mode of action of BPA toxicity in aquatic organisms.
Global warming has a significant impact on diverse ecosystems including agroecosystem through; changing of phenology, physiology and distribution. Monitoring of biological responses emanating from global warming is required to understand the challenges of biological diversity conservation posed by climate change. The Korean government selected four butterfly species as indicators of climate change in agroecosystem: Papilio xuthus, Pieris rapae, Colias erate, and Eurema mandarina. The aim of this study was to investigate the different monitoring methods of the butterflies in Korea and suggest a suitable monitoring method to track the population trends of butterflies in the agroecosystem. Butterfly monitoring was conducted in eight sites throughout Korea from April to October, 2018 using three survey methods: point census at rice paddy area, point census at the border between rice paddy and hill and line transect along the rice paddy and hill. Each method took approximately 30 min. to count the butterflies. A total of 4,691 butterflies and 92 species were counted: The most dominant species was Pieris rapae with a total count of 1,205 individuals followed by Polygonia c-aureum, Zizeeria maha, Colias erate, Cupido argiades and Papilio xuthus. Among the three census methods, the total number of species and individuals when using line transect method was statistically higher than in the other methods. However, the numbers of the four butterflies indicators showed no difference throughout three census methods. Based on the number of species and the total individuals butterflies in agroecosystem, we advocate for the application of line transect method as it can find more butterflies in agroecosystem. In addition, we advised for the implementation of education programs on the line transect method in butterfly identification to participants of the national monitoring program.
The objective of this study was to report the group mating of Asian Keelback snake, Hebius vibakari, in South Korea. On May 20, 2009, the group mating of H. vibakari was observed in the Maeng-gol do, Jindo-gun, Jeollanam-do, in the rocky area (107 m above sea level) on the ridge of the island. Six female and five male snakes made a form of mating behavior called “mating ball”. Two couples showed “tail-wrestling” which is the copulation behavior in snake species. During the mating, the temperature and humidity were 25.7°C and 59%, respectively. The result of this study was the first case report of the group mating in H. vibakari, a rare reptile.
To investigate the temporal-spatial distribution of picophytoplankton in relation to different water masses in the northern East China Sea (ECS), picophytoplankton abundance were investigated using flow cytometry with environmental factors in 2016–2017. The results from the analysis of flow cytometer data showed that Synechococcus appeared across all seasons, exhibiting its minimum abundance in winter and maximum abundance in summer. Furthermore, high abundance was detected in the surface mixed layer during spring and summer when vertical stratification occurs; in particular, Synechococcus exhibited maximum abundance in thermocline layer, indicating a close correlation to water temperature and thermocline formation. In addition, the abundance of Synechococcus indicated a decrease in the western seas in 2017 compared to 2016 under the strong influence of the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW). This was determined by the significant influence of the CDW on the abundance of Synechococcus during summer in the northern waters of the ECS. In contrast, Prochlorococcus did not appear during winter and spring, and its distribution was limited during summer and autumn in the eastern seas under the influence of the Kuroshio current. The largest range of Prochlorococcus distribution was confirmed during autumn without the influence of the CDW. Thus, the distribution pattern of each picophytoplankton genus was found to be changing in accordance to the extension and reduction of sea current in different seasons and periods of time. This is anticipated to be a useful biological marker in understanding the distribution of sea currents and their influence in the northern waters of the ECS.
This study was carried out to investigate the vegetation of wetland and terrestrial lands in Jangdo wetland conserved area in Korea and to analyze the characteristics of the vegetation changes in the recent years. From the plant community, there were evergreen broad-leaved forests of the Machilus thunbergii, Castanopsis cuspidata, and Machilus thunbergii-Castanopsis cuspidata communities. Moreover, there were deciduous broad-leaved forests of the Salix koreensis, Mallotus japonicus, Mallotus japonicus-Pueraria thunbergiana and Celtis sinensis communities. Additionally, there were shrub forests of the Rosa multiflora-Rubus hirsutus, grassland of Molinia japonica-Miscanthus sacchariflorus and Miscanthus sacchariflorus-Imperata cylindrica communities, and plantation forest of the Pseudosasa japonica community. The area of the wetland vegetation (15%) was much narrower than that of the terrestrial land vegetation (85%). Comparing these results with those of the past 10 years, the wetland plant communities decreased by one-third and the proportion of neutral or dry plant communities increased. In order to mitigate landization succession of the wetland and maintain native wetland vegetation in this area, the expansion of the Salix koreensis community must be controlled to a suitable scale. In addition, it is urgently required to remove the invasive non-wetland plants, such as Pseudosasa japonica and Pueraria thunbergiana.