To identify the key effects of human disturbance on terrestrial ecosystems is a major issue in the contemporary conservation. We compared the community structure of ground beetles among different forest patch sizes according to the different forest types. In addition, we examined how different functional groups and species responded to patch size, and habitat and geographical variables. We sampled ground beetles in 9 continuous forests and 18 patches including 6 deciduous, 6 Korean pine, and 6 Japanese red pine. Ground beetles were collected using 5 pitfall traps in each site, and replaced every month during May to October in 2013. Individual-based rarefaction curves indicated that higher species richness was found in continuous forests than forest patches irrespective of the forest types. Positive relationships were found between forest patch size and species richness of each functional group associated with forest habitat. When all patch size, geographical, and habitat variables were considered simultaneously for multiple regressions, patch size, longitude, latitude, elevation, organic matter, and litter depth were generally selected as significant predictor variables of the abundance and species richness of forest specialists, brachypterous, dimorphic, and large-bodied species, although longitude was only selected as a best predictor for 27 study sites in MRT. In conclusion, decreasing patch size is a major factor to the loss of biodiversity for ground beetles. To reduce biodiversity loss caused by habitat fragmentation, therefore, protecting as large as old-growth forests and improving habitat quality are critical for the biodiversity conservation and enhancement.

애멸구(Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén))는 벼줄무늬잎마름병을 매개하여 심각한 피해를 야기하는 벼 해충으로 국내에서 월동하는 토착종 이며 중국에서 국내 서해안지역으로 비래하기도 한다. 본 연구는 애멸구의 분산과 개체군 동태의 기초자료로 활용하기 위해 국내 16지역에서 2014년 4월과 7월에 애멸구를 채집하여 발생시기에 따른 날개형태의 비율과 홍집게벌 기생율 현황을 파악하였다. 수컷은 4월보다 7월에 단시형 의 비율이 유의미하게 낮았고, 암컷 단시형 비율은 차이가 없었다. 회귀분석 결과 4월의 단시형 비율이 위도가 증가함에 따라 증가하는 경향을 보 였다. 약충 및 성충의 기생율은 7월보다 4월에 높았다. 또한 서해안지역의 약충 기생율이 대체적으로 높은 경향을 보였다.

This study was conducted to investigate the community structure and species distribution of ground beetle assemblages in western part of Yeongwol-gun, Korea. Ground beetles were collected by pitfall traps from 9 study sites during July to October in 2013. A total of 30 species were identified from 4,439 collected ground beetles. Two dominant species, Synuchus nitidus (1,916 individuals) and Synuchus cycloderus (1,900 individuals) were occupied 85.8% of total. Interestingly, Pterostichus orientalis orientalis and Synuchus melantho were only collected in relative high altitude above 350 m, such as Beopheung-ri, Unhak-ri, and Yongseok-ri. Large-sized beetles, such as Damaster, Leptocarabus, and Carabus species, were generally more collected from Suju-myeon (Beopheung-ri and Unhak-ri) and Jucheon-myeon (Docheon-ri and Yongseok-ri) as well-conserved area, but not occurred in Yeongwol-eup and Hanbando-myeon, which forests may have lower habitat quality for these species. These differences also lead to increasing of dissimilarity among study sites, which were diverged into 3 groups at 53.0% of similarity. In particular, species composition of Samok-ri was significantly different at 8.2% of similarity because of difference in habitat characteristics as river side. This study has an important value to provide the fundamental information of inventory and monitoring in Yeongwol-gun. For detail mapping of species distribution in Yeongwol-gun, however, further studies are necessary, especially eastern parts of Yeongwol-gun.

Rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis Walker is a significant rice insect pest. A newly hatched larva bores a hole into the rice stem and feeding inside. The damage results in drying and white heads of rice. Climate change will affect pest and its host population dynamics variously. In this study, the degree of asynchrony between emergence of rice stem borer and rice transplanting was examined by their phenology models. Also, correlation was examined between winter mortalities of the rice stem borer and relative humidity categorized by daily minimum temperature in 12 sites throughout the country from 1992 to 2013. The degree of asynchrony appears to be increased in future climate condition. And we found a negative correlation between winter mortality and the relative humidity. Winter mortality will be decreased in the future because of increasing winter minimum temperature and snowfall. We hypothesize that the stem borer may increasingly harbor in alternative hosts such as reed in its first generation and move to rice in the second generation. Currently the simulation study is being conducted to verify this hypothesis.

In recent, habitat fragmentation is one of the major factors to threat to biodiversity loss, because habitat fragmentation caused by urbanization and land-use change affect reducing of habitat amount and changing of environmental condition. In particular, increasing of forest edges by habitat fragmentation cause changing of microclimate and distribution of organisms in forest. This study was conducted to examine the distributional patterns of ground beetle assemblages along forestedge- crop gradients in Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do. We selected 8 study sites as line gradients from forest interior to crop (+80m, +40m, +20m, 0m, -20m, -40m, -80m). Ground beetles were collected by pitfall traps from May to October in 2012. A total of 61 species were identified from 3,739 collected beetles. Species richness was the highest at forest edge (GLM with Tukey’s test, F6, 49=2.56, P=0.031). Although abundance was higher at both forest interior and edge, but not showed statistical significance (F6, 49=2.06, P=0.076). Species composition of forest interiors were significantly different from forest exteriors (crops) by non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and cluster analysis with similarity profile test (SIMPROF), while forest edges showed intermediate characteristics. Although our study sites may not represent the overall Korean forest, we confirmed that forest edges are important habitats for generalists and open-habitat species as well as forest specialists. In conclusion, management of both forest edge and its surroundings are needed to conserve biodiversity in forest,

Environmental changes such as land-use change including reclamation cause effects on the ecosystem seriously. Present study investigated community structure of hemipterans in several reclaimed lands from western coast of South Korea in 2010, because among arthropods, hemipterans are more influenced by land-use change which caused the change of dominant plants. Six reclaimed lands were selected for our study based on the ages of reclaimed land (0, 5, 12, 16, 20, and 31 years). Dominant plant species of reclaimed lands were belonging to Poaceae, Phragmites communis and Oryza sativa in Yeongsangan II, Sabkyocheon, Geumgan I and Gyehwado, Secale cereale in Seokmun, and Imperata cylindrica and Calamagrostis epigeios in Sihwa. A total of 31 species in 10 families were identified from 4475 collected hemipterans. In Sihwa, Shannon’s diversity was very low compared to other 5 reclaimed lands due to dominance of Paromius exiguus. Because I. cylindrica and C. epigeios were 1st and 2nd host plants of P. exiguus (2824 individuals only collected from Sihwa). In multivariate analysis, 6 reclaimed lands grouped into 2 major groups showing 49.8% in Bray-Curtis similarity between 2 groups. From these results, land-use change such as reclamation project may cause the outbreak of insect pests by destruction of ecosystem functions and simplification of plant community, although community structure of hemipterans may be stable over age of land reclamation.

The developmental time of immature stages of Paromius exiguus (Distant) was studied at eight different constant temperatures (17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5 and 35°C) with a photoperiod of 14:10 (L:D) h on two host plants, Imperata cylinderica and Calamagrostis epigeios. On both host plants, the developmental time decreased with increasing temperatures. A significant difference in the developmental times was observed between two host plants for each nymphal stage and for the total nymphal stage as well. For completion of the total nymphal stage, the development time at 17.5 and 35°C were 69.6 and 16.6 days on I. cylinderica and 38.6 and 13.8 days on C. epigeios, respectively. The relationship between developmental rate and temperature was fitted to a linear regression model and the six nonlinear models (Lactin 1, Lactin 2, Briere 1, Briere 2, Logan 6 and Taylor). Except for the Taylor model, all of the five nonlinear models fitted the data for the total nymphal stage of the current study well, according to the high r2 value, on both host plants. The distribution of completion of each development stage was well described by the two-parameter Weibull function.

Paromius exiguus (Distant, 1883) is a serious insect pest in rice field adjacent to reclaimed land. They suck young ear of rice causing empty head of grain or pecky rice grain. During 2010 to 2012, we conducted to investigate the host-plant change of P. exiguus in Siwha reclaimed land, Hwaseong-si. In 2012, we also studied dispersal ability of P. exiguus from reclaimed land to adjacent rice fields. In early May, the adults aggregated on the grain parts of cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica) (Poales: Poaceae) after overwintering, and laid their eggs and nymphs developed into adults on the same host plants from middle May to late June. Second generation was observed at wood small-reed (Calamagrostis epigeios) (Poales: Poaceae) from late June to late July. At shooting stage of rice, adults moved to adjacent rice fields and third generation might be started. Although dispersal ability of adult of P. exiguus penetrated about 10 km into inland areas of Hwaseong-si, number of individuals of P. exiguus population was significantly declined with increasing distance from reclaimed land (Pearson’s correlation coefficient, r=-0.7357, p<0.0001). Unfortunately, further studies on population dynamics of P. exiguus in rice fields could not investigated, because pesticides were widely sprayed by aerial application in 14 August, 2012. Nevertheless, this results will be a useful information for management and control of P. exiguus in rice fields adjacent to reclaimed land.

Food web of main arthorpods in 3 differently managed rice fields (low input, duck, apple snail farming) was investigated in Hongseong area, Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. Main arthropods were selected by their abundance during the rice growing season in 2010. Food web was analyzed with stable isotope, δ15N and δ13C according to rice growth satges (seedling, tillering, booting, blooming/heading, and ripening stage). Rates of δ15N and δ13C in soil (F=5.72; df=2, 6; P=0.0407, F=40.86; df=2, 6; P=0.0003, respectively) and δ13C in rice (F=6.46; df=2, 6; P=0.0319) were statistically different. Rate of δ13C in Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus (F=9.50; df=2, 6; P=0.0138), Pirata subpiraticus (F=11.00; df=2, 6; P=0.0098), and Pachygnatha clercki (F=6.33; df=2, 6; P=0.0333) were statistically different among farming methods. Stable isotope structures in food web were slightly different among 3 farming methods seasonally. Rates of δ15N and δ13C of rice pests such as Nephotettix cincticeps, Nilaparvata lugens, Laodelphax striatellus, and Sogatella furcifera were related to rice plant. Those of Tomoceridae sp. and Chironomidae sp., however, were not related to rice plant. Spiders as main natural enemy group were ranked on the top of food web and were thought to have life cycle based on the rice field from stable isotope structure.

We investigated the spatial distribution of ground beetle species from the edge of secondary forests in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do. Nine secondary forests were selected, and 81 pitfall traps for collecting ground beetles were placed along forest interior―forest edge―forest exterior gradients during 14 June to 9 November, 2011. A total of 32 species belonging to 13 genera of 8 subfamilies were identified from 3710 collected ground beetles. Ten dominant species were selected for analysis. Five species such as Chlaenius micans (ANOVA, with Tukey's test, F2, 78=3.11, P=0.0502), Chlaenius ocreatus (F2, 78=2.76, P=0.0692), Dolichus halensis halensis (F2, 78=9.80, P=0.0002), Harpalus eous (F2, 78=2.73, P=0.0712), and Harpalus tridens (F2, 78=6.74, P=0.0020) were abundant at forest exterior. Three species such as Synuchus cycloderus (F2, 78=7.91, P=0.0007), Synuchus nitidus (F2, 78=9.72, P=0.0002), and Synuchus sp.1 (F2, 78=4.50, P=0.0142) were abundant at forest edge and forest interior. Coptolabrus smaragdinus branickii (F2, 78=3.24, P=0.0444) was abundant at forest edge and exterior. Finally, Chlaenius naeviger (F2, 78=1.39, P=0.2542) showed a wide distribution in this study. This study showed a significant edge effect on dominant ground beetles. Many environmental variables and prey items may be important factors for the spatial pattern of ground beetles. Because forest edges are generally important for many predaceous arthropods including ground beetles, the conservation and management of forest edges are important for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem functions.

This study was conducted to examine the community structure of ground beetles between coniferous and deciduous forest in rural landscapes along latitudinal gradient, such as Miryang-si, Yeongdong-gun, Icheon-si, and Cheolwon-gun from April to October in 2009. A total of 19 species belonging to 15 genera of 9 subfamilies were identified from 6,253 collected ground beetles. Between forest stands, 14 species belonging to 10 genera of 7 subfamilies were identified from 2,874 ground beetles in coniferous forests and 14 species belonging to 11 genera of 7 subfamilies were identified from 3,379 ground beetles in deciduous forests. Dominant species from 4 regions were Synuchus nitidus (59.4% of total) and Synuchus cyloderus (28.5%) respectively. Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed no difference between forest stands, but it was significantly different among regions. Non-metric multidimensional scaling showed that 8 study sites were divergence to 2 major groups between Miryang-si and the others. Overall, community structure of ground beetles showed no difference between forest stands. In conclusion, rural forests is being discussed about important role in biodiversity conservation such as refuge from human activity, and thus, studies on the community structure of ground beetles in the rural forests will be important to manage the biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, because ground beetles are well known for general predator groups in the ecosystems.

Community structure of ground beetles in Seokmun- and Siwha-reclaimed lands was investigated with pitfall traps from 21 May to 1 November, 2010. Survey areas were divided by the status of reclamation, vegetation, and flooding frequency. Status of the Seokmun-reclaimed land in Chungcheongnam-do is the progress of conversion to rice paddy after completion, and then dominant plant is Secale cereals. For the Siwha reclaimed land in Gyeonggi-do, reclamation is ongoing, and thus Imperata cylindrica and Calamagrostis pigeios are dominant plants. Flooding was more frequent in Seokmun than in Siwha as 4 times and none, respectively. A total of 3,352 epigeic insects of 9 orders and 22,981 epigeic insects of 9 orders were collected from the Seokmun- and Siwha-reclaimed land, respectively. Collembola was the most abundant in each site. In ground beetle assemblage, 11 species belonging to 7 subfamilies Seokmun and 8 species belonging to 5 subfamilies in Siwha were identified from 183 and 101 collected ground beetles. Chlaenius pallipes (107 individuals, 58.5%) and Pheropsophus javanus (52 individuals, 28.4%) was dominant in Seokmun, while Harplus jureceki (37 individuals, 36.6%), Synuchus arcuaticollis (17 individuals, 16.8%), and Dolichus halensis halensis (17 individuals, 16.8%) was dominant in Siwha. The Shannon's index value was 1.147 and 1.671 in Seokmun and Siwha, respectively. Similarity by the Sørensen index between Seokmun and Siwha was 0.3158. In conclusion, community structure and seasonality of ground beetles were significantly different between two reclaimed lands, and this difference appears to be due to their different habitat conditions such as flooding frequency and progress of reclamation.

Field studies were conducted to assess potential effects of transgenic rice expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) CryIAc1 protein, which is highly effective the rice leafroller, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, on the rice insect community in 2007 and 2008. Insects were sampled in non-Bt and Bt rice plots with a sweep net and a suction devise. A total of 64,256 individuals in 45 families and 11 orders (30,860 individuals in 43 families and 11 orders in the Bt-rice plots, and 33,396 individuals in 40 families and 11 order in the non-Bt rice plots) were captured and grouped by ecological functional guilds. Species diversity and richness were not significantly different between Bt-rice and non-Bt rice plots. The seasonal pattern of the insect community and the seasonal population fluctuation of insects were very similar between two plots. Collectively, the rice insect community was not influenced by the Bt-rice in the present study.

Members of Sparassidae of Araneae are small to large sized (3-25mm) huntsman spiders (Jäger 1999). In Korea, there have been recorded 5 species, Heteropoda venatoria (Linnaeus, 1767), Micrommata virescens (Clerck, 1757), Sinopoda koreana (Paik, 1968), Sinopoda stellatops Jäger & Ono, 2002 and Thelcticopis severa (L.Koch, 1875), belonging to 3 genera (Paik, 1968, 1978, Namkung, 2002, 2003, You and Kim, 2002). In the course of survey for the spider fauna of Mt. Sobaek (1,439m elevation) located in Punggi-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do during 2007 to 2008, one of the 16 National Parks in Korea, 2 matured females of Sinopoda forcipata (Karsch,1881) which has been known to distribute in China and Japan were collected by pitfall traps. S.forcipata is a newly recorded species for the Korean spider fauna. Female of S.forcipata was described with some natural history including vertical distribution at mountain and seasonal fluctuation, and compared distribution and habitat of 3 Korean Sinopoda species referring former reports from Korea.