In ecosystems within limited resources, interspecific competition is inevitable, often leading to the competitive exclusion of inferior species. This study aims to provide foundational information for the conservation and restoration management of Microphysogobio rapidus by evaluating species’ ecological response to biological factors within its habitat. To understand this relationship, we collected food web organisms from site where M. rapidus coexist with Microphysogobio yaluensis, a specie ecologically similar to M. rapidus, and evaluated the trophic levels (TL), isotopic niche space (INS), and the overlap of INS among fishes within the habitat using stable isotope analysis. Our analysis revealed that the M. rapidus exhibited a higher TL than M. yaluensis, with TL of 2.6 and 2.4, respectively. M. yaluensis exhibited a broad INS, significantly influencing the feeding characteristics of most fish. Conversely, M. rapidus showed a narrow INS and asymmetric feeding relationships with other species, in habitats with high competition levels. This feeding characteristics of M. rapidus indicate that the increase in competitors sharing the similar resources lead to a decrease in available resources and, consequently, is expected to result in a decrease in their density.

To determine the cause of the population decline in Gobiobotia naktongensis, substrate preference and burying behaviour were investigated in this study. In general, the species was shown to prefer a substrate size of 1 mm or less, depending on the flow. In addition, the burying depth varied according to the size of the fish and increased with a decrease in water temperature. Our findings showed that the main cause of the population reduction was the physical changes in the substrate structure due to the dams or barrages construction. Notably, the accumulation of silt and mud in the substrate upon the formation of an upstream lentic water region for structural construction and bed armouring caused by scouring and reduced downstream inflow of fine sediment were deterministic in the fish habitat changes, causing problems in burying. As sand substrate structure is critical for the survival and inhabitation of psammophilous species, efficient strategies should be developed with proper habitat management to reduce the anthropogenic damage

Two tree frogs, Dryophytes suweonensis and Dryophytes japonicus, inhabiting Korea, are morphologically similar and share the same habitats. Therefore, they are identified mainly through their calls, especially for males. Dryophytes suweonensis is registered as an endangered (IUCN: EN grade) and protected species in South Korea. Thus, it is necessary to develop a method to rapidly identify and discriminate the two species and establish efficient protection and restoration plans. We identified significant genetic variation between them by sequencing a maternallyinherited mitochondrial 12S ribosomal DNA region. Based on the sequence data, we designed a pair of primers containing 7 bp differences for high resolution melting (HRM) analysis to rapidly and accurately characterize their genotypes. The HRM analysis using genomic DNA showed that the melting peak for D. suweonensis was 76.4±0.06°C, whereas that of D. japonicus was 75.0±0.05°C. The differential melt curve plot further showed a distinct difference between them. We also carried out a pilot test for the application of HRM analysis based on immersing D. suweonensis in distilled water for 30 min to generate artificial environmental DNA (eDNA). The results showed 1.10-1.31°C differences in the melting peaks between the two tree frog samples. Therefore, this HRM analysis is rapid and accurate in identifying two tree frogs not only using their genomic DNA but also using highly non-invasive eDNA.

Pacific herring, Clupea pallasii, a keystone species with significant ecological and commercial importance, is declining globally throughout much of its range. While traditional fishing equipment methods remain limited, new sensitive and rapid detection methods should be developed to monitor fisheries resources. To monitor the presence and quantity of C. pallasii from environmental DNA (eDNA) extracted from seawater samples, a pair of primers and a TaqMan® probe specific to this fish based on mitochondrial cytochrome b (COB) sequences were designed for the real-time PCR (qPCR) assay. The combination of our molecular markers showed high specificity in the qPCR assay, which affirmed the success of presenting a positive signal only in the C. pallasii specimens. The markers also showed a high sensitivity for detecting C. pallasii genomic DNA in the range of 1 pg~100 ng rxn-1 and its DNA plasmid containing COB amplicon in the range of 1~100,000 copies rxn-1, which produced linear standard calibration curves (r2=0.99). We performed a qPCR assay for environmental water samples obtained from 29 sampling stations in the southeastern coastal regions of South Korea using molecular markers. The assay successfully detected the C. pallasii eDNA from 14 stations (48.2%), with the highest mean concentration in Jinhae Bay with a value of 76.09±18.39 pg L-1 (246.20±58.58 copies L-1). Our preliminary application of molecular monitoring of C. pallasii will provide essential information for efficient ecological control and management of this valuable fisheries resource.

메타바코딩을 이용한 환경 DNA 분석은 검출 감도가 높아 어류의 생물다양성 평가 및 멸종위기종의 검출에 유용 한 기술이다. 이번 연구는 메타바코딩을 이용해 우리나라 담수어류를 대상으로 높은 검출 효율을 보일 수 있는 적합 한 분석방법을 확인하기 위해 4가지 분석조건별, 즉 필터 (cellulose nitrate filter, glass fiber filter), 추출 키트 (DNeasy® Blood & Tissue Kit, DNeasy® PowerWater Kit), 프라이머 조합 (12S rDNA, 16S rDNA) 그리고 PCR 방법 (conventional PCR, touchdown PCR)로 나타나는 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) 수와 종 조성을 비교하였다. Glass fiber filter와 DNeasy® Tissue & Blood Kit를 이용해 추출한 시료는 12S rDNA와 16S rDNA 프라이머 조합에서 담수어류 OTUs가 가장 많이 검출되었다. 모든 분석조건 중 프라이머 조합에서만 조기어강 (Class Actinopterygii) 평균 OTUs 수에서 통계적으로 유의한 차이를 보였고 (Non-parametric Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, p=0.005), 담수어류 평균 OTUs 수는 유의하지 않았다. 종 조성 비교 결과 역시 프라이머 조합에서 유의한 차이를 보였고 (PERMANOVA, Pseudo-F=6.9489, p=0.006), 나머지 분석조건에서는 유의한 차이를 보이지 않았다. NMDS 분석 결과 종 조성은 유사도 65% 기준에서 프라이머 조합에 따라 묶였고, 16S rDNA 프라이머 세트는 주로 멸종위기종인 모래주사 (Microphysogobio koreensis), 꼬치동자개 (Pseudogobio brevicorpus)가 기여하였고, 12S rDNA 프라이머 세트는 주로 일반종인 피라미 (Zacco platypus), 꺽지 (Coreoperca herzi) 등이 기여한 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구는 국내 하천에서 채취한 시료에 대한 메타바코딩을 이용한 종 다양성 분석의 기초정보를 제공한다.