Environments inside and outside levees may exert different effects on the occurrence of mid-to large-sized mammals in riparian areas. To effectively conserve these species, it is important to understand how land cover across levees influences their presence. This study, conducted from March to June 2024 in Yeongyang, South Korea, monitored mammal occurrence using unmanned sensor cameras at 28 sites. Linear models were used to analyze mammal species diversity, non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) was applied to assess species-specific habitat associations at the community level, and occupancy models were used to evaluate influential factors for each species. Our results showed that mammal species diversity increased with a higher proportion of orchards inside levees, but decreased with greater proportions of orchards inside levees, and non-irrigated arable fields outside levees. For carnivores, land cover types in inside levees-including grasslands, barren areas, and water-provided important food resources and shelter. For omnivorous and herbivorous mammals, coniferous forests inside levees played a key role by offering abundant food and shelter, whereas highly disturbed land covers such as non-irrigated fields and orchards outside levees were less suitable as habitats. To enhance habitat conservation, management efforts inside levees should prioritize maintaining grasslands and coniferous forests. Outside levees, establishing undisturbed zones with barren areas and coniferous forests may help mitigate human disturbances. These findings provide essential baseline data for developing effective conservation strategies tailored to levee-associated riparian landscapes.

Ecological indicators are tools used to evaluate the state of specific environments by monitoring the ecological characteristics and changes of organisms, and they are widely utilized in environmental monitoring and management. Such indicators should be sensitive to environmental changes, maintain long-term stability, and be easy to investigate and analyze. This study aimed to evaluate whether the spraint density of the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) can monitor the state and changes in river ecosystems. Using spraint density data over nine years (2014~2024), we analyzed temporal and spatial changes in otter distribution. Generalized Additive Models were applied to assess annual variability, and spatial clustering and distribution changes were examined using Hotspot Analysis and Geo-SOM (Geo-Self-Organizing Map). The results indicated stable spraint density trends in most sub-watersheds, with higher variability in developed areas. This study highlights the potential of spraint density as a cost-effective and simple ecoological indicator for long-term river ecosystem monitoring.

Q fever is a highly infectious tick-borne zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii, a major pathogen that can cause reproductive disorders in ruminants such as cattle. Being one of the livestock infectious diseases with uncelar causative factors and transmission routes, there is a high possibility of transmission between wildlife, disease vectors, and livestock. Despite extensive research due to its high infectivity and significant economic losses, much of the focus has been on aspects such as pathogen detection, immunodiagnosis, and veterinary medicine. However, understanding the ecological interaction between the vector (ticks) and reservoir hosts (rodents) is crucial for elucidation the transmission dynamics to livestock. In this presentation, we aim to discuss genetic variation analysis approaches and ecological co-occcurrence analysis to understand the transmission pathways between rodents, ticks, and cow.

In order to identify key nations and bird species of conservation concern we described multinational collaborations as defined using network analysis linked by birds that are found in all nations in the network. We used network analysis to assess the patterns in bird occurrence for 10,422 bird inventories from 244 countries and territories. Nations that are important in multinational collaborations for bird conservation were assessed using the centrality measures, closeness and betweenness centrality. Countries important for the multinational collaboration of bird conservation were examined based on their centrality measures, which included closeness and betweenness centralities. Comparatively, the co-occurrence network was divided into four groups that reveal different biogeographical structures. A group with higher closeness centrality included countries in southern Africa and had the potential to affect species in many other countries. Birds in countries in Asia, Australia and the South Pacific that are important to the cohesiveness of the global network had a higher score of betweenness centrality. Countries that had higher numbers of bird species and more extensively distributed bird species had higher centrality scores; in these countries, birds may act as excellent indicators of trends in the co-occurrence bird network. For effective bird conservation in the world, much stronger coordination among countries is required. Bird co-occurrence patterns can provide a suitable and powerful framework for understanding the complexity of co-occurrence patterns and consequences for multinational collaborations on bird conservation.

Defects of zeolite membranes often lower their separation performance. Thus, the investigation of the defects is highly critical in achieving high separation performance. While general characterization methods (e.g. scanning electron microscopy; SEM) that examine the membrane surface cannot detect defects, the FCOM measurement is able to identify the defective structure inside the zeolite membrane using dye molecules of appropriate size [1]. In this work, various dyeing conditions (times and concentrations) were applied to a MFI zeolite membrane in an attempt to investigate the defective structure. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis is practiced to measure the defects in numerical form.

Defects of zeolite membranes often lower their separation performance. Thus, the investigation of the defects is highly critical in achieving high separation performance. While general characterization methods (e.g. scanning electron microscopy; SEM) that examine the membrane surface cannot detect defects, the FCOM measurement is able to identify the defective structure inside the zeolite membrane using dye molecules of appropriate size [1]. In this work, various dyeing conditions (times and concentrations) were applied to a MFI zeolite membrane in an attempt to investigate the defective structure. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis is practiced to measure the defects in numerical form.