Food webs have received global attention as next-generation biomonitoring tools; however, it remains challenging because revealing trophic links between species is costly and laborious. Although a link-extrapolation method utilizing published trophic link data can address this difficulty, it has limitations when applied to construct food webs in domestic streams due to the lack of information on endemic species in global literature. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a link extrapolation-based food web model adapted to Korean stream ecosystems. We considered taxonomic similarity of predation and dominance of generalists in aquatic ecosystems, designing taxonomically higher-level matching methods: family matching for all fish (Family), endemic fish (Family-E), endemic fish playing the role of consumers (Family-EC), and resources (Family-ER). By adding the commonly used genus matching method (Genus) to these four matching methods, a total of five matching methods were used to construct 103 domestic food webs. Predictive power of both individual links and food web indices were evaluated by comparing constructed food webs with corresponding empirical food webs. Results showed that, in both evaluations, proposed methods tended to perform better than Genus in a data-poor environment. In particular, Family-E and Family-EC were the most effective matching methods. Our model addressed domestic data scarcity problems when using a link-extrapolation method. It offers opportunities to understand stream ecosystem food webs and may provide novel insights into biomonitoring.

River estuaries are dynamic and productive ecosystems with high regional biodiversity. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has become a useful approach to assessing biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems. This study was conducted to investigate fish community characteristics and species diversity in two river estuary ecosystems, the Taehwa River and Changwon Stream. We further compared conventional and eDNA metabarcoding analyses of the fish communities. The conventional survey was performed in May, July, and October 2022, while the eDNA analysis was conducted only in May. We observed various fish species with different life histories, including carp, goby, and marine fish. We also found that migratory fish, such as dace Tribolodon hakonensis, sweetfish Plecoglossus altivelis, and eel Auguilla japonica, occurred in the Taehwa River, suggesting high river connectivity. Marine fish species were predominant in the Changwon Stream, as this river is located close to the sea. The diversity indices showed that the Taehwa River generally had higher species richness, evenness, and diversity values than the Changwon Stream. A total of 9-19 species were detected in the conventional survey for the three sites, whereas 11-18 species were found from eDNA analysis. The findings indicate that the sensitivity of eDNA was similar to or higher than that of the conventional method. Our study findings suggest the efficiency and efficacy of eDNA-based fish community monitoring, although with some shortcomings in applying the genetic marker to Korean fish, including no clear-cut distinction for Korean endemic species and/or genetically closely related species groups.

The objectives of this study were twofold: to analyze seasonal variation in nutrients and sestonic chlorophyll (CHL-a) in Asian lotic ecosystems, which are influenced by seasonal monsoon rains, and to evaluate multi-trophic level ecological stream health (ESH) in relation to stream morphology, land-use patterns, and water chemistry. We conducted physical, chemical, and biological surveys at 72 national streams and rivers, and at 65 reference streams. Water chemistry data indicated that ambient nutrient (N, P) levels were closely associated with land-use patterns and stream elevation, and that these, in turn, influenced both community structures of fish and stream health in general. In the watershed, total phosphorus (TP) was a key determinant of sestonic CHL-a, and the mass ratio TN:TP was determined by phosphorus (R2 = 0.63, P < 0.01) rather than nitrogen (R2 = 0.01, P > 0.05). Proportions of tolerant and omnivorous fish increased with nutrient enrichment and organic matter pollution, while proportions of sensitive and insectivorous fish decreased. The neural network modeling of a self-organizing map (SOM) suggested that clustering of trained SOM units reflected stream morphology, land-use patterns, and water chemistry, which influenced community structures and tolerances of top trophic level fish species in the ecosystem. Lotic ecosystem health, based on a multi-metric approach (MF-IBI model), was clearly demonstrated by a multivariate analysis (PCA); important factors were watershed characteristics (land-use patterns), nutrient levels (N, P), organic matter (BOD, COD) regimes, and biological components (trophic and tolerance guilds).

본 연구에서는 2006~2007년 동안 도심하천인 미호천과 갑천의 이화학적 수질 및 서식지 특성을 분석하였고, 또한 어종 분포 및 길드분석을 통해 군집구조 및 생태건강도 특성을 비교 평가하였다. 전형적인 두 도심하천의 BOD, COD농도는 각각 평균 3.5 mg L-1, 5.7 mg L-1였고, 총질소(TN)및 총인(TP)의 농도는 각각 5.1 mg L-1, 274 μg L-1로서 이미 부영양 상태

본 논문에서는 하천생태계의 환경평가 기법과 생물다양성 관리시스템을 개발하여 한국의 하천에 적용한 사례를 소개하였다. 전국 하천에서 장기간 수집된 조사자료와 문헌자료 뿐만 아니라 북한강 수계의 일련의 하천들을 대상으로 종합적으로 실시한 야외조사를 바탕으로 하천생태계의 환경과 생물다양성에 대한 조사연구의 체계를 고찰하였고, 한국 하천의 주요 환경훼손 유형을 분류하였고, 하천자연도등급 간이평가표를 작성하여 제시하였으며, GIS를 적용한 하천생태계의 생물다양성

This study was focused on estimating instream flow, and its optimal alternative for securing the required total amount of instream flow was also researched in order to restore ecosystems and riverine aesthetics of the Mugeo Stream, the first tributary of the Taewha River flowing through the center of Ulsan. In this study the hydraulic and hydrologic conditions and water quality were investigated at specific channel reaches and representative stations of the Mugeo Stream to determine a proper estimate of instream flow. And riverine functions, such as the minimum flow, water quality conservation, fish habitat, and recreation, were considered to restore the environmental functions of the stream. As a result, the total amount of 11,500㎥/day was set as the target instream flow for the Mugeo Stream. It was chosen as the optimal alternative for securing the total external supply of 10,000㎥/day which have to be transfered from the riverbed flow diverted through the Taewha Main river at upstream of Samho bridge. The water quality throughout the Mugeo Stream channels will be improved considerably to 3-4 mg/l of BOD standard if the target instream flow is supplied and sewage is intercepted by the sanitary sewage system.