A model was developed to predict the effects of rising air temperature on net photosynthetic rateof Quercus mongolica stands at Mt. Paekcheok-san, Kangwon-do in South Korea. The PFD (Photon flux density) meteorological station and gas exchange or release responses of each tree component were measured. Using these data, we simulated the effects of increases in mean annual air temperatures above current conditions on annual CO2 budget of Q. mongolica stands. If mean annual air temperature is increased by 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 or 3.0℃, annual net photosynthetic rate will be increased by 8.8, 12.8, 14.5, 12.6, 9.2 and 1.0 ton CO2 ha-1 yr-1, respectively. Simulations indicate that changes in air temperature will have a major impact on gas exchange and release in Q. mongolica
Black-tailed gulls (Larus crassirostris) produce alarm calls apparently related to their anti-predatorbehaviors, but the hypothesis that the calls are actually used as functionally referential alarm signals has not yet been tested. In this study, we performed a series of experiments using visual (a stuffed goshawk: Accipiter gentilis) and acoustic (alarm calls and a control vocalization) stimuli at 15 sites in Sinjindo-ri and Dowhang-ri, Taean-gun, Chungnam province to examine anti-predator responses of the gulls to alarm calls in playback trials. We found that the gulls visual recognition of a perched hawk model in the absence of alarm vocalizations was weak or absent because the model was noticed in only two out of 16 trials. The gulls responses to playbacks of the alarm call only and the alarm call with a visual stimulus difered from responses to the control vocalization in latency to approach, time mobing, and the percentage of gulls responding, while the responses to alarm call only differed from alarm call with a visual stimulus in latency to first fly, latency to call, and time mobbing. The behaviors that are intensified when a predator is detected visually.
The organic carbon (OC) distribution of Pinus densiflora forest in Songgye valley at Mt. WorakNational Park were studied as a part of the National Long-Term Ecological Research in Korea. In order to investigate the OC distribution, OC in plant biomass, litterfall, litter layer on forest floor, and soil were estimated. The density of P. densiflora forest was 1,300 trees/ha, average DBH was 10.72.56 m. The shrub layer was dominated by shrubby Quercus variabilis, Fraxinus sieboldiana and Indigofera kirilowi with low frequency, and herb layer was dominated by Pteridium aquilinum and Miscanthus sinensis. Total amount of OC stored in this pine forest was 142.78 ton C/ha. Organic carbon stored in soil and plant biomass accounted for 59.2% and 37.8%, respectively. Amount of OC distributed in trees, shrubs, herbs and litter layer in this pine forest was 51.79, 2.03, 0.12 and 4.29 ton C/ha, respectively. Amount of OC returned to forest flor via litterfall was 1.50 ton C ha-1 yr-1Total amount of SOC within 50 cm soil depth was 84.55 ton C ha-1 50 cm-depth-1.
Based on a time series of ocean climate indices and catch records for seven pelagic fish speciesin the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) and Kuroshio-Oyashio Curent (KOC) regions from 1910 to 2004, we detected regional synchrony in the long-term fluctuations of the fish populations and identified alternation paterns of dominant species related to climate shifts. The annual catches of Pacific herring, Japanese sardines, Japanese anchovies, jack mackerel, chub mackerel, Pacific saury and comon squid in the TWC region fluctuated in phase with those in the KOC region, which suggests that they were controlled by the same basin-wide climate forcing. After the collapse of the (1930s), Pacific saury, jack mackerel, common squid and anchovies (1950s∼1960s), herring (late 1960s∼early 1970s), chub mackerel (1970s) and then sardines (1980s). As sardine biomass decreased in the late stages of the cool regime, catch of the other four species increased immediately during the warm period of the 1990s. Regional differences in the amplitude of long-term catch fluctuations for the seven pelagic fishes could be explained by regional differences in availability, fishing techniques and activity.
We placed and monitored 2,137 nest boxes to determine how the size of the entrance hole andthe box placement influenced nest box selection by secondary cavity-nesting birds and to derive recommen-dations for the use of nest boxes for management of cavity-nesting birds in forested environments. A total of 566 pairs of seven bird species used the nest boxes from 1997 to 2006, 562 of which were secondary cavity-nesters. Sympatric tits such as varied tits (Parus varius), great tits (P. major), and marsh tits (P. palustris) were common breeding birds in nest boxes, and showed clear preferences for 4.0 cm, 3.5 cm and 3.0 cm nest holes, respectively. Tree sparrows (Passer montanus Sitta europaea) preferred 4 cm and 3.5 cm holes, respectively. We did not detect selection for the directional orientation for the entrance hole, but the birds appeared to avoid nest boxes that faced steep or gentle upward slopes and those less than 1.8 m from the ground. These results are probably related to avoidance of disturbance and predation. We suggest that diverse species can be supported by the placement of nest boxes with entrance holes of various sizes and that specific species can be targeted by selecting the hole sizes prefered by those species. To attract secondary cavity-nesters, managers should avoid placing nest boxes close to the ground and facing hills. This study also boxes.
To obtain demographic information on threatened gold-spotted pond frog (Rana chosenica Okada,1931) populations, we determined the ages of 45 male and 13 female frogs (20 males and 9 females from Cheongwon and 25 males and 4 females from Tae-an) and compared the age structures and growth patterns of the two populations in 2006. The snout-vent length (SVL) and body weight of female frogs were greater than 3 to 6 years old. In both populations, 4 years old male frogs were the most abundant age-sex class. The age structures of the two populations were significantly different and the growth coefficients of male frogs from the Cheongwon population were greater than those from the Tae-an population. The mean age of males from the Tae-an population was higher than that from the Cheongwon population. However, the SVL and body weights of male frogs were not different between two populations and there was no difference between the two populations in the mean male SVL at any age. The results could increase our understanding of the life-history of this threatened frog and may be useful in conservation planning.
Litter production, nutrient contents of each component of litterfall and amount of nutrients returnedto forest floor via Quercus mongolica, Quercus variabilis and Pinus densiflora forests at Mt. Worak National Park. Total amount of litterfal during one year in Q. mongolica, Q. variabilis and P. densiflora forests was 542.7, 459.2 and 306.9 g m-2 yr-1, respectively. Of the total litterfall, leaf litter, branch and bark, reproductive organ and the others occupied 50.3%, 22.7%, 10.1% and 16.9% in Q. mongolica forest, 81.9%, 7.2%, 3.1% and 7.9% in Q. variabilis forest, 57.4%, 12.8%, 5.6% and 24.1% in P. densiflora forest, respectively. Nutrients concentrations in oak litterfall were higher than those eaf litterfall were 13.8, 1.1, 7.2, 4.2 and 1.3 mg/g for Q. mongolica forest, 10.5, 0.7, 3.2, 3.7 and 1.6 mg/g for Q. variabilis forest, 5.3, 0.4, 1.2, 2.8 and 0.6 mg/g for P. densiflora forest, respectively. The amount of annual input of N, P, K, Ca and Mg to the forest floor via litterfall was 43.36, 2.89, 21.38, 23.31 and 5.62 kg ha-1 yr-1for Q. mongolica forest, 32.28, 2.01, 10.23, 20.29 and 7.78 kg ha-1 yr-1 for Q. variabilis forest, 15.80, 1.04, 3.99, 9.70 and 2.10 kg ha-1 yr-1for P. densiflora forest, respectively.
The sources and the frequency of disturbances and the responses of shorebirds to disturbanceswere studied at four roosting sites on Ganghwa Island and Yeongjong Island. The mean frequency of disturbance to roosting shorebirds was 2.7 per hour. Human activities contributed to the disturbance in 65% of all cases. Disturbance frequencies in saltpans were higher than those in the upper tidal zone, fishponds and salt marshes. caused shorebirds to change their behavior and to reduce roosting time at their roosting sites. Four patterns of responses by roosting shorebirds to disturbance were found, including: (1) leaving the roosts, (2) changing their location within the site, (3) leaving and returning, and (4) remaining in place. In the latter three response patterns, the birds tended to remain in their initial roosting sites, in contrast with the leaving pattern, which involved departing from the roosting area. Factors affecting these response patterns were time from high tide and time of day. When the time from high tide was greater, and the time of day was later, more birds stayed at the roost. The absence of sufficient alternative roosts in the study areas forced the birds to choose between
This study evaluated the effects of rehabilitaticomposition and species diversity. The species composition of most rehabilitated stands differed from that of the reference stands, and thus did not suggest successful rehabilitation. However, stands subjected to restorative treatment many years ago showed higher species diversity than the reference stands and thereby met the goals of rehabilitation. Our results demonstrate that restorative treatments practiced in the past created a hetero-geneous ecological space with regard to the surrounding areas. Therefore, even though species diversity in-creased several years after rehabilitation, this does not indicate that the treatment achieved true rehabilitation success. The treatment did result in temporary stability through increased species diversity, but it could not be
Human activities have enhanced the influx of heavy metals to aquatic ecosystem and changed theabiotic environment such as the sediments supporting benthic organisms. The levels of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the benthic gastropod Oxyloma hirasei and the sediments around their habitat were investigated to examine heavy metal levels and the potential of the gastropod as a bioindicator. We detected different levels of heavy metals in the sediments of two wetland areas, Upo and Mokpo, in the relatively well-conserved Upo wetland, Ramsar Convention Area. Oxyloma hirasei had higher concentrations of heavy metals except Cr and Ni in their soft tissues than in their shells (Cd: 2.10∼3.16, Cu: 19.73∼28.66, Pb: 0.67∼1.17, Zn: 216.1∼285.7 μg/g dry weight in the soft tissues; Cr: 1.19∼2.58, Ni: 0.47∼1.16 μg/g dry weight in the shells). Differences in the Cd, Cu, Ni and Pb concentrations in O. hirasei soft tissues reflected differences in heavy metal concentrations in the sediments at the sampling sites. The coefficients of variation for Cd, Cu and Pb were lower than those for other metals in the soft tissues. Levels of Cd in the tissues of O. hirasei were O. hirasei appears to be a promising bioindicator particularly for Cd.
planned and established in the US, the author tries to suggest the future direction for the development of similar activities of the NEON to be carried out in the region of East Asia including Korea. A review was carried out in terms of the challenges, major questions, missions, developmental history, and some other specifics of the NEON design. It was further extended to the discussion of the issues for the regional construction of the Ecological Observatory Network (EON) in East Asia. The author hopes that this review could be used as a preliminary guide in ultimately promoting and advancing research, science and technology in conservation and preservation of ecosystems being degraded due to anthropogenic disturbances in the region of East Asia.
Waders inhabiting an area in which A. tyosenense is endemic were examined to determine if theyserve as reservoir hosts for the parasite. Of the waders examined, 4 individuals from 2 species were found to be hosts for 18 to 1820 adult worms. Comon and velvet scoters, which are known to be the final hosts of A. tyosenense, are rare in the infected areas, while waders are prevalent and prey on the bivalves known to be intermediate hosts of A. tyosense . Thus, from the experimental results and circumstances presented herein, A. tyosenense in nature.
Lammas growth, a rare phenomenon for Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora), occurred in 2006.Lamas shoots showed higher frequency and longer length in Seoul's hotter urban center than in urban boundary or suburban forest sites. Frequency and length showed a close correlation with urbanization density and vegetation cover expressed in NDVI. Air temperature in the late summer of 2006 was more than 1℃ higher than an average year. Of the predominant environmental signals thatmodulate bud flush, only temperature changed significantly during the year. Differences in temperature between the urban centers, urban boundaries and suburban forests correlated with varying land-use density. The rise in temperature likely spurred lamas consequences wil be clearer in the future. Considerate interest in the responses of ecological systems to the variable changes is required to prepare for unforeseeable crises. Monitoring of diverse ecological phenomena at Long Term Ecological Research sites could offer harbingers of change.