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Population or habitat connectivity is a key component in maintaining species and community-level regional biodiversity as well as intraspecific genetic diversity. Ongoing human activities cause habitat destruction and fragmentation, which exacerbate the connectivity due to restricted animal movements across local habitats, eventually resulting in the loss of biodiversity. The Baekdudaegan Mountain Range (BMR) on the Korean Peninsula represents “biodiversity hotspots” and eight of the 22 Korean national parks are located within the BMR. Given the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) is the most common and ecologically important small mammals in these protected areas, the population genetic assessment of this species will allow for identifying “genetic diversity hotspots” and also “genetic barriers” that may hinder gene flow, and will therefore inform on effective conservation and management efforts for the national park habitats. We collected samples from hair, tail, or buccal swabs for 252A. agrariusindividuals in 2015 and 2019. By using mitochondrial DNA cytochromeb(cyt b) sequences and nine microsatellite loci, we determined levels of genetic diversity, genetic differentiation, and gene flow among eight national park populations ofA. agrariusalong the BMR. We found high levels of genetic diversity but the occurrences of inbreeding for all the nine samples analyzed. Our results also indicated that there was detectable temporal genetic variation between the 2015 and 2019 populations in the Jirisan National Park, which is probably due to a short-term decline in genetic diversity caused by reduced population sizes. We also found a well-admixed shared gene pool among the national park populations. However, a significant positive correlation between geographic and genetic distances was detected only in mtDNA but not microsatellites, which might be attributed to different dispersal patterns between sexes. There was a genetic barrier to animal movements around the Woraksan National Park areas. The poor habitat connectivity surrounding these areas can be improved by establishing an ecological corridor. Our findings of the presence of genetic barriers in some protected areas provide insights into the conservation and management efforts to improve the population or habitat connectivity among the national parks.

The nutria, (Myocastor coypus), is a semiaquatic rodent native to the subtropical and temperate regions of South America. The species was introduced to South Korea for meat and fur production purposes and a wild population has become established. The species subsequently invaded aquatic ecosystems and destroyed aquatic vegetation and cultivated crops. Thus, it is essential to understand their current distribution and future range expansion for effective control and eradication strategies to reduce the risk of colonization into new regions. In this study, we used niche modeling procedure to identify potentially suitable habitats for M. coypus under current and future predicted climate change using the maximum entropy algorithm. We found that the main habitat area of M. coypus is expected to expand under a warming climate from ~ 4069 km2 in the southern and southeastern regions of South Korea, to the northern border of the country, with estimated ranges of 21,744 km2, 55,859 km2, and 64,937 km2 by 2030, 2050, and 2070, respectively. The findings of the present study assist in identifying the future distribution and potential dispersion routes of M. coypus in South Korea, which is important for informing the government regarding essential management actions plans at regional and local scales.

The Korean long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) is at risk of population decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Therefore, it is essential to ascertain its presence and/or the identity of individuals of the goral using non-invasive fecal samples for its conservation and management. In this study, we examined the morphology of fecal samples to provide the baseline data that can be used to distinguish species and age of goral individuals. We detected a significant difference in the length-to-width ratios of feces among the five ungulate species found in Korea. Also, we detected a significant difference in the length-to-width ratios of feces of gorals depending on the age groups. To assess the accuracy of species and age identification based on the fecal morphology, we conducted a series of blind comparison between the mean length-to-width ratios of the fecal pellets and the reference mean ratio values of the fecal pellets. Using 20 fecal pellets, our results showed 73%–86% probability of correct identification of the three species (gorals, goats, and roe deer), and 83%–90% probability of correct identification of >5 year-old goral individuals. The use of fecal morphometric analyses will be useful for the studies of Korean ungulate species, particularly the endangered gorals.

Bean geese (Anser fabalis) and Greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) are the dominant wintering waterfowl in South Korea. Although they are commonly observed in estuaries and rice fields during the winter, the diet composition of the geese during the winter has rarely been studied. In this study, we provide the results from preliminary analyses on the diet of these two geese species overwintering in Daebu Island of South Korea. We used a total of 13 fecal samples from Bean geese (n = 4) and Greater white-fronted geese (n = 9), and performed a BLAST search for the sequences obtained from 87 clones (n = 36 for Bean geese and n = 51 for Greater white-fronted geese). The diet of Bean geese consisted of five families of plants: Caryophyllaceae (75.0%), Poaceae (13.9%), Asteraceae (5.5%), Polygonaceae (2.8%) and Cucurbitacea (2.8%). On the other hand, the diet of Greater white-fronted geese consisted of 6 families of plants: Poaceae (74.5%), Caryophyllaceae (9.8%), Solanacea (5.9%), Portulacacea...

Current understanding of phylogeographical structure and genetic diversity of Siberian roe deer remains limited mainly due to small sample size and/or low geographical coverage in previous studies. Published data suggest at least two phylogroups: western (Ural Mountains and Western Siberia) and eastern (east from lake Baikal, including the Korean peninsula), but their phylogenetic relationship remains unclear. Combined sequences of cytochrome b (1140 bp) and the mtDNA control region (963 bp) were analyzed from 219 Siberian roe deer from 12 locations in Russia, Mongolia, and South Korea, which cover a large part of its range, to assess genetic diversity and phylogeographical status. Special emphasis was placed on the demographic history and genetic features of central, peripheral, and isolated populations. Results of median-joining network and phylogenetic tree analyses indicate that Siberian roe deer from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean are genetically diverse and that geographical distribution and composition of haplogroups coincide with previously described ranges of the subspecies Capreolus pygargus pygargus and Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus. We found that peripheral populations in the northwestern parts of the species range (Urals), as well as the isolated population from Jeju Island, are genetically distinct from those in the core part of the range, both in terms of genetic diversity and quantitative composition of haplogroups. We also found that northwestern (Urals) and northern (Yakutia) peripheral populations share the same haplogroup and fall into the same phylogenetic clade with the isolated population from Jeju Island. This finding sheds light on the taxonomic status of the Jeju Island population and leads to hypotheses about the discordance of morphological and genetic evolution in isolated populations and specific genetic features of peripheral populations.

This study was conducted to analyze the habitat preference of six major mammals for various environmental factors based on 100 random points within a mountain area in South Korea. In-situ presence and absence data for the mammals were surveyed and collected, and twelve explanatory variables related to topography, water, greenness, and anthropogenic influence were applied to create a habitat distribution model. The best combination of variables was determined using Moran’s I coefficients and Akaike criteria information, and applied to estimate the habitat preference for each species using GRASP v.3.0. The predictive map showed that wildlife animals in this study were mainly categorized into two groups: Group I (Korean squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, mole, Talpa micrura and water deer, Hydropotes inermis), showed equal preference for all mountainous areas; Group II (weasel, Mustela sibirica, leopard cat, Felis bengalensis and raccoon dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides) showed different preferences in a mountain.

Population viability analysis (PVA) has frequently been used in conservation biology to predict extinction rates for threatened or endangered species. In this study, we used VORTEX to model Korean long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus) using previously collected ecological data. We focused on modelling population extinction, mean population size and heterozygosity. The minimum viable population size was found to be at least 50 gorals for 100 years, regardless of carrying capacity. However, populations with fewer than 50 gorals could not remain successful in the model. Inbreeding depression, catastrophes and supplementation also affected patterns of population extinction, mean population size and heterozygosity. Supplementation with new individuals had the strongest effect on extinction, mean population size and heterozygosity, followed by initial population size, inbreeding, catastrophes and carrying capacity. These results suggest that a supplementation by extra goral individuals from goral pro...

In order to elucidate the genetic diversity and taxonomic status of Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) from the Korean peninsula, partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were analyzed. We collected 57 roe deer samples from Mainland and Jeju Island between July 2004 and June 2009. A total of 50 sequences (1,070 bp) were obtained, and seven haplotypes were defined. Five haplotypes were found from Mainland, and two were discovered from Jeju Island. The genetic diversity was lower in the Jeju Island population than in the Mainland population. In addition, both the consensus neighbor-joining tree and maximum parsimony tree showed an identical topology between the Mainland and Jeju Island clades. Based on the results, two subspecies of the Korean roe deer were confirmed. Siberian roe deer in Jeju Island showed a distinct difference in the cytochrome b gene compared with other Siberian roe deer, being a unique native species inhabiting only Jeju Island in Korea. Because Siberian roe deer in Jeju Island can be classified at subspecies level, the new subspecies in Jeju was named Capreolus pygargus jejuensis in this study. For this new subspecies, reasonable conservation and management effort is needed in the future.

Ticks were collected from 35 animals from 5 provinces and 3 metropolitan cities during 2012. Ticks also were collected by tick drag from 4 sites in Gyeonggi-do (2) and Jeollabuk-do (2) Provinces. A total of 612 ticks belonging to 6 species and 3 genera were collected from mammals and a bird (n=573) and by tick drag (n=39). Haemaphyalis longicornis (n=434) was the most commonly collected tick, followed by H. flava (158), Ixodes nipponensis (11), Amblyomma testudinarium (7), H. japonica (1), and H. formosensis (1). H. longicornis and H. flava were collected from all animal hosts examined. For animal hosts (n>1), the highest Tick Index (TI) was observed for domestic dogs (29.6), followed by Siberian roe deer (17.4), water deer (14.4), and raccoon dogs (1.3). A total of 402 H. longicornis (adults 86, 21.4%; nymphs 160, 39.8%; larvae 156, 38.9%) were collected from wild and domestic animals. A total of 158 H. flava (n=158) were collected from wild and domestic animals and 1 ring-necked pheasant, with a higher proportion of adults (103, 65.2%), while nymphs and larvae only accounted for 12.7% (20) and 22.2% (35), respectively. Only 7 A. testudinarium were collected from the wild boar (6 adults) and Eurasian badger (1 nymph), while only 5 I. nipponensis were collected from the water deer (4 adults) and a raccoon dog (1 adult). One adult female H. formosensis was first collected from vegetation by tick drag from Mara Island, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do Province.

There are 60 species of blood-feeding land leeches, 50 species belonging to the family Haemadipsidae and 10 species belonging to the family Xerobdellidae. Despite recent papers on the land leeches, their taxonomic identification is not fully understood, especially at a species level. In Korea, there have been no historical records of the terrestrial leeches, but recently an unrecorded blood-feeding land leech was discovered at Gageo-do (Island), Korea. Molecular analysis was used to identify the species of 29 leeches collected from Mt. Dock-Sil in Gageo-do. Conventional PCR was conducted using nuclear 18S rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) genetic marker. The 18S rRNA sequences revealed that the leeches share 99.9% identity with Haemadipsa rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan), and the CO1 sequences revealed that the leeches are very close to H. rjukjuana (inhabiting Taiwan). The CO1 sequences were separated into 2 categories, 1 with 94.6% and the other with 94.3% similarity to the H. rjukjuana L00115A (inhabiting Taiwan). This new finding of the land leech is the first record in Korea. In addition, the north range of the distribution of the blood-feeding leech (Hirudiniformes: Haemadipisidae) should be reconsidered including Korea.

The water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is one of the rarest species of deer in the family Cervidae. Only two subspecies exist in East Asia, and few studies have examined the genetic characteristics of the species. Here, we investigated the genetic diversity, phylogeny and population differentiation of the Korean subspecies (H. inermis argyropus). Seventeen mitochondrial D-loop haplotypes (822 bp) were detected and analyzed from 107 individual samples, together with a Chinese subspecies (H. inermis inermis) haplotype. The genetic diversity of the Korean subspecies is lower (π = 0.756%, h = 0.867) than that of the Chinese subspecies estimated in a previous study. This low genetic diversity may result from historical anthropogenic disturbances and/or a founder effect during the glacial period. The phylogenetic tree and median-joining network showed no location-specific distribution of D-loop haplotypes, but revealed two major lineages, A and B, of water deer. The A and B lineages were separated from each other at the beginning of the Pleistocene era (2.1-1.3 million years ago), with a genetic divergence of 1.332 ± 0.340%. The genetic divergence within lineages A and B was 0.525 ± 0.167% and 0.264 ± 0.113%, respectively. This suggests that climate change affected the division of the two lineages. Water deer sampled from the three Korean regions (26 locations) were slightly distinct in their genetic structure (AMOVA: F(ST) = 0.28416, P < 0.00001; Φ(ST) = 0.19239, P < 0.00001). Such slight population differentiation may be derived from differential dispersal ability in males and females. The use of genetic markers, such as nuclear microsatellite and Y-linked DNA markers, and samples collected from various localities in East Asia should improve our understanding of the water deer's genetic characteristics.

Climate simulation is often used for evaluation of the sustainability of a species in global scale but not applicable for our study because the global data is too coarse to be used in small and fragmented habitat areas. We examined a weather forecasting model for the habitat analysis of the endangered species of the Korean long-tailed goral (Naemorhedus caudatus raddeanus). The weather research forecasting (WRF) model is implemented to downscale global climate data for a small fragmented habitat of the goral. The coordinates of goral fecal samples were collected during winter 2005 and summer 2006 using GPS and the goral habitat was set with the elevations of fecal samples mostly found. The atmospheric parameters of the habitat were then simulated by WRF and defined as the atmospheric signature of the goral suitable habitat. A series of temperature changes was then projected for the period from 2010s to 2090s to evaluate the change of the habitat for summer (June) and winter (December) seasons. As a result, the suitable habitat of the Korean long-tailed goral would be significantly declined and almost disappeared in the 2070s for summer or 2050s for winter under the climate scenarios of RCP 8.5 by IPCC.

Rodents and soricomorphs are animal hosts of fleas and associated zoonotic microbial pathogens. A total of 4,889 small mammals were collected from Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces, Republic of Korea, from 2008 through 2010, including: Apodemus agrarius (4,122, 84.3%), followed by Crocidura lasiura (282, 5.8%), Microtus fortis (257, 5.3%), Myodes regulus (77, 1.6%), Micromys minutus (71, 1.5%), Mus musculus (63, 1.3%), and 4 other species (17, 0.3%). A total of 1,099 fleas belonging to 10 species and 7 genera were collected. Ctenophthalmus congeneroides (724, 65.9%) was the most commonly collected flea, followed by Stenoponia sidimi (301, 27.4%), Neopsylla bidentatiformis (29, 2.6%), and Rhadinopsylla insolita (25, 2.3%). The remaining species accounted for only 1.8% (20, range 1-6) of all fleas collected. The 2 dominant flea species, C. congeneroides and S. sidimi, showed an inverse seasonal pattern, with higher populations of C. congeneroides from January-September, whereas S. sidimi was more frequently collected during October-December. The overall flea infestation rates (FIR) and flea indices (FI) were 14.1% and 0.22, respectively, and were highest during April-June (19.7% and 0.30, respectively). A total of 735 of the 1,099 fleas were assayed for the detection of Bartonella spp. by PCR using Bartonella-specific primers, of which 515 were positive for Bartonella, with an overall maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) of 700.7/1,000. The highest MLE values were observed during April-June (899.2) and July-September (936.2) trapping periods and, although lower, were similar for January-March (566.7) and October-December (574.1). C. congeneroides demonstrated high MLEs for all seasons (range 752.5-934.8), while S. sidimi was positive for Bartonella only during January-March (MLE=342.1) and October-December (MLE=497.2) collection periods. Continued long-term surveillance of small mammals and associated ectoparasites is needed to improve our understanding of the prevalence of Bartonella spp. in fleas and the role of fleas in the zoonotic maintenance and transmission of Bartonella to humans.

Bean geese (Anser fabalis) and Greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) are the dominant wintering waterfowl in South Korea. Although they are commonly observed in estuaries and rice fields during the winter, the diet composition of the geese during the winter has rarely been studied. In this study, we provide the results from preliminary analyses on the diet of these two geese species overwintering in Daebu Island of South Korea. We used a total of 13 fecal samples from Bean geese (n = 4) and Greater white-fronted geese (n = 9), and performed a BLAST search for the sequences obtained from 87 clones (n = 36 for Bean geese and n = 51 for Greater white-fronted geese). The diet of Bean geese consisted of five families of plants: Caryophyllaceae (75.0%), Poaceae (13.9%), Asteraceae (5.5%), Polygonaceae (2.8%) and Cucurbitacea (2.8%). On the other hand, the diet of Greater white-fronted geese consisted of 6 families of plants: Poaceae (74.5%), Caryophyllaceae (9.8%), Solanacea (5.9%), Portulacaceae (3.9%), Lamiaceae (3.9%) and Brassicaceae (2.0%). We found that plants of the rice family (Poaceae) are important in the diet of wintering geese, especially for Greater white-fronted geese. This knowledge can be used to establish conservation strategies of the geese overwintering in South Korea.

Background Leeches can transmit pathogens and are therefore potentially hazardous to human and animal health. However, only a few studies of diseases transmitted by land leeches have been reported. The purpose of the present study was to analyse which pathogens are carried in Haemadipsa rjukjuana, the first recorded sanguivorous land leech in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Findings A total of 173 H. rjukjuana were collected from Mt. Dock-Sil on Gageo-do Island, ROK during July 2011. Conventional PCR was conducted for analysis of the origin of blood meal, as well as for detection of species of Anaplasma, Bartonella, Borrelia, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and Wolbachia in the leech specimens. Bartonella DNA was detected in eight of the specimens studied based on partial ITS sequence analysis. Seven of the DNA samples were closely related to Bartonella grahamii (99.6–100 % similarity), and one sample exhibited a 90.6 % similarity with Bartonella sp. from Taiwan. Sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were generated for a total of 35 of the 173 leech internal organ samples. These included sequences of human (n = 10), mouse (n = 8), weasel (n = 6) and bird (n = 11) origin. Of these 35 sequences, 68.5 % were from mammals, including humans, and 31.4 % were from migratory birds that pass through Gageo-do, ROK. Conclusions Although the present study does not provide evidence that leeches indeed transmit Bartonella species to hosts directly, to our knowledge this is the first report on Bartonella DNA being detected from leeches. Therefore, further studies are needed to explore the possibility of zoonotic pathogen transmission by land leeches.

Current understanding of phylogeographical structure and genetic diversity of Siberian roe deer remains limited mainly due to small sample size and/or low geographical coverage in previous studies. Published data suggest at least two phylogroups: western (Ural Mountains and Western Siberia) and eastern (east from lake Baikal, including the Korean peninsula), but their phylogenetic relationship remains unclear. Combined sequences of cytochrome b (1140 bp) and the mtDNA control region (963 bp) were analyzed from 219 Siberian roe deer from 12 locations in Russia, Mongolia, and South Korea, which cover a large part of its range, to assess genetic diversity and phylogeographical status. Special emphasis was placed on the demographic history and genetic features of central, peripheral, and isolated populations. Results of median‐joining network and phylogenetic tree analyses indicate that Siberian roe deer from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean are genetically diverse and that geographical distribution and composition of haplogroups coincide with previously described ranges of the subspecies Capreolus pygargus pygargus and Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus. We found that peripheral populations in the northwestern parts of the species range (Urals), as well as the isolated population from Jeju Island, are genetically distinct from those in the core part of the range, both in terms of genetic diversity and quantitative composition of haplogroups. We also found that northwestern (Urals) and northern (Yakutia) peripheral populations share the same haplogroup and fall into the same phylogenetic clade with the isolated population from Jeju Island. This finding sheds light on the taxonomic status of the Jeju Island population and leads to hypotheses about the discordance of morphological and genetic evolution in isolated populations and specific genetic features of peripheral populations.

The water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is one of the most primitive extant deer of the family Cervidae. Unlike Chinese water deer, Korean water deer have rarely been studied, even though they have relatively well remained in Korea. In particular, the home range of the Korean water deer has not yet been studied. Here we estimated the home range of the Korean water deer using two different methods (GPS and radio tracking) and analyzed the home range according to sex, time, and season. The mean home range size of four individuals was 2.77 and 0.34 under the 95% minimum convex polygon (MCP) and the 50% kernel (K) method, respectively. There seemed to be a difference in home range size between males (3.30 ) and females (2.25 ) under the 95% MCP method. We also found a difference in home range size between day (1.90 ) and night (2.43 ) by 95% MCP method. In addition, a home range size difference was observed between summer (4.65 ) and spring (0.48 ) or fall (0.85 ) using the 95% MCP method. Water deer seemed to have a larger home range in night than in day, and males also have a larger home range. We presumed that the GPS tracking method of the code division multiple access system could be a very useful tool for understanding the ecology of the water deer using the radio tracking method. Using these tracking methods and through future research, we can better understand the habitat use pattern of these water deer.

The water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is one of the rare small ruminants in the world. There are two distinct subspecies in Far East Asia: one (H. i. inermis) lives in China, and the other (H. i. argyropus) lives in Korea. Unlike the Chinese subspecies, the diet of the Korean subspecies in the wild has rarely been studied. Here, we analyzed the diets of the Korean water deer by using 202 bp rbcL sequences of plants found in fecal samples. Both similarity (%) and phylogeny (NJ tree) of the sequences were considered for the sequence assignment. These methods successfully assigned each sequence to only one family of one order without exception. We found that the Korean water deer fed on a total of 18 orders and 24 families of plants in the summer season. It fed mainly on Asteraceae family (28.4%) followed by Fagaceae (15.9%) and Polygonaceae (11.5%). There was a significant difference in diet composition between lowland area and mountainous area deer (P < 0.001). The Korean water deer on Daebu Island are presumably browsers feeding mainly on forbs or woody plants.

Water deer (Hydropotes inermis) belong to the genus Hydropotes, which is ecologically well adapted for environments ranging from desert to forest. Water deer tend to occupy the richest areas between forest and grasslands. There are two distinct subspecies in far East Asia: one in China (H. inermis inermis), and the other in Korea (H. inermis argyropus). Despite being listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, little is known about the water deer. The species occurs in most areas of the Korean peninsula, except for Seoul and Jeju Island. Kyunggi Province near Seoul showed the lowest rate (56%) due to urbanization. There was a high difference in their presence between inland (81%) and coastal (60%) areas . In addition, large cities (67%) showed much lower rates than did rural areas (83%) where human population size is relatively low. Water deer are distributed differently based on habitat type, with differences in mean density observed among lowland (6.93 ind./km2), mountainous (1.91), and urban (1.27) areas. There was also a difference in mean density between low-elevation and high-elevation areas. Finally, whereas the deer preferred landscapes with 20°–25° of slope and broadleaf forest (P

The short-eared owl (Asia flammeus), which lives in open wetland habitats, has been threatened and become endangered in South Korea due to the destruction and loss of its habitats. However, the diet of the short-eared owl remains to be studied. The prey of the short-eared owl was monitored using molecular methods as an alternative tool. A total of 121 pellets of the species were collected in the Dalsung wetland. Of these pellets, about 30% (n = 33) were selected for prey identification in 2002 (n = 12), 2003 (n = 6) and 2006 (n = 15). Two hundred and thirty-two bone fragments were successfully analyzed and 9 prey species were detected. In an expanded analysis, excluding 4 pellets used for the preliminary analysis, small mammals constituted the highest percentage (89.1%): 47.6% Eurasian field mouse (Apodemus agrarius); 27.2% European harvest mouse (Micromys minutus); 6.1% Japanese wild house mouse (Mus musculus); 5.4% Asian lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura shantungensis); and 2.7% Norway rat (Battus norvegicus). Not only small mammals, but birds and amphibians were also identified: 4.1% Japanese quail (Cotumix japonica); 3.4% vinous-throated parrotbill (Paradoxornis webbianus); 0.7% eastern turtle dove (Streptopelia orientalis); and 2.7% Kori salamander (Hynobius yangi). This result would be valuable in understanding the feeding ecology of the short-eared owl in its wetland habitats.

The water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is one of the rarest species of deer in the family Cervidae. Only two subspecies exist in East Asia, and few studies have examined the genetic characteristics of the species. Here, we investigated the genetic diversity, phylogeny and population differentiation of the Korean subspecies (H. inermis argyropus). Seventeen mitochondrial D-loop haplotypes (822 bp) were detected and analyzed from 107 individual samples, together with a Chinese subspecies (H. inermis inermis) haplotype. The genetic diversity of the Korean subspecies is lower (π = 0.756%, h = 0.867) than that of the Chinese subspecies estimated in a previous study. This low genetic diversity may result from historical anthropogenic disturbances and/or a founder effect during the glacial period. The phylogenetic tree and median-joining network showed no location-specific distribution of D-loop haplotypes, but revealed two major lineages, A and B, of water deer. The A and B lineages were separated from each other at the beginning of the Pleistocene era (2.1-1.3 million years ago), with a genetic divergence of 1.332 ± 0.340%. The genetic divergence within lineages A and B was 0.525 ± 0.167% and 0.264 ± 0.113%, respectively. This suggests that climate change affected the division of the two lineages. Water deer sampled from the three Korean regions (26 locations) were slightly distinct in their genetic structure (AMOVA: F(ST) = 0.28416, P0.00001; Φ(ST) = 0.19239, P0.00001). Such slight population differentiation may be derived from differential dispersal ability in males and females. The use of genetic markers, such as nuclear microsatellite and Y-linked DNA markers, and samples collected from various localities in East Asia should improve our understanding of the water deer's genetic characteristics.

Background SAMHD1 is an HIV-1 restriction factor in non-dividing monocytes, dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages, and resting CD4+ T-cells. Acting as a deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) triphosphohydrolase, SAMHD1 hydrolyzes dNTPs and restricts HIV-1 infection in macrophages and resting CD4+ T-cells by decreasing the intracellular dNTP pool. However, the intracellular dNTP pool in DCs and its regulation by SAMHD1 remain unclear. SAMHD1 has been reported as a type I interferon (IFN)-inducible protein, but whether type I IFNs upregulate SAMHD1 expression in primary DCs and CD4+ T-lymphocytes is unknown. Results Here, we report that SAMHD1 significantly blocked single-cycle and replication-competent HIV-1 infection of DCs by decreasing the intracellular dNTP pool and thereby limiting the accumulation of HIV-1 late reverse transcription products. Type I IFN treatment did not upregulate endogenous SAMHD1 expression in primary DCs or CD4+ T-lymphocytes, but did in HEK 293T and HeLa cell lines. When SAMHD1 was over-expressed in these two cell lines to achieve higher levels than that in DCs, no HIV-1 restriction was observed despite partially reducing the intracellular dNTP pool. Conclusions Our results suggest that SAMHD1-mediated reduction of the intracellular dNTP pool in DCs is a common mechanism of HIV-1 restriction in myeloid cells. Endogenous expression of SAMHD1 in primary DCs or CD4+ T-lymphocytes is not upregulated by type I IFNs.

Korean long-tailed goral (Nemorhaedus caudatus) is one of the most endangered species in South Korea. However, detailed species distribution and sex ratio data on the elusive goral are still lacking due to difficulty of identification of the species and sex in the field. The primary aim of this study was to develop an economical PCR-RFLP method to identify species using invasive or non-invasive samples from five Korean ungulates: goral (N. caudatus), roe deer (Capreolus pygargus), feral goat (Capra hircus), water deer (Hydropotes inermis) and musk deer (Moschus moschiferus). The secondary aim was to find more efficient molecular sexing techniques that may be applied to invasive or non-invasive samples of ungulate species. We successfully utilized PCR-RFLP of partial mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (376 bp) for species identification, and sex-specific amplification of ZFX/Y and AMELX/Y genes for sexing. Three species (goral, goat and water deer) showed distinctive band patterns by using three restriction enzymes (XbaI, StuI or SspI). Three different sexing primer sets (LGL331/335 for ZFX/Y gene; SE47/48 or SE47/53 for AMELX/Y gene) produced sex-specific band patterns in goral, goat and roe deer. Our results suggest that the molecular analyses of non-invasive samples might provide us with potential tools for the further genetic and ecological study of Korean goral and related species.

Interspecific interactions among three dominant macroalgae, Pterocladia capillacea (Rhodophyta), Hizikia fusiformis (Heterokontophyta) and Chondracanthus intermedius (Rhodophyta), were experimentally investigated on the rocky mid-intertidal zone of Sungsan, Jeju Island, Korea from March 1998 to June 1999. Each of the potentially competing species was removed in permanent plots (20 x 20 cm), and percent covers of non-manipulated species were measured by an image analyzing method using a digital camera. Pterocladia capillacea was the most abundant during all seasons, except for winter. Its abundance was lowered by the removal of the turf-forming alga C. intermedius, indicating that turf had a positive effect on P. capillacea. Conversely, there was a negative effect of P. capillacea on the abundance of C. intermedius. Interactions between C. intermedius and P. capillacea can probably be explained as a consequence of the water-trapping ability of the former and the canopy-forming ability of the latter. There was, however, no apparent effect related to H. fusiformis since the abundance of this alga remained low. This study supports that both negative and positive effects between same pair of species could be common depending on the morphological differences of algae and particular habitat conditions.

There are five representative ungulates (e.g., goral,Nemorhaedus caudatus; goat,Capra hircus; roe deer,Capreolus pygargus; water deer,Hydropotes inermis; musk deer,Moschus moschiferus) in the wild of South Korea. Their fecal morphologies are similar to each other between species or sexes, and therefore it is very difficult to identify the species or sex. To distinguish the species and sex of the elusive animals, we developed species- and sex-specific multiple PCR amplifications using pairs of primer sets. Partial cytochromeb gene andZfx/Zfy introns were targeted for the PCR amplifications. For species identification using a multiple primer set (BJGL-F1/GT-F1/RD-F1/WD-F1/MD-F1 and BJGL-R/GT-R/RD-R/WD-R /MD-R), all (n=21/21) of the invasive samples were correctly identified. About 71% (n=15/21) of the non-invasive samples were successfully identified. The multiple primer set could determine each species which showed a unique sized PCR fragment. For sex identification using a multiple primer set (BJSexX-F/Y-F and BJSex-R1), about 90% (n=19/21) of invasive samples were correctly determined. About 62% (n=13/21) of the non-invasive samples were successfully identified. Using the multiple primer set, both X-and Y-chromosome linked bands for males (n=21) and only X-chromosome linked band for females (n=11) could be detected. The results would be applicable to the species and sex identification of the Korean and the Far-East Asian wild ungulates.