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The peninsular effect is a geographical phenomenon that explains patterns of species richness. Given that spatial variation in species richness along a peninsular may be driven by multiple processes, we aimed to identify the sources of latitudinal patterns in passerine species richness and test hypotheses regarding (1) recent deterministic processes (climate, primary productivity, forest area, and habitat diversity), (2) anthropogenic processes (habitat fragmentation), and (3) stochastic processes (migration influence) in the Korean peninsula. We used the distribution data of 147 passerine species from 2006 to 2012. Single regression between passerine species richness and latitude supported the existence of the peninsular effect. Mean temperature increased with decreasing latitude, as did habitat diversity but leaf area index and forest area decline. However, mean temperature and forest area only influenced passerine species richness. Although habitat diversity influenced passerine species richness, it was counter to the expectations associated with peninsular effect. The number of habitat patches decreased as latitude increased but it had no effect on passerine species richness. Ratio of migrant species richness showed no significant relationship with leaf area index, forest area, and habitat diversity. However, the ratio of migrant species richness increased with decreasing mean temperature and that contributed to the increase in passerine species. Overall, our finding indicate that the observed species richness pattern in peninsulas with the tip pointing south (in the northern hemisphere) counter to the global latitudinal gradient. These results were caused by the peninsular effect associated with complex mechanism that interact with climate, habitat area, and migrant species inflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Korea's first lunar mission, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), aims to launch in mid-2022 via the Space-X Falcon-9 launch vehicle. For the successful flight operation of KPLO, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has designed and developed the Flight Dynamics Subsystem (FDS). FDS is one of the subsystems in the KPLO Deep-Space Ground System (KDGS), which is responsible for the overall flight dynamics-related operation. FDS is currently successfully implemented and meets all of the requirements derived from the critical design phases. The current work addresses the design and implementation results for the KPLO FDS. Starting from overviews on KPLO payloads, bus systems, and mission trajectory characteristics, a review on KDGS is also treated briefly. Details on the design philosophy, unique characteristics, and functionalities of all six different modules nested inside the FDS with its Graphical User Interface (GUI) design are discussed. Moreover, efforts currently devoted to the flight operation preparation of the KPLO are summarized, including many collaborative works between KARI and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), officially named as Danuri, is the Republic of Korea's first spacecraft to orbit the Moon. The goal of KPLO is to secure core deep space technology for future space exploration in Korea and contribute to lunar science by gathering data from the lunar orbit for one year. This paper presents the results of KPLO's Lunar Orbit Acquisition (LOA) phase in detail, with a particular focus on the operational results of Flight Dynamics (FD). During the LOA phase, the KPLO FD team experienced many expected and unexpected issues. These issues were mitigated by making real-time updates to the LOA phase Design Reference Mission (DRM). The paper also presents the results of the Orbit Determination (OD) and performance of each Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) maneuver conducted during the actual flight operation. The importance of considering operational constraints when designing the DRM is emphasized by presenting lessons learned based on actual flight experiences. Unlike the original KPLO LOA phase DRM, KPLO successfully achieved the final mission orbit using only three LOI burns, instead of the planned five LOI burns and an Orbit Trim Maneuver (OTM). Despite the extensive revisions made to the DRM, all mission requirements were still fulfilled during the final lunar orbit insertion, taking into account the significant operational constraints. • Real flight operation results of the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter's lunar orbit acquisition phase are presented. • Orbit determination and lunar orbit insertion maneuver performance are analyzed based on actual flight data. • Unexpected issues during the actual flight operation were mitigated through real-time updates on the design reference mission. • Considering real-world operational constraints while designing the design reference mission is very critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The projections of species distribution models (SDMs) have provided critical knowledge for conservation planning under climate change in the Republic of Korea. However, uncertainty about the SDM projections has been criticized as a major challenge to reliable projections. The present research investigated uncertainty among competing models (Model uncertainty) and uncertainty of future climate conditions (climate uncertainty) driving from different GCMs and CO 2 emission scenarios in predicting the future distributions of plants. For this purpose, using nine single-model algorithms and the pre-evaluation weighted ensemble method, we modeled the geographical distributions of Silver Magnolia ( Machilus thunbergii Siebold & Zucc.), a warm-adapted evergreen broadleaved tree; furthermore, we predicted its future distributions under 20 climate change scenarios (5 global circulation models (GCMs) × 4 CO 2 emission scenarios (RCPs)). The results showed a great variation in the accuracies of nine single-model projections: the mean AUC values of nine single-models ranged from 0.764 (SER) to 0.970 (RF), and the mean TSS ranged from 0.529 (SRE) to 0.852 (RF). RF (mean AUC = 0.970, mean TSS = 0.852) and the ensemble forecast (AUC = 0.968, TSS = 0.804) showed the highest predictive power, while SRE showed the lowest. The future distributions of Silver Magnolia projected with the ensemble SDM clearly varied according to GCMs and RCPs. The twenty climate scenarios produced twenty different projections of the magnolia prospective distribution. GCMs commonly projected the maximum range expansion under RCP 8.5 in 2050 and 2070, but CO 2 emission scenarios explaining the minimum expansions differed according to GCMs. In conclusion, our results show that GCMs, CO 2 emission scenarios and SDM algorithms produce considerable variations in the SDM projections. Therefore, this research suggests that understanding of model and climate uncertainties is critical for an effective conservation planning in forest management under climate change on the Korean Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]