Habitat use by the Javan caecilian (Ichthyophis hypocyaneus)

Amaël Borzée,Yoonjung Yi,Mirza D. Kusrini,Yikweon Jang 한국양서·파충류학회 2017 한국양서·파충류학회지 Vol.8 No.1

Caecilians are the least known amphibians and most species are under threat due to urbanisation, habitat degradation and climate change. Here we report the fourth sighting of Ichthyophis hypocyaneus, in Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park. The individual was found in a flooded grassland and we described habitat and vegetation in the vicinity of the site. We hypothesized that it was either breeding or feeding as it was active at the site, and flooding had provided both breeding habitat and numerous preys. Although being a single sighting we would like to draw attention to the fact that no ecological preferences have been described for the species, and that such studies are urgently needed.

Morphometrics of two sympatric species of tree frogs in Korea: a morphological key for the critically endangered Hyla suweonensis in relation to H. japonica

Amaël Borzée,박소연,김아빈,김현태,장이권 한국통합생물학회 2013 Animal cells and systems Vol.17 No.5

Although DNA taxonomy is readily available, morphological keys are still valuable for quick and easy identification of species on site. In Korea, Hyla japonica is widespread throughout the country, whereas Hyla suweonensis occurs in the lowlands of western central Korea. H. suweonensis is rapidly disappearing and was consequently designated as critically endangered by the Korean government. We measured 19 characters for male individuals of the two tree frog species to develop a morphological key for identification. Our morphometric analyses indicated that the two tree frog species differed significantly in means of all morphological characters. In general, H. suweonensis was smaller and more slender than H. japonica. Moreover, the distributions of five characters related to head width and the angle between eyes and ipsilateral nostrils did not overlap in the two species and may be used for species identification. Because the character differences between the two species are small, all five characters should be used together to reliably distinguish the two tree frog species. Besides being used as a morphological key, our result in size difference leads to several research questions about microhabitat niche selection and competition between the two Korean tree frog species.

Description of a seminatural habitat of the endangered Suweon treefrog Hyla suweonensis

Borzé,e, Amaë,l,Jang, Yikweon Taylor Francis 2015 Animal cells and systems Vol.19 No.3

한국산 양서류 3종의 연도별 그리고 지역별 산란시기의 차이

권세라,Amaël Borzée,구교성,장이권 한국환경생물학회 2020 한국환경생물학회 학술대회 Vol.2020 No.07

기후변화 지표종 북방산개구리(Rana uenoi)의 5년간 산란일 변화

권세라,Amaël Borzée,구교성,서재영,김현정,장이권 한국환경생태학회 2020 한국환경생태학회 학술대회지 Vol.2020 No.1

Treefrog lateral line as a mean of individual identification through visual and software assisted methodologies

김미연,Amaël Borzée,김준영,장이권 한국생태학회 2017 Journal of Ecology and Environment Vol.41 No.12

Background: Ecological research often requires monitoring of a specific individual over an extended period of time. To enable non-invasive re-identification, consistent external marking is required. Treefrogs possess lateral lines for crypticity. While these patterns decrease predator detection, they also are individual specific patterns. In this study, we tested the use of lateral lines in captive and wild populations of Dryophytes japonicus as natural markers for individual identification. For the purpose of the study, the results of visual and software assisted identifications were compared. Results: In normalized laboratory conditions, a visual individual identification method resulted in a 0.00 rate of false-negative identification (RFNI) and a 0.0068 rate of false-positive identification (RFPI), whereas Wild-ID resulted in RFNI = 0.25 and RFNI = 0.00. In the wild, female and male data sets were tested. For both data sets, visual identification resulted in RFNI and RFPI of 0.00, whereas the RFNI was 1.0 and RFPI was 0.00 with Wild-ID. Wild-ID did not perform as well as visual identification methods and had low scores for matching photographs. The matching scores were significantly correlated with the continuity of the type of camera used in the field. Conclusions: We provide clear methodological guidelines for photographic identification of D. japonicus using their lateral lines. We also recommend the use of Wild-ID as a supplemental tool rather the principal identification method when analyzing large datasets.

5년 간 큰산개구리 (Rana uenoi )의 산란일 변화와 산란에 영향을 미치는 환경요인

권세라,Amaël Borzée,구교성,서재영,김현정,장이권 한국양서·파충류학회 2021 한국양서·파충류학회 학술대회 Vol.2021 No.07

지구 온난화로 대표되는 기후변화는 전 지구 생물에게 직·간접적인 영향을 주고 있다. 그 중 변온 동물인 양서류는 환경변화에 매우 민감하기 때문에 기후변화에 따른 영향을 직접적으로 받는다고 알 려졌다. 본 연구에서는 기후변화에 따른 양서류의 영향을 파악하기 위해 기후변화 지표종인 큰산개구 리 (Rana uenoi )의 연도별 산란 시기의 변화를 기록하였으며, 산란에 영향을 미치는 환경요인을 분석 하였다. 연구는 전국 27개 지점에서 5년 동안 (2016-2020) 번식시기에 매주 모니터링 을 수행하여, 큰산개구리가 산란한 알 덩어리 수를 기록하였다. 분석에 이용한 환경요인은 각 지점의 평균기온, 최 저기온, 최고기온, 강수량이다. 알 덩어리 수를 바탕으로 첫 산란일과 최다 산란일을 결정하였으며, 연중일수로 기록하였다 환경변화에 따른 산란 시기의 영향을 분석하기 위해 산란일의 5년간 변화 경 향을 분석하였다. 또한, 산란 사건이 발생하는 데에 영향을 미치는 환경요인을 분석하고 산란 사건이 발생할 가능성을 추정하는 회귀식을 도출하였다. 도출된 회귀식을 과거 데이터에 대입하여 정확도를 확인하였다. 5년간 첫 산란일과 최다 산란일은 평균 55.3±20.5일과 64.0±15.9일이었다. 첫 산란일과 최다 산란일은 연간 유의미한 차이를 보였으며, 2020년에 42.5±17.8일과 50.5±14.6일로 가장 빨랐 다 . 반면, 2016년부터 2019년까지는 첫 산란일과 최다 산란일에서 유의미한 차이가 없었다. 큰산개 구리의 산란은 평균기온, 최저기온, 강수량과 뚜렷한 연관이 있었고, 도출된 회귀식에 과거 자료를 입 력하여 산란 사건 발생 가능성을 추정한 결과 관측값과 동일하게 추정된 비율이 74.7%였다. 본 연구 의 결과는 큰산개구리의 산란일이 환경변화에 따라 달라짐을 보여주며, 이는 기후변화가 생물에게 미 치는 영향의 한 사례가 될 수 있다. 또한, 우리의 결과는 큰산개구리의 현재의 산란일 변화 뿐만아니 라 과거 및 미래의 산란시기를 예측하는데 중요한 근거 자료가 될 것이다.

Human population and efficient conservation: Are humans playing ostriches and rabbits?

이윤정,Amaël Borzée 국립중앙과학관 2021 Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Vol.14 No.1

The environment is currently under aggravated threats because of climate change, mainly due toincreasing resource requirements to maintain the always growing human population. While multiplecauses are generally pointed at, and responsibilities bounced back and forth, a clear first step to remedyto the problem would be being responsible about the number humans of Earth. The difficulty inherent tocurbing population growth is the cross-culture and world-unifying taboo on any kind of populationcontrol. Clear international recommendation will alleviate population growth and enable environmentalconservation. In addition, ameliorations in family planning and abortion rights, along with providingresources for education, would significantly curb population expansion and lessen the threats fromclimate change and resources depletion.

Preference for natural borders in rice paddies by two treefrog species

Jordy Groffen,Amaël Borzée,장이권 한국통합생물학회 2018 Animal cells and systems Vol.22 No.3

In the Republic of Korea, one of the biggest threats to amphibians is habitat modification such as urbanisation and land conversion. With the loss of natural habitats, rice paddies play an important role as substitute habitats for amphibians that originally inhabited wetlands. However, since the 70’s, traditional rice agriculture has been modernised, leading to an increase in the number of concrete ditches and roads bordering rice paddies. This modernisation could have affected the distribution and density of amphibians. In this study, we investigated the preferred position, based on the advertisement calls for two treefrog species (Dryophytes japonicus and D. suweonensis), in relation to different types of borders such as natural ditch, concrete ditch, one-lane dirt road and vegetation. The results show that treefrogs seem to avoid rice paddies with concrete ditches, and with no ditch, which provided no resting microhabitat. The sides of the paddies preferred by the two treefrog species were the ones with vegetation of 30 cm wider or higher, while the two species seemed to avoid the side of paddies with roads. Our results are important for the conservation of anuran species in rice paddies in general as it highlights the need for vegetated areas, preferentially along natural ditches.

Japanese Hard Ticks (Ixodes nipponensis) Parasitizing on the Endangered Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilura) in the Republic of Korea

김경민,공성식,김예인,Amaël Borzée,배윤혁,장이권 한국동물분류학회 2018 Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity Vol.34 No.1

Because of the potential negative influence on their hosts, ecto-parasites are of prime importance to numerous species. Ticks are among these, distributed worldwide, and potentially transmitting diseases while sucking blood of diverse hosts. The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilura Elliot, 1871) is the only felid left in the Republic of Korea following widespread anthropogenic disturbances that have resulted in the extinction of both Panthera species: the Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica Temminck, 1844) and Amur leopard (P. pardus orientalis (Schlegel, 1857)). This study identifies ticks collected from a roadkill leopard cat retrieved in Seosan area in the Republic of Korea. Two ticks attached to the facial area of the carcass were identified as Japanese hard ticks, Ixodes nipponensis, based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I. The matching sample was from Japan with 99.7% similarities, and the only available sequence on GenBank. This study reconfirms that I. nipponensis parasitizes the endangered leopard cat P. bengalensis euptilura.