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The mitogenome sequence of Sponge Halichondria okadai (Kadota, 1922) (Suberitida, Halichondriidae) was determined for the first time in this study. The circular genome is 20,722 bp in length, containing 14 protein coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and 25 transfer RNAs (tRNAs). The nucleotide composition of mitogenome consists of 29.5% A, 14.2% C, 21.5% G, 34.7% T, showing a high content of A + T similar to the other Suberitid sponges. These results will be useful for inferring the phylogenetic relationships among the members of family Halichondriidae within the Suberitids.

Oh, Y.; Sohn, H.; Lee, D.; An, Y.-R.; Kang, C.-K.; Kang, M.G., and Lee, S.H., 2018. Feeding patterns of ‘Finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis)’ in the yellow sea as indicated by stable carbon and nitrogen ratios. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 386–390. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) is a representative marine mammal that has the largest habitat near the Korean coastal area. However, little information on their trophic ecology has been reported in Korea to date. The stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from muscle samples (n = 60) were analyzed for their trophic ecology. The muscle tissues from the stranded or by caught porpoises in the Yellow Sea were obtained in 2015 (n = 37) and 2016 (n = 23) by Cetacean Research Institute in Korea. The averages of δ13C and δ15N for all the samples were −17.74 ‰ (S.D. = ±0.74 ‰) and 12.96 ‰ (S.D. = ±0.95 ‰), respectively. The mean isotopic values of the porpoise groups obtained from different seasons were −18.13 ‰ (±0.56 ‰) and 12.43 ‰ (±0.73 ‰) and −17.06 ‰ (±0.46 ‰) and 13.87 ‰ (±0.46 ‰) for summer (n = 38) and spring (n = 22), respectively, which were significantly different among the two seasons (t-test; p < 0.01, n = 60, respectively). These increasing isotope values from summer to spring reflected a shift in major prey sources. The small increasing in δ15N values could be caused partly by different body lengths of the porpoises. However, the most plausible reason for the large shift in δ13C value relative to δ15N could be a change from pelagic to benthic prey in the different seasons since benthic diets are reported for enriched δ13C over the pelagic diets. For better understanding, further validation should be conducted.

The west coast of Korea is the largest habitat for finless porpoises, with approximately 36,000 individuals reported in 2005 (Park et al., 2007). To date, there have been no subsequent finless porpoise population estimates. However, in recent bycatches, finless porpoises accounted for the highest proportion of all cetaceans and have been reported to be most frequently caught on the west coast of Korea (Kim et al., 2013). The present study, conducted in 2011, enumerated finless porpoises inhabiting the west coast of Korea using a line transect survey in offshore and inshore regions to assess variations in their abundance. In offshore regions we found the population density of finless porpoises to be 0.122 ind./km 2 , whereas it was 0.565 ind./km 2 in 2004. In inshore regions, the population density of finless porpoises was 0.151 ind./km 2 , whereas it was 0.638 ind./km 2 in 2005. Therefore, we estimate that the population densities of finless porpoises in both offshore and inshore regions of the west coast of Korea decreased by ap proximately 70% between 2004/2005 and 2011. It is imperative to mitigate the bycatch of finless porpoises and protective action is urgently needed in the near inshore regions.

The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin Tursiops aduncus commonly inhabits the coastal waters of Jeju Island, Korea. An investigation was conducted using data from vessel sightings and point sightings from land. During 40 days of vessel sighting surveys between 2007 and 2010, a total of 18 dolphin groups were encountered. The overall sighting rate was 0.01 group/n.m. Most Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins were sighted within 500 m of the northern coast of Jeju Island during surveys. Also, dolphin groups were observed 47 times during 109 days of shore-based surveys conducted between 2011 and 2015. The results of a dolphin distribution survey conducted in 2011 were generally similar to the results of previous surveys. However, there were no dolphin sightings from 2012 in Hanllim-eup, in the north-western part of the island, where dolphins were sighted frequently until 2011, whereas dolphin observations increased in the southern part of the island. The mean group size was 35.4 (SD=18.08) individuals. The most frequently sighted group size was 36-40 individuals. To conserve resident dolphins off Jeju Island, long term sighting surveys and environmental assessment are required to monitor their distribution patterns.

상괭이(Neophocaena asiaeorientalis)는 쇠돌고래과(Family Phocoenidae)에 속하는 소형 돌고래로 다른 돌고래류와 달리 등지느러미가 없고 둥근 머리를 가지고 있다(Jefferson et al., 2008). 분포지역은 페르시아와 일본까지 아시아에만 분포하며 최근 연구를 통해, 중국 중남부를 기준으로 아시아 서부 지역 상괭이와 동부 지역 상괭이가 종 수준으로 다르다는 것이 밝혀 졌다(Wang et al., 2008). 상괭이는 멸종위기동식물 국제거래 에 관한 협약(CITES)의 부속서 1에 등재되어 상업적인 거래가 금지된 보호 종이다(CITES, 2014). Park et al. (2007)은 한반 도 서해 연안에 약 36,000마리의 상괭이가 서식하고 있는 것으 로 추정하여 서해 연안이 상괭이의 최대서식지임이 밝혀졌다. 새만금 방조제는 이 서해안에 건설된 세계 최장 방조제(33.9 km)로 전라북도 군산에서 신시도를 거쳐 부안을 연결하였으며 두 개의 하천에 유입되는 담수를 배출하고 해수를 순환시키기 위한 두 개의 갑문을 가지고 있다. 새만금 방조제는2006년에 최종 물막이 공사가 끝났다. 물막이 공사가 끝나고 4년이 지난 2011년 2월, 새만금 방조제 호 안에서 대량 폐사한 상괭이가 발 견되면서 새만금 방조제 호 안에 상괭이가 서식한다는 사실이 처음으로 밝혀졌다 (Hankookilbo, 2011). Park et al. (2012)은 이상 저온으로 새만금호의 수면이 얼어서 호 안의 상괭이 249 새만금호의 상괭이 대량 폐사 후 상괭이(Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) 재출현과 분포 경향 박겸준*·이승용·안용락·김현우·안두해·김두남·김영혜

Finless porpoise is the one of porpoises in Korean waters that frequently observed in the coastal area. This study reported parasite infection cases of stranded finless porpoise, Neophocaena asiaeorientalis which was stranded on the Saemangeum Dyke on the west coast of Korea 21 May, 2012. The finless porpoise was male, and estimated at 8 years old. Parasites were found in abdominal cavity, skull and lung. The parasites were identified as nematode, trematoda and lungworm. Nematoda in abdominal cavity was Crassicauda sp. Trematoda found in the skull was indentified Nasitrema sp. Lungworm in lung seemed one of genus Pseudaliids. Anisakis spp. has not been found.

Vessel-based sighting surveys for cetaceans have been conducted in Korean waters since 2000. The supporting data estimate the abundance of finless porpoises along the west coast of Korea; however, they are insufficient because of the coverage and frequency of the surveys. A preliminary aerial survey was conducted in 2011, and the results were assessed with respect to a sighting survey operated by a research vessel in order to compare effectiveness and potentiality. A total of 110.00 nautical miles of effective efforts were made with three sightings under Beaufort scale 4 in the aerial survey, while the vessel-operated survey covered 403.38 nautical miles over 7 days without any sightings under Beaufort scale 4. The standard deviation of the altitude in this survey was 22.7 m, which was significantly higher than that of the referenced study of 4.3 m.

A total of 116 finless porpoises, Neophocaena asiaeorientalis, were collected in the Yellow Sea off Korea. About 111 specimens were incidentally caught by stow nets on anchors from March to June 2010, and five were stranded in February 2011. Age was determined by counting dentinal growth layer groups (GLGs) in thin-sectioned teeth, and sexual maturity rating (SMR) was classified by investigating ovaries and testis macroscopically and microscopically. Immature females were ranged 1–4 years old and 92.6–141.2 cm in total body length (TBL), pubertal ones were all 5 years old and 125.4–136.0 cm, and mature ones ranged 5–19 years old and 131.6–155.2 cm. Age at attainment of sexual maturity of females was 4–5 years old. Parturition season estimated based on TBL of eight fetuses was from April to August with a peak in April to May. The first age at parturition was 5 years old. Among 62 males, immature males were 1–4 years old and 87.9–154.6 cm, pubertal ones were 3–5 years old and 121.5–134.5 cm, and mature ones...

The Fraser’s dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei has a pantropical distribution. Only several stranding or catch data were available from Japan and Taiwan in the north-west Pacific region. An adult female L. hosei stranded in Jeju-do, Korea. The specimen was identified by external features and skull measurements. It showed the same external appearance ratio and range in the number of teeth with L. hosei former described. The cranial measurements also well corresponded to condylobasal length proportions given in the previous descriptions of the holotype. This is the first record of the species in Korean waters. We report the information on external and osteological characters of the specimen.

Larger organisms tend to live longer, have more potentially carcinogenic cells, and undergo more cell divisions. While one might intuitively expect cancer incidence to scale with body size, this assertion does not hold over the range of different mammals. Explaining this lack of correlation, so-called ‘Peto’s paradox’ can likely increase our understanding of how cancer defense mechanisms are shaped by natural selection. Here, we study the occurrence of microsatellite in mammal genomes and observe that animals with expanded body size restrain the number of microsatellite. To take into account of higher mutation rate in the microsatellite region compared to that of genome, limiting the abundance of somatic mutations might explain how larger organisms could overcome the burden of cancer. These observations may serve as the basis to better understand how evolution has modeled protective mechanisms against cancer development.

In the late 1970s, the National Fisheries Research & Development Institute (NFRDI) started cetacean research to submit the Korean whale catch record to the International Whaling Commission. This continued until the moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. The NFRDI resumed cetacean research with a pilot whale sighting survey in 1999. Subsequently, the NFRDI has conducted 53 cetacean sighting surveys within the Korean exclusive economic zone between 2000 and 2010. The surveys took a total of 760 days and cruising for 23,866 nautical miles. The finless porpoise Neophocaena asiaeorientalis was sighted most frequently (735 times), followed by the minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata (396 times), the long-beaked common dolphin Delphinus capensis (102 times), and the Pacific white-sided dolphin Lagenorhynchus obliquidens (27 times). Minke whales were distributed in the Yellow Sea and coastal area of the East Sea from spring to fall. Pacific white-sided dolphin sightings were restricted to the middle and upper coastal areas of the East Sea in summer. Common dolphins were sighted from east of the southern coast to the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula from spring to fall. Finless porpoise occurred in all Korean coastal areas, except the middle and upper eastern coast.

Mitogenome sequence of Cirriformia cf. tentaculata (Terebellida, Cirratulidae), a species of marine polychaete worm, was determined in this study. This is the first mitogenome reported for genus Cirriformia and family Cirratulidae. This complete mitogenome is 15,495 bp in length, containing 13 protein coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), and 23 transfer RNAs (tRNAs). The mitogenome of Cirriformia cf. tentaculata has high A + T content of 59.5% (A, 29.5%; C, 26.9%; G, 13.6%; T, 30.0%). In neighbour-joining (NJ) analysis, Cirriformia cf. tentaculata is clustered with the components of order Terebellida.

To investigate the distribution and migrations of sea turtles occurring in Korean waters, an adult female green sea turtle Chelonia mydas was tagged with a satellite transmitter and released at Busan in October 2009. The confirmation was made for the first time that the released green sea turtle migrated back to Korea after visiting Jeju Island and Japan for approximately 9 months. The green sea turtle spent the winter in Jeju and Japan because of low water temperatures in the East Sea and South Sea during winter months, which were not suitable for turtle survival. Compared with an immature green sea turtle that was released at Jeju Island, the adult green showed a markedly different migration pattern, suggesting that juvenile and adult greens move differently because of their peculiar life cycle and their stage of maturity, in addition to responses to temperature changes. Additional satellite tracking with increased representation of species, sexes and sizes of turtles, and regions is required to gather information on the distribution and movements of sea turtles in Korean waters.

We investigated the stomach contents of finless porpoises collected in the Yellow Sea. Prey organisms in the stomachs of 109 finless porpoises were identified as 11 species of fish, 8 species of shrimp and 4 species of cephalopod. Index of Relative Importance analysis revealed that the porpoises fed mainly on the Japanese sand shrimp (Crangon affinis). The energy density of the prey was estimated to be 5.46 kJ. The daily energy requirement was estimated to be 18,051 kJ/day for a porpoise with an average weight of 32.49 kg. The estimated annual consumption by finless porpoises in the Yellow Sea was 25,454 tons. The average commercial catch in the Yellow Sea by Korean fisheries was 135,913 tons from 2005 to 2009. Assuming that the abundance of finless porpoises is stable, porpoises ate approximately 18.7% of the commercial catch. The fishery catch may be influenced by the consumption by finless porpoises, while fishery bycatch is a cause of porpoise mortality in the Yellow Sea.

To confirm the distributon of finless porpoise, Neophocaena phocaenoides, in the South Sea of Korea, data on bycatch, stranding, and drifting of finless porpoises from 1999 to 2009 were used and a sighting survey was conducted from the R/V Tamgu No. 9 and 10 in June and November, 2009 and March, 2010. The total number of bycaught, stranded, and drifting finless porpoises was 607, with position being known for 186 of these. At the center of Yeosu, there were few position data on bycaught, stranded, and drifting finless porpoises, and data could not confirm the distribution of finless porpoises. Thus, there were limits on the usefulness of bycaught, stranded, and drifting data for confirming the distribution of finless porpoises. In the three sighting surveys, the sighting rate was highest at 0.231 ind./n.m. in the western South Sea in June, 2009. Sighting rate was less than 0.1 ind./n.m. in November, 2009 and March, 2010. This is likely to be due to seasonal migration in western South Sea. All sighting rates in the eastern South Sea were over 0.13 ind./n.m.. According to the results of the sighting survey, finless porpoises are distributed around the islands and inner bay along the path of the research vessel in the South Sea. There were numerous finless porpoises in the offshore areas of Mokpo, Yeosu, Tongyeong, Dadaepo, and Gaduk-do. This study will be utilized as part of a future abundance assessment of finless porpoise in the South Sea of Korea.

This study investigated the distribution of spotted seals, Phoca largha, inhabiting the coast of Baekryongdo. Monitoring of spotted seals in Baekryongdo was conducted between June 2006 and November 2008, using a 5-ton fishing vessel 1hour before low tide. The monthly maximum number of observed seals was 274 in September 2006, 139 in September 2007, and 213 in August 2008. Average observed monthly counts were largest in August and September. Relatively more spotted seals were observed when there were few cloudy days and plenty of sunshine. Bycatch, stranding, and observations of spotted seals have been reported along the coast of the Korean peninsula since 2000, and spotted seals were observed four times in the western coastal region, three times in the southeastern region, and 12 times on the east coast. This suggests that spotted seals inhabiting Baekryongdo migrate to the East Sea via the West and South seas as individuals or in groups.

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) commonly inhabit Korean waters, including the coastal waters of Jeju Island. However, their taxonomic position was unclear because of the validity of this genus. The genus Tursiops has recently been determined to comprise two species: the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus). To confirm the taxonomic position of bottlenose dolphins frequenting the coastal waters of Jeju Island, the external morphology and osteology of specimens from Jeju Island were examined. Photographs of free-swimming individuals were also used for determining external morphological characters. The cranial and meristic measurements fell within the ranges of T. aduncus. Osteological ratios were also consistent with those of T. aduncus. The presence of a prominent ventral spot was observed among some individuals. As a result, the dolphins mainly distributed in the coastal waters of Jeju Island were identified as Indo-Pacific b...

Identification of individuals is a standard tool used to study animal behavior and ecology. Numerous studies based on photographic identifications of various marine mammal populations have been successfully conducted. The objective of this study was to validate a photo-identification method for spotted seals. We tested the method using 4,939 photographs gathered in 30 field surveys from 2006 to 2008 on Baekryongdo, Korea. In 2006, 20 individuals were identified and cataloged using unique spot patterns on their left chick pelages as a natural marker. In 2007 and 2008, three and nine individuals, respectively, were recaptured, with six individuals continually recaptured during the entire survey period. We confirmed that the spot patterns of spotted seal pelages were constant in shape and location throughout time. These characteristics offered an opportunity to consistently identify individuals within a population over the long survey period. The use of photo-identification has great potential for mark-recapture studies.

Objectives Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus has a variety of central nervous system (CNS) manifestations. However, there are limited data regarding SFTS-associated encephalopathy/encephalitis (SFTSAE) and its mechanism. Methods All patients with confirmed SFTS who underwent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination due to suspected acute encephalopathy were enrolled in three referral hospitals between January 2013 and October 2016. Real-time RT-PCR for SFTS virus and chemokine/cytokines levels from blood and CSF were analysed. Results Of 41 patients with confirmed SFTS by RT-PCR for SFTS virus using blood samples, 14 (34%) underwent CSF examination due to suspected SFTSAE. All 14 patients with SFTSE revealed normal protein and glucose levels in CSF, and CSF pleocytosis was uncommon (29%, 4/14). Of the eight patients whose CSF was available for further analysis, six (75%) yielded positive results for SFTS virus. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) level in CSF were significantly higher than those in serum (geometric mean 1889 pg/mL in CSF versus 264 pg/mL in serum for MCP-1, p=0.01, and geometric mean 340 pg/mL in CSF versus 71 pg/mL in serum for IL-8, p=0.004). Conclusions The CNS manifestation of SFTS as acute encephalopathy/encephalitis is a common complication of SFTS. Although meningeal inflammation was infrequent in patients with SFTSAE, SFTS virus was frequently detected in CSF with elevated MCP-1 and IL-8. These findings indicate that possible direct invasion of the CNS by SFTS virus with the associated elevated cytokine levels in CSF may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SFTSAE.

First record of a stranded Melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra) on the south-east coast of Korea was described. Full body and skull measurements were taken from the specimen. It was identified as P. electra by unique pointed flipper tips. Skull measurements of the specimen corresponded to condylobasal length proportions given in the previous descriptions of the holotype.