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2025 Vol.12, Issue 4 Preview Page

Original Article

Dietary Analysis of Hydropotes inermis argyropus in Mt. Jumbong, using Fecal Samples

배설물 시료를 이용한 점봉산 서식 고라니의 먹이원 분석 연구

So-yeon Kwon14
,
Sungbae Joo2*
,
Jeongsoo Park3
권 소연14
,
주 성배2*
,
박 정수3
1Researcher, Eco-Climate integrated Information TF, National Institute of Ecology, Seocheon 33657, Korea
2Associate Researcher, Ecological Change Research Team, National Institute of Ecology, Seocheon 33657, Korea
3Senior Researcher, Ecological Change Research Team, National Institute of Ecology, Seocheon 33657, Korea
4PhD. Student, Biological Sciences Department, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
1국립생태원 생태계-기후 통합정보TF팀 전문위원
2국립생태원 생태변화연구팀 전임연구원
3국립생태원 생태변화연구팀 선임연구원
4강원대학교 생명과학과 박사과정
*Corresponding Author
31 December 2025. pp. 279-290
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Abstract

The water deer (Hydropotes inermis) in family Cervidae is endangered species, listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its native distribution is limited to few areas in China and Korean peninsula. While Chinese population has undergone severe decline due to habitat fragmentation and poaching, the Korean population is managed as vermin because of the crop damage associated with its high population density. Here, we applied NGS metabarcoding to elucidate possible food sources of the species inhabiting Mt. Jumbong. Fecal samples were collected at two-month intervals from April to October to assess seasonal variation in diet. As a result, total of 283,362 reads were obtained from 22 fecal samples collected between April and August, yielding 582 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) for the downstream analyses. The genera Quercus, Carpinus, and Acer were selected as the major food source of water deer inhabiting Mt. Jumbong, with high relative read abundance and frequency of occurrence. Our findings provide baseline data for understanding the feeding ecology of mountain-dwelling water deer and to contribute to long-term monitoring of plant community shifts and herbivore–plant interactions under climate change.

Keywords
Diet
Feces
Hydropotes inermis
Metabarcoding
Next generation sequencing

고라니(Hydropotes inermis)는 국제자연보전연맹(IUCN) 적색목록에 멸종위기 취약종으로 등재된 사슴과 포유류로, 중국과 한국에 주로 분포한다. 중국 개체군은 서식지 파편화와 밀렵으로 인해 분포가 크게 축소되었으나, 한국 개체군은 한반도 전역에서 높은 밀도로 분포하며 농작물 피해를 일으켜 유해야생동물로 관리되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 자연성이 높고 장기생태연구가 수행되고 있는 점봉산 일대에서 고라니 배설물을 채집하여 NGS 기반 메타바코딩 분석을 실시하였다. 샘플링은 4월부터 10월까지 두 달 간격으로 진행되었으며 선조사법에 따라 정해진 경로 상에서 배설물을 채집하였다. 그 결과 4월부터 8월까지 총 22개의 배설물을 채집하였으며 전체 시료에서 283,362개의 read수, 총 582개의 ASV (amplicon sequence variant)를 확보하여 분석에 사용하였다. 점봉산 서식 고라니의 먹이원의 비율과 출현 빈도를 비교한 결과 비율과 빈도가 모두 높았던 단풍나무속, 서어나무속, 참나무속을 점봉산 고라니의 주요 먹이원으로 추정하였다. 본 연구는 산간 지역 고라니의 먹이원에 대한 기초 자료를 제공하고 있으며, 장기적인 측면에서 기후변화에 따른 식물 군집 변화와 고라니의 먹이원 변화를 모니터링할 수 있는 기반 자료로 활용될 수 있을 것이라 기대한다.

키워드
먹이원
배설물
고라니
metabarcoding
Next Generation Sequencing
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Ecology and Infrastructure Engineering
  • Publisher(Ko) :응용생태공학회
  • Journal Title :Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
  • Journal Title(Ko) :응용생태공학회 논문집
  • Volume : 12
  • No :4
  • Pages :279-290
  • Received Date : 2025-11-14
  • Revised Date : 2025-11-27
  • Accepted Date : 2025-11-27
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.17820/eri.2025.12.4.279
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