Ecological Exploration along the Nakdong River Basin

The Nakdong River is the longest in Korea. Most of the river basins are located in the Yeongnam region, therefore it is also called the ‘lifeline of Yeongnam’.

The Nakdong River has a 400 times bigger water body than the Han River and has a variety of biological environments such as swamps, deltas, and estuaries. This creates high biodiversity.

The claws on the forelimbs are very large and long, making them suitable for digging tunnels. Their burrows are divided into excretion areas and sleeping areas. Each space is connected and has multiple entrances and exits. It is carnivorous, but also eats plants in winter.

Among weasels, they are well-adapted for living in water. The toes are webbed up to the claws. They have whiskers around their mouths that act as antennae, so they can find food in the water. They are protected as an Endangered Wildlife ClassⅠ.

With a developed cervical vertebra, it can turn its head up to 270º. It can fly silently with its comb-shaped wing structure, and it can rotate upside down, which is advantageous for hunting. It is designated and protected as an Endangered Class II and Natural Monument No.324.

It is a terrestrial bird with short wings and cannot fly far. The male's ankles have dewclaws, which are used as a means of competition for females during the breeding season.

Females of Phasianus colchicus called 'Katuri' do peculiar behavior by pretending to be injured to protect their offspring when a natural enemy appears during the breeding season. The hatchling can walk right away and find food on their own.

This species is endemic to Korea, founded only in the Nakdong River. It is nocturnal, has no scales on its body, and has 4 pairs of whiskers. When it senses a threat, it uses its pectoral fin joint to make a 'pa-gak-pa-gak' sound, which gave the name 'Pagasari'.

It is classified as Endangered Class I fish and endemic to Korea. It's mainly distributed in the Nakdong River. The body is cylindrical and flattened from front to back. There are irregular spots all over the body, but the size is larger than that of Koreocobitis rotundicaudata

It is an Endangered Class I fish and is endemic to Korea. It lives limitedly in the Nakdong River and inhabits the fast-flowing rapids of sand and gravel. The gills are blue and the pectoral fins are red before and after the spawning season.

There are more than 2500 species of tiger beetles around the world, and 18 species are known in Korea. This beetle is ranked as the fastest runner on land in the Guinness Book of Insects. There is a record of running 2.5 meters per second by this beetle living in Australia

It was founded for the first time in 1964 from Mt. Bukhan. Since then, it was not sighted again for over 20 years. But in 1988, the larvae were collected in Yeoncheon river, Gyeonggi-do. It has a rather large shape with a body length of 70~77mm.

It is a perennial herb that grows in groups in rivers or streams. It has a distinct saw-toothed edge of the leaf. After pollination, the female flower stalk dries like a screw.

It is a perennial plant, branching in water and growing upright. Genus Water smartweed  is very good at purifying polluted water. It grows on the edge of old reservoirs and small ponds, and it also grows on land when the water dries up.

It is called a "robber crab" for stealing the food scraps from human settlements. They live on land and in freshwater, but they move to the ocean during the spawning season. It is also called 'smile crab' because it has a smiling mouth pattern on its back.

It is one of the largest crabs in Korea and lives in rivers flowing into the West Sea. They live mainly in freshwater around the sea and then go down to the sea to spawn. It is omnivorous and feeds on mussels, snails, worms, and small crustaceans.

It is a large shrimp distributed in the rivers of Korea. It has very large claws compared to its body. It lives in space between rocks or a colony of aquatic plants. During the spawning season, they migrate from rivers to estuaries.