울릉도 흑비둘기(Columba janthina)의 계절적 분포와 서식지 선택 특성

Columbidae (pigeons and doves) is one of the most threatened bird families in the world. Japanese Wood Pigeon (Columba janthina) lives in the southern island of Korea and Ulleungdo island, which is considered as an endangered species in the world. We need to investigate the size of its population in this region for protecting and managing the endangered species. The changes of ecological environment and population dynamics should be monitored. There was not a research on the population size of Japanese Wood Pigeon in Korea. Therefore, it is very important to conduct research on the basic information such as population size and seasonally preferred habitat so that we could better protect Japanese Wood Pigeon. This study was conducted to investigate the regional variation of population and the preferred ecological environment in Ulleungdo, the largest habitat of Japanese Wood Pigeon in Korea, from March 2016 to February 2018. Population surveys were conducted separately at 40 points in eight habitats of Japanese Wood Pigeon. Forest type, tree age-class, DBH, forest density crown and altitude were analyzed as environment factors. Japanese Wood Pigeon was observed up to the total of 1,956 (number of cumulative individual) individuals in the 40 points during the survey period. The maximum population is 326 individuals in August 2016. Monthly population fluctuation decreased from October and was almost not observed between December and February. The Japanese Wood Pigeon was found 34.16% in the Nari Basin area on 2016 and 29.39% in the Taeha, Hakpo areas on 2017. The Japanese Wood Pigeon preferred the following habitat environments: broad-leaf forests (77.5%), tree age class 4 (75%), DBH class 2 (80%), & high density crown (100%). The average altitude was 178.22±36.60 m (SD, n=40, range 10 m∼472 m) and an altitude of 10 to 160 m accounting for 57.5% of the total area indicating a preference for lowland forests.