We are excited to welcome Thomas Tan, an HKPFS awardee, and Maggie Mai as new PhD students joining the McIlroy Lab this summer! Both bring strong research and field experience to our growing team. Maggie is also beginning an exciting new chapter after transitioning from Research Assistant to PhD student, building on the valuable experience she gained in the lab. We look forward to seeing both Thomas and Maggie develop their research on coral adaptation and symbiosis. Meet th

From western to eastern Hong Kong, our team embarked on a cross-HK research cruise this summer to investigate coral communities across a nutrient gradient. We conducted dive surveys and collected coral fragments, urchins, snails, sediment, and water samples from more than 14 sites, building a comprehensive dataset spanning Hong Kong’s diverse marine environments. Despite stormy weather and challenging underwater conditions, it was a fantastic opportunity to work alongside col

The McIlroy Lab has finally expanded its research southward to Hainan, marking the lowest-latitude site in our ongoing investigation of coral adaptation across thermal gradients in the Western Pacific. Our new PhD student Maggie Mai successfully completed this field investigation, in collaboration with researchers at the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology (中國科學院南海海洋研究所). This collaboration provides the final piece of evidence, now being integrated into climate models to

This semester marks an exciting step forward in our collaborative work on coral range dynamics. PhD candidate Joe Brennen has expanded his thermal tolerance experiments to Taiwan, building on previous efforts in Jeju, Hong Kong, and Okinawa. By gathering comparable physiological data across latitudes, Joe is integrating these results into climate models to forecast how warming oceans may reshape coral distributions. We are deeply grateful to colleagues at NSYSU and NMMBA f

Our project investigating how juvenile corals establish and maintain partnerships with symbiotic algae is officially underway at the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Following a successful spawning, coral larvae have settled onto tiles and are growing well. Early observations show healthy development—an encouraging start to the experiment. The team is now closely monitoring growth and symbiont dynamics under varying temperature regimes. With such promising early progre

Over the past month, Dr. Apple Chui’s team has conducted 8 workshops and talks for local primary and secondary schools, and the general public. These included a tailor-made “Citizen Science for Environmental Education” workshop, delivered as part of the International Nature Connectedness and Environmental Education Conference organised by OWLHK. Altogether, the team successfully spread the message of environmental conservation to nearly 1,000 students and public. List of sc

We’re delighted to welcome three new PhD students this semester— Christine Cui , Ryan Leung, along with Hammond Tong , who has transitioned from Research Assistant to PhD student! Christine will investigate coral symbiosis using molecular and physiological approaches, while Ryan will study coral ecosystems at higher latitudes in the Northwest Pacific. Hammond will now focus his PhD research on the adaptation and plasticity of trophic modes in scleractinian corals within Hong

This summer brought outstanding recognition for our team! At the 2025 Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation of Marine Ecosystems...

After an intense and fruitful field season, one of Prof. Shelby McIlroy’s PhD students has successfully collected a rich set of Acropora...

We were delighted to welcome Dr. Jon Cybulski from The University of Hong Kong to the McIlroy Lab! As a historical ecologist, Dr....

Over the past month, Dr. Apple Chui’s team has conducted 5 talks on coral restoration for local primary and secondary schools, spreading...

Coral Academy participated in the ZCP Green Easter Mart, organized by CIC-Zero Carbon Park (CIC-ZCP) during Easter. We showcased our...

Two members successfully presented at 2025 XMAS on their study topics: (1) using standardised samplers to understand human impacts on...

Description: The University of the Philippines Diliman Marine Science Institute hosted a week-long workshop on the Introduction to...

Despite their vast census numbers in ocean surface waters, genomic analyses reveal their N_e is 10× smaller than in less...

Explore the enigmatic world of microbial dark matter —uncultured and poorly understood microorganisms that dominate Earth’s ecosystems....

Using Bayesian sequential dating anchored by eukaryotic fossil calibrations, we reveal that marine Gamma-proteobacterial ammonia...

1. The Tibetan Plateau, credited as the “Third Pole”, a vital water source for people in China, is undergoing significant ecological...

We welcome Prof. William B. Whitman from University of Georgia visiting our lab, sharing our Ruegeria probiotic work and exploring more...

Over the past month, Dr. Apple Chui’s team have conducted 8 talks on coral restoration for local and international secondary and primary...