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...

Over the past month, Dr. Apple Chui and her team have conducted 11 talks and workshops on coral restoration for CUHK staffs, local and...

- Dr. Apple Chui gave talks on coral restoration work for various organizations, including the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation...

- Dr. Apple Chui, founder of Coral Academy, won the "Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year Award - Science Engagement Category"...

- Held coral conservation workshops and talks for CUHK students, staff, UNESCO Hong Kong Association, SDSN Thailand, local primary and...

Invited by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) to set up a booth at the Inno Carnival, showcasing a 360º...

Co-organized coral restoration training workshops with WWF-Hong Kong Provided training for over 60 divers Divers learned coral-related...

Commissioned by the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) to conduct a feasibility study on coral conservation in the...

Co-organized with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) for the fifth consecutive year In the 2023-2024 academic...

Titled Echoes of Urbanity: Coral Reef Health and Evolution in the Urbanized Waters of the South China Sea.

First received funding from the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) in 2023, concluding by the end of the 2024 academic year tudents...

First launched in 2023 in collaboration with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), successfully concluded in...

All of our MSL professors have received research grant from Research Grant Council in 2024 this year. Congratulations to all of them.

A Nature's publication Prof. Jerome Hui's team has a publication on Nature's Communications Biology Journal. The title of the paper is:...

A Nature publication and recent GRF grant Prof. Jerome Hui and Prof. Ka Hou Chu have recently got a paper published on the Nature...

Congratulations to all the PIs and CIs! This year, MSL has been very successful in winning the General Research Fund (GRF), with 3 out of...

... since its revamp, to be exact. After 3 years of idling, our very own Tolo Explorer was finally able to resume service. On 17th April,...

Happy Year of the Rat! In the bright and sunny afternoon of 17th Jan 2020, we commenced the MSL Chinese New Year (CNY) Party with a...

Bon voyage! We are happy to announce that our research vessels are almost completing their overhauls, and are getting ready to sail away!

A conference held in CUHK on 26-30 May 2019. The Crustacean Society (TCS) aims to advance the study of all aspects of Crustaceans biology...

Welcome Mr. Steven CHOW Chun Sum, who has commenced his position as laboratory attendant at the MSL today. Steven will assist the...

We spent an amazing evening celebrating the end of 2018! 'Tis the Season to be Jolly In the evening of 20th December 2018, we had a warm...