Marine Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes among University Students in Hong Kong: An Application of the Ocean Literacy Framework.

In this study, we assessed the general marine environmental knowledge and attitudes of university students from eight public universities in Hong Kong. The Ocean Literacy Framework and revised New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) were used as tools for questionnaire development. Data were collected via in-person and online surveys. An in-person survey was conducted at the university canteen from 16 May to 24 May 2017, and an online survey was conducted via email from 1 May to 31 May 2017. A structured questionnaire was provided to interested students from different levels of study and majors. Data obtained from these surveys were summarized based on participants' correct answers in the general knowledge section and five-point Likert scaling for attitude statements. Results show that Hong Kong university students possess moderate marine environmental knowledge and pro-environmental attitudes. Knowledge scores significantly correlate with demographic variables, such as major of study, gender, institution, and parents' education. Students' pro-environmental attitudes are associated with different factors, including participation in various marine recreational activities, taking marine-related courses, and attachment to conservative marine initiatives. The study results have implications regarding the advancement of marine environmental knowledge and the pro-environmental attitudes of university students, such as mapping a well-structured pathway for disseminating marine environmental knowledge, curricular involvement, and the development of an integrated web resource.

Hong Kong's subtropical scleractinian coral communities: Baseline, environmental drivers and management implications.

We surveyed 41 sites to provide an updated baseline of Hong Kong coral communities. Five community types were identified, among them the most common one inhabited oceanic waters and dominated by both massive and upward-plating corals. The 41 sites had 2.1-⁠79% coral cover; among them 21 in the eastern waters had >40% coral cover. Corals in several sites showed signs of external bioerosion or bleaching-induced damage. Sites in the southern waters had low coral cover. Both coral cover and generic richness correlated negatively with several water quality parameters including total inorganic nitrogen concentration and turbidity, indicating the development of Hong Kong's coral communities is constrained by water quality parameters. Management actions are proposed to reduce bioerosion, and to monitor sites affected by bleaching.

Fish and crustacean biodiversity in an outer maritime estuary of the Pearl River Delta revealed by environmental DNA.

Understanding the faunal community structure in the estuary would be crucial in assessing the health of the ecosystem. The poor visibility in the estuarine area due to the outflow from the Pearl River hinders the conventional visual census in assessing the megafaunal biodiversity. In this study, the fish and crustacean biodiversity of Hong Kong's western waters, i.e. the outer maritime estuary of the PRD, were studied through the metabarcoding of environmental DNA (eDNA). eDNA from the seawater and sediment samples was extracted from five sites in the region. After testing the performance of two genetic markers, amplicons of the cytochrome oxidase I, amplified by polymerase chain reaction, were subjected to Illumina high-throughput sequencing (MiSeq) analysis. A total of 22 fish species from 17 families and 34 crustacean species from 27 families were identified by blasting the sequences against the NCBI GenBank database, demonstrating segregation between samples from different sites. This study provides insight on the detail distribution of fish assembly in PRD, when compared with a previous eDNA study in the inner brackish PRD.

Localized bleaching and quick recovery in Hong Kong's coral communities.

During the summer of 2017 we visited 33 sites with substantial coral cover across Hong Kong waters. At six sites where coral bleaching was observed, video-transect surveys were conducted, which revealed 18.7% to 56.1% bleached colonies and 5.9% to 57.6% bleached coral covered area per site. Mainly affected were three plate-like and three massive coral species. Water quality parameters were analyzed, which indicated that hyposalinity might have triggered the bleaching event. Tagging and follow-up field observation revealed a pattern of recovery depending on coral growth form, with high recovery rates (>93%) at five sites dominated by massive and submassive corals, but moderate (70%) at a site dominated by plate-like corals. Our study shows that the corals of Hong Kong exhibit differential susceptibility to bleaching and ability to recover, therefore it is imperative to establish a long-term monitoring programme to detect the changes in community structure over time.

Planting a Seed of Experience - Long Term Effects of a Co-curricular Ecogarden-Based Program in Higher Education in Hong Kong.

This paper reports on the long-term effectiveness of a non-formal co-curricular educational program based on a campus ecogarden at a Hong Kong university in developing pro-sustainability awareness, attitudes and behavior among undergraduate students. This service-based, nature-based experiential learning program, termed the Ecogarden Farmer and Biodiversity Surveyor, has been running at the university since 2015. The program is divided into two consecutive phases: a training phase comprising various learning activities and a successive internship phase consisting of the all-round practical tasks involved in managing the garden. A retrospective evaluation of the program using phenomenographic approach and content analysis was adopted to reveal the diversity of students' learning experience, as the indicators of the success of the program. Of 112 participants from 4 cohorts, 32 completed online questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews were successfully conducted with twelve participants, three from each of the four cohorts. The results indicated that the program's outcomes could be categorized into five themes. Most outcomes fit into the theme 'an increase in knowledge and skill level,' followed by 'rise in environmental awareness,''facilitation of personal growth,' and 'enhancement of career development.' Many structural experiences revealed may suggest the success of the program. The longer the participants had participated in the program, the more in-depth and diversified reflection of the senior participants relating to personal development were mentioned. This study provides critical insights into the validity of retrospective program evaluation for assessing the long-term impact of EfS programs by introducing a cross-sectional study of different cohorts as a serial time-point sampling strategy.

Occurrence and Composition of Microplastics in the Seabed Sediments of the Coral Communities in Proximity of a Metropolitan Area.

In marine environments, microplastics have become a focus in scientific research in the last decade due to the global threat this pollutant poses to the marine environment. Corals in Hong Kong are under threat due to the degradation of the marine environment caused by human activities. This study investigated the occurrence, abundance and composition of microplastic debris (0.3⁻5 mm) in seabed sediments adjacent to coral communities in Hong Kong. Twenty-four benthic sediment samples were collected from four study sites located along the northeastern and eastern shores of Hong Kong. Microplastic concentrations ranged from 169 ± 48 to 221 ± 45 items/kg, and the mean concentration of microplastics in the seabed sediments was 189 ± 50 items/kg, which was comparable to similar studies in other regions. Microplastics accounted for 95.4% of particles extracted from benthic sediment samples using 40× light microscopy. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy analysis showed that polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) comprised the majority of polymer types, contributing 45.3% and 29.3%, respectively. The proportion of microplastics made from PE and PET in seabed sediments was significantly higher than that observed in local beach sediments. The proportion of microplastics made from PE and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) together in the seabed sediments was much higher than that of PET and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The results have provided information with reference to environmental concentrations of microplastics for fringe reef habitat close to urban areas, which can be applied in studies concerning ecotoxicity of microplastics.

Shark Conservation: An Educational Approach Based on Children's Knowledge and Perceptions toward Sharks.

Shark conservation has become a focus of current international conservation efforts. However, the misunderstanding of sharks and their negative public portrayal may hinder their conservation. More importantly, the consumption of shark fin, which is very common in Chinese cultures, poses a significant threat to sharks. Hong Kong has long been the world's largest shark fin trading center. Shark conservation would become more sustainable if public understanding of this predatory fish and an appreciation of its ecological significance could be promoted. It is possible that the demand for fins could be effectively managed through long-term educational efforts targeted at younger generations. To provide essential baseline data for planning of these educational efforts, this project investigated the perceptions of 11 to 12 year-old primary school students in Hong Kong about sharks, and their understanding of ecological concepts and shark-related knowledge. The findings indicate that these students lack sufficient knowledge and possess misconceptions about sharks and their ecological significance in the marine ecosystem. The students' conceptual understanding level is strongly correlated with their perceptions. Correlational analyses further demonstrated a positive association between formal education and perceptions toward shark conservation. The students who favoured shark fin consumption did so because of its tastiness, whereas concerns about shark population decline and the cruelty of shark hunting were the main reasons for not favoring shark fin consumption. This pilot study provides preliminary but important insights into primary school education regarding the conservation of sharks.

First discovery of a new species of Newmanella Ross, 1969 (Balanomorpha: Tetraclitidae) in the western Pacific, with a note on the new status of Neonrosella Jones, 2010.

The present study describes a new species of Newmanella Ross, 1969 (Thoracica: Tetraclitidae: Newmanellinae) from Taiwan. Species in this genus are believed to be distributed in tropical western Atlantic waters and the present study is the first report of a new species of Newmanella in the western Pacific. Newmanella spinosus sp. nov. is morphologically close to N. radiata Bruguiére, 1789 but it is distinguished from N. radiata by the morphology of the scutum, tergum, cirrus II, mandible and maxillule. Sequence divergence of 12S rDNA between N. radiata and N. spinosus sp. nov. reached 7.6%, suggesting these are two different species. Newmanella spinosus sp. nov. is distributed in the Philippines, Taiwan and Okinawa but is absent from Hong Kong, Hainan and China. The distribution is probably affected by the Kuroshio Current. The subfamily Newmanellinae Ross and Perreault, 1999 contains two genera, Newmanella and Yamaguchiella Ross & Perreault, 1999. Neonrosella Jones, 2010 is a subgenus of Yamaguchiella. A recent molecular analysis (Tsang et al. 2015) determined that Yamaguchiella and Neonrosella are located in two distinct and distantly-related clades within the tetraclitid clade, suggesting that the subgenus Neonrosella is not closely related to Yamaguchiella and should be elevated to generic status.

The model barnacle Balanus balanus Linnaeus, 1758 (Crustacea: Maxillopoda: Sessilia) mitochondrial genome and gene rearrangements within the family Balanidae.

Balanus balanus Linnaeus, 1758, the model organism in the order Sessilia (Crustacea: Maxillopoda) is a cold water acorn barnacle in the family Balanidae distributing over the entire northern hemisphere. We present complete mitochondrial genome of this barnacle and analyze mitochondrial genomic characters of the family Balanidae. The length of mitochondrial genome is 15,955 bp, which is larger than those of the other barnacles in the same family. An inversion of a six-gene block (trnPro- nad4L- nad4- trnHis- nad5- trnPhe) is found between B. balanus and two Megabalanus (M. ajax and M. volcano). Three types of mitochondrial gene arrangements revealed in Balanidae have indicated the non-conserved gene orders even at intrafamilial level. Compared to pancrustacean ground pattern, large-scale gene rearrangements are found in B. balanus. Translocations of at least six tRNAs (trnAla, trnGlu/trnSer(AGY), trnPro/trnThr, trnLys, trnGln and trnCys) are identified and translocation and inversion occurred simultaneously in one tRNAs (trnTyr).

A new Chthamalus (Crustacea: Cirripedia) from the challengeri subgroup on Taiwan rocky intertidal shores.

The present study describes a new barnacle, Chthamalus williamsi sp. nov., from rocky shores in Taiwan. Chthamalus williamsi sp. nov. belongs to the challengeri subgroup of Chthamalus due to cirrus I having no conical spines and the setae on cirri II having no basal guards. Within the challengeri sub-group, C. williamsi sp. nov. differs from C. challengeri Hoek, 1883, C. dalli Pilsbry, 1916 and C. montagui Southward, 1976 by its scutum and the tergum both having straight articular margins. Chthamalus moro Pilsbry, 1916 differs from C. williamsi sp. nov. in having strong ribbing on the shell surface, and C. williamsi sp. nov. differs from C. antennatus Darwin, 1854 by having a normal form cirrus III, rather than an antenniform cirrus III as in C. antennatus. The external morphology and size of C. williamsi sp. nov. are similar to C. sinensis Ren, 1984 (C. neglectus Yan & Chan, 2004 is a synonym of C. sinensis, from molecular data presented in the present study) but the scutum of C. williamsi sp. nov. has a height similar to its width, whilst the scutum of C. sinensis is much depressed, being wider than high. From molecular analysis of a mitochondrial COI region, C. williamsi sp. nov. formed a distinct clade (divergence >15%) from other described species in the challengeri subgroup including C. challengeri, C. sinensis, C. moro, C. montagui and C. dalli, suggesting that it is a new species.

Community-level destruction of hard corals by the sea urchin Diadema setosum.

Sea urchins are common herbivores and bioeroders of coral ecosystems, but rarely have they been reported as corallivores. We determined the spatial pattern of hard coral damage due to corallivory and bioerosion by the sea urchin Diadema setosum Leske in Hong Kong waters. Coral damage was common at the northeastern sites, with 23.7 - 90.3% colonies being either collapsed or severely damaged with >25% tissue loss. Many genera of corals were impacted by the sea urchin but the damage was most obvious for the structure forming genus Platygyra. The percentage of severely damaged and collapsed coral had significant positive correlation with the abundance of D. setosum, which ranged from 0.01 to 5.2 individuals per coral head or 0.1 - 21.1 individuals m(-2) across the study sites. Remedial management actions such as sea urchin removal are urgently needed to save these fringing coral communities.

Homogeneous population of the brown alga Sargassum polycystum in Southeast Asia: possible role of recent expansion and asexual propagation.

Southeast Asia has been known as one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world. Repeated glacial cycles during Pleistocene were believed to cause isolation of marine taxa in refugia, resulting in diversification among lineages. Recently, ocean current was also found to be another factor affecting gene flow by restricting larval dispersal in animals. Macroalgae are unique in having mode of reproduction that differs from that of animals. Our study on the phylogeographical pattern of the brown macroalga Sargassum polycystum using nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2), plastidal RuBisCO spacer (Rub spacer) and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit-III (Cox3) as molecular markers revealed genetic homogeneity across 27 sites in Southeast Asia and western Pacific, in sharp contrast to that revealed from most animal studies. Our data suggested that S. polycystum persisted in single refugium during Pleistocene in a panmixia pattern. Expansion occurred more recently after the Last Glacial Maximum and recolonization of the newly flooded Sunda Shelf could have involved asexual propagation of the species. High dispersal ability through floating fronds carrying developing germlings may also contribute to the low genetic diversity of the species.

Host-specific phenotypic plasticity of the turtle barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria: a widespread generalist rather than a specialist.

Turtle barnacles are common epibionts on marine organisms. Chelonibia testudinaria is specific on marine turtles whereas C. patula is a host generalist, but rarely found on turtles. It has been questioned why C. patula, being abundant on a variety of live substrata, is almost absent from turtles. We evaluated the genetic (mitochondrial COI, 16S and 12S rRNA, and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP)) and morphological differentiation of C. testudinaia and C. patula from different hosts, to determine the mode of adaptation exhibited by Chelonibia species on different hosts. The two taxa demonstrate clear differences in shell morphology and length of 4-6(th) cirri, but very similar in arthropodal characters. Moreover, we detected no genetic differentiation in mitochondrial DNA and AFLP analyses. Outlier detection infers insignificant selection across loci investigated. Based on combined morphological and molecular evidence, we proposed that C. testudinaria and C. patula are conspecific, and the two morphs with contrasting shell morphologies and cirral length found on different host are predominantly shaped by developmental plasticity in response to environmental setting on different hosts. Chelonibia testudinaria is, thus, a successful general epibiotic fouler and the phenotypic responses postulated can increase the fitness of the animals when they attach on hosts with contrasting life-styles.

Acrothoracican barnacles (Lithoglyptida) in Taiwan, including the taxonomic status of Balanodytes taiwanus Utinomi, 1950 and cryptic diversity of Auritoglyptes bicornis (Aurivillius, 1892).

We list five acrothoracican barnacles of the order Lithoglyptida currently found in Taiwanese waters, including two new records, Trypetesa habei Utinomi, 1962 and Berndtiapurpurea Utinomi, 1950 and a new undescribed species of the genus Lithoglyptes. We also investigate the morphology and molecular genetics of Balanodytes taiwanus Utinomi, from its type locality, Taiwan. The original description of B. taiwanus in Utinomi (1950a) reported the absence of caudal appendages. Re-examination of the somatic body of one of the syntype specimens (the other syntype only having an opercular bar remaining) of B. taiwanus deposited in the Seto Marine Laboratory in Japan, revealed the presence of caudal appendages. The morphology of our specimens collected in various locations in Taiwan fits the description in Utinomi (1950a) and all have caudal appendages. The diagnosis of Balanodytes Utinomi, 1950 is revised herein. The genus Armatoglyptes Kolbasov & Newman, 2005 is a nomen nudum and ajunior synonym of Balanodytes. Our results also show that the widespread species Lithoglyptes habei Tomlinson, 1963 is a junior synonym of B. taiwanensis. The molecular sequence divergencse of the 16S RNA and COI genes were studied for samples of another monotypic genus Auritoglyptes (A. bicornis) from different regions of Taiwan. It was shown that there are at least three phylogenetic clades in Taiwan, suggesting that Auritoglyptes represents a cryptic species complex.

Phylogeography of the marine macroalga Sargassum hemiphyllum (Phaeophyceae, Heterokontophyta) in northwestern Pacific.

Sargassum hemiphyllum is commonly found in Japan and Korea, with a variety, var. chinense, that is found distributed in the southern Chinese coast. We previously reported distinct genetic differentiation between the two taxa based on the PCR-RFLP data of plastid RubiscoL-S spacer. The present study aims at elucidating the phylogeographic pattern of S. hemiphyllum based on more markers in the nuclear and extranuclear genomes, with a view to reveal the occurrence of hybridization. The two allopatrically distributed taxa were found to be genetically distinct in nuclear ITS2, plastidial Rubisco (Rbc) and mitochondrial TrnW_I (Trn) spacers. Their divergence was postulated to be attributable to the vicariant event which resulted from the isolation of the Sea of Japan during the late Miocene (6.58-11.25 Mya). Divergence within both S. hemiphyllum and the chinense variety was observed based on Trn spacer, while the divergence in S. hemiphyllum was further confirmed in Rbc spacer. This divergence appears to correspond to the separation of the Japanese populations between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific that occurred around 0.92-2.88 Mya (the early Pleistocene). The presence of an ITS2 clone resembling var. chinense sequences in a Japanese population of S. hemiphyllum (JpNS) raises the possibility of the introgression of var. chinense individuals into S. hemiphyllum population. Compared to that between S. hemiphyllum and the chinense variety, hybridization among the Japanese and Korean populations of S. hemiphyllum is highly probable as all these individuals share a pool of nuclear ITS2 sequences, possibly attributable to incomplete concerted evolution of ITS2.

MORPHOLOGICAL AND GENETIC VARIATION IN THE POPULATIONS OF SARGASSUM HEMIPHYLLUM (PHAEOPHYCEAE) IN THE NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC(1).

Difficulty in species identification of Sargassum (Sargassaceae, Fucales) is partly attributed to the high polymorphism among its individuals and populations. This study aimed at assessing morphological and genetic variations in two varieties, var. hemiphyllum J. Agardh and var. chinense J. Agardh, of Sargassum hemiphyllum (Turner) C. Agardh, a widely distributed species in the northwestern Pacific. We investigated 26 measurable, five numerical, and 33 categorical morphological parameters associated with different branching levels of specimens from each of six localities within its distribution range using cluster analysis (CA) and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA). Leaf size of the primary and secondary branching levels and the vesicle size of the secondary branches of the specimens examined were determined to be the most important morphological parameters that were significantly different among populations. Change in leaf and vesicle length of individuals among the six populations followed a latitudinal gradient, with smaller leaves and vesicles associated with northern populations and larger ones in the southern populations. The possible influence of the gradual change in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) along this gradient in the northwestern Pacific on leaf and vesicle morphologies of this species was suggested. PCR-RFLP analysis of the RUBISCO spacer in the chloroplast genome revealed two distinct and highly homogenous clades, a China clade and a Japan-Korea clade, which corresponded to var. chinense and var. hemiphyllum, respectively. The formation of refugia along the "Paleo-coast" in the East China Sea during glacial periods is suggested to have led to the vicariance of ancestral populations of S. hemiphyllum and thus to have promoted genetic differentiation. The massive freshwater outflow of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers may continue to act as a barrier, prolonging the allopatric distribution of the two varieties.