The Greedy Gecko Trade

Tokay geckos are an eye-catching reptile – large and colourful, and said to possess therapeutic benefits in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). These qualities have made them high in demand both as pets and especially as an ingredient in TCM. But despite their...

Out of the Blue

First coined more than a decade ago, the term Blue Carbon (BC) describes the disproportionately large stores of carbon in coastal vegetated ecosystems. In the years since, the role of BC in environmental enhancement has reached international prominence, and Hong...

From Landscape to Laptop

The Digital Arboretum (DA) is the brainchild of Mr Gavin Coates, Senior Lecturer at HKU’s Division of Landscape Architecture. “Teaching planting design, landscape technology and landscape representation are my specialities and, for all of these, taking groups of...

Hatching a Plan

Hong Kong and southern China produce more than 30 per cent of the world’s edible oysters, largely using a species endemic to Hong Kong (Crassostrea hongkongensis) that is popularly called the Hong Kong oyster, as well as indigenous aquaculture practices that have been...

Sweet Deal for Songbirds

We are all familiar with the ubiquitous image of a hummingbird hovering in front of a flower as it drinks the nectar but scientists only proved they could in fact taste sweet in 2014. Now a new study has shown that songbirds are also able to distinguish sweet tastes...