研究故事

Ocean acidification drives a complex dance of survival for two marine species.

Fujian province is rarely mentioned in the coverage of AIDS in China, unlike Yunnan, Guanxi and Henan where drug use, sexual transmission and blood transfusions have raised infection rates. But if Fujian is not high profile, it may be a harbinger of things to come.

Down on its rocky outcrop at Cape D'Aguilar, the Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS) and the School of Biological Sciences continue its research on the effects of rising CO₂ levels on marine life. Two species currently receiving the close attention of Dr V Thiyagarajan (Rajan) and his team are held in rather different regard by human beings. One is the oyster, particularly the Hong Kong oyster, which is a benign and tasty creature. The other is the smaller and more obscure tube worm which Dr Rajan calls, quite simply, 'a troublemaker'.

The tube worm, hydroides elegans, is a warm water biofouler operating in Hong Kong at the upper limit of its area and it is under threat. Dr Rajan's team recently published a paper in PLoS ONE entitled 'The CO₂-Driven Ocean Acidification Alters and Weakens Integrity of the Calcareous Tubes Produced by the Serpulid Tubeworm, Hydroides elegans'.

"The preliminary look suggests that our system is different to other coastal waters but different in a bad way."

Dr V. Thiyagarajan

The full version of this article was originally published in Bulletin. Please click here to view this HKU publication.