Research Highlights 研究亮點 43 Prof. Hongbin Liu 刘红斌教授 The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 香港科技大学 The Hong Kong Branch research team led by Prof. Hongbin Liu analyzed a plethora of data ranging from temperature, nutrient concentration to oxygen levels of the PRE during the 18 years to 2017, and discovered that temperature as well as the level of nutrient concentration in the ocean took a toll to the algae population. Therefore, the abundance of diatommay not be a result of water quality improvement, but a change of nutrient composition in the PRE - in particular a rapid increase of nitrate against a relatively constant level of ammonium and phosphate arising from the increasing anthropogenic input. The findings were recently published in the scientific journal Global Change Biology. Prof. Liu said, “Algae bloom is a major environmental problem, our model sheds light on prediction and even prevention of future blooms. Meanwhile, some studies suggest that not all diatoms species are angels, some from the Pseudo-nitzschia genus – for example, may produce an acid that is detrimental to the neural system of marine mammal and birds. Going forward, we will also study the ecological sequences of diatom blooms, as well as the abundance and physiology of those toxic diatoms.” Refer to HKUST news/参考科大新闻https://hkust.edu.hk/news/research-and-innovation/hkust-research-shows-growing-dominance-diatom-algae-pearl-river Reference: Global Change Biology 2021, 27, 3463–3473 海洋界一般认为，硅藻数量增加代表海 水的水质好，然而香港分部刘红斌教授 研究团队通过2000年至20 1 7年1 8年间 的数据 (包括温度、海水营养成分及含氧 量等) 研究发现，温度及海水的营养成分 也会影响藻类的数量。因此珠江口水域 的硅藻数量增加，并不一定代表此处水 质得到改善,而是由于海水营养成分出现 变化引起的，当中包括因人类各种活动 而导致海水硝酸盐含量急剧上升。相关 研究结果已发表在国际科学期刊Globa l Change Biology。 刘教授表示：“红潮/藻华是一个重大的 环境议题，我们的统计模型为预测甚至 预防红潮/藻华带来了新见解。此外，曾 经有文献提到，并非所有硅藻皆对海洋 有利，部分硅藻品种如尖刺拟菱形藻， 或会对哺乳动物及鸟类的神经系统有 害。未来，我们将进一步研究硅藻所引 起的红潮/藻华对生态造成的影响，以及 这些有毒品种的数量及形态”。 Demonstrate Growing Dominance of Diatom Algae in the Pearl River Estuary: Paving the Way for Future Study on Diatom Blooms 揭示珠江口水域硅藻數量上升新因素，為未來藻华研究奠定 重要基礎
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