DEB NEWS

He’s back. After a term of steerage under the hands of John Hodgkiss, headship of the Department of Ecology & Biodiversity has reverted to me. Along with this change at the top, there has also been a welcome change in location, as the department (or DEB) is now situated on the second and third floors of the new Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building. This is an inestimable improvement on our previous accommodation, and finds all the staff and postgraduates under the same roof for the first time since the department was established six years ago. We are extremely grateful to the donor, Lady Kadoorie, who made this change of situation possible. This is also a good moment to thank John Hodgkiss for his efforts with planning the building layout, since we are now enjoying the fruits of his efforts (including seemingly endless meetings with architects). Thanks are also due to Leo Chan (the DEB Senior Laboratory Superintendent) for coordinating the complex relocation effort, and for ensuring that we all got settled in once the move was complete.

So what else is new? The University is undergoing what has been termed ‘institutional transformation’. The implications of this are not yet entirely clear, but there has been a significant change in the procedures for admitting postgraduate students. This will have important implications for research in DEB, and will mean also that most students admitted in future will have to be funded in part by a research grant gained by the supervisor through a competitive exercise. This will greatly limit flexibility in the scope, extent and subject matter of postgraduate research projects. A small number of studentships will be awarded also, but these will go only to the most highly qualified applicants (hands up those with first-class honors degrees and, for Ph.D. applicants, an M.Sc.) with innovative research proposals. Because this is a new system, there are sure to be bumps in the road. We will have to see how things develop.

Academically, DEB continues to be as productive as ever. Papers are still being published, seminars are being delivered, theses are still being submitted, and – just out – another book resulting from the efforts of department members (yes, Yvonne Sadovy and Andy Cornish, I mean you) . In addition, the major results of the Biodiversity Survey of Hong Kong have materialised in the form of a set of proposals to Government for extension of the protected areas system (more on this on page 1). The sites identified total around 2% of the area of Hong Kong, and it will be interesting to see how Government – with its much vaunted commitment to the environment – responds to our proposals.

As I write this, at the end of the academic year, the retirement of two staff members in DEB nears. Firstly, Prof. Mike Dickman, who has been in Hong Kong for seven years, and who joined the department when it was established in 1994. Secondly, Mr Chan Shu Tong, plant collector extraordinaire, who has worked in the University for a staggering 46 years! Mike will be returning to his native Canada, but we anticipate Chan Shu Tong will be a regular visitor to the department over the next few years (perhaps he is shooting for triple figures) so that we will continue to benefit from his wealth of experience with local plants. On behalf of DEB, I wish them both well in the future.

Finally, you will notice this periodical is now under new editorship. I’ll close by thanking the former editors for their efforts. I’m also grateful to the new team for agreeing to take Porcupine! into the 21^st century. So....onward to world domination!

Cheers ...... David Dudgeon

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