Jake Dytnerski
Ph.D. candidate
Research
Hong Kong has a seasonally dynamic marine environment. Summer sea surface temperatures can exceed 30°C whereas winter temperatures can drop below 15°C. This range in temperature allows for year-round coral communities, and abundant growth of macroalgae in the winter. For my PhD, I am researching the role of the long-spined sea urchin, Diadema setosum, in the ecosystem, here in Hong Kong. Much work has been done on Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean, and some work has been done on the D. setosum as a bioeroder of coral reefs in the tropics. However, little is known about which marcoalgae these urchins feed on; how they affect the seasonal patterns of macroalgae growth and distribution; if the urchins target living corals here in Hong Kong or just the turf algae that grows on the dead skeletons of the corals. Answering these questions will help understand the food sources of the urchins and how their energy stores vary with the seasonal change in food abundance. I am also interested in the connectivity of the populations of D. setosum across its range, as they can be found from the East coast of Africa to French Polynesia, from Honshu, Japan to NSW, Australia. I want to compare the physiological performance of the urchins from stable tropical environments and highly variable environments to determine if they show extensive physiological plasticity, or if populations have adapted to variable environments. This will allow me to predict how these important grazers will cope with future conditions across their range.
Education
2016: Bachelor of Science, Honours Marine Biology, University of British Columbia, Canada
2013: Arts and Science Diploma: Biology, Langara College, Canada
Awards
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2015: Dean of Science Scholarship – Biology research grant
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2013: Betty and Tony Pletcher Memorial Scholarship – For Achievement in Biology
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2012: Real Estate Foundation Biology Student Bursary – Bursary for Biology students
Bovern S. Arromrak
Postdoctoral Fellow
Research
Our ocean is full of mystery. Despite our decadal effort, we have barely scraped the surface to unravel their nature. However, there is one thing that we are sure of, and that is – it is a highly variable environment. This variability influences and shapes traits of various organisms from unicellular microbes such as bacteria to multi-cellular organisms such as the whale. Some organisms are uniquely positioned to adapt and survive in an environment that is fast-changing while others are not. Some of them can extend even their partnership with other organisms, regardless of their size to better cope with the changing environment. For instance, the bob-tailed squid and their bioluminescent bacteria, I studied marine biology to seek an answer to this kind of interesting phenomenon and… to unravel many more mysteries.
Currently, I am working on a project that assesses the potential benefits of the probiotic bacteria Ruegeria sp. on their host thermal tolerance to marine heatwaves. I’m excited to share our findings from this work in the future
Subjects of Interest
• Microbial ecology & evolution • Host-microbiome interactions • Ecosystem science • Climate change
• Extreme events