Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong

About us

This Major is directed at teaching students: the evolution and diversity of life forms on Earth and the diversity of their habits and behaviours, how organisms interact with each other and with their environments, and key threats and approaches for conserving biodiversity and ensuring sustainable management. Special reference is made to Hong Kong and other Asian flora and fauna, within both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, the ways in which humans are impacting natural environments, and the approaches used to manage or mitigate those impacts.
This Major includes introductory courses which emphasize the diversity of plant and animal species, their evolutionary history, as well as applied tools such as biostatistics. There is field-work experience with a compulsory five-day residential field course focusing on the ecology of local habitats. At the advanced level, the Major teaches students about the ecology and biodiversity of different ecosystems (e.g. marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments), again emphasizing field work experience, and introduces the use of quantitative and experimental methods in ecology through direct access to dedicated facilities at the Swire Institute of Marine Science. Students can focus on applied or specialised topics such as fisheries and mariculture, tropical terrestrial and marine ecology, and biodiversity conservation.