Apple Pui Yi Chui

The Chinese University of Hong Kong | CUHK · School of Life Sciences

With projected changes in the marine environment under global climate change, the effects of single stressors on corals have been relatively well studied. However, more focus should be placed on the interactive effects of multiple stressors if their impacts upon corals are to be assessed more realistically. Elevation of sea surface temperature is p...

To better understand the possible consequences of climate change on reef building scleractinian corals in a marginal environment, laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the interactive effects of changes in salinity and temperature on percent fertilization success and early embryonic development of the coral Platygyra acuta. In the presen...

Understanding the reproductive biology of dominant coral species in subtropical nonreefal coral communities is critical in providing important information on the processes underlying the distribution limits of coral species and communities. This is the first study that investigates the reproduction cycle, gametogenesis, and fertilization ecology of...

Coral recruitment was monitored for three years, using terracotta tiles, in two core coral areas in Tung Ping Chau Marine Park where coral coverage is one of the richest in Hong Kong. Results revealed an extremely low recruitment success of corals, with only 10 recruits recorded on 384 tile pairs, equivalent to 0.19 recruits m− 2 yr− 1 throughout t...

The flexibility of symbiosis establishment between the corals Platygyra acuta and Acropora valida with the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium was examined. Planula larvae of these species were provided with homologous and heterologous sources of Symbiodinium C1 and Symbiodinium D8-12. These larvae were able to acquire symbionts prior to settlement and for...

Coral communities in Tolo Harbour and Channel, northeastern Hong Kong, suffered from tremendous degradations in 1980s due to excessive sewage pollutions. This study examined changes in coral community structures over the last 30 years including period before, at the height of and after implementation of abatement measures of pollution impacts. Sign...

Coral recruitment plays a vital role in mediating adult coral population structure as well as in promoting coral reef recovery after disturbances. As one of the most delicate life stages of coral, coral recruits were reported to be sensitive to several environmental, physical and biological stresses. This study aimed to examine the effects of Drupe...

Coral reefs are significant ecosystems. The ecological success of coral reefs relies on not only coral-algal symbiosis but also coral-microbial partnership. However, microbiome assemblages in the South China Sea corals remain largely unexplored. Here, we compared the microbiome assemblages of reef-building corals Galaxea (G. fascicularis) and Monti...

Anthropogenic pollutants and climate change are major threats to coral reefs today. Yet interactions between chemical and thermal perturbations have not been fully explored in reef studies. Here, we present the single and combined effects of copper (Cu) with thermal stress on five early life-history stages/processes (fertilization, larval mortality...

Dose–response experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of ammonia nitrogen (NH3/NH4 +) and orthophosphate (PO4 3−) on four stages of larval development in Platygyra acuta, including fertilization, embryonic development and the survival, motility, and settlement of planula larvae. Fertilization success was reduced significantly under 20...

Compiled abundances of juvenile corals revealed no change over time in the Pacific, but a decline in the Caribbean. Using these analyses as a rationale, we explored recruitment and post-settlement success in determining coral cover using studies in the Caribbean (St John, Bonaire) and Pacific (Moorea, Okinawa). Juvenile corals, coral recruits, and...

The Caribbean reef sponge Svenzea zeai was previously found to contain substantial quantities of unicellular photosynthetic and autotrophic microbes in its tissues, but the identities of these symbionts and their method of transfer from adult to progeny are largely unknown. In this study, both a 16S rRNA gene-based fingerprinting technique (denatur...