FYP 小訪談 | LIFEmag 2020

LIFEmagazine 2019-2020 Issue

科研 Research

FYP小訪談

作為港大生態學的學生，四年大學生涯最難忘的不外乎必讀的 Final Year Project (FYP)。FYP 雖然不能視為正式的科研項目，但也是讓同學體驗一下做科研的好機會。以下，我們誠邀幾位應屆畢業生，分享一下自己完成 FYP 的歷練，也希望各位同學能加深對他們的認識。

再次感謝各位畢業生的投稿！

編：鍾榮峰

CADA022A-8219-4372-9F0F-40EB2DB6CF38 - K

Max -

Marine genomics – alternative splicing in Amphiprion percula under stable and fluctuating CO2 levels

當初揀呢個題目係因為我對魚類幾有興趣，同時覺得自己喺 genomics 方面嘅經驗唔係好夠，於是就搵咗做開魚研究嘅 Dr. Celia Schunter 做 supervisor。同佢傾過之後，經過幾次修改題目，最後決定咗做呢個題目。呢個 project 係對比小丑魚喺高同低嘅二氧化碳水平之下嘅 RNA splicing 入面，有邊啲相關嘅基因有出現 differential exon usage 嘅現象。嗰啲基因有機會係同小丑魚喺酸化海洋環境入面嘅生存有關（最後我都係唔夠數據做 gene oncology and functional analysis )。

呢個 project 係用之前已經 sequence 咗嘅數據去做，要成日用電腦 run program 同寫嘢，冇得出 field（呢個係最可惜）同埋要自己摸索啲 program 點 run（靠睇 manual），不過最後完成咗份論文係好開心、好有滿足感嘅！

最後想俾大家嘅 tips 就係：失敗都係一種結果，唔使驚失敗，同埋做咗個 project 覺得唔鍾意，都係經驗嚟嘅，慢慢摸索自己嘅興趣啦！大家加油！

4C8F0BBF-2F80-4A5D-8BAE-5DFCEC56826E - K

9733B105-DD34-4D26-8831-A943A120F7F8 - K

永不言敗！

The Unwise -

Mangrove detection via remote sensing

My project is on mangrove detection via remote sensing (sounds cool huh?) In a simple way, it is about machine learning and finding out the most optimal combination of resolutions to detect your groups of interest from aerial images. To make this happen, it would be better to have some computer science background to allow your project to delve deeper and explore wider (coding alert). Most of these projects would be working on plants (using a single point to represent a duller thing, i.e. tree, would be more reasonable than a multi-colored animal).

The most important message I would like to bring up here, and the very reason I speak up here, starting early never means a greater success, but a wider path towards success. Need not to give pressure to yourself seeing others working ahead of you with progress (like laboratory experiment), but do plan well ahead about what you are going to explore and what you would like to find out / discuss with the others before starting. Knowing what you are trying to find out will help you boost later.

Another important note would be, do find a good caring professor prior to the topic unless you are very specific. And get to know some good postgraduates with the same language (befriend) as you may find them easier to ask dump questions with, no offense at all here (and full love and thanks to my professor and postgraduates here). Clever kids would get to know who I am talking about. Also, being interested in the topic is important (similar =/= same). If you don't prefer field trips, go on for FYP, there are always some writings waiting for you with the help of computer and software.

And the very best luck to all of you. Be Wise. Be Kind. Be Ecologist.

Renee -

Tracking Siberian Rubythroats and Yellow-breasted Buntings with Stable Isotopes

Background

Matching wintering and breeding grounds of migratory birds is crucial for understanding migratory pathways and for the development of conservation action plans (Heim et al., 2018)
Stable isotope measurements from feathers, reflecting the diet of the birds in their breeding grounds, can be used to infer the location of the breeding sites for birds caught on migration (Weng, Lin, Sun, & Walther, 2014)

Results & Discussions

Narrow latitudinal breeding range of populations that overwinter/stopover in HK
Evidence for leapfrog migration in both Siberian Rubythroats and Yellow-breasted Buntings
HK and Thai winter populations of YBB have largely non-overlapping breeding ranges, indicating the possibility of two different subspecies/ breeding populations

Nicholas -

Investigation on life history and larval performance of Burara gomata (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) based on microclimatic factors and foliage age

睇蝴蝶睇到唔夠候嘅我，開始對蝴蝶嘅幼蟲產生咗無限興趣。我覺得佢哋好多嘅型態同顔色都非常獨特，又因爲少人研究加添咗一分神秘感，於是就開始自己搜集資料，向大師求教，觀察幼蟲。

最後FYP選擇咗研究白傘弄蝶產卵嘅時候對微氣候同埋寄主植物成熟程度嘅偏好，發現呢種蝴蝶的喺產卵嘅時候對較熱嘅位置有少量嘅偏好，至於成熟程度就暫無結果。講到最難忘嘅梗係喺過程之中憑自己觀察同埋番查論文，發掘咗大量關於毛蟲生活史嘅資訊，過程中仲結識咗個一齊鍾意蝴蝶同幼蟲嘅朋友互相交流。另外雖然疫情底下過得唔易，最後衝論文嘅時候真係好辛苦，但係好慶幸身邊亦都有個好朋友支持。

總結嚟講，成個 FYP 真係好難忘 :)

白傘弄蝶幼蟲

成功捕捉白傘弄蝶羽化嘅一刻！

Sheena -

The interplay between host-specificity and habitat-filtering influences sea cucumber microbiota across an environmental gradient

For my FYP, I worked on sea cucumber microbiomes to see if the microbial community composition in the sea cucumber host differed along a pollution gradient and whether this difference could be explained by environmental or host influence.

It was not the easiest task to accomplish in my university life, but definitely the most memorable one because it is a rare opportunity for you to devote all of your efforts into a research project of your own. Some of the unforgettable moments would be collecting the sea cucumbers during the coldest days last year and staying in the lab for Christmas just to get the extraction done as soon as possible. Prior to this project, I had little knowledge on the molecular skills and concepts in evolutionary biology, but this experience opened a new window for me. I realized my interest in understanding the evolutionary forces that shaped the things we now see and what this implies when the environment is changing.

I am hoping to continue my research in addressing the mechanisms behind the adaptation of marine organisms to the changing environment, predicting potential problems they would face and formulating solutions to race against the clock.