DR. DANNY CHI-MAN LEONG
ECOLOGY AND BIODIVERSITY LAB AT BNU-HKBU UIC
RESEARCH
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MACAU BIODIVERSITY
Since 2013, I have been spending my summer and spring holidays exploring the Macao biodiversity. There are few taxonomic studies on the fauna in particular of insects, this research gap has been affecting our knowledge on environmental education and biological conservation. Then I started to explore the Macao ant and orbited mite diversity resulting in discovering four new species and two checklists for ants and orbited mites.
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Now I keep working on researching Macao biodiversity and organizing citizen science programs such as City Nature Challenge - Macao SAR to foster the species documentary and strengthen the bond between humans and nature.
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TAXONOMY
In my MPhil research, I was focusing the taxonomic revision on the ant genus Ponera. The Ponera species are very indistinct and hard to identify at the species level with many undescribed species that could be found in the museum and in the field. Most Ponera species like to habits in the mountain habitats and nest under very humid niches such as moss and rotten wood, which makes me felt happy to discover them as playing "hide-and-seek" in the forest.
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After my systematic study on the Ponera species, I expect that the addition of new species will be coming soon, and their diversity and relationship with ants will be more clear since then. In this study, two new species have been described and name for Dr. Wu and Dr. Terayama who inspired me.
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https://blog.myrmecologicalnews.org/2019/07/10/ponera-ants-from-taiwan-and-japan/
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PHYSIOLOGY & CONSERVATION
Global changes such as deforestation, urbanization and climate change are modifying environmental conditions so that ectotherm organisms are threaten by high temperatures in particular are known to limit species survival, reproduction and foraging. In order to protect the rested biodiversity on our planet, I investigate the animal physiological response for heat to forecast their vulnerability and predict their thermal niche. The studies on physiological tolerance of heat and thermal refuges can be considered by wildlife biologists and managers for habitat conservation and applied in habitat management, with information on species sensitivity to temperature playing a critical role in predicting their occurrence and distribution. Gaining a better understanding on species physiology toward heat sensitivity, would allow a better management of species and their habitats to protect local fauna.
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The latest study: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.09.417410
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