Dr Michael Lau
Herpetofauna Specialist
Dr Lau is the
Programme Coordinator of the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden’s China Programme
with specialist knowledge in the design and execution of ecological surveys and
conservation projects. Dr Lau has
studied Romer’s Tree Frog since 1991 and rescued over 200 individuals of the
species from the Chek Lap Kok before construction of the new Hong Kong
airport. He has over 15 years of
post qualification ecological experience and undertaken ecological and herpetofaunal
surveys focusing on fish ponds, agricultural fields, abandoned paddy fields,
streams, forests, and shrublands in Hong Kong and in South China. He was previously involved in the
Biodiversity Survey undertaken by the University of Hong Kong for which he
carried out and coordinated a territory-wide survey of vertebrate species. He has published a number of articles
on Hong Kong herpetofauna and co-authored Hong Kong Amphibians and
Reptiles. Dr Lau was Reserve
Manager at the Mai Po Marshes Wildlife Education Centre and Nature Reserve
responsible for the supervision of various projects including the establishment
of the Mai Po Captive Wildfowl Collection and the execution of several habitat
engineering works. He has
participated in a number of international conferences and has presented papers at
the Second World Congress of Herpetology in Australia, the IUCN Chinese Reptile
and Amphibian Specialist Group and the Third Symposium on the Conservation and
Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Kunming.
Education
·
PhD, Habitat use of Hong Kong amphibians with special emphasis on the
Ecology and Conservation of Philautus
romeri , University of Hong Kong
·
BSc (Hons) Zoology and Botany, Australian National University,
Canberra, Australia
Professional Affiliations & Registrations
·
Member of the World Wide Fund for Nature (Hong Kong) Mai Po Management
and Development Committee.
·
Member of the World Wide Fund for Nature (Hong Kong) Conservation
Projects Committee
·
Member of the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.
·
Member of the Hong Kong SAR Government Country and Marine Parks Board.
Languages
·
English
·
Chinese
Key Projects
Kadoorie
Farm and Botanic Garden, 1998-Present.
Employed as an ecologist in the South China Biodiversity Conservation
Programme from 1998 to 2003. Responsible
for carrying out and co-ordinating the survey of amphibians and reptiles in
Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan provinces. He is now the Programme Coordinator of
the China Programme and is responsible for developing the strategy.
Detailed Design for Wetland Re-creation, Kowloon and
Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), 2000-2001. Dr Lau was the Target Fauna Specialist of this study. The overall objective of this four-year
Study is to compensate for the loss of ecologically-rich wetland habitat in the
Kam Tin Valley through a habitat creation programme based on the guiding
principles established in the HCMP.
As the ecology of the Kam Tin Valley has been disrupted through the West
Rail project, the guiding principles should facilitate the early establishment
of ecological resources on commissioning of the re-created wetland
habitat. With this overall
objective in mind, broad principles will be applied for the expeditious wetland
design and creation process.
University
of Hong Kong, 1991-1998. PhD thesis on the
Romer’s Tree Frog, 'Habitat Use by Hong Kong Amphibians with Special Reference
to the Ecology and Conservation of Philatutus romeri ' in the Department of
Ecology & Biodiversity, University of Hong Kong with funding from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey
Club.
The
University of Hong Kong, 1996-1997.
Involved in the Biodiversity Survey project which covered all the
terrestrial and fresh water habitats in Hong Kong. Mr Lau was responsible for carrying out and coordinating the
territory-wide survey of vertebrate species. He also assisted in the survey for
invertebrates.
Biodiversity
Working Group, China Council for the International Cooperation on the
Environment and Development, 1993-1995.
Mr Lau was employed as the project co-ordinator of the 'Studies of Wildlife Trade in Southern China
including Hong Kong and Macau'.
World
Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong, 1987-1991. Dr Lau was initially a field guide at the Mai Po
Marshes Wildlife Education Centre and Nature Reserve and was later promoted to
reserve manager. During his time
working for WWF, Mr Lau collected plant and animal specimens and assisted in
the developing of educational programmes.
As reserve manager he was responsible for the supervision of various
projects including the construction of the Sir Peter Scott Field Studies
Centre, the establishment of the Mai Po Captive Wildfowl Collection, the
building of the Tower Hide, and the execution of several habitat engineering
works. He was also responsible for
the development of wetlands management training course for reserve staff from
China and Southeast Asia.
Division
of Water & Land Resources, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organisation (CSIRO), Canberra, Australia, 1985-1986. Employed part-time in the division as technical assistant,
responsible for sorting arthropods collected in an ecological field experiment
into various taxonomic groups.
Conservation
Agency, Rhode Island, USA, 1987. Employed
full-time as collector/co-ordinator in a two-month herpetological expedition carried
out in Hong Kong and Guangdong, China.
Responsible for organising collecting trips and collecting voucher
specimen for Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA.
Division
of Wildlife & Rangelands Research, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia,
1986-1987. Employed
part-time in the division as technical assistant, responsible for sorting
arthropods. In December 1986,
employed full-time, responsible for collecting vegetation and soil data in the
field, sorting arthropods, and data entry.
1986 'Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles'
Booklet
- As a co-author
of 'Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles' which was published by Urban Council.
1993 'Notes on the feeding of Enhydris
bennetti (Gray) (Reptilia,
Squamata, Colubridae) in Hong Kong'
-
As the principal author of the short note which was published in the Memoirs of
Hong Kong Natural History Society.
1995 'Taxonomic status of the Hong Kong
populations of the Hemidactylus garnotii vietnamensis complex (Gekkonidae:
Reptilia)'
- As a co-author
of this paper which was published in Zoological Studies.
1995 'Taxonomic review of the geckos allied to
Gekko chinensis Gray 1842 (Gekkonidae, Reptilia) from China and Vietnam'
-
As a co-author of this paper which was published in Tropical Zoology.
1995 'Cytoaxonomic studies of three ranid
species (Amphibia: Anura) from Hong Kong'
-
As a co-author of this paper which was published in Japanese Journal of
Herpetology.
1996 'Notes on the herpetofauna on Neilingding
Island in the Pearl River Estuary, China'
-
As the author of this short article which was published in the Memoirs of Hong
Kong Natural History Society.
1996 'Geographical variation in corroboree
Frogs, Pseudophryne coorroboree Moore (Anura: Myobatrachidae): A reappraisal
supports recognition of P. pengilleyi
Wells & Wellington'
-
As a co-author of this paper which
was published in the Australian Journal of Zoology.
1996 'Wildlife Trade in Southern China
including Hong Kong and Macao'
-
As the principal author of this report to Biodiversity Working Group of the
China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development
Project.
1996 'Amphibians in Hong Kong'
-
As the author of this article which was published in Zoo's Print.
1997 'A brief herpetological excursion to Wai
Ning Ding, Wanshan Islands, South China Sea'
-
As a co-author of this short article which was published in the Asiatic
Herpetological Research.
1997 'Chromosome polymorphism and karyotype of
Gekko chinensis (Gekkonidae: Reptilia) from Hong Kong.
- As the first
author of this paper which was published in the Journal of Herpetology.
1997 'A revised checklist of Hong Kong
amphibians and reptiles'
-
As a co-author of this checklist which was published in the Memoirs of Hong
Kong Natural History Society.
1997 'Comments on the taxonomic status of the
montane Pareas from Hong Kong (Squamata: Colubridae)'
-
As a co-author of this paper whcih was published in the Journal of Taiwan
Museum.
1998 'Karyotype of the Chinese Four-lined
Skink Eumeces quadrilineatus (Reptilia:Scincidae), from Hong Kong'
-
As a co-author this paper which was published in the Raffles Bulletin of
Zoology.
1998 'Hong Kong Amphibians and Reptiles'
Second Edition
-
As a co-author of this expanded and up-dated edition of this field guide which
was published by the Provisional Urban Council.
1999 'Composition and distribution of Hong
Kong Amphibian fauna'
-
As the principal author of this paper which was published in the Memoirs of
Hong Kong Natural History Society.
2000 ‘Conservation and trade of terrestrial
and freshwater turtles and tortoises in the People’s Republic of China’
-
As the principal author of this paper which was published in Asian Turtle
Trade: Proceedings of a Workshop on Conservation and Trade of Freshwater
Turtles and Tortoises in Asia.
2000 ‘Trade and conservation of turtles and
tortoises in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People’s Republic of
China’
-
As the principal author of this paper which was published in Asian Turtle
Trade: Proceedings of a Workshop on Conservation and Trade of Freshwater
Turtles and Tortoises in Asia.
2000 ‘Turtle trade in northeast Asia: regional
summary (China, Hong Kong and Taiwan)’
- As a co-author
of this paper which was published in Asian Turtle Trade: Proceedings of a
Workshop on Conservation and Trade of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises in Asia.
2001 ‘A new record of the
Vietnamese Five-lined skink, Eumeces tamdaoensis (Reptilia: Scincidae), from
Hong Kong, China, with special reference to its sexual dimorphism’
- As a co-author
of this paper which was published in the Natural History Journal of
Chulalongkorn University.
2004 ‘Wild Animal Trade Monitoring
at Selected Markets in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, South China, 2000-2003’
-
As a co-author of this report which was published by the Kadoorie Farm &
Botanic Garden.