Hong Kong's Biodiversity
FoundationSmall as it is, Hong Kong hosts mangroves, mudflats, streams and woodlands, over 500 bird species, the Chinese white dolphin and the endemic Romer's tree frog.
- Small in area but rich in habitats, Hong Kong brims with biodiversity.
- Mangroves and mudflats shelter mudskippers, fiddler crabs and migratory birds.
- Clean streams and woodlands house freshwater life and mammals respectively.
文體小知識：科普知識文章用生活實例解釋科學概念，先看現象再講原理，讀完就能解釋日常見到的東西。
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1Many imagine Hong Kong as nothing but concrete, yet around 40 per cent of its land is protected country parks: look back from Lion Rock and woodlands, mountain streams and coasts stretch beneath the towers. Over 3,300 plant species and more than 500 birds have been recorded — by area, a biodiversity few big cities can match.
2The mangroves and mudflats of Deep Bay are the crown jewel: at low tide mudskippers hop and fiddler crabs wave; each winter large numbers of black-faced spoonbills fly here to spend the cold months. The woods of Tai Po Kau hide civets and barking deer, while freshwater crabs and dragonfly nymphs live in the streams.
3Hong Kong also has its own stars: the Chinese white dolphin off Lantau and Romer's tree frog, found nowhere else on Earth. Their presence shows a city and wild nature can live side by side — as long as habitats stay protected.
4Sadly, reclamation, pollution and illegal trade threaten these species. The next lesson — the last of the year — turns to endangered species and conservation, and to what each of us can do.
1Summary 重點摘要
Small as it is, Hong Kong hosts mangroves, mudflats, streams and woodlands, over 500 bird species, the Chinese white dolphin and the endemic Romer's tree frog.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
The natural place where an organism lives and finds food, e.g. a mangrove, a stream or woodland.
Salt-tolerant plant communities on intertidal shores, best known in Hong Kong around Deep Bay.
The muddy shore exposed at low tide, where mudskippers, fiddler crabs and migratory birds feed.
Birds that migrate long distances with the seasons, e.g. black-faced spoonbills wintering at Deep Bay.
A species found only in one region; Romer's tree frog is endemic to Hong Kong.
Legally protected countryside covering about 40 per cent of Hong Kong's land.
Dense tree-covered habitat such as Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, home to mammals and forest birds.
The shore zone covered at high tide and exposed at low tide, whose life shows special adaptations.
3Step by step Steps
- Small city, rich lifeTiny as Hong Kong's land area is, it has recorded over 3,300 plant species and more than 500 birds, because hills, coasts, wetlands and streams all pack into one small territory. Few cities in the world hold so many kinds of environment at once. Varied habitats support varied species — the root of Hong Kong's biodiversity, and the reason we carry an extra duty of conservation.
- Habitat 1: mangroves and mudflatsThe mangroves around Mai Po in Deep Bay are Hong Kong's most famous wetland: kandelia and bruguiera grow where fresh and salt water meet, their roots breathing even as they stand in seawater; at low tide mudskippers hop across the mud and fiddler crabs wave their big claws, while in winter flocks of migratory birds arrive to feed. Rich shells, snails and worms on the mudflat feed the whole food chain, making this wetland an internationally known bird paradise — and the best outdoor classroom for intertidal ecology.
- Habitat 2: streams and riversMountain streams form another kind of habitat: among the stones live freshwater crabs, fish and dragonfly nymphs, all depending on clean, well-oxygenated flowing water. The moment pollution arrives these creatures vanish, so stream life is used as an indicator of water quality: seeing them means good water; their absence warns of upstream pollution. Protecting a stream protects the ecology of the whole catchment — a far-reaching act.
- Habitat 3: woodlands and hillsidesThe mature woodland of Tai Po Kau shows what forest habitat is worth: civets forage at night, barking deer calls echo in the dark, and woodpeckers drum on trunks hunting insects. Old woodland shelters mammals and forest birds, while tree holes, leaf litter and rotten wood house insects, fungi and amphibians; the shady, humid understorey also supports orchids, ferns, climbers and other rich life.
- Flagship speciesHong Kong holds several world-famous flagship species: the Chinese white dolphin surfaces off the estuary waters near Lantau, grey as a calf and pink-white as an adult; the black-faced spoonbill flies south each winter to Deep Bay, its global numbers few; Romer's tree frog, about 2 cm long, is a Hong Kong endemic found wild nowhere else on Earth. They are symbols of Hong Kong's ecology and priority targets for conservation.
- The protection networkHong Kong guards its biodiversity with a network of protected areas: over twenty country parks cover more than forty per cent of the land, the Mai Po Nature Reserve protects the wetlands, and several marine parks shelter the sea — together a protective web. This protected land and water gives wildlife space to live and breed. Protecting one habitat protects every species inside it in one stroke — the most effective strategy of conservation.
4Diagrams Diagrams
5Worked example Example
Example: near Tai O, Chloe spots mangroves, mudskippers, fiddler crabs and egrets. What habitat is this, and how is each organism adapted?
- Mangroves grow where fresh and salt water mix on mud — a mangrove (intertidal) habitat.
- Mudskippers crawl and hop on the mud and breathe through their skin — an intertidal adaptation.
- Fiddler crabs wave the large claw to attract mates and dig burrows to escape sun and predators.
- Egrets wade in the shallows catching small fish and shrimps — the mudflat is their dining hall.
- Answer: Mangroves grow where fresh and salt water meet, so this is a mangrove mudflat (intertidal) habitat. Mudskippers breathe through their skin and hop across the mud; fiddler crabs wave the large claw to attract mates and dig burrows against sun and predators; egrets wade the shallows catching small fish and shrimps. Every form and habit here suits the rising and falling tide — that is adaptation.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Name three natural habitats common in Hong Kong.
Q2When and where do black-faced spoonbills appear in Hong Kong?
Q3What is special about Romer's tree frog?
Q4Roughly how much of Hong Kong's land do country parks cover?
Q5Which habitat do mudskippers and fiddler crabs live in?
8Recap Recap
- Small in area but rich in habitats, Hong Kong brims with biodiversity.
- Mangroves and mudflats shelter mudskippers, fiddler crabs and migratory birds.
- Clean streams and woodlands house freshwater life and mammals respectively.
- Flagship species: Chinese white dolphin, black-faced spoonbill, endemic Romer's tree frog.
- Country parks and reserves form the shield protecting Hong Kong's nature.