Twenty five years of beach monitoring in Hong Kong: A re-examination of the beach water quality classification scheme from a comparative and global perspective.

Hong Kong's beach water quality classification scheme, used effectively for >25 years in protecting public health, was first established in local epidemiology studies during the late 1980s where Escherichia coli (E. coli) was identified as the most suitable faecal indicator bacteria. To review and further substantiate the scheme's robustness, a performance check was carried out to classify water quality of 37 major local beaches in Hong Kong during four bathing seasons (March-October) from 2010 to 2013. Given the enterococci and E. coli data collected, beach classification by the local scheme was found to be in line with the prominent international benchmarks recommended by the World Health Organization and the European Union. Local bacteriological studies over the last 15 years further confirmed that E. coli is the more suitable faecal indicator bacteria than enterococci in the local context.

Phylloplane fungi in Hong Kong mangroves: evaluation of study methods.

Many methods have been used to study phylloplane fungi, most of which have constraints and may result in biased results. This study used light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate fungal abundance on the leaves of the most common mangrove trees in Hong Kong, Kandelia candel and Aegiceras corniculatum. Species richness was investigated using light microscopy and a leaf washing method. Methods to study phylloplane fungi are discussed and the performances of these three investigation methods are evaluated. Seven mitosporic fungal taxa were found by light microscopy, while 30 sporulating taxa and 18 Mycelia sterilia were isolated using the leaf washing method. Fungal abundance in terms of percentage cover investigated with light microscopy was similar using the SEM method, and was significantly higher on Aegiceras corniculatum than on Kandelia candel. Fungal abundance peaked in the summer and was lowest in the winter. This study indicates that light microscopy reveals the most typical phylloplane fungi and is more efficient than SEM, while the leaf washing method reveals many casual species and is not quantitative.