carmen | Cetacean Ecology Lab

Carmen K.M. Or 柯嘉敏

Ph.D. (2017)

Previously:

Post-Doctoral Researcher

University of Hong Kong and

Cetacea Research Institute

E-mail: carmenor(AT)hku.hk

Academic Record

Ph.D., The University of Hong Kong (2017)
B.Sc. (Ecology and Biodiversity, 1st class honour), The University of Hong Kong (2011)

Thesis

Socio-spatial ecology of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Estuary (2017). Ph.D. Thesis. The University of Hong Kong. [PDF]

Supervisor

Dr. Leszek Karczmarski, The University of Hong Kong

Synopsis: The population of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Hong Kong waters has been studied since the early 1990s with a primary focus on estimating abundance and distribution, and assessing their conservation status. Relatively little attention has been given to their behavioural ecology, and even less so in the larger geographic context of the Pearl River Estuary, of which the Hong Kong waters represent only a very small part. In my postgraduate research project, using a combination of geographically referenced data, GIS techniques and sighting histories of photographically identified individuals, I investigated the spatiotemporal and socio-behavioural dynamics of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins across Hong Kong waters and the eastern Pearl River Estuary. Grouping pattern and inter/intra-group dynamics were quantified and models of social structure were constructed using current analytical and modelling techniques. Spatial and temporal movements of known individuals and pattern of range use were quantified by spatial modelling. I also investigated the anthropogenic impacts on the social dynamics and movement of humpback dolphins in Hong Kong and evaluated the underlying factors that drive the socio-spatial pattern of humpback dolphins in Hong Kong and the eastern Pearl River Estuary. A better understanding of the population structure and the displacement of individuals over time will help to adequately evaluate the type and intensity of natural and human-born pressures on individuals, groups, and on the overall population. This project was conducted in parallel with similar research studies carried out in the western part of the Pearl River delta by my Lab mates from both Hong Kong and Zhuhai (Sun Yat-Sen University).

Publications

Or CKM & Karczmarski L (submitted). Marine Protected Area designation based on behavioural ecology: The case of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in Hong Kong.

Or CKM, Chan SCY & Karczmarski L (in prep.). Socio-behavioural dynamics of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in Hong Kong.

Or CKM & Karczmarski L (in prep.). Coastal construction projects and fishery practices affect socio-spatial behaviour of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Hong Kong.

Or CKM, Karczmarski L, Lin W, Chan SCY, Ho Y-W, Chui SYS, Lee ATL, Guo L & Wu Y (in prep.). Spatial pattern of area utilisation of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in the eastern Pearl River Estuary.

Karczmarski L & Or CKM (2016). Habitat and Areas for the Conservation of Chinese White Dolphins in Hong Kong. Technical Report prepared for WWF-Hong Kong. 13pp. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34756.42889

Karczmarski L, Huang S-L, Or CKM, Gui D, Chan SCY, Lin W, Porter L, Wong W-H, Zheng R, Ho Y-W, Chui SYS, Tiongson AJC, Mo Y, Chang W-L, Kwok J HW, Tang RWK, Lee ATL, Yiu S-W, Keith M, Gailey G & Wu Y (2016). Humpback dolphins in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta: Status, threats and conservation challenges. Advances in Marine Biology 73, 26–63.

Karczmarski L, Huang S-L, Wong WH, Porter L, Ho YW, Or CKM, Lin W, Chan SCY, Zheng R, Chui SYS, Gailey G & Wu Y (2014). The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis): Hong Kong Red List Assessment. WWF Hong Kong and Hong Kong Red List Authority. 22 pp.

Conferences / Workshops

Or CKM & Karczmarski L (2017). Coastal construction projects and fishery practices affect socio-spatial behaviour of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Hong Kong. 22nd Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Halifax, Canada.

Or CKM & Karczmarski L (2015). Protecting the diminishing: insights from spatio-behavioural dynamics of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Hong Kong, China. 21st Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Francisco, USA.

Or CKM & Karczmarski L (2015). The seascape of the Anthropocene: spatio-behavioural dynamics of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Hong Kong. 34th International Ethological Conference, Cairns, Australia.

Or CKM & Karczmarski L (2015). What to protect in the seascape of anthropogenic pres-sure? Area utilization of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins Sousa chinensis in Hong Kong. International Conference on Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation of Marine Ecosystems 2015 (BECoME 2015), Hong Kong.

Gailey G, Karczmarski L, Chan SCY & Or CKM (2014). DISCOVERY: Photo-identification dataa management system for individually recognizable animals. International Wildlife Photo-ID network workshop, Joensuu, Finland.

Or CKM, Karczmarski L, Chan SCY, Wong W-H, Lin W, Zheng R, Mo Y, Huang S-L, Gailey G & Wu Y (2014). Conservation ecology of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in the Pearl River Estuary. Workshop on Animal Social Evolution, Heishiding, China.

Or CKM, Keith M & Karczmarski L (2013). Where to go in a highly developed area? -Utilization distribution of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in Pearl River Estuary, Hong Kong, China. 20th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Research Grants

As PI

2012/2013: Conservation Ecology of Chinese White Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Estuary. (with SCY Chan and L. Karczmarski) - Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong

As Co-PI

2014/2015: Ecology of Chinese White Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the Pearl River Estuary. Phase 2: Population Processes, Demography and Spatio-behavioural Dynamics. (with SCY Chan and L. Karczmarski) - Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong

Regional Conservation Meetings

2017: Chinese White Dolphin (Sousa chinensis) Population and Habitat Viability Assessment Workshop. - Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) of IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong (OPCFHK), Hong Kong.
2016: WWF Marine Hotspot Map Workshop 3. - WWF-Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
2016: WWF Marine Hotspot Map Workshop 2. - WWF-Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
2016: WWF Marine Hotspot Map Workshop 1. - WWF-Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
2014: Workshop of Planning for Sousa chinensis Corridors and Protected Areas in the Southeast Asian Sea Ecoregion. - Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
2013: 44th Meeting of Marine Mammal Conservation Working Group. - Agriculture, Fishery and Conservation Department (AFCD), HKSAR, Hong Kong.

Online Resources

Wong W-H, Gailey G, Chan SCY, Sychenko O, Or CKM, Yiu S-W, Chang W-L, Behrmann C & Karczmarski L (2012). Users Manual: DISCOVERY 1.2 Web address: http://www.biosch.hku.hk/ecology/staffhp/lk/Discovery/manual.html [PDF]

Relevant Experience

Member of the Organizing Committee of four consecutive workshops, 3rd - 6th South-East Asian Training Workshops in Marine Mammal Research Techniques (2011 - 2012)
Volunteer Research Assistant, Cetacean Ecology Lab, The Swire Institute of Marine Science, The University of Hong Kong (May - Dec 2011)
Volunteer Assistant, Rehabilitation and reintroduction monitoring of Javan slow loris in Java, Indonesia (International Animal Rescue), University Student Sponsorship Programme 2010-2011 (USSP), Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong (OPCFHK) (2011)