Convocation Newsletter, Summer 2018

19 Fighting Wildlife Trafficking The School of Biological Sciences has adopted conservation forensics to help authorities investigating traffickers in the illegal wildlife trade. Dr Caroline Dingle is leading studies of two critically endangered species, the helmeted hornbill and the yellow-crested cockatoo, which are under threat from poachers in their natural habitat. The yellow-crested cockatoo’s numbers have declined dramatically due to illegal trapping for the cage- bird trade. Its population in Hong Kong may be an important refuge population for the conservation of the species. The hornbill is in demand for the solid casque that forms part of its beak, which is carved into beads and other decorative items. Wildlife trafficking is the fourth most lucrative criminal trade in the world, and is estimated to generate up to US$20 billion in illicit revenue annually. Micro-sun Discovered An International team led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences with scientists from the Mainland, the United States and the HKU Laboratory for Space Research (LSR) has discovered an isolated Millisecond Pulsar, a quickly spinning micro star with a mass up to twice the sun’s, but in a space the approximate size of Hong Kong. The discovery was made using FAST (Five-hundred- meter Aperture Spherical Telescope) in Guizhou Province – the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, known as the “Heavenly Eye” in Chinese. “Finding millisecond pulsars is extremely challenging,” said Dr Pablo Saz Parkinson of the Physics Department and LSR. “The detection of a millisecond pulsar by the new Chinese FAST, the world’s largest single-dish radio telescope, is only the first what I am sure will be many such exciting discoveries,” said Professor Quentin Parker, LSR Director. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences CONVOCATION NEWSLETTER