Dr. Ken So
Education and Research Manager
BSc (Ecology & Biodiversity), HKU
PhD (Ecology & Biodiversity), HKU
If you have met Dr. So before, you should know that he is obsessed with dragonflies. In fact, apart from his fondness for dragonflies, Dr. So is one of the few scholars in Hong Kong who study the ecology of freshwater wetlands. He has also published various academic articles on the conservation and management of wetlands in Hong Kong.
In addition, Dr. So is committed to the conservation work in rural areas of Hong Kong. With his vast knowledge and experiences on ecological work, he has assisted a number of Nature Conservation Management Agreement Projects as well as Research Activities on Countryside Conservation and Revitalization. For instance, he has successfully conducted a reintroduction project of a locally threatened species, Oryzias curvinotus, in the rural Lai Chi Wo. He was subsequently invited by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to become a member of the Conservation Translocation Specialist Group.
Apart from contributions to research and conservation, Dr. So has years of teaching experience and is still actively involved in environmental education. Not only being a part-time lecturer in three local universities, he also designs and plans different ecological trainings and courses from time to time. By sharing his knowledge and experience in a vivid and interesting way, he aims for active engagement from the general public.
Selected Publication
- Leung, T.K.C., So, Y.K.K., Shum, B.T.W., & Hau, B.C.H. (2022). Optimal Mowing Regime in Enhancing Biodiversity in Seasonal Floodplains along Engineered Channels. Sustainability, 14(7), 4002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074002
- So Y.K.K. & Dudgeon D. (2021). When is protection not conservation? A case study of semi-natural freshwater marshes in Hong Kong. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 31(12): 3345-3356. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3724
- So Y.K.K., Fong J.J., Lam I.P.Y. & Dudgeon D. (2020). Pitfalls during in silico prediction of primer specificity for eDNA surveillance. Ecosphere 11(7): e03193. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3193
- So Y.K.K. & Dudgeon D. (2020). Conservation management of abandoned paddy fields in Asia: Semi-natural marshes with low-intensity bovid grazing have higher biodiversity. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 30(10): 1934-1944. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3442
Professional Services
| 2024 - Present | Member - Expert Group on Conservation for Sha Lo Tung |
| 2023 - Present | Member - WWFHK Mai Po Management Committee |
| 2020 - Present | Member - IUCN SSC Conservation Translocation Specialist Group |
| 2020 - Present | Reviewer - OPCF Conservation Fund |
Teaching Experiences
| 2021 - Present | Lecturer (Part-time), School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong - Teaching Courses: ENVM8016 Conservation and management of freshwater resources |
| 2021 - Present | Lecturer (Part-time), Science Unit, Lingnan University - Teaching Courses: CCC8013 The Process of Science, CLD9008 Life Sciences: the way life works, SCI504 Urban Ecology and Sustainable Planning |
| 2021 - 2022 | Lecturer (Part-time), The Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong - Teaching Courses: GGP3022E Global Environmental Issues |
