– researchers from Guangdong and Hong Kong analysed genetic material from finless porpoises of the Pearl River Estuary and other geographic locations. Based on their results, they argue that the group which finless porpoises belong to originated in tropical waters closer to Southern China rather than in more northern locations. (Kuntong Jia, Wenzhi Lin, Duan Gui, Leszek Karczmarski, Yuping Wu, 2014. Molecular evidence reveals the distinctiveness of Indo-Pacific finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) in the Pearl River Estuary and insights into genus Neophocaena’s origin. Marine Biology, June 2014)

– researchers at the Swire Institute for Marine Science investigated the mating behaviour of the mangrove snail and found that the males preferentially select larger females and larger males beat smaller males to the big females. (Terence P.T. Ng and Gray A. Williams, 2014. Size-Dependent Male Mate Preference and its Association with Size-Assortative Mating in a Mangrove Snail, Littoraria ardouiniana. Ethology, June 2014)

– researchers from China, Canada and Hong Kong investigated the accumulation of the flame retardant chemical BDE-47 in zebra fish. They found male zebra fish accumulate more of the chemical in their livers than females and that females pass on the chemical to their eggs. (Quan Wen , Hong-ling Liu, Yu-ting Zhu, Xin-mei Zheng, Guan-yong Su, Xiao-wei Zhang, Hong-xia Yu, John P. Giesy , Michael H.W. Lam, 2015. Maternal transfer, distribution, and metabolism of BDE-47 and its related hydroxylated, methoxylated analogs in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Chromosphere, 120: 31-36).