MERILÄ LAB
Media Coverage
The Merilä lab in the news
Our research reaches well beyond academia. Prof. Juha Merilä is regularly asked by the media to comment on biodiversity, wildlife and conservation issues in Hong Kong, and our studies, from Hong Kong’s biodiversity to freshwater flounders in Finnish Lapland, are featured in the press.
Below you will find recent coverage in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) and a press release from the University of Helsinki. Coverage of our cockatoo work is on the Yellow-crested cockatoos page. Note that some SCMP articles may require a subscription.
Recent coverage
Hong Kong’s biodiversity ‘richer than we know’ but many species lack protection
South China Morning Post · 15 August 2026
Prof. Merilä joined conservationists in urging the Hong Kong government to finally publish a local “red list” of threatened species. He pointed out that the city has little long-term data on how most species are faring, that groups such as reptiles remain poorly explored, and that species considered safe globally can still be at risk in Hong Kong and deserve protection.
Mating season may be behind monkeying around on Hong Kong MTR tracks: expert
South China Morning Post · 24 July 2026
After a macaque was spotted on MTR tracks two days in a row, the SCMP asked Prof. Merilä to explain. He suggested the animals were most likely young males dispersing from their birth groups during the July–December mating season, said more sightings could follow near large populations such as Kowloon Peak and Shing Mun Reservoir, and advised the public to report urban monkeys rather than approach them.
AI major focus as Hong Kong funds record 12 university research projects
South China Morning Post · 29 July 2026
The SCMP covered the Research Grants Council’s 2026/27 funding round, in which HK$158 million went to four Areas of Excellence projects, among them one on sustainable wildlife trade. That project is our new Centre for Safe, Sustainable and Legal Wildlife Trade, led by Prof. Merilä as Principal Coordinator.
European flounder can spend its whole life in fresh water
University of Helsinki · 15 October 2026
Our study in Evolution, led by Thais Ferreira-Araújo, shows that most European flounders in Lake Pulmankijärvi in Finnish Lapland, a former Arctic Ocean fjord, spend their entire lives in fresh water. Otolith microchemistry and whole-genome data give the first evidence that this marine fish can complete its life cycle without going to sea, and point to complex adaptations spread across several chromosomes.