Major Research Achievements：Evolutionary genetics and ecology of reef corals Scleractinian corals and coral reef-associated organisms have been the major research focus in my lab over the last 5 years. One of the major accomplishments is to develop molecular markers for corals and to address phylogenetic and population genetic questions. A paper on the mitochondrial genomes of two Acroporidae genera suggesting a genomic-wise unequal rate of molecular evolution in this family is published. This paper represents the first mt genomic research in my laboratory. A series of manuscripts regarding to the evolutionary mitogenomics of corals are either submitted or in preparation. In addition, a series of papers were published in elucidating the higher level of molecular phylogeny using mitochondrial DNA sequences. Except for the confirmation of two-clade hypothesis of evolutionary history of scleractinians , a recent collaboration with Knowlton’s group in the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UCSD, demonstrated that congeneric Faviina have indeed evolved independently in both Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that may indicate 340 my divergence. A paper based on this result is appeared in Nature, April, 2004. This finding raises the concern of conservation priority for Atlantic scleractinian corals. Currently, the other joint publication is under preparation to describe a new scheme of modern scleractinian systematics. This manuscript will describe the phylogenetic relationship over 180 species of corals, representing the major scleractinian lineages. I believe this manuscript will be very influential to our understanding of coral evolution. In addition to the high-level phylogeny of corals, I am also involved in the population genetics and phylogeography of the marine organisms in the Indian Ocean and West Pacific, particularly on corals. A manuscript describing the cryptic status of a “l(fā)ab-rat” coral, Stylophora pistillata, between the Red Sea and the West Pacific populations which are associated with different symbiotic algae. This work challenge the fundamental concept that corals associated with distinct symbiotic algae in different biogeographic provinces is a phenotypic plasticity acclimatizing to different environment.