SECOND EDITION

2nd Annual Forum for Early Career Scientists in Marine Science

11–13 April 2025 · Institute of Oceanography and Environment, UMT
Kuala Nerus, Terengganu

Program

Day 1 · Friday, 11 April 2025

Main venue: INOS Auditorium, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Time	Title / Activity	Presenter	Institute
08:30	Participant registration	—	—
09:00	Opening remarks by UMT	—	—
09:15	Morning Session 1	Chair: Dr Mohd Safuan Che Din	UMT
	Carbon Stocks of Two Mangrove Forests	Chan Jo Yi	UM
	eDNA Unveiled: Assessment of Essential Marine Resources of Pulau Ketam, Selangor, Malaysia	Isyraf Haqim Bin Mohd Tamizam	UM
	Seasonal Variations of Microbial Diversity in the Sediment of an Eroding Mangrove in Kapar, Selangor	Lai Jia Yong	UM
10:15	Group photo / Coffee break	—	—
11:00	Morning Session 2	Chair: Dr Ng Wei Lun	XMUM
	Estimating Carrying Capacity at Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches at Pulau Redang, Terengganu	Adriana Dania Binti Hemizan	UMT
	Spatiotemporal Abundance and Residency of Juvenile Blacktip Reef Sharks at Chagar Hutang Bay	Nicholas Tolen	UMT
	Monitoring Sediment Exchange and Shoreline Changes at Johor, Malaysia	Mohammad Ikhmal Siddiq Bin Jefri Din	UMT
12:00	Lunch break	—	—
14:30	Afternoon Session 1	Chair: Dr Fadzil	UM
	Marine Biodiversity Assessment and Environmental DNA Database Development for Sustainable H-OTEC in Malaysia	Muhammad Adam Bin Muhammad Rasib	UKM
	High-Resolution Regional Climate Modeling for Extreme Weather Analysis in Peninsular Malaysia	Abdul Azim bin Amirudin	UKM
	Current Situation, Challenges and Way Forward of Jellyfish Study in Malaysian Adjacent Waters	Frasier Hoo	XMUM
15:30	Session break	—	—
15:45	Afternoon Session 2	Chair: Dr Liew Ju Neng	UKM
	Antioxidant Activity of Marine Microalgae: Identification and Quantification of Phenolic Compounds	Jolin Lau Hui Hsing	XMUM
	Co-Culturing of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Trichoderma longibrachiatum for Improvement of Chili Crops	Lim Chen Xie	XMUM
	Probiotic Effects of Lactic Acid Bacteria from Kombucha and Kefir on Nile Tilapia	Shu Jin Xiang	XMUM
16:45	End of Day 1	—	—

Day 2 · Saturday, 12 April 2025

Venues: INOS Auditorium and OSIM Laboratory, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Time	Title / Activity	Presenter	Institute
09:00	Registration Day 2 / Morning Session 1	Chair: Prof Han Lei	XMUM
	Diversity of Endophytic Fungi in Sonneratia alba Using Metagenomics	Ekaterina Efimova	XMUM
	Dissolved Inorganic Nutrient and Chlorophyll-a Dynamics in Kelantan-Terengganu Waters	Azyyati Abdul Aziz	UMT
	Reflectance Spectroscopic Analysis of Ceramic Sherds from the Bidong Shipwreck	Nur Khatibah binti Md Yunos	UMT
10:00	Session break / Morning tea	—	—
10:30	Morning Session 2	Chair: Dr Maizah Mohd Abdullah	UMT
	Zooplankton Food Web Dynamics during Austral Summer in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean	Nur Nabilah binti Ahmad Ariffian	UMT
	Integrating Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Attitudes on Co-Design and Zoning of Marine Protected Areas	Mas Nurul Alia Binti Mas Lanasrie	IIUM
	Diversity and New Records of Copepod in Commercial Marine Fishes from Malaysian Waters	Siti Nur Nadhirah Mohd Zamri	UniSZA
12:00	Lunch break	—	—
14:15	Parallel Workshop I: Unravelling Debates on the Abyssal Upwelling in the Indo-Pacific Ocean	Prof Han Lei	XMUM
14:15	Parallel Workshop II: Introduction to Stable Isotope Malaysia · OSIM Laboratory	—	Agensi Nuklear Malaysia
16:15	End of Day 2	—	—

Day 3 · Sunday, 13 April 2025

Field program: Chagar Hutang and nearby field sites

Time	Field Program
08:30	Gather at Tapak Konvo UMT
08:45	Depart to Merang Jetty (UMT bus)
09:15	Depart to Chagar Hutang
10:00	Checkpoint 1: Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary – Turtle science talk, sea turtle analysis experience and beach cleanup
12:00	Checkpoint 2: Teluk Dalam – Snorkeling and lunch
13:00	Checkpoint 3: Pulau Lima
14:00	Checkpoint 4: Little Maldives
15:00	Depart to Merang Jetty
15:45	Arrive at Merang Jetty
16:45	Arrive at UMT

Field-program timing and checkpoints were subject to weather conditions.

Organizing Committee

Assoc Prof Dr Maizah Mohd Abdullah (Chair) — UMT
Prof Dr Zainudin Bachok — UMT
Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Uzair Rusli — UMT
Dr Mohd Safuan Che Din — UMT
Prof Dr Han Lei — XMUM
Assoc Prof Dr Ng Wei Lun — XMUM
Assoc Prof Dr Liew Ju Neng — UKM
Dr Wee Cheah — UM
Dr Muhammad Arif Bin Samshuri — UKM
Lim Chen Xie — XMUM
Frasier Hoo Anak Syeward — UPM
Siti Nur Nadhirah — UNISZA
Isyraf Haqim Mohd Tarmizam — UM
Mohammad Ikhmal Siddiq Bin Jefri Din — UMT
Puteri Nurfarah Adawiyah Binti Taslin — UMT
Siti Nur Hanani Binti Zainuddin — UMT
Alia Syafiqah Binti Abdul Hamed — UMT
Noradiha Farahin Binti Ibrahim — UMT
Siti Solihah Rasdei — UMT
Ahmad Irsyad Bin Ahmad — UMT
Tuan Ahmad Mustaqim Bin Tuan Rosdan — UMT

Advisory Panel

Prof Dr Han Lei — CAMS, Xiamen University Malaysia
Expertise / Research Keywords: Physical Oceanography
Prof Dr Luo Ya Wei — CAMS, Xiamen University China
Expertise / Research Keywords: Biological Oceanography
Assoc Prof Dr Ng Wei Lun — CAMS, Xiamen University Malaysia
Expertise / Research Keywords: Mangrove biodiversity; Molecular ecology
Assoc Prof Dr Maizah Mohd Abdullah — FSSM, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Expertise / Research Keywords: Marine Ecology
Assoc Prof Dr Izwandy Idris — INOS, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Expertise / Research Keywords: Benthic Invertebrate Diversity and Ecology
Dr Mohd Safuan Che Din — INOS, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Expertise / Research Keywords: Coral Ecology
Assoc Prof Dr Liew Ju Neng — FST, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Expertise / Research Keywords: Climatology
Assoc Prof Dr Mohammed Rizman bin Idid — IOES, Universiti Malaya
Expertise / Research Keywords: Marine Biodiversity and Coastal Studies
Dr Mohd Fadzil Firdzaus Bin Mohd Nor — IOES and IAS, Universiti Malaya
Expertise / Research Keywords: Meteorology
Dr Norshida Ismail — FBFI, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin
Expertise / Research Keywords: Parasitology; Invertebrate Biology
Dr Wan Mohd Syazwan bin Wan Solahudin — Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Expertise / Research Keywords: Marine Ecology and Biodiversity