2026 年 9 月 17 日
Ming Chuan University held its annual Night Biodiversity Survey at the Taoyuan Campus for the first time on September 17, drawing more than 90 students and faculty from the College of Health Technology, the Department of Tourism, and other units across the university.
The first stop was the campus’s aquaponics farm, where the team set up light traps to attract nocturnal insects. Guided by ecology experts, participants observed the insects’ features and behavior up close.
Students set up light traps at the campus aquaponics farm to observe nocturnal insects
At the same time, another group explored the campus’s drainage ditches, grassy areas, trails, and water sources, surveying wildlife across different microhabitats. The survey recorded a range of species, including the Fujian large-headed frog, the Taiwan-endemic yellow-green freshwater crab, the Kyanrau stag beetle, a red-banded snake, a death’s-head hawkmoth, and a Taiwanese broad-bellied mantis — spanning habitats from wetlands to forest edges and leaf litter.
The Taiwan-endemic yellow-green freshwater crab (Geothelphusa olea), found on a damp hillside near campus
The event was organized by Lin Han-Trou, Chairman of the Department of Biotechnology, together with instructor Chiou Chi-Ming and ecology expert Shang Gaus, in collaboration with Chiang Yun-Ru of the Office of Sustainable Development, as part of the “MCU Campus-Friendly Wildlife” workshop series. Through hands-on exploration, students and faculty came to see familiar campus features — drainage ditches, fallen branches, and leaf litter — as vital habitats sustaining biodiversity on campus.
The nighttime excursion revealed a side of the campus rarely seen during the day, reconnecting participants with the natural environment and reflecting Ming Chuan University’s ongoing commitment to biodiversity conservation and sustainable campus development.