teamseagrass

14 Nov (Sat): "Colours of the Sea - An Underwater Fiesta!"

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:07:00 +0000

Siti is giving a talk this weekend. It's for kids! Bring your friends and family to find out more about our marine life!

Think Spanish Dancers are only found in Spain? Think again! Is everything really boring and blue under the water? Not quite! Yummy crabs, sea grapes, star-studded sands and more - our seas have it all!

Join Siti as she brings you a feast of colourful critters and fantastic flora that inhabit Singapore's waters. Learn about the importance of marine diversity and how you can do your part to save it.

Suitable for children between 5 - 12 years old!

Siti Maryam is a marine biologist. In her spare time, she swims with fish, reads and counts seagrass. Like any other Singaporean, Siti enjoys the occasional chiili crab and sashimi, but her hope is for Singaporeans to see more than seafood when she talks about the sea.

Brought to you by the 'Community in Bloom' Programme, in collaboration with the National Library Board and National Biodiversity Centre (NParks)

Time: 3-4pm
Venue: Marine Parade Public Library, Activities Room
Website and contact: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/

Pulau Semakau (18 Oct 09)

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:52:00 +0000

It's our LAST major monitoring for the year! And the Team is back out in booties on the vast vast seagrass meadows of Pulau Semakau!
Today we are joined by the Scouts! Led by seagrasser Tan Sijie, who is also very active with the Scouts. This is part of Sijie's SWA Discovery Workshop, of the Scouts of the World Award programme, to introduce local and international Scouts to Singapore's wild places and the work being done for them.

Siti briefs about our seagrasses and the Team's work to the Scouts before we leave Marina South Pier.
And then it was off in our very orange ferry. It was a slow trip but eventually we got to Semakau Landfill. Here's the orange ferry, behind it the Marine Transfer Station where the big barges bring in our incinerated trash twice a day to be buried at the Landfill. Despite being next to a fully operational landfill, Pulau Semakau continues to harbour amazing marine life, a testament to how well the Landfill was built and is maintained.
It was time for another quick introduction to Pulau Semakau by Sijie.
And soon we were out on the shores! Here's the SP Water Quality Team who have been joining us for our trips to take readings of the water quality in our seagrass meadows.
The shores of Semakau are vast! The teams doing Site 2 and Site 1 are tiny as they head out to the far northern edge of the shore. In the horizon are the petrochemical plants of Pulau Bukom.
Today, the Tape seagrasses (Enhalus acoroides) were blooming!
Here's a closer look at the large female flower with three white corrugated petals. The male flowers are tiny and often stick together to float in rafts on the water surface.
The Scouts are attached to the Team to help do the monitoring. We had a low turn out of the Team this trip, so it was a godsend to have the extra help. And we hope the Scouts had a good experience learning and discovering about our seagrasses. Here's Jocelyn leading one of the transects with the Scouts attached to her line.
And here's Sijie, filling in for Andy who was taking GPS points. Sijie carried the mallet all the way from Site 4 to Site 1 so that we could pound in the new stakes! The Scouts really helped in a big way today.
After the monitoring is done, we have a little bit of time before sundown to have a quick look at the rest of Pulau Semakau. There was a public walk going on at the same time, so they have marked out the 'death zone' with an orange flag. This is the path that we take through the seagrass meadows when we move in large groups, so as limit the damage to the shores.
As we reach the reef edge, we see different kinds of things.
Some of the hard corals were 'sliming'. The mucus produced helps to clean themselves off sediments and other icky things. That is why living corals generally look clean despite murky waters. But producing the slime takes up resources, so very murky waters with a lot of sediments can weaken corals. Murky waters are also not good for seagrasses which need sunlight to make food. Thus monitoring seagrass health also gives an idea about the how the rest of the shores might be doing.
And here's flourescent green Sunflower mushroom coral (Heliofungia actiniformis)! This is a solitary polyp and not a colony of tiny polyps like other hard corals. Also, this hard coral is free-living and is not attached to a hard surface!
And this coral had tiny brown flatworms on its tentacles! Called Acoel flatworms (Acoela) they are generally harmless, merely grazing on mucus or other stuff produced by the bigger animal. They are found on all kinds of hard corals and sometimes soft corals too.
Here's a much bigger flatworm spotted by one of the Team. It has fine lines and I still have no idea what it is.
Animals living on animals is commonly encountered on reefs. While we couldn't find a False clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) on this Giant carpet sea anemone (Stichodactyla gigantea), there was a tiny anemone shrimp (Periclimines brevicarpalis) near it. It's small and nearly transparent and hard to spot.
Kok Sheng shared with us the strange sea star who identity remains a mystery.
Earlier on, I shared with the Scouts the Cryptic sea stars (Cryptasterina sp.) which have so far only been found on Pulau Semakau. These boring looking, flat and limpet-like animals are found under stones and generally overlooked. But I think they are cool!
As the sun set rapidly, more animals emerged. We saw several octopuses, Marcus found a gigantic sea hare and an enormous Durian sea cucumber (Stichopus horrens), Kok Sheng and Mei Lin looked at the Fluted giant clam (Tridacna squamosa), while the rest saw lots of Knobbly sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus) and other intriguing encounters in the dying hours of the day.
Soon it was time to head back and run the gauntlet of mosquitos that swarmed in huge clouds at dusk. While I was well protected in my trusty raincoat, the rest unfortunately made much unwilling blood donations.

But all ills are forgotten as we get back on the Orange Ferry for the slow ride back home. We share photos of our encounters with one another, take a nap and generally chill out.
Sean and Jocelyn are still lively as they continue to share with the Scouts.
I forgot to take a group photo of everyone today. Sorry. Well, this just means we will have to do it the next time we get together for a monitoring session.

As soon as the tide tables for 2010 becomes available, we will sort out next year's monitoring dates! Looking forward to that!

It was great to have these Team members with us today: Charmaine, Marcus, Vanitha, Kok Sheng, Mei Lin, Kah Ming, Suryati, Michell, Chi Keung, Joo Yong, Phong Chun Fong, Andy, Jocelyne and Sean. Also joining us today were the SP Water Quality Team: nUaN qIn, Joycelyn, Suzanna. It was also fabulous that Siti's colleagues could join us: Dan, Jennifer and Eugene.

On our trip, we were also joined by Nelson and Bernard from the Navy who are doing a recce for and upcoming major, much-needed and very manly clean up of Pulau Semakau. More on this on the wild shores of singapore blog.

The trip was also an opportunity for various researchers to check out Pulau Semakau: Mei Lin to look at the Giant clams (Family Tridacnidae), and Suryati to look at the Sickle seagrass (Thalassia hemprichii).

More posts about this trip

At pulau semakau again from isn't it a wonder, how life came to be.
Semakau on a weekend from wonderful creation.
Star-ish Semakau from begin from home.

The secret to fighting climate change: Mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Just in time for Blog Action Day, this report on the vital role of seagrasses in fighting climate change! This is why we need to learn as much as we can about the seagrasses of Singapore. Bravo TeamSeagrass for contributing to this important task!

Extracts from "Marine plant life holds the secret to preventing global warming" Frank Pope, Times Online 14 Oct 09 and on wildsingapore news.

Although mangrove forests, salt marshes and seagrass beds together cover less than 1 per cent of the world’s seabed, they lock away well over half of all carbon to be buried in the ocean floor. They are estimated to store 1,650 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year — nearly half of global transport emissions — making them one of the most intense carbon sinks on Earth.

TeamSeagrass monitoring seagrasses
with mangroves in the background, at Chek Jawa.

Their capacity to absorb the emissions is under threat, however: the habitats are being lost at a rate of up to 7 per cent a year, up to 15 times faster than the tropical rainforests. A third have already been lost.

Halting their destruction could be one of the easiest ways of reducing future emissions, says report, Blue Carbon, a UN collaboration.

Seagrass beds often raise the level of the seabed by up to three metres as they bury mats of dead grass but turbid water is threatening their access to sunlight.

“We already know that marine ecosystems are multi-trillion-dollar assets linked to sectors such as tourism, coastal defence, fisheries and water purification services. Now it is emerging that they are natural allies against climate change,” said Achin Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General.

The potential contribution of blue carbon sinks has been ignored up to now, says the report, which was a collaboration between the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and Unesco.

“The carbon burial capacity of marine vegetated habitats is phenomenal, 180 times greater than the average burial rate in the open ocean,” say the authors. As a result they lock away between 50 and 70 per cent of the organic carbon in the ocean.

To protect them the authors suggest that a Blue Carbon Fund be launched to help developing nations to protect the habitats.

Full media article on the wildsingapore news blog.

More about Blog Action Day and what you can do about climate change on the Blog Action Day blog.

Seagrasses and dugongs - what happened at Prof Marsh's talk

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:26:00 +0000

Siti gave a great presentation about our seagrasses yesterday!

Photo from the Hantu Blog

Seagrass beds are worth about ten times more to the global economy than rain forests! Siti’s enthusiastic presentation made learning about seagrasses fun and fascinating!

Thanks to Debby Ng of the Hantu Bloggers who attended the event and posted about it!

Siti gave the presentation about our seagrasses, as a prelude to Prof Helene Marsh's talk on "Dugongs: Mysterious Mermaids or Meat?"

Read all about the event on the Hantu Blog.

8 Oct (Thu): "Dugongs: Mysterious Mermaids or Meat?"

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:31:00 +0000

Prof Helene Marsh is giving a talk about dugongs later this week!
Prof Marsh has led the global effort to study and protect dugongs for a long time.
And a prelude to Prof Marsh's talk is our very own Siti Maryam Yaakub. She will share about seagrasses of Singapore and the efforts being made to better understand manage these valuable ecosystems. Yay Siti!
The talk is organised by Underwater World Singapore and the James Cook University in Singapore.

click on images to enlarge.

8 Oct (Thu), 6.30-9.30pm, at the Living Fossils Exhibit Hall, Underwater World Singapore, Sentosa. Registration via Ms Laiza Malit rsvp@jcu.edu.sg or call 96778868.

More links

"Mermaids": Urgent Action Needed to Save them from Habitat Destruction, Pollution and Entanglement in Fishing Nets UNEP 12 Feb 02: about the first global study of dugongs led by Prof Helene Marsh: full details on global distribution, conservation and legislation on dugongs including for Singapore and Johor. With a summary of the report and full report (PDF).
The full report is also found here - Dugong: Status Report and Action Plans for Countries and Territories (PDF file)

TeamSeagrass featured in the Semakau Book!

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:04:00 +0000

"Habitats in Harmony: The Semakau Landfill Story" was written to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Semakau Landfill. It was written by our very own TeamSeagrass member, Marcus Ng.

The Team is also featured in the Book! There's some really cool photos of us doing our stuff. I'm especially intrigued by the photo of someone with a snorkel mask, face in the water. Wow! Talk about dedication! I still haven't figured out who it is.
Then there is great shot of the Team at work! Very energetic, forward looking and inspiring. Bravo!Our work on Semakau and other seagrass meadows of Singapore does make a difference!

Looking through the Book brought back many memories for me which I've shared on the wild shores of singapore blog.

More about the Semakau Book on the NEA website with preview pages.

It is on sale for S$24.90 at the Customer Service Centre, Level 2 Environment Building, 40 Scotts Road and the Semakau Landfill.

For more information about the Book, please contact NEA at 1800-225 5632 or email contact_nea@nea.gov.sg

More links

About Pulau Semakau on the wildsingapore website
About marine life on Pulau Semakau on the wild fact sheets section.
About the field trips made for the Book on the wild shores of singapore blog.
More blog posts about Semakau by everyone.

The launch of the Book and media walks led by Marcus led to several media articles about Semakau recently.

More than a dumping ground: Pulau Semakau Cheong Poh Kwan, Straits Times 26 Aug 09;
More years for landfill with more recycling: Semakau dumping ground can last another 5 years if 70% target met, Amresh Gunasingham, Straits Times 24 Aug 09;
Semakau Island popular haunt for Singapore astronomers: 'Trash island' by day, star-studded by night, Ng Tze Yong, The New Paper 12 Aug 09;
Book launched to commemorate 10th anniversary of Semakau landfill Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia 8 Aug 09;

TeamSeagrass featured in the Singapore National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP)

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:34:00 +0000

Wow, the Team's work is featured as one of the actions taken in protecting Singapore's biodiversity!
Sometimes, as we focus on the nitty gritties, it isn't obvious how the work we do during a monitoring session can add up to the larger efforts to make a difference for our wild shores! And the biodiversity of Singapore as a whole!

Well done to the Team for relentlessly monitoring over these last three years. And also undertaking outreach efforts for our shores!

Here's what is said about the Team in NBSAP ...

On the PDF version of NBSAP

Team Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants that live underwater and they play an essential role in the marine environment, being a nursery, food source and habitat to a variety of marine animals. Seagrasses also act as sentinels of coastal change and with regular monitoring, can provide early warnings changes in the coastal environment.

Len McKenzie and Rudi Yoshida from Seagrass-Watch HQ (Seagrass- Watch is the largest scientific, non-destructive, seagrass assessment and monitoring program in the world.) witnessed for themselves a delectable spread of seagrass species when they visited Chek Jawa on Pulau Ubin with nature enthusiasts, Ria Tan and Siti Maryam Yaakub, on 8th October 2006.

Their visit started the ball rolling for Seagrass-Watch here in Singapore and sparked off a strong partnership between Ria, Siti and National Parks Board as well as the catchy name “TeamSeagrass”.

Since its genesis in November 2006, TeamSeagrass, a volunteerbased seagrass monitoring programme, grew from strength to strength, both in volunteer numbers as well as the relationships fostered between various groups of people working towards a common vision and aspiration for the natural environment.

NParks plays a vital role in this 3P (People-Public-Private sectors) project by working closely with the people, school students and private organisations, creating a synergistic collaboration for nature conservation.

An enthusiastic team of volunteers monitors the seagrass meadows at Chek Jawa, Pulau Semakau, Cyrene Reef and Tanjong Rimau on Sentosa once every three months. Schering-Plough, a pharmaceutical company based at Tuas runs the monitoring programme at the site adjacent to its premises as part of its Corporate Responsibility and Environmental Stewardship.

TeamSeagrass and NParks have also developed a partnership with Raffles Girls School to monitor the seagrass site at Labrador Nature Reserve and carry out scientific studies on seagrass as part of the school’s science research programme.

These volunteers come from all walks of life with the common goal of caring for Singapore’s intertidal habitats. The popularity and success of the Seagrass-Watch programme in Singapore highlights the importance of natural environments in an urban society where people are not directly dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods. It also underscores the increasing trend of public awareness and the community’s desire to play an active role in the protection of their natural heritage.

On the website version of NBSAP

OBJECTIVE: The surveys are part of Seagrass-Watch, a global seagrass assessment and monitoring programme spanning 18 countries with more than 200 monitoring sites worldwide.

LOCATION: Pulau Semakau, Cyrene Reef, Chek Jawa, Labrador Beach, Sentosa (Tg. Rimau) and Tuas.

WHEN IT STARTED: 2006

PARTNERS: NParks, Seagrass-Watch HQ and TeamSeagrass volunteers, consisting of more than 60 active volunteers from all walks of life ranging from professionals to retirees. Also in partnership are Schering-Plough, a pharmaceutical company monitoring seagrasses at Tuas and Raffles Girls School (Secondary), which monitors and conducts experiments on the seagrass meadow at Labrador Beach as part of its Science Programme.

APPROACH: NParks adopts methods developed by Seagrass-Watch, which are scientific and non-destructive. Data gathered is fed back to Seagrass-Watch HQ, which then analyses the trends and condition of seagrass habitats at the local, regional and global scale.

Read more about the Singapore National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).

Summary of marine-related aspects of the NBSAP on the wild shores of singapore blog.
NBSAP on the NParks website
Download the NBSAP (PDF)

Tuas (24 Aug 09)

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:13:00 +0000

Back on the shores again to monitor seagrasses, this time at Tuas with the amazing volunteers from Schering Plough. Led by Helen (leftmost) and Sheryl (not in photo as she is unable to go down to the shore today).
This shore is long but narrow, so we use the random method to monitor it. It has mostly Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis).
Here's a view of the shore to the west with the Merawang beacon and in the distance, the Malaysia island of Pulau Merambong. The seagrasses in Johor opposite Tuas is being monitored by our Malaysian counterparts, also as part of international Seagrass-Watch.
To the east there are even some mangrove trees on the shore, with the second link on the horizon.
While the SP volunteers work on their transect, a few of us were checking out the rest of this marvellous shore.
Today, there is a lot of Coin-shaped seaweeds (Halimeda sp.) that have taken up a large area of the shores. The thicket of seaweeds seem to provide happy homes for various animals, including many of these Ball soft corals (Family Nephtheidea). Which in turn are homes to more little animals.
After the SP team finish their monitoring, Helen leads them on a little walk to see some of the animals on this shore.
There are the usual animals that we often see near seagrasses. Such as peacock anemones (Order Ceriantharia) and large Haddon's carpet anemone (Stichodactyla haddoni).
I also saw several baby Kite butterflyfishes (Parachaetodon ocellatus), and one tiny Pygmy squid (Idiosepius sp.) which has a little glue gland to stick itself to seagrass blades.
The SP team left earlier as they had to go to work. While the rest of us wandered around some. Here's some of what we saw with links to our blog entries.

Thanks to the SP team who look after this shore! And particularly to those who came today: May Tan, Pei Pei, Yoke Yin, Mabeline Tan, Mei Yin and Lin Hock. And especially to Sheryl and Helen who coordinate the effort for the Tuas shore by SP.

NASA scientists study seagrasses

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Even with satellite information, it is important to get data literally on the ground. The work of TeamSeagrass helps us better understand our seagrass meadows and what is happening to them.

At this moment, a fleet of NASA Earth-observing satellites is silently passing overhead, gathering vital information about our planet. NASA scientists Maury Estes and Mohammad Al-Hamdan are combining that heavenly data with local water samples to help check the health of the coast.

"We're most interested in sea grass and marine vegetation," says Al-Hamdan. "A region's plant health tells you a lot about the health of the area itself."

"It's fair to say that if seagrass is in trouble, so is everything else in the area," explains Dr. Ken Heck of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Mobile. "Sea grass beds provide shelter and food for many ecologically and economically important fish and shellfish, and even for the manatee -- an endangered gentle giant that regularly visits Mobile Bay. These beds also stabilize the shoreline, prevent erosion, and even help filter and cleanse the water that enters our estuaries from the watershed."

When Estes and Al-Hamdan aren't in the office pouring over satellite images to help foresee the coastal future, they're heading out to sea, where they collect water samples to analyze for "ground truth" to validate their model. The ocean voyages also give them a first-hand view of what they're studying and why.

"You do science in the real world – not in the office," explains Estes. "Going out there gives you a good perspective on the research data. If you don't physically know the area you're studying, it limits your understanding."

Full article on the wildsingapore news blog.

Sentosa's last resort

noreply@blogger.com (budak) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:53:00 +0000

The shore below Tanjong Rimau is Sentosa’s last resort for the corals and seagrasses that used to grow all around Singapore’s largest southern island. To get data on the extent and health of the shore’s seagrasses shore over the seasons, TeamSeagrass monitors this narrow stretch of sand and rubble that straddles the island’s natural cliffs and a sloping seawall.

Thanks to a last minute round-up of gullible souls, we had enough volunteers on 21 Aug Friday to brave the soul-sapping journey across the causeway and within sight of a monstrous money-sucking pit. The team was joined by the water quality monitoring team from Singapore Polytechnic.

There are three parallel sites. As the reef flat is not wide enough for the standard 50m transect line, the volunteers use a semi-random sampling procedure, throwing the quadrant within the site boundaries and charting their observations wherever it falls.

The team managed to elude ferocious peafowl and suspicious hotel guards to plunge down the treacherous heights of the seawall. It was still dark when the monitoring began, so torches were needed.

On the exposed flat, the seagrasses grew mainly close to the seawall, while the outer fringe consisted of rubble, seaweed and corals.

Soft corals are quite common, even close to the seawall.

There are also scattered colonies of hard corals, mainly faviids or Porites.

The two species of seagrass known to occur here are the massive Enhalus acoroides and the puny Halophila ovalis.

Various seaweed, which are to seagrass like what flatworms are to nudibranchs, also cover the flat. Sargassum appears to be in mild bloom, while luxurious growths of Caulerpa cover parts of the sand.

Many little creatures, such as this banded hermit crab, lurk among the seaweed, using these ‘plants’ as food or shelter.

After the monitoring, there was a little time to hop around the shore and rock pools further down.

Before it got too bright, octopuses could be seen dawdling on the rubble. From a pale bleachy colour, they quickly activate their chromatophores to match the substrate when they sense an alien presence.

Red egg crabs, though locally threatened, are not uncommon here. A floral egg crab was also spotted. Both these crustaceans are known to harbour toxins, making them excellent choices for a last meal. Many hairy crabs lurk on the outcrops, but their camouflage helps to hide these animals unless they make a sudden movement.

Another disguised creature is the brown sweetlips. This inch-long juvenile was hovering in a pool pretending to be a piece of debris.

Frilly tentacled anemones are also quite common in rocky crevices. They are quite variable in colour, but the ones here tend to be the standard issue green variety.

Apart from the ubiquitous transparent long-armed shrimps, some little tide pools also contained these 2 cm-long striped shrimps. Arthur Anker, an expert in decapods, particularly snapping shrimps, has identified this to be Athanas dimorphus. Unlike most other snapping shrimps, which live in a burrow, these shrimps didn’t seem to retreat anywhere but simply darted about when disturbed.

Up on the rocks below the cliff, the crew found lots of barnacles, sea slaters, nerites, limpets and other splash zone dwellers. Lightning dove snails were particular abundant, gathering in small groups on algae-covered stones.

While the team was exploring, a mysterious man came down and prowled around the shallow water with a little plastic bag. We are unable to confirm if he survived the incoming tide.

By about eight, the work area was fully immersed. Some of the team had to be dragged kicking and screaming back to base, but most complied after threats to stuff a hairy crab down their throat. As the photo shows, they were happy to raise their arms in relief at surviving another morning on a shore exposed to the dangers of desperate resorts.

Those who survived the morning’s trip are: Serene, Kah Ming, Joo Yong and Chia Rui, Abby and Chung Fong.

Other posts about this trip

More than just Orientation Games & Tanning Sessions: Sentosa with TeamSeagrass 21/8 from You run, we GEOG.
"Is that number 6 or 9?" - reading an unlit LCD in the dark... Sentosa (21 Aug 09) from Water Quality in Singapore.

Chek Jawa (23 Aug 09)

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:35:00 +0000

Today is our last monitoring trip at Chek Jawa for the year. And the last of the morning trips by the Team.
Despite the wet weather and early hours, a small team gathers just before sunrise to get the job done.

We are joined today by Lee Qi's crab team. She is doing a project about the crabs found in seagrasses and the team has strange cut-out buckets and lots of other gear!
Kok Sheng also did a quick follow-up survey in relation to his project on the mass death and recovery at Chek Jawa.

As we head out, the sky clears and we get a lovely pink dawn.
We put up the TeamSeagrass banner on the boardwalk to inform visitors about our work.
Before clambering down the ladder to the shore. Or in my case, barely squeezing past the narrow ladder bars. If I get any fatter, I won't be able to make it down anymore.As we are setting up the transects, there is a glorious sunrise show overhead.
Today we are very short handed. So I get to do a line on my own. Siti and Jocelyn helps me set up my line before they do theirs. And with their help, I got it straight (almost) at the first try! Wow. That's a first for me. And what glorious surroundings to do work in! Cool dewy morning, and pink skies.
This is my first time doing Site 1 and it's now full of Smooth ribbon seagrasses (Cymodocea rotundata). See how much of it fills my transect square! This seagrass is not widely distributed in Singapore and Chek Jawa is one of our few shores with extensive growths of it.
Under the longer seagrass grows the shorter Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis). In our site, we also got little bits of Fern seagrasses (Halophila spinulosa).
After we're done with the monitoring, I have a quick look around at the seagrasses. The Smooth ribbon seagrass is growing right up to the sandbar where public walks are conducted! That's great, so that visitors can take a closer look at this special seagrass.
On the other side of the sandbar facing the sea are wide areas full of more seagrasses!
But today I head inland to check out the mangroves that ring the upper shores of Chek Jawa. Past Richard and Yen-Ling who are still hard at work on their transect. Behind them is the Chek Jawa boardwalk and Jejawi viewing tower.
Along the way, I came across various Haddon's carpet anemones (Stichodactyla haddoni) big and small. A smooth sea cucumber out of the ground, as well as a half buried Garlic bread sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra).
As I got closer to the mangroves, I saw a little Striated heron (Butorides striatus) hunting little fishes among the seagrassy pools left behind at low tide.
The ground got a little more silty as I got nearer the mangroves.
And here, I saw a Sand star (Astropecten sp.) and a mangrove sea anemone.
And a tiny sea anemone that turned out to be attached to a living snail!
Here's a view of the seagrass meadows from the mangroves.
Chek Jawa is one of the few shores left in Singapore where the mangroves and seagrass ecosystems are found next to one another as it is naturally meant to be. There is a delicate flow of nutrients between the ecosystems, and various marine life depend on these ecosystems.

All too soon, it was time to go home. We spent a fair bit of time waiting in mosquito-infested areas. While the rest of us were busy waving our arms to keep the pesky critters away, Richard shows us how to stay cool in such a situation.
The team today were:

Jocelyne, Yen-ling, Richard, Andy, Suizlyn, Vanitha, Suryati, Chay Hoon, Adelle, Kok Sheng, Siti and me. With the Singapore Poly Water Quality Team: Nuan Qin, Joycelyn, Suzanna; and Lee Qi's Team Aldrin and Kan Meng.

Other blog posts about this trip

How's Chek Jawa so far? from Chek Jawa Mortality and Recruitment Project.
Mangroves of Chek Jawa: where is the silt? on the wild shores of singapore blog
On the last CJ monitoring for 2009 (part 1) from isn't it a wonder, how life came to be.
Charming Chek Jawa from wonderful creation.

Seagrasses and TeamSeagrass on YouTube

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:09:00 +0000

What are seagrasses and why are they important? Find out on this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Y5vgswj20, produced by Seagrass-Watch HQ.

With lots of gorgeous photos of many different kinds of seagrasses throughout the world. It includes many photos of Singapore's seagrasses and seagrass fauna, as well as the outreach and monitoring efforts of TeamSeagrass! Thanks Len and Rudi for featuring our humble shores and our efforts for them.

You can also download the high res version of this presentation from the Seagrass-Watch website.

From the latest Seagrass-Watch e-bulletin 26 Jul 09 which is packed with latest seagrass news and happenings. Go check it out now!

Our Semakau trip yesterday is already in the bulletin and on the Seagrass-Watch gallery! Woo hoo!

Pulau Semakau (26 Jul 09)

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:57:00 +0000

TeamSeagrass is back on Pulau Semakau today! Though the weather forecast was for a storm with thunder and lightning, and it got ominous as we started the ferry trip, we went ahead anyway.
We got a ride on the NEA bus for this early morning trip! Saving us the more than 1km walk into the shore. What a special unexpected treat! Thanks to the ever friendly NEA officers who were so obliging even though they had a busy day ahead of them.

Aside from a few rumbles and light flashes in the sky, the weather seemed to have settled into a murky gloom when we arrived at our start point. We sort out the equipment and have a little briefing, going through some of the key characteristics of species and some safety issues. (We still remember much of what Len and Rudi taught us at the recent Workshop!)
And everyone gathers in their site teams to further work out the details. Here's the valiant team who will do the rather sloshy and deep Site 2.
While some of the newer members get to do the less daunting Site 1. Today, each site did their own GPS readings! We sure learnt a lot from Len and Rudi at the last Workshop.
We head off through the forested path to get to the shore. Today, there were NO mossies! What a relief.
We have added a new Site 4 to Semakau, and this brave group heads out to find the site as it hasn't be staked down yet.
Shufen, who is very much showing her mama-to-be status, is the only one who knows where it is. She heads out into the water with GPS coordinates and finds the start point. Yay!
Then we triangulate to find the other start points for the site. The second transect line starts in the middle of this line perpendicular to the start point.
And this is the third transect line. With Len and Rudi's training, we managed to do this quite easily and quickly. Yay!
Thanks to the every obliging NParks team and some who answered the last minute call for help, we managed to get this additional site set up and monitored.
After helping to set up Site 4, Wei Ling and I check out the other Sites. This is Site 3, near a huge and growing patch of sponges at the edges of the seagrass lagoon.
Lee Qi and Sean are doing a great job at the transect. Together, we figured out some of the species.
Meanwhile, the intrepid Water Quality monitoring team went ahead with their work. Even though they were short two members of their team. Bravo!
Today was a busy day at Pulau Semakau. A team of media people were on the shore and guided by Marcus Ng, also a TeamSeagrass member. Here's the line of visitors crossing the seagrass lagoon while the Team at Site 3 is at work.
After the monitoring is done, the Team have a quick look around the rest of this marvellous shore.
The seagrass meadows at Semakau are very much alive! And provide food and shelter for all kinds of animals. I saw this beautiful lacy egg ribbon probably laid by a nudibranch, wreathed among the long Tape seagrasses.
There are also large Giant carpet anemones (Stichodactyla gigantea) among the seagrasses. Some of these are homes to False clown anemonefishes (Amphiprion ocellaris).
NParks also took the opportunity to check out some rare coastal and mangrove trees found on Pulau Semakau, and to collect seeds for propagation and replanting.

The weather turned out great today! It didn't rain, but it was cool and breezy.

Thanks to everyone who turned up, especially those who answered the call for help.

The team today included: Andy, Hannah, Kah Ming, Sam Lai, Sam Yeo, Charmaine, Kenerf, Liu Jia, Cornie, Joo Yong, Lee Qi, Suizlyn, Michell, Sean, Vanitha, Yen-ling, Kevin, Cheng Puay, Suryati, OnG nUaN qIn, Joycelyn Tan, Suzanna chiang, Rozaimi, Jim, Uma, Mei Hwan, Aparna, Collin, Shufen, Wei Ling. We sure missed having Siti on our trip.

On this trip, we were also joined by Dr Daphne Fauntin and her student Andrea. Dr Daphne is the world authority on sea anemones and is in Singapore to study our sea anemones. We are fortunate to have her take a look at those found on Pulau Semakau.

More posts about this trip

wild shores of singapore blog
isn't it a wonder, how life came to be
Kevin's photos on picasa of team at work, giant clam and rare mangrove trees.

Global warming may impede eelgrass growth

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 07:59:00 +0000

Michelle Ma, The Seattle Times The Miami Herald 26 Jul 09;

SEQUIM, Wash. -- Scientist Ron Thom probably knows more than anyone else about the growth of eelgrass, the humble marine plant commonly found in sheltered bays, inlets and other shallow waters.

Each summer, he and other researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory here tread patiently along the muddy tidal flats of Sequim Bay counting, snipping and tagging strands of the plant that's so crucial to shoreline ecosystems.

Thom, a staff scientist at the Marine Sciences Laboratory, started the research almost 20 years ago. It's become the world's longest-running study measuring eelgrass growth.

Pollution and shoreline development have killed much of the world's eelgrass. Now, Thom's work has attracted widespread attention for data that suggest the plant's growth also could be vulnerable to changes in climate.

"Growth rate is so important with these plants because they are producing habitat for so many things," Thom said. "We typically don't have these long-term data sets to evaluate these things."

Eelgrass, native to Puget Sound, is found along the entire West Coast and throughout the Northern hemisphere.

The plant provides habitat for young salmon, shellfish and birds, and helps prevent shoreline erosion.

It grows in large clusters or as individual plants. In Puget Sound the thin, ribbonlike plants grow everywhere from shallow waters to depths greater than 30 feet.

Thom's study suggests that yearly eelgrass growth changes according to variations in climate. For example, during warmer, wetter years, eelgrass plants in shallow water grow faster. But when temperatures in the Northwest are cooler, Thom's data has shown less growth.

"The bottom line is, climate affects plants," Thom said, adding that eelgrass is most sensitive to changes in temperature and sea level.

The variations in climate known as El Nino and La Nina have caused different growth rates in eelgrass, the study has found.

During El Nino, scientists have measured higher sea levels and warmer temperatures in the Northwest - changes similar to those predicted under global warming. So scientists can look at how eelgrass responds during El Nino to see how it might behave as the Earth warms, Thom said.

But it's still unclear whether a warmer Earth will help or hurt eelgrass. Shallow-water eelgrass tends to grow faster when sea level is higher, Thom said. But for eelgrass that grows deep below the surface, a rise in the sea level could diminish its access to light, killing the plants, he said.

Thom started keeping track of eelgrass growth in Sequim Bay nearly two decades ago as a project for summer interns. Over the years, he has returned to the same plot of tidelands to collect more data. Thom started noticing a strong connection between eelgrass growth rates and different climate patterns.

At the mouth of Sequim Bay, researchers and interns measure eelgrass every two weeks during the summer. They poke a hole at the base of each plant using a hypodermic needle, then return two weeks later to harvest each plant.

Back in the lab, they find the marked spot in each plant. They snip and save all of the new plant growth, dry it in an oven, then weigh it for a precise biomass reading. Those numbers go into the database to be compared with past and future measurements.

Eelgrass is declining worldwide and has disappeared completely from a number of sites in Puget Sound, said Jeff Gaeckle, a sea-grass ecologist with the state Department of Natural Resources. Its Soundwide eelgrass-monitoring program is the largest on the West Coast and seeks to track changes in eelgrass abundance.

The good news is that overall in Puget Sound, eelgrass isn't declining year to year. But several locations, mostly in Hood Canal and the San Juan Islands, are seeing decreases, which has scientists concerned, Gaeckle said.

"It's hard to pinpoint what's causing the changes," he said. Scientists suspect development, polluted runoff, commercial fishing, and now changes in climate as possible reasons.

Thom plans to submit his findings on eelgrass growth for publication later this summer. He said he's concerned that a large-scale eelgrass die-off could happen in Sequim Bay, like in other parts of the Sound. He also will continue the study, with the hope that his data will help provide more answers on what's affecting the plant.

Losing eelgrass could hurt the future survival of fisheries and impact the economy worldwide, Thom said.

"There is a big, big concern," he said.

TeamSeagrass is now certified!

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:39:00 +0000

I just got my fabulous Seagrass-Watch certificate for attending the Seagrass-Watch training sessions in May!
The certificate looks so professional! It's probably one of hardest certs that I've had to work for.

Len and Rudi worked even harder than all of us!
They conducted three sessions: Level 1 classroom and Level 1 field and Level 2 classroom. And also audited our processes during our Semakau monitoring in May.
With this massive exercise, all core TeamSeagrass volunteers are certified as well as many of those who have just joined. This gives us confidence in doing our monitoring work effectively, correctly and safely.

Thank you Len and Rudi!

Seagrass-Watch Issue 37 June 2009 now out!

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:11:00 +0000

Len McKenzie has just announced the latest issue of Seagrass-Watch news!
He says: "In this issue two of the worlds leading scientists on seagrass physiology (Mats Björk and Sven Beer) debate the affects of ocean acidification and the role seagrass could play in mitigating the effects. Let’s hope that our high-productivity meadows may be looked upon as areas that are safe from ocean acidification, further highlighting the need for their protection from decline."

Yes, indeed. Our work on our seagrasses can have a broader impact in better understanding and protecting seagrasses everywhere!

And TeamSeagrass is in the news too! There's a great article with lots of sneaky photos of us at the recent Seagrass Workshop in May.
And our Seagrass Angels at Labrador are also in the news!
There's a feature of their study of seagrass growth at Labrador!

(Click on image for a larger view)

There are lots of other articles about seagrass monitoring all over the world. With lovely photos of the seagrasses and amazing animals found there. Like this one taken in Bali by Rudi!
There is also a feature on the estuarine crocodiles with advice on how to be croc wise. I'm not sure whether to be happy or sad that we in Singapore don't have too much to worry about regarding estuarine crocodiles. Sigh.

Well, some of the "croc wise" tips still do apply to us. Like "Never swim or stand in water above knee-height".

So do go to the Seagrass-Watch website and download the PDF of the latest newsletter! Refresh your screen if you don't see the icon for the latest issue.

Destruction of seagrass on a par with loss of rainforests and coral reefs

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:03:00 +0000

While the world has focused on the destruction mankind has brought to coral reefs, the massive loss of an equally important ecosystem has been widely ignored.

Now the first comprehensive assessment of the state of seagrass meadows around the world has revealed the damage that human activities have wrought on these economically and biologically essential areas.

Seagrass meadows on Cyrene Reef facing our container terminal.

A synthesis of quantitative data from 215 sites suggests that the world has lost more than a quarter of its meadows in the past 130 years, since records began, and that the rate of that decline has grown from less than 1% per year before 1940 to 7% per year since 1990.

"Seagrass loss rates are comparable to those reported for mangroves, coral reefs and tropical rainforests, and place seagrass meadows among the most threatened ecosystems on earth," write the authors of the synthesis, which is published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences1. "Our report of mounting seagrass losses reveals a major global environmental crisis in coastal ecosystems, for which seagrasses are sentinels of change."

As well as supporting unique wildlife such as green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and dugong (Dugong dugon), seagrass meadows also serve as a vital nursery for fish, supporting populations for coral reefs and commercial fisheries. They also serve to stabilize sediment and provide coastal protection, as well as trapping carbon and helping in nutrient transportation.

Some fishes in the seagrass meadows of Cyrene Reef, being tagged by Collin.

Study author Frederick Short, a researcher at the University of New Hampshire, Durham, admits that there is "not that much data" available on seagrass, so the total loss is difficult to pin down exactly.

[Thus efforts such as TeamSeagrass will contribute towards closing the data gaps.}

The vast majority of this decline, say Short and other experts, is attributable to human activity. Nutrient and sediment pollution from nearby human activities and the introduction of invasive species are both contributing to their decline.

Giuseppe DiCarlo, marine climate change manager at Conservation International and a member of the steering committee of the World Seagrass Association, told Nature News that even where seagrass meadows have been lost there is the opportunity for recovery if protection via the designation of Marine Protected Areas can be brought in.

Full media articles on this study on the wildsingapore news blog.

Chek Jawa (27 Jun 09)

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:42:00 +0000

Bright and early this morning, we're back on Chek Jawa to see how things are growing there.
Chek Jawa sure looks nice in what promises to be a scorching day. The mangroves that ring the seagrass meadows are glowing in the morning sun.
The boardwalk has lots of interpretive panels including one about the seagrass meadows.
The panel is located near what is probably our best growth of Smooth ribbon seagrasses (Cymodocea rotundata). And today, they seem to have grown over a larger area.
They sure look well, even looking down from the tall boardwalk.
The Team makes its way to the shore via the pontoon which reaches out into the seagrass meadows.
And we've got our spiffy "Seagrass Monitoring in Progress" banner up to tell visitors what we're doing and how they too can join us to make a difference for our shores!
Down a ladder and we're off to monitor. Here's the team starting on their trek to the far off site on the Northern sand bar.While here's the team doing the site nearer the boardwalk.
While they are busy monitoring, I take the opportunity to check out the coral rubble area near the Chek Jawa beacon. Wow, it sure is very grassy!
With lots of Fern seagrasses (Halophilia spinulosa), Needle seagrass (Halodule sp.) and Spoon seagrasses (Halodule ovalis).
The seagrasses are thick all the way from the sand bar near the beacon to the high shore near the boardwalk.
The pools were full of seagrasses!
In some parts though, the Fern seagrasses seem to have lost their leaflets, leaving just the stems.
And along the sandbar, I came across one lonely clump of Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides).
Also on the sand bar, in the thick carpet of grass was an odd wiggly bare patch. Could it be a dugong feeding trail?
I saw lots of other marine life on the coral rubble area. More about this on the wild shores of singapore blog.

I caught up with the Team as they were washing up the gear. It's important to do this, even though we are all feeling very hot and tired by now.
And the Singapore Poly Water Quality team is busy catching up on their water samples.
As we waited to go home, it started to drizzle. And it poured by the time we were heading back on the bumboats! How fortunate that we managed to get our work done before the weather turned.

The team today included: Kenerf, Charmaine, Joo Yong, Yen-ling, Sam Lai, Jason, Chay Hoon, Cornie, Liu Jia, Chi Keung, Lee Qi, Siti, Wei Ling, Robin and Ria. And from Singapore Poly, Chen Ko, nUaN qIn, Joycelyn, Suzanna.

More about the Water Quality Team's experience of Chek Jawa on Checking out Chek Jawa by Chen Ko on his Water Quality in Singapore blog.

Tuas Monitoring 25 Jun 09

noreply@blogger.com (Sheryl Tay) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:04:00 +0000

This is the 2nd monitoring session in Tuas this year. Today the tide was really really really good and we could see many many many marine creatures. Thanks to Helen who was busy snapping away so that I could have enough photos to post on the web =).

As usual for the tuas site, we usually have a short recap of the monitoring technique to be used before we start the monitoring. We were at first so worried about the weather as it was pouring yesterday but today it was fine!

I must say the seagrass growing near the fenceline were really big and fat and that is a good sign as it shows that the marine ecosystem is doing pretty well in the Tuas area. After 30 mins of monitoring, we started our marine creature treasure hunt!

Among our treasure finds are the anemone shrimp, 3 cute sting rays, a few flat fishes, a beautiful anemone and a seahorse! Surprisingly, it is the first time i saw such a big seahorse on our coastline. The 3 sting rays were also very playful as they keep circling around us as we stood there to observe them.

Despite the short walk that we had, we had such great and interesting findings considering that it is also in broad daylight. My colleagues truly enjoy the walk so much and they are already looking forward to the next monitoring already!

Sentosa (10 Jun 09)

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:41:00 +0000

At the crack of dawn, TeamSeagrass is out on Sentosa to monitor the seagrasses there. We have lots of first timers today. Fortunately, Sentosa is less difficult to monitor and also, there were regulars to help introduce the methods to the new team members.
After a quick briefing by Wei Ling and Siti, the Team is off to do the random sampling method (because the shore is narrow). This means no laying out of the tape and thus it's much faster to do.
This last stretch of natural shores on Sentosa has lots of long Tape seagrasses (Enhalus acoroides), which I again tried to take underwater photos of.
And carpets of little Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis).
These two kinds of seagrasses are easy to tell apart so Sentosa is not too difficult to monitor. Although the bewildering variety of seaweeds sometimes can be confusing.

Joining us today also is the Water Quality team from Singapore Poly.
Among the seagrasses, I came across a humungous crab! It must have had a body width of 15cm.
It looks like a Mud crab (Scylla sp.). Here's a closer look at it with my little underwater camera.
Other crabs include this vividly patterned Mosaic reef crab (Lophozozymus pictor).It is the most poisonous crab of Singapore! There are several documented deaths caused by eating this crab. Cooking does not destroy the toxins. Despite this natural protection, the crab is listed as 'Endangered' on our Red List due to habitat loss. So it's important to preserve shores like Sentosa so that these intriguing animals can continue to thrive.

After the monitoring, the Team headed off to explore the living reefs on this shore.
Meanwhile, as some of us rested on the high shore, some monkeys clambered down the forest that cloaked the natural cliffs.
Quickly, Siti rescues a bag left behind on the shore before the monkeys could raid it.
(The monkey is sitting on the fallen tree at the upper right corner of the photo).

After some amusing encounters with us, and a monitor lizard, the monkeys scampered off into the water for a swim!
Ivan took a video of the entire event!
Wow, this is my first time seeing this behaviour. Of course, I should not have been surprised. These Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) are also called Crab-eating macaques. These animals are native to Singapore and their original habitat was mangroves!

More about the monkey encounter on the wild shores of singapore blog and Vanitha's peripheral vision with video clips of the monkeys and other wildlife encounters at Sentosa.

On the Team today were: Vanitha, Lee Qi, Yen-ling, Jason, Richard, Ivan, Siti, Wei Ling, Collin and Ria.

More about Sentosa's natural shores and the latest blog entries about Sentosa.

Jane Goodall Institute Singapore - Youth Symposium

noreply@blogger.com (mitis) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Hello seagrassers! Apologies for the belated post :)

A group of us - Cheng Puay (a.k.a Mr. Lim), Jocelyne and myself - were invited to run a workshop as part of a Youth Symposium organised by the Jane Goodall Institute, RGS and Singapore American School entitled 'A Vision for Hope'. The symposium was a one day event held at the Singapore American School on June 6th.

We ran a very condensed workshop on seagrass and the Seagrass-Watch Monitoring method. And we even ran a simulated monitoring session in the school field (with terrestrial grass, which is not as fun of course) and we got rave reviews for our session.

AND We got to meet Dr. Jane! Nuff said...

More info and photos from the symposium can be found at: JGIS Youth Symposium

TeamSeagrass at Youth Eco-Fiesta 2009

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:04:00 +0000

The Team is back out to share about our seagrasses and shores at Youth Eco-Fiesta 2009. Held in the heartlands of Tampines, the Fiesta celebrates World Environment Day with a festival of youth talents. The NPark Biodiversity Trail was also invited to participate.Wei Ling put together a great booth of TeamSeagrass and the Coral Nursery for the Trail.
Since Minister Mah Bow Tan was the Guest of Honour, there was lots of media too!Part of the Trail was a Quiz which lots of people participated in.
They had some questions to answer which they could find out by looking at the exhibits and talking to the volunteers.
The Quiz is a big hit! Some get a little help from mum.While others do it gamely on their own.
We had various interested visitors too with lots of questions about our seagrasses and our shores.
Even the youngest ones dropped by the booth.
Of course it was a delight to welcome Minister Mah to the booth and share with him the work being done on our seagrasses.

Thanks to everyone who came to help out! Andy, Ivan, Robin, Shufen, Kevin and of course Wei Ling as always taking care of everything.

More about the Fiesta on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Cyrene Reef (27 May 09)

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:48:00 +0000

It's another early departure for a tiny band of Seagrassers. We depart from the very swank Marina at Keppel Bay and were nearly turned away by the super tight security folks.
Fortunately, we managed to convince them that we were genuine customers and soon we were off in a brand new boat arrangement with Thye and Jumari. Here we are passing Labrador, with the park lights still on.
But it's lights out for Mei Lin, who snuggles up in such a cute curl for a nap as we head off for Cyrene Reef. She reminds me of a hermit crab in its shell.
We approach our favourite submerged reef from another angle at first light through the hazy cloudy sky.
And here is Thye helping Siti off into the dinghy that takes us out to the reef.
Jumari takes us swiftly to the shore. Another change as you can see, we all have to wear spiffy life vests. I had to let mine out a lot along the sides to be able to get into it. Sigh.
We land on another part of the reef which doesn't have any sand bars. So we set up on the sandiest portion we could find. We also de-vest quite rapidly.
The team is very lean today, so most of us did a transect alone. Here is Andy hard at work on his. Thanks to Andy for helping us straighten up our lines, and taking the GPS points for Site 2!
There are MANY species of seagrasses on Cyrene so it's quite tricky to do the monitoring.
Fortunately, my transect was rather sparse so I didn't have to struggle too hard. Unlike the stalwarts who did Site 1. The tide window is very short today! We had only about 20 minutes after finishing the monitoring to get back to the departure point. But still I managed to see quite a lot of marinelife on the short and quick walk.
I was the first to get there, and already the tide was coming in and our gear was starting to float away!
A quick rescue of gear, we put on the vests and make the long scary trek to the edge of the reef to get on the dinghy. After Chay Hoon's very traumatic encounter with a stingray yesterday, we were all praying very hard, as we waded through high water, not to step on a stingray or a stonefish!!
By the time the second batch was waiting to get on the dinghy, the water was already quite high. Fortunately, everyone made it safely back and we had an injury-free trip.

Thanks to all who came for the trip: Nor Aishah, Andy, Kenerf, Michelle, Mei Lin. And also Collin and Robin for coming along to help with the gear. And to Wei Ling for arranging stuff even though she couldn't make it for the trip. We sure missed Wei Ling and Shufen.

More blog posts about this trip

20 minutes on Cyrene Reef on the wild shores of singapore blog.

TeamSeagrass at Envirofest 2009 - Day 1

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 23 May 2009 11:09:00 +0000

TeamSeagrass had lots of work to do at Envirofest 2009! The booth was always crowded with people wanting to learn more about seagrasses.The activity sheets from International Seagrass Watch were a huge hit! Thanks Len and Rudi!
We also had help from the specimens from the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. From past experience, the bottled baby dugong is always a big draw. And we then lead on from there to how important seagrasses are not just to dugongs but many other sea creatures too.

Making it's debut today is the marvellous standee done by Wei Ling.
Now it's much easier to show just how much fun we have monitoring seagrasses!

The Minister dropped by the booth on his rounds of the Fest.
I nearly missed taking a photo of him. But I see Wei Ling is literally on top of the situation (she's in the top left corner taking a photo of the goings on).
The Minister, as always, is enthusiastic about the event.

Thanks to Andy, Nor Aishah and Gaytri for taking the lead to put this together. And to all team members who came to help out at the booth! Richard, Jocelyne, Sean, Joanne, Ivan, Siti, Wei Ling, Marcus Tay, Marcus Ng and the RMBR's Toddycats!

More about Envirofest on Day 1 on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Envirofest 2009 is still on for tomorrow 24 May (Sun) 11am-8pm at HDB Hub. Come down, bring your friends and family. Learn more about our biodiversity and environment, meet people passionate about the issues and find out how you can join their walks and other activities.

See you there!

More blog posts and photos about Envirofest 2009 on the Envirofest Singapore blog: an updated list of links.

Labrador Angels off to a flying start!

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:59:00 +0000

The new teams of Labrador Angels have accomplished so much in just their first visit!

The teams will not only monitor the seagrasses at Labrador, but also look after the overall health of the shore and engage in clean up on the shore! Fantastic!

There are two teams of Angels now:
First team: Grace Cheong, Jin Yifeng and Zenia Quek.
Second team: Goh Hua Zhen, Regina Lau and Tan Li Ying.

Last week, the new teams got their new booties wet. They got an introduction to the shores from Mr Lim, and also picked up 3kg of rubbish which consisted of styrofoam, plastic bottles and other non-biodegradable materials. Unfortunately, they also saw some pollution.

Read more about their work on their Labrador blog.

Unfortunately, there were no photos of the new teams.
So here's an old photo of Mr Lim, their intrepid leader, with Len from SeagrassWatch HQ when they were recently on Labrador.

We're looking forward to hearing more about the adventures of the new Labrador Angels!