Semakau, a land filled with wonders

It was a blazing morning as the sun revealed itself in a majestic manner, firing up the sky a deep orange red which finally simmered down to a cloudy brown as we passed Pulau Jong to reach Pulau Semakau.

The avid seagrassers were also busy with shooting this wonderful sunrise, a good omen for the day ahead perhaps?

This trip would mark my second time here at Semakau and I'm very very excited to visit the large seagrass meadow and the reef edge there.

After doing the transect, its exploring time again and this time, armed with a new 35mm Macro lens, I went to peer closer at what actually lies in our waters. On the seagrass, there were many sponge-like "growths" which are actually ascidians or more commonly called sea squirts. These cute fellas come in all shapes, sizes and colours and some are even solitary (these here are colonial).

The corals there look healthy too and some of them are just HUGE. I'm still looking out for those pink porites which I think are pink due to a pigment they produce to shield them from the sun's UV rays.

Scattered around the intertidal zone are numerous sponges that may resemble the stony corals seen there except that they are soft. These guys actually get their nutrition from particulate matter in the water column and they do that by sucking in water from small pores called ostia and filtering the water with tiny hairs in their main body. The water is then expelled out from a bigger opening called the oscula. Interesting isn't it!

While treading back to collect my transect tape and bag, I chanced upon this Heliofungia sp. which looks like an anemone. These corals, although the uncanny similarities to anemones, belong to a totally different group of corals as they build a calcium carbonate skeleton whereby the anemone does not.

Other than the animals there, the algaes are also quite interesting if you look at them closer. This purplish, stringy algae was found on the stake marking the transect area. Looks a bit like the "fa cai" that Chinese people eat during the New Year.

Further up after the seagrass meadow, I found quite a few Halimeda sp. which are a special type of algae that incorporate calcium into their tissues. These algaes are crucial for reefs as they provide a substrate for the many organisms to grow on.

There's also this awesome looking one that looks like fingernails

Near my transect site, I spotted this horseshoe crab moult. I didn't know horseshoe crab moults are actually orange in colour as they usually are green. I'm also quite amazed by the seemingly perfect symmetry in the shell.

Helen found this little Batfish amongst some seagrass. This guy was just about palm size and could grow up to bigger than my head when it matures. The adults are usually darker in colour and their fins might also develop streamers.

As noon approaches, the weather started to turn scorching hot! Some of us couldn't take the heat and rested in the shade while waiting for the others to be done with their exploring. Ironically, this parched land would soon be engulfed by the incoming tide.

Besides the watery wonders, there are also nice finds on land too. I noticed that there were many mangrove seedlings growing. Hopefully, when I return in the future, they would have grown into trees.

This strange looking plant actually has hairy fruits!

Who would've thought that the world looks so different close up. Maybe everyone in this world should take a closer look at our Earth, as taking a peek might reveal a whole new story...

Surprises at Changi

Was at Changi beach having a barbeque to celebrate my cousin's birthday and we took a stroll down the beach when I found this intriguing creature. At first I thought it was just some rotting fruit but it started moving and when I peered down, it looked more like a sea hare.

Then an uncle came and told me not to go near it as it was a jellyfish. And as I left, I saw him kicking it back into the sea (felt so bad after that).

Then at night, we went to a stretch of metal railings that was designated as the fishing spot. As the anglers lashed out their lines at the pitch dark waters, lit only with the city lights and the occasional headlamps of landing planes, my cousin told me to take a look below.

To my utter amazement, there were glowing streaks in the water! And I looked on and figured that they were actually luminiscent fishes. How amazing is that?

Wild side of Pasir Ris

Blogger seemed to have some problems with my browser these few days so this is a little back dated.

Anyway, it was a lovely morning and I didn't have lessons till the afternoon so I went down to the mangroves at Pasir Ris to check out the wildlife there.

The morning dew of the plants there are just so refreshing!


This canine friend was actually doing its morning workout by running circuits around the whole boardwalk area (no kidding!).


As I approached the bridge near the site where Sijie had his snake hunts, I was quite amazed to not only find one but TWO bicycles washed up onto the concrete structures there. Is it a trend now to dump bicycles into our canals?



Actually the main reason for me to head down to the area is to catch a photo of a really nice bird that would perch on a branch sticking out from the trees. That fella didn't come but I did catch some photos of other birds that we don't normally see on the streets.



And I also ventured to the rocks just before the flat "plateau" (sorry, couldn't find a good description). First thing I found there was one of my favourite creatures, an onch (Onchidium sp.)


I really liked this photo as the bigger crab looks as if it is domineering the smaller one haha.


I didn't go onto the boardwalk due to the time but I'll do an entry on there very soon!
Next up is a strange find at Changi Beach while having a barbeque for my little cousin's birthday

The Saint of the South

It was a very sleepy morning as Gaytri, Muratti, Andy and me arrived at Marina South Pier for the trip to St. John's Island. We were just about to depart when Ria saw James coming in and shouted for him to hurry up and he ran down and boarded the boat just in time.

The morning was spectacular with a pink sunrise coming from behind us. Sisters Islands were in the distance and so as was Sentosa.


Very quickly, the sky turned a pleasant blue which was reflected off the crystal clear waters at SJ.


The shores were littered with corals and rubble with a small patch of seagrass where the sediment was a bit muddy. In the pitch darkness of the early morning and under the guidance of Gaytri's torch, I spotted this conspicuous flatworm Pseudobiceros bedfordi lying on some rocks. As Andy and Muratti was filming and taking pictures, this bugger decided it would take a swim to Muratti's shoes!


Following the flatworm find, Andy spotted a really tiny Copperband butterflyfish Chelmon rostratus swimming in a small pool of water. These guys are often collected from the wild for the aquarium trade and sadly, many hobbyists do not realise that these fishes eat coral tissue and end up "humanely euthanising" them when they start pecking on their precious coral displays.


As we were walking along the shore, Ria suddenly let out a thunderous announcement "Crinoid!!". Everybody went over and there laid a blackish green featherstar on a piece of rock. According to Ria, featherstars are not commonly found on the shores and this one probably got washed up.


We also found a nudibranch Glossodoris atromarginata not far from the featherstar!


One thing I noticed about St. John's is the abundance of large rock anemones compared to the many carpet anemones found at the other sites.


I also managed to find another flatworm which was black and had an orange ring on its "skirt". I really love to see the flatworms swim as it is a truely amazing sight.


This great looking crab was very shy and didn't want to be photographed. I had to stand really really still and tolerate all the sandflies to get this shot of its beautiful shell.


On the rocks I noticed quite an extensive encrustation of coralline algae. This might show that St. John's has the potential to develop as a reef that is abundant with life.


As we were walking back in the direction of the hut where we put our barang barang, James found this green nudibranch which had black spots on its underside.


A few steps ahead, we spotted this goby that was out of water. James used his big hands to scoop the fish into a pool of water nearby.


Ria went to find the fiddler crabs and brought back this remains of a volcano barnacle. Inside the little "mountain" that we normally see are little pores that serve to keep the creature cool. Talk about living in comfort!!


Other than Gaytri who didn't bring along a camera, the rest of us were shooting in DSLR glory. I managed to get this shot of our cameras when we were eating breakfast after the long morning. From the left is Andy's Olympus E1, Muratti's Nikon D70 and James's Canon 20D. Ria has her two very famous cameras that seldom leaves her neck (which explains why they are not in the picture haha).


On our way back, we spotted a pair of mating grasshoppers and Andy was really kind to lend me his 50mm macro lens to get a shot. It was a long morning but all so worth it!

Yes it can be done

I came across this quote from a friend's blog and I thought, no matter how hard the world is going to blame and challenge nature conservation efforts, as long as each and everyone who cared believes in the ultimate cause, anything could be done.

Don't give up guys! Allez!

If it couldn't be done

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But, he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't" but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, as he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one we know has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That cannot be done, and you'll do it

Remembering Chek Jawa

Today was transect day for CJ and we got down to work immediately after finding a way to go around the boardwalk which was almost completed.




Chek Jawa looked better and better every time we visited and it is clear that recovery from the mass dieoff is on the right track. Inspired by Dr Chua's Pulau Jong photo, I took this picture of Chek Jawa as how it looks like now.


Algae was prevalent so were the seagrass meadows, everything was very much alive!


The sun was blazing hot and the Seagrassers push on!


Some of us were doing the transect....


Some of us were busy filming...


The H. ovalis there are really HUGE!!
Some were even the size of my thumb!


After doing the transect, I ventured out to the coral rubble area and over there laid a huge H. spinulosa meadow


Amazing isn't it


An interesting sight I noticed is that there was a region where the seagrass were dried.
They weren't burnt but dry like dead leaves and were rather brittle.


And of course the carpet anemones are back and they sure look different from when I first set foot on CJ. I remember that I had always wanted to visit this place but either I was too busy or did not know how to register for the walks and ended up admiring pictures in the Ubin coffeeshops.
So the first time I was brought to CJ was during the orientation transect and it wasn't anything I expected it to be. It didn't even smell like the CJ I had envisioned at all. So as I did the transect, I couldn't help but feel a little sense of disappointment.
However, now that I've been there a few more times, CJ is opening its wonders to me again. And thinking back of the time I first saw it, I was filled with exhiliration that nature is so powerful!


We even ventured out to the beacon as the tide was up to knee level (for me)


Can you spot the juvenile halfbeak in this phtoto?


Wilson saw this crab holding on to dear life on a piece of driftwood.
It wasn't anything particularly interesting until....


Someone flipped the driftwood over to reveal a brunette in his arms! (or claws)
See, even crabs can be romantic


As the tide came in, all of us rushed to the shore before we got to swim
CJ is definately a lovely place


And on the way back to the meeting point, we came across this.
Siti was saying, "why need plastic bags? just take the whole darn thing la"
I guess some people are still reluctant to BYOB haha

Coralline algae lines Sentosa

It was a very sleepy morning as I just alighted my plane from Shanghai and rushed to Sentosa for the TeamSeagrass transect. I was the first to reach the Ben and Jerry's and it was kind of weird to see Sentosa so quiet (it was just me and the guard there).

Anyway, we headed down to the transect area after waiting for NParks who were late as usual. The tide was quite high when we reached there so Shufen gave us a briefing on the random method we were going to use. We tried to wait out the tide by having some food but as luck might have it, the tide did not really go down. We then decided to explore the place instead.

One thing I realised at Sentosa which I did not see at the other places was an abundance of coralline algae growing on the rocks.


This is another growth form of coralline algae


Coralline algae are a type of marine algae that is hard, unlike your usual Ulva or Chaetomorpha because they deposit calcium carbonate into their cell walls. The reason why I am very interested in coralline algae is that they have key roles in reef building. When they grow in sheets coverig rocks and substrate, they deposit considerable amounts of calcium carbonate, sometimes even more than corals and thus constitute to reef growth.

Another reason why coralline algae is important to reefs is that they keep it from being washed away by crashing waves. When these algae encrust onto a substrate and builds on it, it forms a sheet that can withstand the strong currents of crashing waves that even the most rugged corals would be washed away. The coralline algae also forms what is called an algal ridge when they grow on the outer reef edge. This algal ridge will sort of cushion the force of the strong water currents and prevent the reef from being eroded away.

One last importance of coralline algae to reef building is that it works as the reef's superglue. This is an important role because if the sediment are not bonded together, fine sediment will damage corals when they settle on them. When coralline algae grows over a sediment substrate, it literally bonds the substrate together, creating a solid structure for corals to grow on and prevent any loose sediment from settling on the corals. The reef in this case grows via both the binding of sediment and the growth of corals.

Algaes that deposit calcium carbonate into their cell walls like Halimeda sp. generally also help in such functions in one way or another.

Talking about algae, I also noticed quite a few patches of what seem to be Chaetomorpha sp. or commonly called "speghetti algae". These algae are also quite different from the rest because it does not permanently attach itself to a substrate. If you'd notice, macroalgae like and Caulerpa sp. and Sargassum sp. attaches itself tightly to a substrate and would not get washed away in the tide. However, Chaetomorpha sp. is just a bunch of free floating algae that does not possess any structures like runners to attach to a surface. This led me to think, maybe it is an adaptation for them to maximise photosynthesis. I noticed that although they cannot attach to a substrate, they do get "caught" on rocks when their bunch of curly whirly strands act like some sort of velcro. They then stay there until the currents detach them and they go with the flow till they get caught at another rock. This, I think, allows almost 360 degrees of photosynthesis to occur since the bottom strands are shaded until they get a chance to receive sunlight when the bunch flips and turns in the currents when they are detached. I'll try to illustriate my point next time with pictures.

Anyway, Wilson the "worm guy" from NParks was also out catching, yes you've guess it, worms! I hope he won't mind me showing this pic of him in action trying to coax a Eunice sp. out of its hole.


Shufen even challenged him to find 3 worms for a lunch treat and guess what, Wilson overturned a small rock and using his chopsticks, picked out 8 worms! There were even more squirming in the sand!