What is this strange worm-like creature at Pasir Ris Park?

Singapore got wildlife, meh?

It's a question that anyone involved in nature outreach in Singapore is bound to encounter someday. Yes, despite this country being a small island that has undergone lots of development, lots of wildlife still survives or even thrives in Singapore! If you've ever pondered this question yourself, here's a video that was first screened at last year's Festival of Biodiversity.

Chek Jawa with special guests

The Naked Hermit Crabs spent an enjoyable Friday morning with some special guests on the Chek Jawa Boardwalk.

Singapore's Underwater Meadows: a talk by Dr. Len McKenzie

Earlier this evening, I attended a talk by Dr. Len McKenzie of Seagrass-Watch. As mentioned in my earlier post about seagrasses, Dr. Len has had many years of experience working on this threatened marine ecosystem, and I learnt a lot from him.

Seagrasses of Singapore (Part 2)

The leaves of various seagrass species found in Singapore;
(Photo by Ria Tan)

In the previous post, we took a look at seagrasses, some of the places in Singapore where you can find them, and also went through the ten species of seagrass recorded in Singapore in recent surveys. In this post, we'll find out why seagrass habitats are so important, and some of the threats they face.

Seagrasses of Singapore (Part 1)

Lush seagrass meadows of Cyrene Reef;

In my earlier post on World Oceans Day, I mentioned seagrass meadows as one of several marine habitats that can still be found in coastal areas of Singapore. But what are seagrasses? Why are they important? And what can we do to protect them?

World Oceans Day: Protect the Ocean (Part 2)

In the previous World Oceans Day post, I talked about some of the threats that the ocean faces, why the sea is important to us here in Singapore, and how our marine environment has changed in recent times. Despite the development and destruction of many of the habitats that once existed here, marine life has managed to survive, and in some places, even thrive.

World Oceans Day: Protect the Ocean (Part 1)

Today is World Oceans Day, a day where people around the planet celebrate and honour the body of water which links us all, for what it provides humans and what it represents.

Updates on the Southern Expedition

Dawn on Cyrene Reef;

The Southern Expedition of the Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey began last week, and we're all very excited to find out what lives in our waters.

Mantis Shrimps of Singapore (ONETWOTHREE DEATH!)

Many people are finally clued in to the awesomeness of mantis shrimps, thanks to a hilarious comic by The Oatmeal.



This has been cited as an excellent example of science communication, and is also a great opportunity to highlight that Singapore has mantis shrimps too!

Mega Marine Survey Day 2: Pulau Ubin

I've just returned from my first field session with the Northern Expedition of the Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey; Ria has a post on the preparations that took place before the field trips commenced today.



Our base of operations is at Outward Bound Singapore (OBS), on the western side of Pulau Ubin.

The Wallace Lectures - Marine Biodiversity: Known and Unknown

I attended the latest instalment of the Wallace Lectures. Conducted by Dr. Bertrand Richer de Forges, it was an overview about some of the amazing and mysterious deep-sea communities, many of which were only discovered in the last 50 years, as well as a discussion of how much more we still don't know about marine biodiversity.



Naturally, I live-tweeted much of the session, under the hasthag #WallaceBertrandRicherdeForges, and here are my tweets from that evening and photos of some of his slides, compiled as a Storify:

Green Drinks Singapore: Seagrass & Aqua Republica

I attended the August 2012 edition of Green Drinks Singapore earlier tonight. Not only did I learn more about the importance of seagrass habitats from Siti, but also listened to Chengzi share about an upcoming game that aims to teach people about integrated water resource management.



Naturally, I was tweeting away, and the following Storify is a compilation of tweets, mostly by Gladys and myself, as well as relevant links and further information.

Saturday Seringat-Kias

A small group headed out to visit Lazarus Island on one of the last early morning low tides of the year. While the rest headed towards the rocky shores of Lazarus Island, Kok Sheng and I decided to explore a lagoon located in the north of Seringat-Kias; James and I had previously checked out this area in April 2010. On that occasion, we visited that lagoon during the day, and it was raining, so we might have missed out on a lot of the marine life that lived in that lagoon. Hopefully, we would find a more interesting variety of critters this morning.

STOMPer reels in 'sea monster' with many writhing legs at Changi Beach Club

Sharing Singapore with visiting scientists

Several marine scientists from all over the Asia-Pacific are in town for a workshop on marine biodiversity in the South China Sea. I was able to spend a day helping out with the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) as a guide, sharing about Singapore's natural heritage to specialists from the region. (Edit: Mei Lin was a participant as well, and shares more about the workshop in this post)

Surprise catch: Angler hooks baby shark at Punggol End

World Oceans Day @ Tanah Merah

Yesterday was World Oceans Day, and in recognition of this day in which we are supposed to "celebrate and honour the body of water which links us all, for what it provides humans and what it represents", the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) team conducted cleanups of 2 stretches of coastline. I had signed up for Tanah Merah Site 7, the same place I had volunteered for earlier in April as part of a series of year-round coastal cleanup efforts. I have visited this shore infrequently every year, and it really is gratifying to see how the efforts of small groups of individuals have truly helped make a difference in reducing the amount of trash accumulating here.

Earth Day Coastal Cleanup @ Tanah Merah

For those of us who visit and explore the shores of Singapore to document the marine life that can be found on our coasts, Tanah Merah stands out as a unique and special place. Although the original shore here is long gone due to land reclamation, a rich community of marine organisms has managed to colonise and reestablish itself. We find habitats as diverse as rocky shores, seagrass beds, sandy beaches, coastal forests, and even a coral reef on the outer edge of the seawall.


(Photo by Ria)

Unfortunately, this shore, despite its beauty and diversity, suffers from pollution. Much of the marine life is slowly recovering from the devastation of the oil spill that struck 2 years ago, although some crude oil still lingers in the environment. Another insidious threat comes from the vast quantities of garbage that wash up and get trapped behind the seawall. Because this area is not under the purview of the armies of cleaners that work tirelessly every morning to remove litter and other trash from our public beaches, the rubbish simply accumulates, forming massive piles of plastic, broken glass, and other debris.


Litter on Tanah Merah shore, July 2011;
(Photo by Ria)


Dig deep enough, and you'll find out where much of the oil has gone, April 2012;
(Photo by Ria)

In response, the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) team has decided to conduct a series of year-round cleanups on this shore.



And so, keen to do my part on a shore that I am personally very fond of, I signed up for the latest session, which was held on the morning of 28th April.

Beach-goer can't enjoy stroll along Changi shoreline as it's strewn with rubbish