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Saturday, May 12, 2012

the state of Singapore's Mangroves - Dan Friess @ 12May2012

Attended Dr. Dan Friess' talk on the state of Singapore's mangroves at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on 12May2012 in association with the Annual World Migratory Bird Day.

A synopsis of the talk :

Southeast Asia is a global hotspot for mangrove biodiversity, an ecosystem which provides crucial environmental and socio-economic services. However, the mangroves of Singapore have experienced severe decline in extent over the last century. Land reclamation and reservoir construction have fragmented Singapore’s original mangrove cover and greatly increased the distance between habitat patches. Habitat fragmentation is an important issue for all ecosystems, as it can significantly reduce habitat connectivity and the flow of pollinators, seeds and genetic material that cannot cross the increasing divide. This may eventually influence the long-term sustainability of Singapore’s mangrove systems. A new and novel study with NUS and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is integrating traditional field biology methods with cutting-edge hydrodynamic current modelling and genetic techniques to answer the question: are Singapore’s fragmented mangroves able to exchange enough propagules to remain ecologically-sustainable over the long-term?


Dr Dan was introduced by SBWR's How Choon Beng. Here is the talk.
(Well most of it anyway... apologies for  about a 10 second break in audio due to a technical fault at about 29:49). 
If you would like to volunteer for the mangrove study, do sign up at the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Email them at info@sbwr.org.sg or call 67941401 for more information.

Find out more about the talk here : 


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