nudibranch ~ up close and personal! @ cyrene reef, singapore!

Nudibranch ~ up very close and very personal @ Cyrene Reef, Singapore from BeachBum on Vimeo.

This is a large video so do wait for it to stream fully before viewing!
Click on the Vimeo link for better (HD) quality viewing.

According to http://wildfilms.blogspot.com/2008/07/cyrene-walk-with-ura.html, it could be "some sort of Dendrodoris, possibly Dendrodoris tuberculosa, see entry on Dr Bill Rudman's Sea slug forum." There seems to be great potential for colour variation in this species.

See also http://wildfilms.blogspot.com/2008/04/earth-day-with-echinoderms-at-pulau.html for what could be a different colour variation of this species.

The specimen in the video was about 5 inches long and found in a sandy area on Cyrene Reef off the West Coast of Singapore in an area surrounded by a container port and petrochemical hub. (More on Cyrene here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/cyrene.htm)

More links on Nudibranchs :-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudibranch
http://www.seaslugforum.net/
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/06/nudibranchs/holland-text - a recent National Geographic article on Nudibranchs
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/06/nudibranchs/doubilet-photography - more superb u/w photos!
http://slugsite.tierranet.com/
http://www.sio.ucsd.edu/voyager/nudibranch/
http://www.accessexcellence.com/BF/bf07/gosliner/index.php - about the evolution of colours in sea slugs

giant mother of all synaptic sea cucumbers!

giant synaptic sea cucumber ! ....from outaspace from BeachBum on Vimeo.
This is a large video so do wait for it to stream fully before viewing!
Click on the Vimeo link for better quality viewing .

Could this strange creature be from outer space? Does planet earth really have such creatures?
Does Singapore have them as well?

Well, Singapore definitely has synaptic sea cucumbers! Lots of them can be found on wonderful Cyrene Reef off the West Coast. (More on Cyrene here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/cyrene.htm)

Found this rather large synaptic sea cucumber of Cyrene Reef. It was very much larger (about 3cm in diameter) than any other I'd seen before. You can really see how it uses it's grasping tentacles to grasp material and shove it into it's mouth. The tentacles look like they have some sort of sticky ability. Anything they come across gets pulled into the mouth and passed down the digestive tract. You can just about make out the wave-like motion along the body of the animal.

The body is unlike that of other sea cucumbers. The synaptics' use the surrounding water to stretch themselves out. When they need to, they can instantly expel the water by contracting the body wall. (see the clip ending when the synaptic contracts itself away from the camera).

Interesting points to ponder on:-
Do sea cucumbers have eyes?
Do sea cucumbers have brains?
Are there separate male and female sea cucumbers?

blowing brown cucumber 2 @ cyrene reef

blowing brown cucumber from BeachBum on Vimeo.
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This clip shows the blowing ability of the mysterious brown cucumber. It can really put out a real force of water. But why the need for such a forceful spurt? The cucumber's skin is seen close up!...It's covered in hairs! or hair-like structures.

The clip does not show off the mouth sections well but you can get an idea as to how it goes about looking for food and sucking it up. Much like a vacuum cleaner. The exhaust is thrown out the back.

In all of my 10 minutes with this cucumber, it hardly moved at all. I've seen snails move faster!

links :
on Cyrene http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/cyrene.htm

blowing brown cucumber + black cloud + petrochemical plant flare @ Cyrene reef

blowing brown cucumber + black cloud + flare @ Cyrene reef from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Found this sole brown cucumber at Cyrene. Not seen another one of it's kind anywhere else. There are other species of sea cucumber on Cyrene but this was the only one of it's kind on Cyrene I spotted that day.

It is noticeably different from the other cukes in that it has a rather large hole at the rear end...an anus! At least it was on the other end of the animal from it's mouth!. Some other cukes seem to have only one main aperture...i.e the mouth is also its anus.

This cuke was about 12 inches long and sitting in a shallow lagoon at low tide. It was actually blowing water out from the big hole. You can make out the turbulence at the water surface just above the hole. Why is it doing this? Maybe it is just expelling water which it takes in from the from end?

In the background is Singapore's Jurong Island. A rather loud alarm was sounded slightly before one of the chimneys was lighted up. A huge black cloud resulted upon first ignition....looks like that cloud would disappear towards the eastern. Flares are emergency measures put in place at such industrial locations to burn off excess waste gases.
"One of the prominent features of every oil refinery and petrochemical plant is a tall stack with a small flame burning at the top. This stack, called a flare, is an essential part of the plant safety system. In the event of equipment failure or plant shutdown, it is necessary to purge the volatile hydrocarbons from operating equipment so that it can be serviced." ~ www.britannica.com

If the flare results in a clear burn (apart from the initial black cloud), then the system is running as designed. However, if the flare continues to produce a black cloud, then the system is not performing as designed. So if the black cloud heads your way.......Run! or hold your breath before it reaches you.!

sand star regeneration @ cyrene

sand star regeneration @ cyrene from BeachBum on Vimeo.

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Seastars have a remarkable ability to re-generate their limbs.
This one had lost two of its arms but it was growing two new ones.
You can see the tiny arms jutting out.

Link : http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-213X/7/115
This Article explains all about regeneration in sea cucumbers.

moving star @ cyrene

moving star @ cyrene from BeachBum on Vimeo.
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Ever wondered how sand stars move?
They use their tube feet. Each arm has numerous tube feet.
The clip shows how a sand star moves over undulating terrain....much like a hovercraft...except you have to pay attention to see the tube feet at work.

More on sand stars !...
http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/p610.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/s603.htm
http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/pub/seashore/text/221.htm

sand star w central hole @ cyrene

sand star @ wonderful cyrene from BeachBum on Vimeo.

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Came across this sand star (amongst the thousands at Cyrene) which had a peculiar vent at its top. It was opening and closing the hole as if on some periodic cycle. It looked like it was passing water through. This vent was not the madreporite as you can see the madreporite a little to the left. (someone correct me if I am wrong here). Apparently, some star species have an anal aperture at the top side. This is likely what the hole is.

The aperture is lined by a membrane which opens up just below the exterior minute fingers surrounding the hole.

Notice the tiny conical snail shell slightly off centre.
More on sand stars !...
http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/p610.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/s603.htm
http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/pub/seashore/text/221.htm

anemone shrimp @ surprising cyrene

anemone shrimp @ cyrene reef from BeachBum on Vimeo.
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It's always a joy to wake up really early (5am) and head out of the house in search of adventure. Today (Tuesday - 22 July 2008) was no exception.

Cyrene Reef (Terumbu Pandan in Malay) was full of surprises as usual. There is always something new to discover.

The clip shows an (actually two) anemone shrimp in a carpet anemone.
The shrimp benefits from practising commensalism where it lives in a symbiotic relationship with the anemone which is not harmed. Usually, there are two shrimps...one male (smaller) and a female (bigger). The males are usually less spotted and are more transparent. The females have more noticeable spots.

Have a look here for a more detailed narration of the wonderful trip to Cyrene!
http://wildfilms.blogspot.com/2008/07/another-cyrene-walk.html

More links...on Anemone Shrimps :
http://www.divegallery.com/anemone_shrimp_P_brevicarpalis.htm
http://uforest.blogspot.com/2008/03/anemone-shrimp.html
http://budak.blogs.com/the_annotated_budak/2007/07/anemone-shrimp.html

Fancy a scientific article on the life and times of an anemone shrimp? Costs and benefits of the symbiosis between the anemoneshrimp Periclimenes brevicarpalis and its host Entacmaea quadricolor http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v129/p77-84/ - co-authored by Dr Daphne Fautin who recently visited Singapore to research Singapore's anemones (see  http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/20070708/070804-2.htm and http://wildfilms.blogspot.com/2007/07/show-me-mone.html)

Dr Fautin's website : http://hercules.kgs.ku.edu/Hexacoral/Anemone2/

Snake@Labrador Nature Reserve

snake @ Labrador Nature Reserve from BeachBum on Vimeo.

This agile snake startled me by landing on some leaves on the ground near my foot and started wriggling towards the railing. It probably dropped from a tree above.

Is it a bronzeback or a paradise tree snake (a.k.a flying snake)? Someone do let me know. (I think it's a Painted Bronzeback - see http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/painted_bronzeback.htm)

It had this amazing sideways head move as if it was saying 'no' and a very red forked toungue which tasted the air at amazing speed. It's agility can be seen when it weaves it's way effortlessly through the green fence.

Does Singapore have flying snakes?
Yes it does ! - see http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/paradise_tree-snake.htm and http://www.flyingsnake.org/.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050512201549.htm
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/vol208/issue10/

Surprising Singapore!

hairy crab @ hantu

hairy crab @ hantu from BeachBum on Vimeo.

See http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/c324.htm

See also http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/pub/seashore/text/211.htm

Want to know more about Pulau Hantu?
See http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/hantu.htm

eel-egant hunter @ hantu

Eel-egant hunter @ Hantu from BeachBum on Vimeo.
This was shot on Pulau Hantu, Singapore.
(more on Pulau Hantu here http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/hantu.htm)
It could be an eel blenny {http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/c212.htm} or a green worm eel.{http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/marinefish/text/213.htm}
I'm not sure. It was not green at all but a pale white in colour.About 8cm in length.

It was actively looking for food and was busy poking it's snout into every hole.
Eventually, it found a tiny hole in the sand and disappeared into it without re-appearing. Maybe it found another way out or got eaten by something else!

More on this Hantu trip from Wildfilms : http://wildfilms.blogspot.com/2008/07/accidentally-hantu.html

octopus surprise @ hantu

octopus surprise @ hantu from BeachBum on Vimeo.
An octopus is always a surprise. This one appeared within a rockpool and constantly changed it's patterns. It's ability to pulsate it's patterns and colours at will and on demand is simply amazing!

More interesting facts ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2818659