paradise tree snakes @ Labrador Park 29Jan2011

Came across one non-flying flying tree snake on the fence during a break in the rain. It soon moved up the fence to join not just one other of its bretheren but two of them trying to get some sun on a cold mizzly (=miserable drizzly) day.
Wonderful!

paradise tree snakes 29Jan2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Read more about it :
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/paradise_tree-snake.htm
http://www.flyingsnake.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopelea
http://www.naturemalaysia.com/paradise-tree-snake.htm

Pulau Hantu walkabout ~ 22Jan2011

It was a dusky sunset evening...

dusky sunset 22Jan2011 from BeachBum on Vimeo.


List of things seen :-

Pygmy Squid : this little guy was floating away from any vegetation cover and it had a whitish attachment on its rear...not sure what that was. The pigment changes from pale to deep purple were instantaneous! Amazing!

pygmy squid 22Jan2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.
Read more about Pygmy squids here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/pygmy.htm

transparent Enhalus ghost slug : this was about 0.7mm long sliding about on an Enhalus leaf. The white stuff could be ingested detritus ready to become poo. The leaf blade was clear of any sediments or encrustations. The slug was performing a vacuum cleaning service!

transparent ghost slug 22Jan2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.
Read more about it here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/slugs/anaspidae/seagrass.htm

Swimming crabs
There were quite a few swimming crabs out for dinner. These crabs are named such because their last pair of legs have been flattened to greatly facilitate moving around under water. Generally carnivorous, eating anything that comes within grabbing distance of their sharp claws, they would also scavenge from the reef floor. These seemed to be the blue-spined variety. but many of the swimming crabs look very similar with slight variations in colour tone and patterns on their carapace.

swimming reef crabs 22Jan2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Further reading :
Singapore's swimming crabs : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/portunidae/portunidae.htm
How to tell our swimming crabs apart : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/portunidae/cfportunidae.htm
More pics on the blue-spined swimming crab :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/portunidae/bluespined.htm

Cuttlefish (banded 3-spot) : This little guy was about 1.5cm long and showed fantastic camouflage abilities by moving to below an Enhalus Leaf and appearing to be a decaying leaf sheath nestled at the bottom of the plant. Notice how it uses it's 'legs' to hold itself in that same position.

cuttlefish 22Jan2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.
Read more about it here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/threespot.htm

Sponge brittlestars
Read more about it here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/echinodermata/ophiuroidea/tinysponge.htm

Peacock anemone
Read more about it here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/others/ceriantharia/ceriantharia.htm

peacock anemone 22Jan2011 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

various hard corals

mysterious black spot on hard coral : which seemed to be oozing out a white 'poo' from within. Is this some sort of anal aperture for hard corals?

coral black spot 22Jan2011 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

snapping shrimp : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/othercrust/shrimp/alpheidae.htm

ghostly shrimp fry : Huge patches of the shore were covered with an incredible number of tiny transparent shrimp fry. It's easy to see how so many of them will become dinner for another larger organism supporting the web of life. The fry did seem to be attracted to light and congregated towards light from a torch.

ghostly shrimp fry 22Jan2011 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

common sandstars

flatfish (Ovate sole) :

ovate solefish 22Jan2011 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.
Read more about it here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/soleidae/ovata.htm

Broadnosed halfbeak : It was about 4cm long and was hiding amongst the sargassum seaweed. It does not do a very good job at it as it has a bright white spot near its dorsal fin.

broadnosed halfbeak 22Jan2011 from BeachBum on Vimeo.
Read more about it here :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/hemiramphidae/broadnose.htm

Octopus : Came across this Octopus heading back to its lair in the seawall. The tide had gone out pretty much and it had to do some quick gymnastics over the rocks to get into its hiding place. Note how the octopus uses its arms to 'see' where it should go before it decides.  And also the amazing instantaneous colour changes!

octopus escape @ Pulau Hantu 22Jan2011 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Presumably, this was the two-spot octopus commonly seen on Singapore's Southern shores.

Read more about it here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/twospot.htm

Other blog reports from others on the trip :-

• Kok Sheng with corals, crabs, nudis and more!
• James with fantastic closeups of corals, tiny flatworms, slugs and more!
• Russel lots of landscape photos, colourful corals and a horseshoe crab!
• Rene on facebook with aseahorse!
• Nicole with a wriggly star anemone.

Uncovering an Ancient Tree of Life - Echinoderms

Researchers at Ohio State join forces with other institutions to map out a tree of life from under the sea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4Ay5-vzIV8
SgBeachBum is happy to contribute some footage to this introduction to the project!
Check out the short clips at 1.42 (red featherstar at Labrador Park Nature Reserve)  and at 2.11-2.19 (synaptid sea cucumber at Cyrene Reef) and an overview shot of the Labrador Park Nature Reserve pier at 2.20.

octopus escape @ Hantu 22Jan2011

Octopus : Came across this Octopus heading back to its lair in the seawall. The tide had gone out pretty much and it had to do some quick gymnastics over the rocks to get into its hiding place. Note how the octopus uses its arms to 'see' where it should go before it decides.  And also the amazing instantaneous colour changes!


octopus escape @ Pulau Hantu 22Jan2011 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Presumably, this was the two-spot octopus commonly seen on Singapore's Southern shores.
Read more about it here : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/twospot.htm

Otters@Sg.Buloh 15Jan2011

Here's and 8-minute clip on the wild Smooth-Coated Otters of Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve.

The 2 otters were spotted swimming near the middle of Sg Buloh Besar and they had stopped briefly around a sunken tree stump before swimming submerged towards the central bridge occasionally coming up for air. Fish in the water scattered as the otters approached and some could be seen jumping out of the water to escape becoming lunch.

The otters swam under the bridge towards what seems to be a frequently used landing point on the near embankment. They then proceeded up the embankment towards the sand box overlooking a freshwater pond near the visitor centre's exhibition hall.

The otters then began a serious session of 'scratch that-itch' which lasted for about 25 mins before settling down for a late morning snooze.



Otters 15Jan2011(mobile) from BeachBum on Vimeo.



Otters 15Jan2011(HD) from BeachBum on Vimeo.


Here is Ria's blog post about the otter sighting :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/01/otters-at-sungei-buloh-and-mangrove.html

Read more about the otters here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/mammals/perspicillata.htm

First Seagrass session for 2011 @ Chek Jawa 02Jan2011

Was lucky to have a green mussel clam on the stake and which itself was covered with acorn barnacles. 

Zero% seagrass cover - makes for a quick transect

Zero % again!

Ria's sharp eyes pointed out the bleaching of Ovalis leaves. This was something I had not noticed until she pointed it out. Some patches were really bleached and the leaves were a transcluent yellow.

And that white stuff is actually bird poo which is a good fertilizer for the seagrass.

(Need more information on this ?  

Click here : http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/12/bird-poop-helps-heal-seagrass-damage.html)

The Northern tip of Chek Jawa had a bay full of Halophila ovalis! 

However, it looks like the high shore area here needs a cleanup too. 

Anemones galore! The North to NorthEastern coastline bordering Chek Jawa was peppered with small Haddon's anemones. They were mostly green and averaged between 10 to 15 cm across.

But there were some which were a deep dark blue

The Northerly parts of Chek Jawa seemed to be starting up a fringe of seagrass patches. These were predominantly Halophila ovalis and Halodule uninervis.

Uninervis and tubeworms

Ovalis, Uninervis ... and more tubeworms

pink thorny cucumber at near the Northeastern tip

 There were some small patches of Spinulosa as well!

tyres are frequently seen stuck in the sand. This one was close to the Northeastern tip.

a carelessly discarded fish net which had gotten stuck on a log.
(Read about Project Driftnet Singapore)

a group of visitors to Chek Jawa had decided to walk out into the seagrass meadow oblivious to the need to  use the more trodden paths and the need to avoid stomping unnecessarily on untrodden paths.

barefootness is not advised as there are a lot of things which can poke, bite, sting pierce and infect bare skin. (Read about a friend's stonefish encounter).

Luckily for this group, no one was injured during their short walk which was interrupted when they were advised to head back to the safety of the boardwalk to avoid getting caught by the fast incoming tide.

a wide panorama from the Northeastern tip of the sandbar. 

To the left is Changi and to the right is Johor.

Read more about the trip at these other blogs :-

http://teamseagrass.blogspot.com/2011/01/chek-jawa-2-jan-11.html

http://ourlittleurbaneden.wordpress.com/2011/01/02/starting-off-2011-with-seagrass-monitoring-at-chek-jawa/

http://psychedelic-nature.blogspot.com/2011/01/sweltering-hot-at-chek-jawa.html

http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/01/mangroves-at-chek-jawa.html