fish fry explosion @ little sister's island 03Jan2010

fishfry from BeachBum on Vimeo.

The far lagoon's intertidal pockets were filled with tiny fish fry. This was quite a contrast with the near lagoon which did not seem to have any fish fry at all.

There seemed to be a variation in the age of the pockets of fish fry. Some were bigger whilst some seemed like they had hatched not too long ago.

All were however translucent. Perhaps this helps the fry blend into the surrounding vegetation.

What kinds of fish (non bottom dwelling) do we see most often in the intertidal ?
See http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/fishfi.htm
The most likely suspects are :
The checquered cardinalfish : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/apogonidae/margaritophorus.htm
The tropical silverside : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/atherinidae/duodecimalis.htm
The lined cardinalfish : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/apogonidae/cheilodipterus.htm
Of course, the fry could belong to some other species. It would be difficult to tell unless one 'grew' the fry for some time until the distinguishing features can be discerned.

frogfish @ Little Sisters' Island 03Jan2010

frogfish from BeachBum on Vimeo.

This frogfish was a surprise towards the end of our reefwalkwell after te tide had started it's return.

JK was wandering around making a few last searches with hit torch in the dark of the eveningbefore leaving the lagoon when he came across a small greenish sponge in the sand near a rock in very little water.

"ay, what a weird sponge...... no, wait! it moved...it has a tail...AY, what fish is this? This is so weird!!!".

CH came by and promptly identified it as a frogfish. Frogfish are very rarely spotted on our reefwalks as they are masters of camouflage (much like the dangerous stonefish). This particular specimen was on a higher part of the intertidal zone in hte lagoon and it must have been out of water for some time when the tide ran out.

Read about JK's blogpost here :
http://sgn090608.blogpost.com/2010/01/100103-little-sisters.html

Read more about frogfishes here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/antennariidae/trisignatus.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/antennariidae/black.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frogfish
http://www.frogfish.ch/frogfish-behavior.html

black sea cucumbers @ 02 & 03 Jan 2010

blackseasucumbers from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Here are some black sea cucumbers (Holothuria leucospilota) observed during trips to Pulau Terkukor and Little Sisters island in early Jan 2010.

Read more about these amazing animals here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/echinodermata/holothuroidea/leucospilota.htm
http://people.hws.edu/fieldguide/show.asp?ID=121
http://www.sealifebase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=83487
http://singaporefauna.blogspot.com/2007/02/holothuria-leucospilota.html

If you would like the cure for insomnia related to a study of this cucumber, here it is : http://www.springerlink.com/content/k736j21447058834/fulltext.pdf?page=1

Other blogposts about the trip :

• Clam hunt at Terkukor from WildSingapore
• Land of the Clam Graveyard from Psychedelic Nature.
• Pulau Tekukor from Singapore Nature.

Octopus Hunt @ 03Jan2010

octopus hunt from BeachBum on Vimeo

Octopuses hunt mainly at night. They hide during the day time and come out at about dusk from rock crevices or holes.

They move about silently spreading their tentacles around and into rocks and coral boulders looking for crabs and fish.

The octopus featured in the videoclip was about palm sized and was itself heavily camouflaged with a dark mottled skin pattern. Further, it's skin was contorted into a warty fashion. It got lucky feeling under the rock and seems to have caught a fish which must have been hiding under the rock. The fish did put up a good fight trying to escape but the octopus held firm despite the fish's kicks and jolts.

Nemo on Anemone @ Little Sisters Island 03Jan2010

nemo2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

The rising tide enabled the anemone to show it's true form. At the lowest tide, the anemone was almost out of water and the resident false clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) was nowhere to be seen...possibly hiding below the anemone's folds. This is the same anemone pictured in an earlier clip glowing in the dark when a bluish light was cast upon it.

Once the incoming tide floated the anemone's disc, the very active false clownfish appeared. It was about 4cm long and constantly kept moving about amongst the anemone's stinging tentacles. Any other fish would have been stung by the numerous stinging tentacles. Human skin is supposedly too thick for the stinging cells to penetrate effectively but one can usually feel a little numb around the contact points after prolonged contact.

Interesting fact : 'all clownfish are born male'

There may have been smaller clownfish hiding below the anemone. The largest nemo on an anemone is typically female whilst all the smaller ones are male. When the dominant female dies, the next largest nemo switches from being a male to be a female.

Read more about clownfish trans-sexuality here :
Ask a Geneticist : http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=28
FAQs on Clownfish : http://www.chehaliscoral.com/page.php?id=10
Redefining Nemo : http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/nemo2006.html
Smithsonian Zoogoer : http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2004/2/wildersideofsex.cfm

For general info about the false clownfish :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/pomacentridae/ocellaris.htm
and it's host anemone : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/actiniaria/gigantea.htm

More links :
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=6509
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/innews/clownfish2003.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clownfish

bioluminescent anemone @ little sisters island 03Jan2010

bioluminescent anemone from BeachBum on Vimeo.

I was curious to see if the anemone did give off or reflect certain wavelengths of light. It does seem to react to the blue LED light from my torch. The tips of the tentacles were bright blue-green for a few moments. You can see the difference as compared to when the xenon bulb was used towards the end of the clip.

Various other organisms like some corals and zooanthids also exihbited a similar reaction. This will make for interesting experimentation on future biodiversity exploration trips.

Find out more about this anemone here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/actiniaria/gigantea.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stichodactyla_gigantea