Halophila beccarii @ SungeiMandaiBesar 18Dec2010

Came across a patch of the critically endangered Halophila beccarii seagrass at the Sungei Mandai Besar mudflats. It is sometimes seen at certain parts of Chek Jawa and can also be found at Sungei Buloh. Preferring a more mangrove environment, it now suffers a 'critically endangered' status on the Red List of Threatened Plants of Singapore primarily because Singapore's mangrove habitats have shrunk considerably since the mid-1900s.

the leaves have a mottled pattern with dark and light patches. Close examination of some of the leaves showed a bit of red colouration as well!

note the narrow leaves arranged rosette-like

some patches were really thick with more noticeable larger leaves.

many tiny crabs had made their homes amongst the seagrass 'forest' each occupying tiny holes tunnelled between the thick seagrass mats. Can you spot the two crabs?

 a carpet-like field of H. beccarii... almost as far as the eye could see. 100% coverage!

a patch with Johore Bahru on the left and Woodlands on the right...

the exposed mudflat was almost totally covered with H.beccarii

We did hear the sound of the late afternoon train to Malaysia coming from behind the mangrove trees. This must have been very close to the railway line.
Again, the exposed mudflat was almost totally covered with H.beccarii.

some underwater pics of H.beccarii in a blue tub recycled from the mangrove

It looks like the Sungei Mandai Besar estuary mudflats are one of the last major strongholds of Halophila beccarii in Singapore.

Where is Sungei Mandai Besar? Click here for more info.

Want to find out more about this rare seagrass? Find out at WildSingapore's Wildfacts pages!
Visit also Singapore's own TeamSeagrass blogsite! and find out about seagrass and why it is important to our marine ecosystem!
You may also 'Like' the TeamSeagrass Facebook page!

Flowers, shrubs and a millipede at Tanah Merah 11Dec2010

A selection of pics from a early morning hike at Tanah Merah ...

  

 

 

seashore morning glory

 cherry tomato?

 river panorama

                                                  yellow sea hibiscus

casuarina red flowers

 tomato ?

 the millipede

Sunken barge(?) at Tanah Merah 11Dec2010

Was out at Tanah Merah East on 11Dec 2010 and was surprised by what seemed to be a new sand dune out at sea. The light brown colour matched that of the many sand dunes at the various nearby reclamation zones.

Only a change of viewpoint by walking further along the coast threw a clearer picture about the 'sand dune'.

It looked more like a barge which had capzised.

There were cables on the right side (second photo - click for a large version) which were being used presumably to anchor it so that it would not move. The two tug boats were joined by an MPA launch before they started to manouver around the sunken barge. The large lifting crane to the right may have been used to assist in the lifting of the barge. There does not seem to have been a report on the MPA website though.

Revisiting an Oil Spill impact zone - 11Dec2010

Headed down to the lost coast at Tanah Merah East this morning for a morning hike.

There was obvious brown oily residue coating various parts of the shore including the riverbed, the large middle tidal pool and the smaller far tidal pool (near the Changi Aerospace Exhibition plot). However, these were from the earlier oil spill in Singapore waters and not the one a few days ago in Johor. There were no signs of any new oil.

It looks like various swathes of oil have been slowly released into the surrounding environment getting washed continually by wave action and mixing with other surface material to form a brown chocolatey scum.

No one seems to have done any cleanup in this area except for the rocky seawall near the Changi Aerospace Exhibition Plot.

It was a shock to see the far tidal pool about to be covered up by huge piles of 'new' sand. The narrow channel previously seen, which had linked the tidal pool to the sea, had been covered up by a thick barrier of sand.

However, it looked like the power of the waves had been underestimated as they seemed to have washed away a large amount of the new sand. It could be a matter of time before the monsoon season waves wreck their will and have their way on the wall of sand.

In the meantime, what was left of the mangrove seedling patch was in a much worse set of circumstances as the tidal pool seemed to be slowly
drying up after having been cut off from the beach. As was seen shortly after the oil spill impacted this section of coast, all the mangrove seedlings were leafless or dead. There were still some tiny fish and also a few small (fat-arm) jellyfish doing their best to survive in the ever more salty and warm water remaining in the pool.

All the greenery which had previously surrounded the tidal pool had been covered up with sand and presumably also all the rubbish which had previously floated in and got caught in the vegetation. There had been copious amounts of trash around the tidal pool ...all of which probably floated in with the highest of tides through the narrow channel.

On a hike earlier this year, Ria Tan had found a very rare mangrove plant called the Pemphis acidula or Mentigi. I wasn't sure where the plant was situated but it was likely in the area or very close to where the new sand was being deposited. Looks like this rare plant may disappear from Singapore yet again. I hope NParks had been able to take a cutting and seeds from it.

See the following links for more infomation about the Mentigi:-
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/01/long-march-to-pemphis.html
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/01/rare-mangrove-tree-mentigi-pemphis.html
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/plants/mangrove/pemphis/acidula.htm


The earlier efforts at treating the oil covered rocks seemed to have worked as there was hardly any oil residue to be seen on the rocks. However, in between the rocks was a totally different matter. The sand between the rocks was like chocolate cake having absorbed the crude oil.

After so many months since 25May2010, the oil residue still persists.

I remember there was a large area of chocolate sand leading into the tidal pool. This had now disappeared due to the new sand piled on top of it. It looks like the entire tidal pool will be covered up to put the oil residue further out of sight. Piling sand on top seems to be the easiest way of dealing with an environmental eyesore.

The oil persists and it is not going to 'disappear' unlike the rare Pemphis.

Seagrassing @ Cyrene Reef 06Dec2010

What a great sunset! after a great Seagrass session on the rarest reef ecosystem in Singapore!

Pasir Ris Boardwalk - 27Nov2010

Bumped into RT, WLK and IK at Changi Village Ferry Terminal decided to accompany them to look at the heronry at Pasir Ris Park instead of doing a long walk to Chek Jawa together with TKL. Good decision as the Pasir Ris Boardwalk proved a delightful vantage point to look at the many jewels of the mangrove.

First up was a thick gianormous caterpillar which was busy devouring all the leaves on a small bush. RT identified it as an Atlas Moth caterpillar.

Atlas Moth Caterpillar 27Nov2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.


Next, further along the boardwalk was a juvenile Malayan water monitor which was taking a siesta on a low branch soaking up the afternoon sun.

water monitor from BeachBum on Vimeo.
The patterns on it's skin would gradually disappear as it groww older ... probably because it would not need the camouflage as it became the top predator in the mangrove (discounting cousin crocodile of course).

Next was a pair of giant mudskippers.

mudskippers & mosquitoes from BeachBum on Vimeo.
Probably a mating couple as other similar duos were seen in isolated nearby spots too. One was very yellow whereas the other was noticeably a dark grey. It was good that the yellow mudskipper was there as it seemed to attract most of the mosquitoes which happily swarmed around it's head. The grey mudskipper seemed invisible to the mosquitoes! Perhaps it holds the key to the next greatest ingredient for mozzie repellant!

Here is a clip of another nearby yellow mudskipper...also plagued by the mozzies.

mudskipper w mozzies from BeachBum on Vimeo.


Then someone spotted a snake! This was just below the boardwalk.

dog-faced water snake @ Pasir Ris Mangroves from BeachBum on Vimeo.

It was a dog-faced water snake about a metre long and it was a bit unusual to see it foraging for food during the daytime. It usually seen after sundown where these snakes come out in droves hunting small fish in the shallows. These snakes are expert fishing snakes and are capable of injecting a small amount of venom into their prey disabling them before ingestion.

RT pointed out a fat-armed jellyfish actively swimming into the mangroves. This should be one of those kinds you would not want to touch or be touched by.

mangrove jellyfish from BeachBum on Vimeo.


Next in the water was a small school of green bromides. These had followed the tide in from the river when it spilled over the mangroves to flood the mangrove forest near the boardwalk.

Bromides @ Pasir Ris Mangroves from BeachBum on Vimeo.

There were several small groups of these fish at various spots near the boardwalk.


Check out RT's Wildshores blog for more things seen!
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/11/mangroves-at-pasir-ris-with-high-tide.html