Ghost Crab @ Changi 24Jan2010

Ghost Crab @ Changi from BeachBum on Vimeo.

This ghost crab was seen foraging in broad daylight which is a bit unusual for this species as they are most commonly encountered at night.

The short clip shows the crab's ability to 'disappear' in a burst of speed, hence it's name.

Learn more about this fascinating species here:
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/crab/ocypodoidea/ceratophthalmus.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_crab

abandoned fishing nets @ chek jawa 16Jan2010

A small team of volunteers wandered off from the Team Seagrass monitoring survey on 16 Jan2010 at Chek Jawa Wetlands, Pulau Ubin to cleanup a couple of abandoned fishnets at the Southern face of Chek Jawa. A recce team had spotted a few fresh nets the weekend earlier : http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/01/dead-fish-patrol-chek-jawa-pulau-ubin.html.

Check out these links for more about the Team Seagrass session :-
http://teamseagrass.blogspot.com/2010/01/chek-jawa-16-jan.html
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/01/chek-jawa-with-teamseagrass.html
http://cjproject.blogspot.com/2010/01/3-years-after-mass-mortality-event.html
http://sgn090608.blogspot.com/2010/01/100116-chek-jawa.html

abandoned fishnets @ chek jawa 26Jan2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

abandoned fishnets#2 @ chek jawa 16Jan2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

abandoned fishnets#3 @ chek jawa 16Jan2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.The soft mud made it very difficult to get across the shore and it made the volunteers very tired very quickly.

abandoned fishnets#4 @ chek jawa 16Jan2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

abandoned fishnets#5 @ chek jawa 16Jan2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

abandoned fishnets#6 @ chek jawa 16Jan2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

abandoned fishnets#7 @ chek jawa 16Jan2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

abandoned fishnets#8 @ chek jawa 16Jan2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

It is a pity that fishermen think it ok to dump, abandon, throw unwanted nets on the shores. These nets will eventually come undone and spread out across the shore getting entangled amongst mangrove trees and roots. The nets continue to trap and kill anything that is hapless enough to cross the net. Some of the nets can stretch for tens if not hundreds of meters.

This same stretch of shore was cleaned up as part of the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore 2009 in September 2009. (see the ICCS2008 Ubin video clip here). Many nets were removed although there were still many which were not removed due to the growth of coastal trees and shrubs in and around them. Fishermen seem to be using this stretch of beach as a dumping ground for unwanted fishing nets. There were also many blue drums commonly used by in the fishfarm industry strewn all over the shore.

Some of the fish nets found on the shore before were of a type not typically used by fishermen in small boats but these were heavy duty nets used by fish farms in their floating holding pens. It looks like coastal businesses and activities will continue to add to the trash load polluting our already fragile shores. Perhaps the regulatory authorities could take a more active and involved stance in regulating the industry and the use (or abuse) of our coastal heritage. Before it is too late and the few recalcitrant litterers succeed in destroying what we could have passed on to the next generation.

A total of 10 individual nets were found and removed. Some of these nets were so big and heavy that we had to cut them up into smaller more manageable bundles. At the end of the effort, we had 14 separate bundles. With the group exhausted, we decided to store the nets above the waterline for a later removal.

spitting mudskipper II @ Chek Jawa

spitting mudskipper II from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Here is a second clip of the spitting mudskipper.

spitting mudskipper @ chek jawa

spitting mudskipper from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Chek Jawa 10 Jan 2010 : The 1.0m tide was great for viewing the intertidal zone near the boardwalk from the boardwalk. There were quite a few other interested visitors observing the mudskippers (and fiddler crabs). The mudskippers were out showing off building homes and looking for mates.

There were some mudskippers renovating their burrows by removing mud. The clip shows of mudskipper which had been busy renovating his burrow but which had moved away from it until he saw another mudskipper (presumably a rival male or ... a female not up to his satisfaction) too close to his burrow for comfort. He made a hasty retreat to his burrow whilst flashing his brightly coloured dorsal fin along the way. Instead of getting into a tussle with the offending mudskipper, this little guy decided to shoot mouthfulls of mud at the visiting mudskipper. And his first shot was accurate! Right on the other mudskipper chasing it away!

Is this an example of a fish using a tool? i.e the mudskipper using mud as a projectile weapon. Archer fish, also found in Singapore's mangroves, use water as a projectile weapon to shoot insect prey into the water.

Check out JK's mud spitting photos on his blog :-
Singapore Nature : http://sgn090608.blogspot.com/2010/01/100110-ubin.html

And also's RT's WildSingapore pages for more action and information
Wildsingapore.com :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/01/mud-slinging-mudskippers-at-chek-jawa.html
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/12/mudskippers-leaping-at-chek-jawa.html
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/fishfi15.htm

paradise tree snake @ Ubin 10Jan2010

paradise tree snake from BeachBum on Vimeo.

JK spotted this snake just before we were about to board our van. It was about 60 cm long. The video clip is extremely short because the snake slithered into the foliage in a few blinks of an eye.

Read more about these amazing snakes here :
http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/paradise_tree-snake.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopelea
http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/verts/flying_tree_snake.htm
http://www.flyingsnake.org/
http://www.naturemalaysia.com/paradise-tree-snake.htm

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.