teamseagrass

Seagrass meadows may be oldest and largest organisms on earth

2012-02-02T12:55:00.001+08:00

A seagrass species found in the Mediterranean is possibly the oldest and largest organism, reaching up to (15 km) wide and may be more than 100,000 years old.

Posidonia oceanica by M. San Felix from LiveScience.com

Wow! I wonder, how old are our seagrass meadows?!

Behemoth Seagrass Clones Among Earth's Oldest Organisms
Charles Choi LiveScience.com Yahoo News 2 Feb 12;

Seagrass meadows can be composed of ancient giant clones, organisms stretching up to nearly 10 miles wide that may be up to tens of thousands of years old, scientists find.

The seagrass in question, Posidonia oceanica, reproduces either sexually through flowering or asexually by generating clones of itself. This can result in single organisms that are very large and very old. Such clonal organisms may be the oldest and largest life forms in the world — for instance, the honey mushroom Armillaria solidipes may span up to 3.4 square miles (8.8 sq kilometers) in area and the quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) may reach up to 6,000 metric tons in mass.

"Clonal organisms have this extraordinary capacity that when a 'perfect' genome emerges, it can be transmitted through generations without being altered, and has potentially no end," said researcher Sophie Arnaud-Haond, a marine biologist at the French Research Institute for Exploration of the Sea.

However, theory predicts the genome of a clone organism will, "through the process of copying, be altered slightly by what are called 'somatic mutations' — copy errors," Arnaud-Haond said. "Accumulate those mutations, most of which are expected to have a negative impact, and over generations, it will degenerate and eventually disappear. The age of clonal organisms should therefore be limited as well."

To learn more about how long the seagrass P. oceanica can actually live, researchers analyzed 40 meadows of it across 2,175 miles (3,500 km) of the Mediterranean.

Not all of the seagrass the scientists discovered was genetically identical. However, the seagrass clones they did find suggest both extreme size and age. Some reached up to 9.3 miles (15 km) wide and may well be more than 100,000 years old.

"Posidonia oceanica ranks amongst the oldest organisms revealed thus far," Arnaud-Haond told LiveScience.

Computer models helped demonstrate that Posidonia oceanica has a mode of spread common to other seagrasses that allows the plant to avoid the accumulation of deleterious mutations and explains how it escapes the degeneration expected of clonal organisms.

"The understanding of the particularities that rendered those genomes so adaptable to a broad range of environmental conditions may be the focus of extremely interesting research in the future," Arnaud-Haond said.

Seagrasses are the foundation of key coastal ecosystems but have waned globally for the past 20 years, with P. oceanica meadows declining at an estimated rate of about 5 percent annually.

"Posidonia oceanica's clones have been able to survive greatly fluctuating environmental conditions, and meadows we observe nowadays are the outcome of millennia of evolution. On the one hand, this suggests an ability to cope with environmental change that could be a positive clue on their ability to cope with medium- and long-term prospects of global change. On the other hand, changes are occurring nowadays at an unprecedented rate, and the sharp decline of seagrass meadows in general and Posidonia oceanica in particular is raising concerns as to the ability of this slow-growing species and its old, patiently selected clones to face these new and rapidly occurring environmental challenges."

The scientists detailed their findings online in the Feb. 1 issue of the journal PLoS ONE.

Chek Jawa (8 Jan 2012)

2012-01-08T23:32:00.000+08:00

It's our first monitoring trip for 2012! And what a wet start we had!

Despite the rainy weather, this team of enthusiastic volunteers soldiered on and got it done!

When we arrive at Chek Jawa, we are greeted by Mama pig and one of her babies. They are both covered in mud!

So glad Siti is with us today to give a proper briefing to everyone about the monitoring process. We have a lot of first timers today so it's important to explain things properly. And Siti does it much better than I do.

Then we're off to the shore! The tide is still a little high. There are not many very low tides in 2012 that fall on a weekend, and during the day, so we are attempting to monitor at less than ideal tides. Nevertheless, this doesn't deter the determined team!

After helping everyone with tricky seagrass ID, Siti gives a wet dry run of how to estimate coverage.

Then we're off to the various sites. Oh dear, the clouds have gathered again overhead as we get started at Site 1.

Despite the rain, we get started and keep going. We do keep an ear and eye out for lightning. Lightning is very dangerous so we will stop work if any is detected.

The rain falls even more heavily as we are nearing the end of our monitoring. And fortunately, it eased off soon after. Today, we also replaced all the stakes, which have been there since we first started monitoring five years ago! Thanks to Rachel for sourcing the stakes and rubber mallets to get this done!

Today, the volunteers also help Siti with her seagrass experiment on Chek Jawa. Many hands and strong backs make lighter work of replacing the netting. Her experiment studies the impact of shading on seagrasses.

How are the seagrasses doing at Chek Jawa? Very well it seems! Here's a glimpse of the wide variety of seagrass species that can be found on Chek Jawa.

I am particularly impressed by the extensive growths of Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata). As far as I've seen, this is the largest patch of this kind of seagrass in Singapore. Smaller patches have so far only been seen at Cyrene Reef and at Tanah Merah.

Seagrasses commonly seen at Chek Jawa include Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis), Needle seagrass (Halodule sp.), Fern seagrass (Halophila spinulosa) and I was glad to see some small patches of the rare Beccari's seagrass (Halophila beccarii). There's an article about Singapore and this rare seagrass in the latest issue of Seagrass Watch.

There's also a bloom of Sea lettuce seaweed (Ulva sp.) which is normal for this time of the year. These get entangled on the seagrasses and make it more challenging to monitor. Especially with rain and a less than ideal tide. So, bravo to the team for getting the job done!

After the monitoring, I had a quick look around and found many signs of what seems to be dugong feeding trails! Hurray!

We all saw a wide variety of the usual animals that live in these lush seagrass meadows! More about what I saw on the wild shores of singapore blog.

All too soon the tide started turning, and Richard pointed out that it was threatening to really rain! So we quickly made our way back to safety.

It was great to have so many enthusiastic people with us on this trip: Richard, Jerome, Kah Ming, Gladys, Philip, Catherine, Lucas, Kimberley, Yifeng, Nor Aishah, Edna, Eta, Siti Zaleha Zainal, Ratna, Pek Gnee and Jeremy. Also to Andy, and to Ben and Samantha.

Thanks also to Siti for briefing us and guiding the team at Site 2, Rachel for organising all the logistics and supplies, Wei Ling for taking care of surprises and to special thanks to the regulars and veterans who guided the new ones, took care of the equipment and all the many small details for our smooth trip despite the awful weather.

Others who posted about this trip
Jerome shared more photos including a lovely nudibranch!

Seagrasses disappearing at Terumbu Semakau?

2011-12-26T10:53:00.001+08:00

This submerged reef off Pulau Semakau had lush seagrass meadows when I last visited it in June 2010.

When I visited again yesterday, I was shocked to see how little seagrass remained there. The Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides) were all short and cropped. I saw several small patches like this. There were a few patches with sparse but long blades, mostly in the Sargassum zone.

Terumbu Semakau is a submerged reef that lies just off the Semakau Landfill and some parts of the original Pulau Semakau.

Yesterday, I came across a small patch of Serrated ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea serrulata). I saw several patches of Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis). I didn't come across any Noodle seagrass (Syringodium isoetifolium) which we have seen here in the past.

The seagrass meadows were already sparse when we visited in March 2011. At that time, most of the Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides) were short and 'chopped'. But all the previously recorded species were seen: including the rare Noodle seagrass (Syringodium isoetifolium), Serrated ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea serrulata) and lots of Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis). .

Here's what the seagrass meadows looked like when we visited in June 2010.
And the lush growths seen on our first visit to Terumbu Semakau in May 2010.
Although Terumbu Semakau is not part of TeamSeagrass monitoring proper, a few of us who make regular trips to monitor our other shores do keep an eye on our seagrasses elsewhere. TeamSeagrass data on seagrass health on nearby Pulau Semakau and similar habitats like Cyrene Reef will hopefully help us better understand what is happening to seagrasses on all our shores.

Tuas (22 Dec 2011)

2011-12-22T23:58:00.001+08:00

The last TeamSeagrass monitoring at Tuas and Sheryl is doing it alone!

Jerome and I were there to do a quick check of the shore, under threatening skies.

Well, it is that time of the year when lots of folks are clearing leave. Sheryl did a great job as usual with the monitoring. The seagrass patch is quite lush here! All Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis). Sheryl points out that there seems to be growths of brown seaweeds among them. But this is probably normal for this time of the year, when there's lots of seaweed bloom on many of our shores with the flush of nutrients during the monsoon period.

The tide wasn't very low but I could see that the Halimeda seaweed (Halimeda sp.) zone in the mostly sandy shores are still there. Settled among them were lots of sea cucumbers and Haddon's carpet anemones. The soft corals, sea fans and other reefy creatures were still out there in deeper water.

One good thing we realised from this trip is that it is possible to monitor seagrasses here at moderate low tide. This opens up more windows for monitoring, which will be helpful as next year there are so few very low tides during daylight.

Sheryl and her team of volunteers at Merck have been stalwarts at looking after this shore. I look forward to another great year of seagrass monitoring at Tuas!

I took the opportunity to take a closer look at some of the soft corals found on this shore. More about these on the wild shores of singapore blog.

All about sea turtles in the latest Seagrass Watch magazine!

2011-12-06T12:59:00.000+08:00

The latest issue of Seagrass Watch magazine is full of sea turtles!

Len and Rudi have also kindly included an article about Singapore's own Halophila beccarii, among the rarest seagrasses in the world! Read all about them in Seagrass-Watch Issue 44 Nov 2011

There are lots of lovely photos of sea turtles in seagrass meadows! There are articles examining whether there has been a dietary shift among sea turtles following the loss of seagrasses due to extreme weather in Australia. Also, does sea turtle grazing actually help seagrass meadows withstand the effects of excessive fertilisers and pollution? And about efforts to conserve sea turtles and seagrasses.

Sadly, there are many threats to sea turtles everywhere. It was most distressing for me to see this photo of a severely undernourished sea turtle.

Sea turtles are also affected by disease. Oh dear!

The sad issue of trade in sea turtles is also featured.

There's more about sea turtles in general including a great chart on how to identify the sea turtles found in our region.

Does Singapore have seagrasses? Sea turtles? YES! Here's more about Singapore's sea turtles and about Singapore's seagrass meadows. Come for Siti's talk this Saturday 10 Dec to find out MORE about our seagrasses and the amazing animals that live there!

It was very kind of Len and Rudi to include our article about Beccari's seagrass (Halophila beccarii) which Siti has dubbed 'Tiger seagrass' because the leaves are often banded. Recently, a few of us saw vast areas of this Critically Endangered seagrass in the north: at Kranji Nature Trail and at Mandai Mangroves!

As well as MORE articles about seagrasses elswehere in the world and work being done to study and protect them.

Read all these articles in Seagrass-Watch Issue 44 Nov 2011

10 Dec (Sat): Talk on "Forests of the Sea" by Siti M. Yaakub

2011-12-04T12:43:00.001+08:00

Seagrass meadows are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth, but no one knows what they are! Are they algae? Are they seaweed? Can they be eaten? Is it true you can find mermaids frolicking in seagrass meadows?

Our very own Siti M. Yaakub will teach us about these underwater forests! Find out more about Singapore's fascinating seagrasses and why everyone should hug a seagrass today!

Debby Ng who organised these talks, shares more about Siti on the Hantu Blog:

Siti read marine biology as an undergraduate at James Cook University where she dabbled in various aspects of the marine sciences from geology to genetics. Her first encounter with seagrasses started in a marine botany class in second year and when she went back to Singapore during her semester break, she started surveying seagrasses in Singapore just for giggles. Little did she realise that brief dalliances turn into lifelong obsessions – seagrass continued to be a feature when she worked as a Senior Biodiversity Officer with NParks and now as a graduate student at the National University of Singapore. She has since accepted her fate as a seagrass-nerd-extraodinaire and strongly advocates that everyone should hug a seagrass today.

Don't miss this opportunity to find out more about our fascinating seagrasses in Siti's quirky and fun talk!

Time: 2.30pm
Venue. The National Geographic Store, 1 HarbourFront Walk, #01-19 VivoCity.
Website and contact: http://www.ngsingaporestore.com/exhibits/forests_sea.html

The National Geographic Store is also hosting a marine exhibition of posters of Singapore's marine life by wildsingapore from 1 Nov-31 Dec.

Ibrahim Iqbal did a great write up about Siti's talk and shared about TeamSeagrass on The Green Bush blog! Thank you

Pulau Semakau (26 Nov 2011)

2011-11-27T10:45:00.001+08:00

It's our last monitoring session for 2011!

The weather was changeable, with sunshine and sprinkles, then wetter still. But this didn't stop this team of volunteers from checking up on the marvellous seagrass meadows of Pulau Semakau.

Before we took the group photo, some of us were a little distracted by a sea eagle flying over the shore. There's lots of amazing wildlife that depend on seagrass meadows, not just marine life!

Earlier, during the ferry ride, I tried to give a briefing on monitoring as we had a large group of first timers with us. Hopefully, this was helpful to them. I'm not really as good at explaining things as Siti is.

Photo by Jocelyne

We started the day under wonderful blue skies. The tide was still a little high, so we had a bit of problems finding the stakes. The seagrass meadows at Pulau Semakau are kilometres long! So we had quite a lot of walking to do.

Here's the team for Site 1, at the high shore as Collin and I tried to find the stakes in high water.

Finally, we found the stakes! And everyone got started monitoring. With the refineries of Pulau Bukom in the background.

As the tide fell, monitoring got easier. The water wasn't so deep or murky anymore.

Henry and Man Nga did a great job as first timers, picking up the methods by the time we finished the transect! Hurray!

There's lots of Tape seagrass here, although the coverage is not very high, the blades are nice and long.

As I was measuring seagrass lengths, I actually tried to measure this pipefish! It's the Alligator pipefish and it looks exactly like Tape seagrass!

Here's a less bad photo of the fish! Collin is our expert on these fishes and he shared more about it with the rest of the team. After we finished monitoring, on the way back, we also saw a seahorse and other marine life. More about what we saw in the links below.

We also saw this humungous Garlic bread' sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) - my foot is next to it for scale. That's good to see as these sea cucumbers are believed to play an important role in the health of seagrasses.

It started to rain heavily as we headed home. Yen-ling and Chun Fong are still working! Fortunately, on their last reading.

Well, we had to leave the shore anyway as it was also approaching sunset.

Fortunately, there was no lightning, and we all managed to leave the shore safely.

Clean and dry, back on the ferry, we had fun looking through at some of the marine life we saw. Among them a Noble volute laying eggs. We also enjoyed the much needed and appreciated snacks that Andy so kindly bought for us!

While the trip may be over for most, for me, it's another massive round of gear wash up the following day. There sure is a lot to clean! Nearly half a kilometre of tape, and lots of bits and pieces. The cats at least, seem to have fun 'helping' me with the wash up!

It was great to have on the last monitoring session of 2011: Jerome, Chun Fong, Chin Ching, Yuan Chun, Yi Shyuan, Yen-ling, Gaytri, Jia Lin, Regina, Jacyln, Jose, Man Nga, Henry, Andy, Jocelyne, Sean and Chay Hoon on our trip today.

Thanks to Collin from NParks for accompanying us and taking care of some of the new ones. Also to Rachel for arranging all the logistics which went smoothly. My special thanks to the veteran volunteers who turned up to help with a particularly large batch of first timers, and keeping count, and keeping track of the equipment, and all the myriad little things that needed to get done. And special thanks from all of us to Andy for treating us to much appreciated snacks!

The Team is taking a break in December, but monitoring resumes in January. There's already lots of sign up for the first trip in 2012! So do sign up before the places are all taken up!

Posts by others on this trip

Jocelyne with sea stars, cuttlefish, flatworms, jellyfish and more.
Chun Fong with more monitoring and a strange crab.
Jose with baby horseshoe crab, and crab.
Ria with pipefish, seahorse, magnificent sea anemone and more cats 'helping' at the washing up.

Cyrene Reef (24 Nov 2011)

2011-11-24T21:37:00.001+08:00

Cyrene Reef is a submerged reef that is only exposed at low tide.

A small team arrive a little too early today, and the tide was still very high! But this didn't stop us from getting the monitoring done!

Only a tiny sliver of sand bar was starting to show above the water! Here's Jocelyne, Marcus and Meilin getting ready to start Site 1.

And dark clouds started to gather above as Jason, Chun Fong and Yi Shyuan headed out to Site 2.

But so long as there's no rain, and no lightning nearby, we keep on going! Soon all the lines are set up nicely and we get down to monitoring.

Yi Shyuan is doing very well at her transect! Bravo!

The seagrasses are rather sparse today. And the Tape seagrasses (Enhalus acoroides) are still short and chomped. But I didn't come across any bleaching or burnt seagrasses on my transect.

Tape seagrass grows in 'circles'! I didn't realise this until Len from Seagrass Watch pointed it out to me. On Cyrene's sandy shores, this growth habit is more obvious!

The deep pool in the middle of Cyrene which used to be thick with Tape seagrass is still bare of these long seagrasses. It is so bare that the pool is blue in colour! Oh dear. There were however, other species of shorter seagrasses growing in this pool.

Most of the seagrasses elsewhere looked alright. Although Meilin saw a patch of bleaching seagrasses.

As usual, Cyrene is full of amazing marine life, like Knobbly sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus), which are quite abundant on Cyrene Reef, where we also often see many juvenile Knobblies. Indeed, according to the Star Trackers, "the presence of juveniles, subadults and adults indicated that there is a healthy level of recruitment at Cyrene Reef. This habitat may be the only sustainable population of knobbly seastars left in Singapore today". The healthy seagrass meadows on Cyrene may have something to do with this! The team had a quick look around after we finished monitoring. Check out the links below to see more of what we saw.

All too soon, it was time to leave. The tide was rushing in, dark clouds looming above us, and sheets of heavy rain falling on the mainland!

As we headed back, we finally met up with the heavy rain! Fortunately, we had good weather out and safe and productive trip, on our last trip to Cyrene for the year.

It was great to have with us today: Marcus, Jocelyne, Meilin, Jason, Chun Fong and Yi Shyuan! And thanks to Rachel for taking care of all the logistical details even though she couldn't come with us.

Other posts about this trip

Ria with tubeworm snacking snails and the curious case of Brahminy kites resting on reefs.
Jason on facebook with slugs, nudibranchs and more!And on his blog too!
Jocelyne with more about what went on at Site 1 and a pre-trip walk.
Chun Fong with knobblies and more
Mei Lin with shrimp goby, encounter with feathery file fish and more.
Yi Shyuan with more photos of animals and people on Cyrene.
More about Cyrene Reef.

Chek Jawa (26 Oct 2011)

2011-10-26T22:39:00.000+08:00

Uh oh! Big black clouds are gathering over Pulau Ubin and Chek Jawa!

That didn't stop a small team of enthusiastic volunteers from heading out to monitor seagrasses!

Here's Yen-Ling and some of our newest volunteers on the way to Pulau Ubin. It poured as we waited for the van, but the rain stopped by the time we arrived at Chek Jawa!

We were welcomed at Chek Jawa by mama pig and her piglets! Andy last week reported that Mama had a fish hook in her mouth! Fortunately, Andy reported that the fish hook was removed soon after. Today, I learnt HOW the hook was removed!

After gearing up, we head out under large cool clouds for the seagrass meadows at Chek Jawa.

Oops, I forgot to take a group photo again. Here's the team heading out to the far Site 2, led by Chay Hoon and Yen-Ling.

While the team doing Site 1 is carefully heading out to our start point. We enjoy glorious bright but cloudy and cool weather through out trip!

Regina and Jialing are doing a great job at monitoring even though it's their first time doing it!

Today, there's lots of Sea lettuce seaweed (Ulva sp.) everywhere, washing up in piles even in the middle of the seagrass meadows. Despite this, there's lots of seagrasses too. And the Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata) still covers a large area.

We are soon done with monitoring! And have a quick look around as we headed back. Sue and Siti here are taking a closer look at a pair of Hairy seahares (Bursatella leachii) which seem to be coming into season.

It was great to have with us today: Regina, Jialing, Jerome, Yifeng, Sue, Siti Zaleha, Chay Hoon, Kah Ming, Yen-ling, Wanzhen, Ethel.

Thanks to Wei Ling and Siti for organising everything for us even though they couldn't come. Also thanks to Ben for sorting out the van transport!

Posts by others on this trip

Ria with some snails, slugs and other creatures seen after the monitoring.
Jerome on facebook with more wonderful Chek Jawa and seagrass encounters.

2012 TeamSeagrass dates now open for sign up!

2011-10-24T20:06:00.000+08:00

Ready for more seagrassy adventures? We're heading into Year Five of seagrass monitoring!

In the coming year, all trips will be on weekends or public holidays! Hurray! The number of trips have been cut down to three times a year per site. But we will continue to do all three main sites: Pulau Semakau, Chek Jawa and Cyrene Reef.

What are some of the recent outcomes from TeamSeagrass?
Having just completed consistent monitoring for four years, TeamSeagrass work provides good baseline data especially for three important Singapore marine sites: Chek Jawa, Pulau Semakau and Cyrene Reef. This data, publicly posted on the Seagrass-Watch site, allows seagrass workers in Singapore and around the world, a basis for management and further study of Singapore's shores.

Thank you for four fabulous years!
I managed to stay sane doing TeamSeagrass only with the support of Wei Ling and Shufen at National Biodiversity Centre, NParks and Siti now at NUS. As well as the small group of regular and long-time volunteers without whom it would be impossible to take on new volunteers. These stalwarts patiently teach the new ones and keep everything going smoothly during a field trip. Thank you!

Special thanks also to Sheryl of Merck for keeping the Tuas monitoring going on through all these years with volunteers from Merck

And not forgetting Len and Rudi at Seagrass-Watch for their constant advice and encouragement.

Looking ahead...
Wei Ling and Shufen are moving on to bigger things within NParks but stay on in the Team and will continue to join us on our trips. Rachel takes over to look after TeamSeagrass on behalf of the National Biodiversity Centre. Siti remains the Science Lead for TeamSeagrass for the time being. Hurray!

While it would have been possible to monitor Singapore's seagrasses with a small team, from the beginning, it was decided to establish a volunteer base through TeamSeagrass. The aim is to provide a wider range of ordinary people the opportunity to make a difference for Singapore's marine biodiversity and see first hand, some of Singapore's best shores.

It takes effort to keep the Team going! Many thanks to the many people who make this possible!

Monitoring dates for 2012 are listed here. Our first monitoring is on 8 Jan at Chek Jawa, what a great way to start the New Year!

Those already on the team can sign up for these dates on the teamseagrass yahoo group.

Not yet a member?
To join the team, simply send the following details
(a) your full name
(b) your age
(c) your email address
(d) your contact number
(e) any previous experience
to Ria at hello@wildsingapore.com, please put "TeamSeagrass" in your subject header.

New seagrass blog - by Siti!

2011-10-09T23:26:00.003+08:00

There's an awesome new blog by the World Seagrass Association. And our very own Siti is managing it!

She has very kindly featured our Cyrene Reef seagrass meadows in a recent post on this blog! There's lots of other interesting posts too!

Like more information about the timely "Seagrass Syllabus for resource managers", a quick reference guide for use in the field that also provides general information about seagrass ecosystems. The manual also covers threats to seagrass ecosystems, provides tools for monitoring and managing seagrass ecosystems, and ways to identify and prioritise local communication needs and develop appropriate communication tools.

The manual was developed by The World Seagrass Association and Seagrass-Watch in partnership with Conservation International.

There's lots more posts with fascinating insights into field work on seagrasses throughout the world! From Croatia to Corsica. So check out the World Seagrass Association blog!

The World Seagrass Association is a global network of scientists and coastal managers committed to research, protection and management of the world’s seagrasses.

Tuas (27 Sep 11)

2011-09-27T23:07:00.000+08:00

Sheryl is back alone on Tuas to do monitoring of seagrasses there.

But all the seagrasses in the study areas are GONE! Sheryl checked one of the sites nearer the seawall. The area is no longer sandy and is now very rocky and there are no seagrasses here anymore.

I had a look at the other site (yellow arrow). Kok Sheng is already out on the shore for a quick documentation look.

This outer site is very sandy but there were no seagrasses. Only seaweeds, mostly Halimeda seaweed (Halimeda sp.).

But this doesn't mean there are no seagrasses at Tuas. In fact, there are still lots of seagrasses! And lush growths of them.

This area, however, lies outside the study area. The seagrasses have seriously moved.

In this area, the seagrasses are quite lush. We can easily get a 90% seagrass coverage reading. 100% Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis).

The seagrassy area grades out into soft mud further east.

We had a look at the rest of the shore and found a driftnet! While this was sad, as I removed the net, I noticed Fern seagrass (Halophila spinulosa) stuck to part of the net. Wow, my first sighting of this species here.

We should probably consider re-siting the study area to better capture the seagrass growth here.

More about what we saw and did on this trip on the wild shores of singapore blog.

TeamSeagrass at the Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III (24 Sep 11)

2011-09-25T10:44:00.000+08:00

Jocelyn Sze shares about our work with Brigadier-General (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister of State (MOS) for National Development and Manpower. He is the Guest of Honour at the Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III.

How nice to be able to share what we do with the more than 300 people who attended the Symposium!

Jocelyn shows the Minister and VIPs what goes on during a monitoring session and how ordinary people have made a difference for our seagrasses.

The Minister has a closer look at the transect square!

We also learn today, that the Minister may be going to Cyrene Reef to see our seagrasses there! Jocelyn is showing him some of the fascinating marine life that he can expect to see there.

Thank you to the organisers of the Symposium for allowing us to highlight TeamSeagrass to the VIPs.

And Siti has an awesome poster about our seagrasses too!

She shares more about the seagrass distribution in Singapore.

With a map of their location.

Featuring Chek Jawa, Pulau Semakau and Cyrene Reef!

Singapore has amazing seagrasses! More about Singapore's seagrasses and how you can join TeamSeagrass to make a difference for our shores!

More about what happened at the Symposium on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Siti's seagrass poster at the Biodiversity Symposium

2011-09-23T21:05:00.001+08:00

Siti's work on seagrasses in Singapore is being featured at the Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III to be held tomorrow 24 Sep 2011!

Siti at work on Chek Jawa.

Here's a brief introduction to her poster...

A first look at the distribution and extent of seagrass meadows in Singapore
Siti Maryam Yaakub, National University of Singapore

The past three decades have seen most of Singapore’s original coastal and marine habitats, such as mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass give way to extensive shoreline development. While the loss of mangroves and coral reefs is well documented, the original extent of seagrass meadows in Singapore has never been documented. As a result, the corresponding loss due to coastal development is unknown and up until recently, many species of seagrass were thought to be locally extinct. However, substantial tracts of seagrass still exist in Singapore waters and this study is a first attempt at documenting the present extent of large seagrass meadows at Chek Jawa, Pulau Semakau and Cyrene Reef by remote sensing using satellite imagery (IKONOS & Geoeye-1) and ground-truthing.

We will of course also feature posters about TeamSeagrass and the work we do. Joycelyn will be kindly representing us should the Guest of Honour stop by our booth!

How much are seagrasses worth?

2011-09-13T17:36:00.000+08:00

A recent study estimates that Australia's coastal seagrass beds are worth $79 per hectare, based just on the carbon that seagrasses store.

From ARKive awesome images our biodiversity.

Sea grasses store 10 to 40 times as much carbon per hectare as forests, and Australia's sea-grass meadows are the largest in the world. The report, however, also noted that 29% of the world's sea grass beds had vanished since 1879. In Western Australia, about 1,000 hectares of sea grass were lost after a particularly warm summer.

Ocean ecosystems add an extra $25 billion to the national economy each year which is not accounted for in official figures, the report says. These includes $15.8 billion a year in carbon storage. Oceans also provide $6.2 billion a year in pest and disease control services in fisheries, as well as $1.85 billion per year of benefits in recreational fishing.

Aside from warning of a decline in the number of seagrass beds, the report recommended building up fish stocks and creating more marine parks to buffer ocean ecosystems from the climate change affects of acidity and rising temperatures. The report said extending a proposed marine protection area to cover coastal shelf, sea grass and coral reefs could protect a further $1.1 billion in economic benefits.

The report, Stocking Up: Securing Our Marine Economy, by The Centre for Policy Development can be downloaded from their website.

Media articles about the report on wildsingapore news.

16 Jul (Sat): Sharing about Singapore's seagrasses

2011-07-16T21:03:00.003+08:00

Today, Wei Ling gave a talk about our seagrasses as part of NPark's “Forests, People, Environment” Exhibition which runs until 24 Jul at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

There are many reasons why seagrasses are fascinating and important, among which is that much of our favourite seafood depend on seagrasses!

Wei Ling introduces us to the various important locations of our seagrasses.

Including the awesome seagrass meadows at Cyrene despite its location in the middle of an 'industrial triangle'.

And surprising seagrasses even on the mainland, such as at Changi!

There's lots of life in our seagrasses! But we have to look carefully as many of them are very well camouflaged.

Wei Ling also introduces us to the various seagrass species found in Singapore. Quite an amazing variety!

We get an overview of the many places where seagrasses can be found in tiny Singapore. As well as the threats they face, some of the efforts being undertaken to deal with these. Of course, TeamSeagrass is a key component and she spent time sharing about what we do, and about Seagrass-Watch international.

Among the participants was a team from Raffles Institution who are doing a school project about the impact of dredging on seagrasses.

We are very impressed by the huge amount of notes being taken by the Raffles project team!

It was great to share about seagrasses, and glad to see some interest in them!

MORE talks are scheduled for this programme!

16 Jul (Sat): Talk on "Seagrass meadows of Singapore" by Lim Wei Ling

2011-07-08T08:39:00.001+08:00

Wei Ling, one of the stalwart managers of TeamSeagrass, will be sharing about our awesome seagrass meadows and of course about TeamSeagrass!

Wei Ling finds a dugong feeding trail
on the seagrass meadows of Chek Jawa
during the first TeamSeagrass field session

Come for the talk to learn more about our seagrasses and our work. Bring your friends along!

"Seagrass meadows of Singapore" by Lim Wei Ling
16 Jul (Sat) 11am-12noon
Function Room
(Level 2, Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens)

Shufen is also a dedicated manager of TeamSeagrass. She will share about her much loved mangroves in this talk. Shufen manages the special effort to restore our mangroves and will have lots of interesting stories and insights about them!

Shufen works tirelessly for the mangroves even in the rain!
Here she is with the rare Avicennia marina at Pulau Semakau.

"Our Mangrove Forests" by Yang Shufen
24 Jul (Sat) 2 - 3pm
Function Room
(Level 2, Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens)

I will also be giving a talk, about all our shores!

"Secret shores of Singapore" by Ria Tan
10 Jul (Sun) 2-3pm
Library of Botany & Horticulture
(Level 1, Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens)

No need to swim, no need to dive! Ordinary people can experience much of Singapore's amazing marine life on the intertidal shore. Otters, wild dolphins, sea turtles! Nemos, sea snakes, living corals and more. From accessible shores like Changi and Tanah Merah, to our many huge submerged reefs. I hope to share photos and stories of recent adventures on our living shores. How can we visit our shores? Are there special shore events for kids? And find out how you CAN make a difference for our little-known shores!

There will be a repeat of this talk on 23 Jul (Sat), 11am-12noon at the Function Room (Level 2, Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens)

These exciting talks are part of NPark's “Forests, People, Environment” Exhibition which runs until 24 Jul at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Also come for these talks about Singapore's marine biodiversity!

"Taking Stock of Singapore’s Marine Biodiversity" by Linda Goh and Jonathan Ngiam
9 Jul (Sat) 11am-12noon
Function Room (Level 2, Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens)

Find out more about the Mega Marine Survey and how ordinary people can make a difference in this effort to learn more about Singapore's marine biodiversity!

There will be a repeat of this talk on 17 Jul (Sun) 11am-12noon Library of Botany & Horticulture (Level 1, Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens)

"Sponges in Singapore waters" by Lim Swee Cheng
9 Jul (Sat) 2.30-3pm National Geographic Store #01-19 VivoCity, 1 HarbourFront Walk, Singapore

What are sponges? The speaker will tell you how sponges rank among the oddest and most fascinating animals in the world. Yes, sponges are animals! The sponges in your kitchen and bathroom are actually their skeletons! What are the other kinds of sponges that can be found in Singapore waters, where are they and just how many are there? Lim Swee Cheng is author of the Guide to Sponges of Singapore and he will share his discoveries from two years of searching and identification of sponges in Singapore waters.

"Singapore's Wild Marine Mammals" by SWiMMS

15 Jul (Fri) 8pmThe Sunflower (NSS office). 510 Geylang Road #02-05,Singapore 389466
Join Cyrena Lim to learn how you can help the National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers discover more about Singapore's wild marine mammals. Pilot studies by the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) in NUS have confirmed that several species of coastal dolphins can be found in Singapore waters, even the rare Finless Porpoise and Dugong. TMSI has launched the Singapore Wild Marine Mammal Survey (SWiMMS), a research project where it wants to establish a volunteer network and sighting reporting system, as well as carry out field studies. Reliable observations from South-east Asia are also welcome, and will help TMSI study whether Singapore contributes to seasonal trans-national migration routes. This talk is free and is open to the public.

For MORE exciting biodiversity talks see wildsingapore happenings.

Chek Jawa (3 July 2011) with otters!

2011-07-03T19:36:00.008+08:00

A small intrepid team headed out for Chek Jawa to monitor the seagrasses there just after sunrise.

We had glimpses of otters! And saw signs of what might be dugong feeding trails! The Chek Jawa seagrass meadows are awesome!

Throughout our monitoring session, the sparsely distributed Team glimpsed three smooth otters on the shore. I saw them just after sunrise near the mangroves!

We saw several furrows that might be dugong feeding trails. Some of these furrows were quite close to the boardwalk. Does this mean we might get a glimpse of dugongs feeding at high tide from the boardwalk? Wow!

There were also furrows near Site 1.

More possible dugong feeding trails near the beacon.

As the team doing Site 1 were heading up to the start point in the dark before dawn, we came across two pairs of Mud crabs (Scylla sp.) and one Mud crab alone, but nearby. Wow, are these large crabs reproducing on the seagrass meadows? I always throught these crabs were usually found in mangroves than on seagrass meadows.

At Site 1, two of our youngest members are hard at work. Sean here is doing a line on his own.

And Jocelyn is also monitoring on her own.

While Ivan and Jerome are doing a line.

Much further away, Site 2 is being done by Andy, Yen Ling, Nadine, Yunfeng and Gladys.

The seagrasses seemed lush today. I saw a slick of green slime in some parts of the shore.

A closer look at the slime. What is it? Algae reproducing? So much more to learn about our shores!

I didn't spend much time with the Team as I was with Dr Daphne Fautin, the world authority on sea anemones. She is in Singapore to do a Sea Anemone Workshop. She also gave two public talks: here and here. More about the sea anemones encountered on Chek Jawa on this trip.

We were also joined by Lee Qi and Benjamin who attended to Siti's seagrass experiments. We sure missed Siti today!

Thanks to the small but efficient team, we got lots done well before most people in Singapore had even gotten out of bed this Sunday! Today, we also used the wonderful bags that Wei Ling got for us! They are great!

Thanks to Wei Ling for arranging our transport even though she couldn't come. And many thanks to Shufen for making sure everything went well today.

And thanks to the team to turned up for this predawn monitoring session: Andy, Yen Ling, Nadine, Yunfeng, Gladys, Sean, Jocelyn, Ivan, Jerome. And to James and Chay Hoon for supporting Dr Daphne and Nicholas on this trip.

Posts by others on this trip

Ria on the sea anemones found at Chek Jawa and quick check of the coral rubble area.
Andy with video clip of the otters at Chek Jawa.
Jocelyn on facebook with marine life seen.
Jerome on facebook with sighting of a Baler snail! and other marine life.
Sean on facebook with otter tracks and Baler snail.

Cyrene Reef (6 Jun 2011)

2011-06-06T19:12:00.003+08:00

Under a threatening drippy sky, a brave small team heads out to Cyrene Reef to monitor the seagrasses here.

We land as usual, on the sandy stretch facing Pasir Panjang Container Terminal.

It's been a long time since we had the original team of coordinators back on Cyrene Reef! Hurray for Wei Ling, Shufen and Siti! They've been very busy and it's nice of them to make time for this trip! We had a very early start and it was very windy!

We're also joined by Dr Daphne Fautin, world authority on sea anemones, who is in Singapore to give a workshop. She also gives a hand to help the Team set up for monitoring. Thank you Dr Daphne!

While Wei Ling, Shufen, Vanitha, Siti and Lee Qi do Site 1, the rest of us hurry over to the far far away Site 2. Here's Jason bravely doing one line on his own.

While Kok Sheng and Chun Fong do another line. In the distance are the refineries of Pulau Bukom, with flaring going on. More about flaring.

I'm doing another line and the seagrasses today were still abundant, but the Tape seagrasses (Enhalus acoroides) are still rather short and many species had burnt tips.

Tape seagrasses used to be lush in the big pool near Site 2 which was green and we could hardly see the bottom. The pool still seems 'empty' with the sandy bottom now visible.

A look underwater here. Seagrasses are still growing. Hopefully, the seagrasses will be as lush as they were before.

Near the reef edge facing Pasir Panjang, I found some clumps of Tape seagrass with short blades and lots of hairy parts, which are the remains of the leaf blades.

I also came across small areas where the seagrasses had yellowish bases. This was seen in seagrasses of various species.

I also came across some seagrasses with translucent portions.

In the rest of the meadows, the seagrasses seem mostly alright with clumps of seagrasses here and there with brownish or burnt portions.

In some parts of the meadows, there's lots of pink crunchy Pom pom seaweeds.

Chay Hoon has found a Tape seagrass seed that is growing! Wow!

After monitoring, the Site 1 people head out to Siti's seagrass experiment site to help her there.

Here they are hard at work. There's lots going on at Cyrene today!

The rest of us are helping Dr Daphne and Chay Hoon find interesting sea anemones at Cyrene. And we found lots of anemones as well as other interesting marine life.

Cyrene Reef is still amazing, with lots of creatures including of course, many Knobbly sea stars of all sizes!

Glad to have with us on our trip today: Wei Ling, Siti, Shufen, Kok Sheng, Lee Qi, Jason, Chun Fong, Vanitha. And of course Dr Daphne and Chay Hoon.

Posts by others on this trip

Ria with anemone discoveries and other distractions
Kok Sheng with lots of anemones, Dr Daphne's comments about Haddon's carpet anemone, and many distracting finds from slugs to special snails and an awesome flatworm.
Jason who enjoyed doing his line alone (hurray!) and lots of sightings from a first-timer's point of view.

Pulau Semakau (21 May 2011)

2011-05-21T18:30:00.002+08:00

It's a rather wet sunrise, but this does not deter a small team from heading out to the seagrass meadows at Pulau Semakau.

The wet weather actually made the walk to the shore a cool and pleasant one!

Reaching the shore, before we head out to our sites, Siti quickly goes through the processes. Then we're off in strange sunny drizzle.

We are very short handed today! While most of the Team did the other two sites, I head out to Site 1 with our first timers. Although most of them had only monitored once before, they were very good at getting their first Semakau monitoring done!

Many of us saw this strange long bumpy animal in the seagrass meadows today. It's a sea cucumber! Here's more about the Synaptid sea cucumber. Andy, our stalwart Team member, has done video clips of this animal.

After we finish monitoring, we hurry back as the tide was coming in.

Sue found a Durian sea cucumber! This animal is often seen on Semakau.

We also come across the Garlic bread sea cucumber. This animal is listed as Vulnerable on our Red List of threatened animals in Singapore and it plays an important role in the health of seagrasses!

The ladies have found a Knobbly sea star! This sea star seems to be more abundant where there is good seagrass meadows. In Singapore, it is listed as Endangered.

We also come across a Giant carpet anemone. It had an anemone shrimp! These anemones usually have 'Nemo's too, but we couldn't see any in this one.

There are lots of colourful sponges: including the bizarre Pink puff ball sponge (the pink fluff is just a tiny bit that sticks out of the ground, the bulk of the sponge is buried!).

Alas, a very VERY long driftnet had been placed right across the Semakau seagrass meadow today. Our 100m transect site took up a small fraction of it.

Glad to have today Jerome, Nadine, Jocelyne, Chun Fong, Eta, Yifeng, Vanitha, Nor Aishah, Sue, Siti Zaleha and Andy.

Thanks also to Siti for taking care of the monitoring and briefing, Wei Ling for arranging everything even though she was too ill to come for our trip, and Rachel for taking care of the transport.

We were also joined by JC Chua and friends who looked at our mangroves. Rachel and Hassan also had a look at some of the rare coastal and mangrove plants on Pulau Semakau.

Other posts about this trip

Jerome on facebook with lots of colourful marine life and interesting aspects of the landfill.
Ria with an encounter with the men who laid a very long driftnet and check on coral bleaching.
Andy with more about another large pile of abandoned driftnets.

Seagrass Watch Magazine issue 43 (April 2011)

2011-05-15T07:44:00.003+08:00

Natural disasters can devastate seagrasses!

In another great issue by Seagrass-Watch, find out more about how flooding and cyclones affect seagrass meadows.

In "Surviving the flood: How long can seagrass 'hold it's breath'?" Len McKenzie and Richard Unsworth explain some of the impacts of flooding on seagrasses. From flushing down vast plumes of pollution and debris down rivers, to drastically changing the salinity levels, floods can serious affect shores. As we discovered in 2007 when there were mass deaths at Chek Jawa following heavy rains.

Which seagrass species are affected most? How fast does recovery occur? What does climate change mean for our seagrasses? Find out more in this very informative article.

There's also another article "Can we learn from severe climate events?" which explores the lessons learnt from the severe tropical cyclone Yasi that hit the Queensland coast in Feb 2011.

The seagrasses of Southeast Asia are also featured in a report of the World Seagrass Conference and 9th International Seagrass Biology Workshop in Nov 2010. Also featured, field excursions during the Workshop giving a glimpse of some Thai seagrass meadows and sharing about some of the threats they face.

There's also an article about "Seagrass as fertiliser" which shares about this issue in India. Plus lots of reports of monitoring on other seagrass meadows around the world with gorgeous photos.

I always look forward to the "Creature Feature" at the end of the magazine. In this issue more about those mysterious blobs that we see growing on our seagrasses. According to the article, their presence helps provide important indications of pollution and environmental imbalance. More about Singapore's ascidians.

Download the full magazine from the Seagrass-Watch website to read all these great articles!

Chek Jawa (24 Apr 2011)

2011-04-24T20:31:00.002+08:00

A small team heads out to monitor the seagrasses of Chek Jawa this bright sunny morning.

The shores of Chek Jawa are covered in a green welcome carpet of fresh new Sea lettuce seaweed!

As we walk on the boardwalk we notice the meadows of Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata) have spread out extensively! This seagrass is so far only seen in large numbers on Chek Jawa and Cyrene Reef. There are also some patches of it on the oil-slicked Tanah Merah shore.

Siti does a quick introduction to the various seagrass species found on Chek Jawa. Thanks to Kok Sheng and Chay Hoon for finding the specimens. Also of some tricky seaweeds that masquerade as seagrasses.

Before we head out for monitoring, we have a quick look at some of the interesting marine life that have been set up for the Chek Jawa public walk that is going on at the same time. A baby seahorse has been found! Wow!

There's so much Sea lettuce seaweed that we have to remove them to see the seagrasses underneath! Lots of Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata) have grown into Site 1. How exciting!

Site 1 is just opposite the boardwalk near the mangroves of Chek Jawa.

While we are monitoring, Siti and her team of volunteers are hard at work on her experiment to learn more about our seagrasses.

Among the special seagrasses on Chek Jawa is the beautiful Fern seagrass (Halophila spinulosa). Of course, there are lots of Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis) too.

Alas, we noticed various areas with severely bleaching seagrasses, especially at the Southern tip of Chek Jawa.

A closer look at the bleaching Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis). Bleaching results when seagrasses lose their chlorophyll. This happens when they are stressed. I'm not sure what is causing the stress to them.

We also noticed various kinds of seagrasses were badly burnt, with blackened leaf blades. This included Fern seagrasses (Halophila spinulosa).

We also saw burnt Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis). I saw these burnt seagrasses on various parts of the shores including the area near the beacon, as well as near the Southern tip of Chek Jawa.

Today, I also didn't manage to find the small patch of Sickle seagrass (Thalassia hemprichii) near Site 2. Oh dear.

Nevertheless, we saw lots of interesting marine life at Chek Jawa.

We are also excited to see furrows in the seagrass meadows on the Southern tip of Chek Jawa that might be dugong feeding trails!

It was great to have on the Team today: Andy, Ivan, Yen Ling, Richard, Kok Sheng, Marcus, Joo Yong, Chay Hoon, Sean, Eta, Gaytri, Puva, Yifeng, Gladys, Sue. Thanks to Wei Ling and Siti for making all the arrangements and doing the briefings!

Other posts about this trip

Ria with more about dugong feeding trails and other sightings on Chek Jawa.
Ivan on facebook with sea cucumbers, crabs and other critters on Chek Jawa.
Kok Sheng on his blog and on the Chek Jawa project blog: sea stars and other echinoderms, carpet anemones and more.

Tuas (19 Apr 11)

2011-04-19T21:29:00.001+08:00

A small group of enthusiastic volunteers who work at the company next to the Tuas shore are back out this morning to monitor the seagrasses here. The tide was rather high, but this didn't deter the intrepid volunteers!

Today I found out that the company has changed hands! Despite this, the volunteers are still looking after the seagrasses here! Bravo!

It's tricky getting down the slippery rock wall!

Even in the fast incoming tide, the volunteers kept up with the survey!

This shore has mostly Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis) which have rather tiny leaf blades here.

After getting the monitoring done, we have a quick look at the high shore. We find jellyfishes, strange sea cucumbers, interesting crabs and other marine life!

While the volunteers were at work, I had a quick look at the Merawang Beacon where the reefier parts of the shore are.

It's quite pretty here!

More about other marine life sightings on the wild shores of singapore blog.

The tide was really high by the time we ended our short trip.

Thanks to Sheryl and Helen, and the volunteers at the company, the monitoring programme is still going at Tuas despite the changes in the company. We are very grateful for their continued support!

Cyrene Reef (25 Mar 2011)

2011-03-25T18:02:00.002+08:00

The tide is still high when the small team arrives at Cyrene on a hot sunny day!

In fact, the tide has been higher than tidal predictions over the last few days. Is it due to the recent tsunami? The 'supermoon'?

I don't really know. But I do know that tidal predictions are often a little off whenever the low spring tides first switch from evening to morning, which just happened a few days ago. The tide is so high, my monitoring stuff is submerged when I lay it down to set up the transect tape!

Today, I am doing Site 1 for a change. Here's Joo Yong and her colleague doing Transect 1 under a blue blue sky with Jurong Island in the background.

And Joe and Richard doing Transect 3 with Pulau Bukom in the background.

Another look at the gentlemen hard at work, with the world class Pasir Panjang Container terminals in the background. Although Cyrene lies in the middle of this 'industrial triangle' it has spectacular seagrass meadows!

It's a bit of a challenge to monitor in high water in windy conditions. Even though the water is clear!

Today, I and the others noticed many patches of 'burnt' seagrasses.

Here's a closer look at the burnt seagrasses.

In other parts of the line, however, the seagrasses are still green and unburnt.

Indeed, elsewhere on Cyrene, I also saw patches of seagrasses are burnt next to patches with blades that are still fresh and green.

A closer look underwater at burnt seagrass. I wonder what is going on?

I haven't ever done Site 1 before, but I have heard that it is very lush and rich. So it's a bit disconcerting to see some rather bare portions on my line. But there are certainly more species of seagrasses at Site 1 than at Site 2 on Cyrene!

The Tape seagrasses (Enhalus acoroides) that I saw were mostly chomped but slightly longer than during out last monitoring at Cyrene in Dec 09. I also didn't see large patches of brown scum that I saw at our last monitoring trip.

After monitoring, I had a quick look around. Oh dear, I notice lots of little bits of broken off Noodle seagrass (Syringodium isoetifolium) washed up on the sand bar.

I visited the pool in the middle of Cyrene where Collin does his fish survey and pipefish tagging and which used to be full of long Tape seagrass. It remains quite bare, although there are some shorter seagrasses growing there.

Wow, I saw some Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymododea rotundata) growing on the Northern shore facing the container terminals! This seagrass has so far only been seen at Cyrene and Chek Jawa.

Here's one of the many Common sea stars among the Smooth ribbon seagrass.

Today, we were joined by Dr Dan Rittschof and students from Duke University who have come to help Siti set up seagrass experiments on Cyrene. We saw lots of marine life including baby sharks! More about this on wild shores of singapore.

The team out for this trip were: Andy, Joo Yong, Joe, Richard, Mei Lin and Wei Ling.

2011 is Pacific Year of the Dugong!

2011-03-15T20:18:00.002+08:00

In the Pacific Islands region, the dugong is important in many traditions and cultures. Some of the most important remaining dugong habitats are in the Pacific region.
2011 has been declared the Pacific Year of the Dugong. This regional campaign aims to increase protection of dugongs and their habitats by raising awareness, improving knowledge and fostering to save Dugongs partnerships for conservation of dugongs and their habitats.

What are dugongs? Does Singapore have any dugongs? What can I do for dugongs in Singapore?

What are dugongs?

From ARKive

From the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme website: Dugongs are large marine mammals and are the only strictly marine herbivorous mammals. They feed only on seagrass. They are sometimes called “sea-cows” and are usually found in shallow waters protected from large waves and storms. The word “dugong” derives from the Tagalog term for “lady of the sea”.

Why the Pacific Region?
From the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme website

In the Pacific Islands region, the dugong is found in the waters of six SPREP members (Australia, Papua New Guinea, Palau, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu). It is important in many traditions and cultures. Some of the most important remaining dugong habitats are in the Pacific region.

How threatened are dugongs?
The dugong is considered vulnerable to extinction on a global scale. Dugong numbers have decreased in many areas and some populations have now completely disappeared.

In the Pacific, the status of dugong populations is generally unknown. However, the dugong population in Palau can be classified as critically endangered of extinction.

What does the campaign hope to achieve?
The campaign objectives of the Pacific Year of the Dugong 2011 are:

Promote awareness and conservation of dugongs at site-level targeting key stewards and the fishing industry;
Reduce dugong mortality from human activities;
Improve status information and promote sustainable management of dugong populations and protection of their habitats at the national level through effective and practical national legislation and policies;
Advance partnerships and secure resources for long-term support for dugong conservation in the region.

Community management

Dugongs have high cultural value and are a valued source of food, medicine and artefacts. Dugongs feed in shallow waters often within areas that fall under traditional ownership or community fishing grounds. Commercial fishermen, particularly fishermen that use gillnets, also use areas where dugongs occur. Dugong mortalities from by-catches in gillnets, boat strikes from commercial operations are significant. SPREP and partners will work to strengthen community-based initiatives within the following focus areas:

Identifying and protecting dugong feeding areas in range states;
Improving information bases to be used by communities and schools;
Strengthening community and industry involvement to reduce threats from over-harvesting, habitat destruction, by-catch, and marine pollution.

What can you do to help?
From the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme website

Stop excessive and illegal hunting
Many countries have laws that control the harvesting of dugong. Respect the law. In the absence of national laws, respect relevant traditional laws and use the precautionary approach.

Develop appropriate legislation
Some countries may not have laws to protect dugongs and some laws may not be adequate to effectively conserve dugongs. Effective legislation is necessary.

Consider the impacts of coastal development on sea-grass habitats in the EIA processes
Coastal development easily impact negatively of sea-grass beds on which dugongs and other marine organisms rely for food. Environment Impact Assessment processes need to incorporate these impacts.

Minimize impacts from gillnets
Dugong mortality from gillnets is high. Minimize drownings by setting gillnets in areas not frequented by dugongs and never leave nets unattended to enable freeing of any caught dugong. Do not dispose old nets in the sea or on the shore.

Control boating where dugongs occur
Dugong mortality from boat strikes is increasing due to growing fishing and marine tourism activities. Slow down your boat and be on the alert for dugongs when in areas where dugongs occur.

Protect important habitats for dugongs
Seagrass beds are of vital importance to the coastal ecosystem.
Conservation work for dugongs would also benefit a host of other marine organisms that depend on seagrass for food and shelter.

Start and support dugong conservation work
The status of dugong in most Pacific Island range states is unknown. This is due mainly to the absence of in-country dugong programmes. Priority should be given to establish dugong programmes at both community and national levels.

Spread the word!
Share what you know about dugong with your friends, family and communities. Learn about local conservation projects in your country and find out what you can do to help.

More media articles about 2011 Pacific Year of the Dugong.

Does Singapore have dugongs?
Yes! Dugong feeding trails have been seen on Chek Jawa!

Sadly, a large dead dugong was found washed up on Pulau Tekong, Jun 06.

Photos from Raffles Museum news.

There have also been other sporadic sightings. More about dugongs in Singapore on the SWiMMS website and wildsingapore fact sheets.

In Singapore, can I make a difference for dugongs?
Yes you can!

Spot any dugongs in our waters?
Bravo! Before you go and buy 4D, share your sighting with the Singapore Wild Marine Mammal Survey (SWiMMS). Email swimms@nus.edu.sg or fill in their on-line reporting form with as much information as you can. More on how to tell apart marine mammals in our waters.

Protect Singapore's seagrasses
Join TeamSeagrass to help learn more and protect the amazing seagrass meadows that dugongs depend upon!

Help with abandoned driftnets
A few of us are trying to gather data to understand the issue, as well as to remove these nets and fish traps. More about Project Driftnet Singapore.

Pulau Semakau (19 Feb 11)

2011-02-20T10:45:00.002+08:00

A huge team heads out to Pulau Semakau to do our first monitoring trip there for the year!

On this trip, we are joined by many others who will be working on the marine life and mangroves on Semakau.

We arrived at the NEA jetty to see huge dark clouds draped over the shore where we will be monitoring. Oh dear. But we still go ahead.

The forest track to the shore is usually swarming with bazillions of blood-thirsty mosquitos, and sloshy slippery mud. So we are all well wrapped up to protect ourselves without having to resort to mosquito repellent, which is toxic to marine life. But the dry weather has made the track nice and hard, and there seems to be very few mosquitos. Hurray!

A quick moment to sort ourselves out and we head out to for our monitoring sites. Siti is leading a special team to retrieve the loggers that we set up some days earlier.

Andy helps to put back one of the stakes that had been lost at Site 2.

Then a few of us head out to the furthest site, Site 1. Thanks to Andy and Li Lian, we found the stakes in the rather deep water as the tide was still a little high. By the time we laid out the line, the sky turned blue and the sun came out!

The seagrasses at Site 1 are rather sparse, so it's a great introduction to monitoring for first timers.

Here, there is mostly Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides) and it's nice to see long blades of them. During our visit to Cyrene Reef the day before, much of the Tape seagrass there have broken off and are very short.

Due to the very small Team that finally turned up, Li Lian and I did two transects! Near one of our points, we saw a very large sea cucumber!

I call this the 'Garlic bread' sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) because it's about the same shape and size as a loaf of garlic bread, complete with dark bars that resembles slices on the loaf! It is listed as Vulnerable in Singapore.

Almost a year ago, Robin of NParks kindly sent me a link to a wonderful paper about the important role of this sea cucumber in seagrass meadows: The ecological role of Holothuria scabra (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) within subtropical seagrass beds by Svea-Mara Wolkenhauer et al. I'm ashamed to say I failed to do a post about this paper. Fortunately, on the awesome Echinoblog, Chris M had done a fabulous post about this study. The study found that seagrasses suffer without these sea cucumbers! Chri M puts it very well by saying:

So, what is it about sea cucumbers that makes sea grass beds THAT much more productive when cukes are around??

By ingesting all that sediment and sand and burying itself in the sediment, this kicks up all of the good organic food into the water and can knock loose food & nutrients that would be usable by the seagrass bed and other nearby plants and organisms.

Seagrass beds might also be taking advantage of sea cucumber "ammonium excretions" (which some humans would call "pee" but I would not) into the local ecosystem., thus feeding the surrounding plants and animals.

It started to drizzle a bit while we were monitoring, even though the sun was out. So we enjoyed an awesome rainbow!

Pulau Semakau lies next to the Live Firing area comprising Pulau Senang, Pulau Pawai and Pulau Sudong. So it was not surprising to hear the sudden boom and see a puff of smoke as explosions took place on Pulau Senang.

After our monitoring, we had a quick look around at the shore as we headed back. Besides seagrasses, Pulau Semakau also has awesome reefs!

There are some nice corals here!

And we even saw a seahorse! I didn't manage to take a nice photo of it, but I'm sure one of the team members will soon share better photos.

We were such a large group because we were joined by many other people doing work on Pulau Semakau.

Siti led a team comprising Regi, Eva, Thorsten and Jerome to collect loggers (sorry I missed taking a photo of them at work). We were also joined by a team checking for invasive gobies at Pulau Semakau, led by Chun Keat and included Elsa, Rick, Magendran and Ariff. Fortunately, they didn't find any of these gobies at Semakau. What is an invasive species and why is it important to look out for them? More in this post.

Shufen led a team which included Chua JC, 'Niko', Kevin and Kwan Siong to check out the mangroves of Semakau. Here they are cleaning up the Critically Endangered Api-api jambu (Avicennia marina) of abandoned fishing nets and lines entwined on it. They also had a look at the Critically Endangered Pink-eyed pong pong tree (Cerbera manghas), there are several on Pulau Semakau!

Wow, we sure got a lot of work done!

Many thanks to NEA for giving us a super fast ride in on the super fast new van, and a much appreciated ride back out again.

Also thanks to Wei Ling who took care of our logistics arrangements even though she couldn't be with us. And Shufen for organising the boat transport!

Of course, we couldn't have done the monitoring without these team members on the trip: Marcus, Yen-ling, Vanitha, Andy, Kok Sheng, Nor Aishah, Joycelyne, Wen Xin, Sucan Sutanto, Mabel, Siti Nurbaya, Liu Ching, Karen and Wei Siang.

More photos and stories by these team members

Jocyelyne on facebook.
Kok Sheng with lots of knobbly sea stars, special cockle and other sightings.
Ria a look at a driftnet near Site 1 and coral bleaching.

Setting up loggers at Semakau (1 Feb 11)

2011-02-02T10:35:00.001+08:00

Wow, a sunny day! A small team heads out to set up all kinds of cool data loggers at Pulau Semakau.

With the incessant rain for the last few days, we were braced for a very wet trip. But instead, we enjoyed lovely weather!

Here's Siti leading the team to the shore, everyone carrying big bags of tools, long angle-irons and lots of tape.

The forest trail was not only buzzing with the usual ferocious blood-thirsty mosquitos, but was also a quagmire of slushy slippery mud due to the recent wet weather.

As usual, it's a huge relief to reach the mozzie-free shore! Where Siti outlines, literally on the sand, what we are going to do.

Here's a video clip of Siti explaining what we need to do, complete with sound effects! Although it sounds very complicated, we got it done quite quickly.

After Siti's briefing, we head out to the Sites. The sponges are growing very well on some parts of the shores.

There's lots of tape-laying, step-measuring and stake-pounding.

Then cable-tying of the different kinds of loggers.

Here's a sediment trap with a light logger, all set up!

A look at one of the many sediment traps and the light loggers that were set up.

We lost one of the stakes at Site 2. Then promptly found it again when we were looking at an oyster which turned out to be stuck to the dislodged stake, and is now home to amongst others, a cowrie! More about the marine life we accidentally saw along the way on the wild shores of singapore blog.

We managed to set up all the loggers despite the narrow tide window. And enjoyed a nice sunset too!

Many thanks to all who came to help: Rachel, Andy, Kwang Liak, Azlyna, Thorsten and Eva. And special thanks to the wonderful NEA team who stayed back to give us a ride home! And to Shufen and Wei Ling for organising the transport and logistics for us!

Logger retrieval at Chek Jawa (20 Jan)

2011-01-20T23:12:00.001+08:00

Today, a small team joins Siti to retrieve the cool instruments she set up a few weeks earlier at Chek Jawa.

These instruments take readings of important environmental factors that might affect health of the seagrasses and marine life there. They have to be regularly checked.

Here's the whole series of cool tools that have been working hard out in the field: light logger, temperature logger and sediment trap! It's important to properly install these instruments so that they do their job, and also don't get swept away in the waves!

One of the problems with leaving instruments on the shores is that they soon become infested with all kinds of marine life. There was a little brittle star under this sediment trap! Another already had tiny barnacles growing on it!

So before we retrieve the sediment traps, we make sure we don't inadvertently take away any animals that might be inside the trap. For this job, the Very Long Pincer Thingy comes in handy.

The sediment traps are kept in a cooler box with ice.

After doing Site 1, we head way out to the Northern sand bar to do Site 2. Here's Rachel and Marcus retrieving the instruments.

Siti will be processing all the data that these instruments have been collecting. Hopefully we will be able to deploy these tools to our other sites as well. That will be so awesome!

During our very short trip, we came across some interesting marine life including a VERY LARGE crab!

More about our other sightings on the wild shores of singapore blog.

New Additions to Seagrass-Monitoring for 2011

2011-01-07T13:42:00.010+08:00

This year marks the FOURTH year of seagrass monitoring in Singapore. Who'd have thought we'd come this far when we first started out at Chek Jawa in 2007? And it's all thanks to YOU, our dedicated volunteers!

To kick off our fourth year of monitoring, we will now be measuring light and temperature data in addition to our regular monitoring protocol. Light and temperature are very important factors controlling seagrass growth and health and the information collected will enhance our regular monitoring data.

In addition to light and temperature data, we will also be collecting sedimentation data for our monitoring sites. Sediment is very important for seagrass growth as it is a medium for seagrasses to anchor in. If there's severe sediment erosion, the seagrasses may eventually wash away or in cases of oversedimentation, seagrasses may be buried under if they are unable to grow fast enough to keep up with the accumulated sediment.

So on a rainy afternoon yesterday, Wei Ling and Rachel from the National Biodiversity Centre and myself set out for Chek Jawa to set up and deploy some light and temperature loggers and sediment traps for each of our two seagrass monitoring sites at Chek Jawa as a pilot study to determine if the methods and equipment we have chosen are suited to our monitoring site.

When we got to the site we had to get to work pretty quickly because the tide window was pretty short and we didn't want to be caught out at Chek Jawa in the darkness on a rising tide. The first step was to set up the monitoring site like we do during a regular monitoring session. We then divided the site into six sections like the one drawn up below:
The site set up with dotted lines denoting the six sections within each monitoring site.

A single sediment trap is placed at a random point within each of the six sections in the monitoring site. The sediment trap is made from a PVC pipe with a capped bottom and secured to an angle iron driven into the ground. They look something like this:
A Sediment trap with a temperature logger attached.
We placed a temperature logger (submersible) at the marker at the start of Transect 2 (in line with Seagrass-Watch's temperature monitoring protocol) and another two loggers with two of the 6 sediment traps in the site (as displayed above). As this is a pilot test, we did this to determine if temperature readings (taken at 30 min intervals) are more or less the same throughout the site. We also placed a submersible light logger (Odyssey Photosynthetic Irradiance Recording System) that measures the amount of light available to the seagrass. This light logger is set to record the amount of light reaching the seagrass canopy level at 30 minute intervals.
Putting the set up together with Cable ties to make sure they aren't easily dislodged.
What the final-set up of the light (blue Odyssey logger), temperature (Hobo pendant logger) and sediment (PVC pipe) trio looks like.

There are more photos of us setting up the site (doing some heavy-duty cable-tying and hitting of stakes) but they are on Rachel's camera and I'll update this post when I get them from her. We worked pretty intensively and briskly so we were able to finish setting up two sites in under 90 minutes (albeit with sore arms from hitting all those stakes) and we headed back to land tired and hungry (and all set for a big dinner at Changi Village).

The loggers and sediment traps will be left out for two weeks, afterwhich we will collect them and have a look at the data and make further refinements to the method if need be. For future sessions, the plan is to deploy the loggers and traps two weeks before and after each monitoring session - which means 4 weeks worth of information around each monitoring period.

Stay tuned for more photos! :)

Chek Jawa (2 Jan 11)

2011-01-03T08:49:00.002+08:00

Happy New Year from TeamSeagrass as we do our first monitoring for 2011!

The Team enjoyed a breezy sunny day as we monitored at Chek Jawa, as well as some NEW stuff ...

Wei Ling brings our long-awaited NEW pencils!

But Yen-ling finds out the pencil container is quite difficult to open up.

Another new aspect for the Team: reusable cloth bags to carry all the bits and pieces that we need for monitoring. Thanks to donations by those who came today, we have lots of bags for the year ahead! And they are so colourful too!

As usual, Richard is totally geared up against all manner of bugs!

I brave an attempt at documenting some of what we do during a trip on the awesome FLIP video cam. I'm not very good at doing this, so apologies for the poor quality clips.

After setting up the gear, Siti gives a quick run through of the data entry, Wei Ling shows everyone how to use the GPS and then we're off to monitor!

It's a sunny, windy day as we head out to the seagrass meadows. Siti gives a quick run through of the seagrass IDs, then we head off to monitor. Those doing site 2 have a looong way to walk. It's tricky laying down the line in windy weather. And monitoring is easiest done with two persons! All too soon, our time on Chek Jawa ends and we head home.

The seagrasses were generally doing alright with lush green Fern seagrasses (Halophila spinulosa).

Unfortunately, at Site 2, we noticed some bleaching Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis).

However, the seagrasses seem to be 'returning' to transect 1, which in our last monitoring in October was nearly bare of seagrasses. It's amazing how fast the sand bar and seagrasses move! This is why it's important to regularly monitor our seagrass meadows.

The small patch of Sickle seagrass (Thalassia hemprichii) near Site 2 is still there. But some leaf blades are rather brown and black, and the Spoon seagrasses among them are bleached. Oh dear.

The swathe of Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata) also seems rather sparse and Mei Lin saw bleaching among them too. Some Beccari's seagrass (Halophila beccarii) were seen.

The flock of Lesser crested-terns (Sterna bengalensis) that usually hang about on the Northern sand bar were still there. Mei Lin also observed many shorebirds out and about on Chek Jawa. It's the migratory season for shorebirds, so this is not surprising.

Thus the sand bar nearby is liberally splattered with bird poop. This is great! Because bird poop helps seagrasses to grow!

The Northern sand bar is alive with all kinds of buried creatures. The tiny dots are made by Button snails (Umbonium vestiarum), while the larger streaks by sand dollars (Arachanoides placenta).

In general, the shores were rather quiet according to the Team, probably because it was a hot day. But happily, Andy reported seeing many Haddon's carpet anemones (Stichodactyla haddoni), which is good news as they were greatly affected by the mass deaths in 2007. TeamSeagrass actually observed the mass deaths as our first monitoring was during this event.

Regular monitoring helps us understand what is happening and thus better manage our shores. So the Team really makes a difference!

It was great to have on the Team today: Jason, Vanitha, Andy, Sean, Mei Lin, Chay Hoon, Amy, Richard, Emil, Marcus, Kah Ming, Chi Keung, Yen-ling and Ivan. Thanks to Wei Ling and Siti for making all the arrangements and doing the briefings!

More about the trip by these Team members:

Mei Lin with more about TeamSeagrass, Chek Jawa and consolidating some broad observations.
Ria with more about the mangroves of Chek Jawa
Sean with more about the marine life seen on Chek Jawa

What's new at TeamSeagrass? Plenty!

2010-12-27T17:08:00.008+08:00

Monitoring dates for 2011 are now available for sign up! PLUS, TeamSeagrass is now on facebook!

Share your photos and stories of Team happenings on this page, as well as seagrass news! Such as Andy's recent find of the rare Halophila beccarri in Mandai and Kok Sheng's sighting of what might have been Halophila decipiens at Punggol. And how bird poop helps to heal seagrasses damaged by boat strikes.

Siti shared lovely Holiday Greeting on the facebook page! Thanks Siti!

AND the TeamSeagrass blog also has been given a make-over for a new look! Hope you like it.

PLUS, the Team will be also be glad to learn that NEW pencils have been found! Yes, it may seem to be a trivial thing, but ordinary pencils don't do well swimming in the sea. Without a pencil, we are doomed! Special pencils with their pointy tips in 'bullets' are what we need. The old ones are worn out and malfunctioning. Not to mention that many pencils have 'disappeared' over the last three years. Ahem.

But no worries, thanks to Nor Aishah and Wei Ling, we now have lots of new pencils! This should last us for a few more years.

So we're all ready for more monitoring in 2011!

Monitoring dates for 2011 are listed here. Our first monitoring is on 2 Jan at Chek Jawa, what a great way to start the New Year!

Those already on the team can sign up for these dates on the teamseagrass yahoo group.

Not yet a member?
To join the team, simply send the following details
(a) your full name
(b) your age
(c) your email address
(d) your contact number
(e) any previous experience
to Ria at hello@wildsingapore.com, please put "TeamSeagrass" in your subject header.

Rare seagrass seen at Sungei Mandai Besar

2010-12-20T12:36:00.004+08:00

Meadows of a very rare seagrass have been spotted at Sungei Mandai Besar!
The meadows stretched out "almost as far as the eye could see" says Andy, intrepid Team member who shared about the find on his blog.

This is awesome because Beccari's seagrass (Halophila beccarii) is considered rare not only in Singapore but globally! In fact, the IUCN featured this seagrass as Species of the Day. In Singapore it is Critically Endangered, globally it is Vulnerable.

So far in Singapore, this seagrass has been seen only at Chek Jawa, Pulau Ubin and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

See more photos and read about where Sungei Mandai Besar is and more on Andy's blog.

Cyrene Reef (6 Dec 10)

2010-12-07T10:12:00.007+08:00

It's our last seagrass monitoring for 2010 and a small team heads out for Cyrene yesterday under cloudy skies.

We very quickly got to work under threatening skies. I did the further away Site 2. Here's Jim and Yen-Ling working hard on the last transect on the furthest site on Cyrene.
Alas, the seagrasses don't seem to be doing too well. On some parts of the shore, the tips of seagrass blades of all species were blackened.
A closer look at the blackened and burnt tips of the seagrasses.
Many of the Tape seagrasses (Enhalus acoroides) were not only burnt but seemed to be losing their green colour, leaving pale beige blades that seem to be rotting away. On a positive note, I didn't come across large stretches of the fuzzy stuff that we saw on Pulau Semakau the day before and which I saw on Cyrene the month before.
The big pool where Collin does his fish survey and pipefish tagging is bare of Tape seagrass!
Below is what the pool usually looks like. OK, not really obvious in the photo, but the Tape seagrasses are usually so long that the pool looks like a bowl of flat green noodles. You can see some of the long seagrass blades in the lower left corner of the photo.

Although all the Tape seagrasses appear chomped off, the other seagrass species were still plentiful and seemed to be doing alright. In the photo below, clumps of Noodle seagrass (Syringodium isoetifolium) in the pipefish pool. I looked for and found all the species usually seen on Cyrene, but I couldn't find the patch of Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymododea rotundata).
Despite the rather sorry state of the seagrasses, Cyrene is still full of surprises and amazing marine life! We snatch a quick look after we are done with the seagrass monitoring.
It drizzled a bit but we were glad the trip was mostly dry. For a brief moment, there was a rainbow over the container terminals, seen here from the large boulder corals on Cyrene.
The wet weather around us made for a spectacular sunset. Andy took a lovely group photo of us with the sunset.
We linger until the very last moment of sunset before heading back. The lights at the surrounding industrial plants and container terminals are already on! As usual, Jumari and Thai make sure we get safely back onto the boat for our ride back to the mainland.
Let's hope the seagrasses at Cyrene (and at Semakau) will recover to their usual glory. This is why it's important to monitor our seagrasses!

The team out for this trip were Kok Sheng, Jim, Jonathan, Andy, Yen-Ling, Joo Yong, Gao Xiao and Yunfeng.

Other posts about this trip by:

Andy - our group photo!
Ria - some strange snails and a Sand diver!
Kok Sheng - anemone explosion and MORE marvellous finds.

Pulau Semakau (5 Dec 10)

2010-12-06T09:54:00.008+08:00

Hurray, a bright sunny afternoon as a small team gathers to monitor the seagrasses at Pulau Semakau!
What a great way to celebrate International Volunteer Day!

Thanks to Shufen, we made a safe trip in our usual orange ferry. Also thanks to Wei Ling for sorting out the permissions and arranging the GPS. Siti is away for an international seagrass conference. We miss the ladies!
We arrive at the Landfill to a brilliant blue sky day!
Wow, Rita has awesome wellingtons!
How lucky we to get a bus ride from the ever kindly NEA staff at the Landfill! Saving us a long walk in the hot sun! The tide is already falling and we can see the submerged reef, Terumbu Semakau starting to peek out of the water as we have comfortable ride to our start point.
When we arrive, it's time to brave the Mozzie Alley. A short 5-minute sprint through the forest trail to get to the sea shore.
The recent rainy weather has turned the path through the forest into a squishy quagmire of sloshy mud and tricky fallen trees.
Chay Hoon leads the team to do Site 3 while the rest of us head out much much further to do Site 1.
A glorious sunny afternoon as we leave the Site 2 team to start their work.
On our way in, we come across several Soldier crabs scurrying about on the sand flats.
Finally we arrive at Site 1! While Yen-Ling and Amy set up for their line, the tireless Water Quality team starts on their work. They have to go to all the three sites on Semakau!
Site 1 is easy to do because it mainly has only Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides). There was also a lot of Codium seaweed in our line. But elsewhere on Pulau Semakau there are many other kinds of seagrasses.
During our trip, everywhere, the water was dotted with tiny white male flowers of the Tape seagrass!
Lin takes a closeup photo of the male flowers. These flowers 'stand up' on a wet hand because one end of the tiny flower is attracted to water, while the other end repels water. This also often causes the flowers to stick together to form little 'rafts'.
Strangely, we only saw a few of the long-stemmed female flowers.
Lin and I finish quite early so we could bother the others. Here's Yen-ling and Amy hard at work on transect 3.
As we head back after finishing our site, we notice large areas of the shore were full of a fuzzy hairy slimey growth. It smothered seagrasses, corals and other life on the shore. Oh dear.
A closer look at the icky fuzzy growths.
Nevertheless, there is still much marine life on the shore. And I was glad to notice that there were very few bleaching corals on the shore.
Charmaine finds a lovely stripey prawn! Earlier on, she also saw a cuttlefish!
We were truly blessed with a rain-free evening and a lovely sunset, here with Pulau Hantu and Pulau Bukom in the background. There was also the tail end of rainbow in the sky! So perhaps it was raining somewhere else.
Here's another view of sunset over the Life Firing islands.
Alas, all too soon it was time to head back. Through the Mozzie Alley again!
Sean shows us the best way to beat the nasty mozzies! It was much worse going back, with clouds of mosquitoes surrounding us all the way back up into the bus!
But we all ended clean, safe and sound on the ferry back to the mainland. While enjoying the well-deserved, and much appreciated curry puffs kindly provided by Andy and Ivan!

The team on this trip included: Sean, Gladys, Jocyelyne, Nadine, Amy, Andy, Ivan, Kah Ming, Jonathan, Nhung Nguyen, Yunfeng, Chay Hoon, Charmaine, Gao Xiao and Yen-Ling.

It was also wonderful that Lin Yang from Sunday Times and Rita Chang from EarthWatch Hongkong could join us for the trip.

Other posts about this trip

wild shores of singapore

Cyrene Reef (7 Nov 10)

2010-11-08T11:07:00.006+08:00

It's time to monitor Cyrene Reef once again!
On a cloudy day with rain threatening, we arrive a little early. The tide is still high and hardly anything of the 1km long submerged reef sticking out of the water.

I'm doing Site 2 which is quite a hike away from the arrival point.
Today my transect seems a little bare. And the seagrass blades are all broken off and very short.
Oo, a bristleworm is in my transect. We mustn't touch these as the bristles can irritate bare skin.
After I've done my line, I head off to have a look around and see how the seagrasses are doing.

Oh dear, on some parts of the shore nearer the water's edge, some fine hairy stuff is still growing on and among the seagrasses, as we have observed during an August trip to Cyrene.
Here's more of the fine hairy stuff growing on Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis).
Here's some Noodle seagrass (Syringodium isoetifolium) with the hairy stuff on them.
Most of the Tape seagrass blades (Enhalus acoroides) were broken off very close to the sand surface.
Here's another look at the situation. In fact, in the lagoon where Collin does his survey of pipefishes, there is virtually no more seagrasses. Previously the lagoon was thick with Tape seagrasses.
On some parts of the shore, there was a layer of fine scummy stuff with lots of air bubbles trapped in them. I had noticed this already during our previous Cyrene monitoring in July.
A closer look at the scummy layer.
It frighteningly reminds me the scummy layer I see on the shores at Tanah Merah that have been hit by the oil spill.

The Team at Site 1 also felt the seagrasses there were not as lush as usual.

Well, this is why it's important to monitor our seagrasses. I do hope the situation is only temporary.

But all is not lost. Cyrene is still full of amazing marine life!
More about other aspects of Cyrene seen on this trip on the wild shores of singapore blog.

It was good to have with us on this trip: Siti, Terry, Joo Yong, Chay Hoon, Nor Aishah, Yen Ling, Gao Xiao and Andy.

Thanks to Robin and Collin for taking the GPS readings for Site 2, and to Wei Ling for preparing everything as usual even though she couldn't join us. And we missed Shufen though she was also out at Cyrene helping out with NParks.

More about Cyrene Reef.

Seagrassy Collage by Kevin

2010-11-02T07:59:00.004+08:00

Kevin Lam created and shared this lovely collage of TeamSeagrass in action!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Kevin says: "Have a look at the seagrass community in Singapore. That's right! All photos are taken in Singapore."

And we say: Thank you Kevin!

Also check out Kevin's Nature Spies blog for other interesting insights into nature in Singapore.

Chek Jawa (9 Oct 10)

2010-10-10T08:29:00.009+08:00

Yesterday, a small team headed out to Chek Jawa for our regular seagrass monitoring.
I helped out at Site 2, and did transect 1 which is fast being taken over by the encroaching sand bar!

Here's the folks at Site 1, nearer the boardwalk.
The Water Quality Team are hard at work!
Earlier, we started with a more indepth briefing by Siti, while Marcus and Mei Lin later showed the team real samples of the different kinds of seagrasses found on Chek Jawa. We hope this mini-training before each session will help improve our monitoring.

There is only a tiny patch of Sickle seagrass (Thalassia hemprichii) on Chek Jawa and it lies between our transect 1 and 2 at site 2. Alas, I noticed many of the blades were yellow!
But some of the Sickle seagrass are still fresh and green.
The seaward edge of large stretches of Chek Jawa are cloaked in a fresh green meadow of Fern seagrass (Halophila spinulosa).
Among the fresh green ferny seagrasses are all kinds of animals from crabs to large sea anemones.
Near the boardwalk, there are nice patches of the rare Beccari's seagrass (Halophila beccarii) and a huge patch of Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata). The most abundant seagrasses on Chek Jawa are Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis) and Needle seagrass (Halodule sp.). And on our trip, we noticed a huge explosion of tiny little brown balls in some parts of the meadows. We think they are baby Swimming anemones (Boloceroides mcmurrichi)!
After monitoring, we had a quick look around. Chek Jawa is very much alive!We left Pulau Ubin at sunset, which was spectacular!
We had a very small team at Chek Jawa although the sign up was large earlier in the week. Many people dropped out due to sudden illness, other commitments or were simply just too late.

Fortunately these people made it for the trip: Vanitha, Marcus, Mei Lin, Emil, Amy, WenXin, with thanks to the transect leaders: Gao Xiao, Yunfeng, Yen-ling, Chay Hoon, Nadine; and Siti for looking after our science as usual, and Wei Ling who took care of all the transport logistics and was with us in spirit.

We also had the Singapore Poly water quality team with us: Ji Hua, Zhi Sheng, Catherine.

The tide tables for 2011 are out, and we will soon sort out the monitoring trips for next year!

More about what we saw at Chek Jawa:

wild shores of singapore explosion of sea anemones and more.
Mei Lin with flatworms, snails and other sightings.
Vanitha with video clips of swimming anemones and more.

Tuas (8 Oct 10)

2010-10-09T12:48:00.006+08:00

Yesterday, I joined Sheryl and Helen and the volunteers from Schering Plough who monitor the seagrass meadows at Tuas just outside their premises.
Alas, the shore there has changed dramatically. What used to be a sandy shore, is now very rocky!

As a result, there is very little seagrass in the area. A few patches of Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis) struggle on among the rocks.
There are still some seagrasses on the sandier areas that remain. But these lie outside the study area.
On the seaward side of the shore, the Coin-seaweed (Halimeda sp.) has taken over.
These seaweeds have hard coin-shaped segments that are joined together.
Due to the lack of seagrass, the monitoring is done very quickly! So we have a look around at the shore. We head out to Merawang Beacon to check out the reefier parts. Things are looking livelier although there are still signs of coral bleaching there.
Back on the higher shore, there are also lots of interesting animals to see!
The ladies take a photo of the lovely sunset that is starting to develop over Merawang beacon.
A last look at the shore before we leave.
Read more about what we saw on the shore on the wild shores of singapore.

Dugongs in Australia at risk from toxic algae that smothers seagrass

2010-09-16T09:35:00.002+08:00

Blue-green algae is threatening to smother the Western Australian seagrass beds that dugongs feed off.
Vicki Laurie Australian Geographic 16 Sep 10;

Photo of Lyngbya outbreak from Seagrass-Watch Magazine Issue 40 March 2010.

OFF THE COAST OF BROOME, snaking trails are visible at low tide through glistening seagrass meadows. The pathways are a sign that a family of dugongs has swum through the area, pushing through the grassy seabed and grazing on a smorgasbord of tender shoots and roots.

Thriving seagrass meadows are vital for these hefty aquatic mammals, which can eat up to 40 kg of plant matter a day. Fiona Bishop, coordinator of the Broome Community Seagrass Monitoring Project, says dugongs (Dugong dugon) are regular visitors to Broome's Roebuck Bay, a Ramsar-listed wetland with extensive seagrass beds.

"We're lucky to have such low tides so we can walk out and see dugong trails everywhere, sometimes zigzagging back and forth. Two of the dugongs' favourite species of seagrass grow here, and they eat the whole plant, roots, flowers and seeds."

As well as 'mowing' the grass, the dugongs help disperse the seed widely when they expel their waste into the water

Toxic spread

But the health of seagrass is this year threatened by an outbreak of toxic blue-green algae, called Lyngbya majuscula, which scientists say the will study in coming weeks to establish whether Roebuck Bay's dugongs, famous migratory bird flocks and marine invertebrates are affected.

Andrew Storey, adjunct associate professor in the School of Animal Biology at UWA, is leading a $140,000 study of Broome's seagrass beds off the coast of Western Australia. While the algae is a naturally-occurring plant, in certain conditions it can grow in matted profusion and literally smother the seagrass beds that dugongs feed on, he says.

Several bays around the Australian coast are plagued by Lyngbya outbreaks, with Moreton Bay in Queensland worst affected. Land-based pollutants like sewage leaching into the bay are thought to be the "triggering element" for these outbreaks.

"Compared to outbreaks in Moreton Bay, the Roebuck Bay blooms are relatively small, but they are increasing with every Wet season," Andrew told Australian Geographic. "It's hard to pinpoint, but we think that nutrient enrichment from groundwater runoff in Broome may have caused it."

Biodiversity incubators

The worst outbreaks occurred in the most recent Wet season, which ended in April this year.

Seagrass habitats are incubators of biodiversity; about 40 times as many animal species live in seagrass meadows than live on bare sand. Worms, sponges, shrimp, starfish, crabs, sea urchins and anemones thrive amid their shady fronds - unless the slime-like alga forms a light-smothering blanket.

Fiona says volunteers walking out at low tide are stunned by the beauty of seagrass; "it's glossy, green and like a wet golf course."

The combined research by scientists and volunteers, supported by Seagrass Watch - the world's largest scientific seagrass monitoring and assessment program - will hopefully build up a detailed picture of Broome's seagrass habitat. "It's an early warning system about the health of the entire bay," Fiona says.

Related links
More about Seagrass Watch and the Lyngbya outbreack in Seagrass-Watch Magazine Issue 40 March 2010, synopsis and download full pdf from the Seagrass-Watch website.

Your seagrass photos wanted for a photo competition!

2010-08-23T17:54:00.004+08:00

Wanted! Photos for a Seagrass Calendar for the year 2011!

Needed! Photos of seagrass, seagrass habitats, animals in seagrass beds, human activities / resource use in seagrass beds, threats to seagrasses, research activities in seagrass beds, etc. from anywhere in the world.

Let's show the world that Singapore has great seagrasses and seagrassers!

Here's more details!

Deadline for submission of photographs: 1 Sep 2010.

Send your photographs to Dr. Anchana Prathep, the Conference Organizer: a_prathep@hotmail.com

You may submit more than one photograph but only one photo per person will appear in the calendar. You do not have to attend the conference in order to enter a photo or win.

There will be prizes for the winning photographers, and they will be fully acknowledged on the calendar. Copyrights for all photographs will remain with the photographers; none of the photographs will be used for any other purpose but the one-time production of the calendar.

The best photos will be featured in a full-color Seagrass Calendar for the year 2011. The Seagrass Photo Competition held in conjunction with the World Seagrass Conference & ISBW-9 workshop in Thailand, 21-30 November 2010 (http://www.sc.psu.ac.th/seagrass/). The calendar will be made available at the World Seagrass Conference & ISBW-9.

We look forward to receiving many fantastic photographs!

Paul Erftemeijer
(on behalf of the WSC organizing committee)

Pulau Semakau (17 Jul 10)

2010-07-17T23:00:00.010+08:00

Today, the Team has a new motto: "We may die, but we will try!".
We all woke up to a pre-dawn deluge of biblical proportions, sheets of rain falling to the thunderous accompaniment of constant lightning.

Did this stop us?

Of course not! It was heartening to see most of the Team turn up despite the storm! Charmaine came even though her car stalled in the flood. Despite the dearth of taxis, everyone slogged through the rain to get there. By the time we left the pier, the rain had let up a bit, though dark clouds continued to loom.
At first I thought the storm was just a severe Sumatras. But when I later read the media reports, it seems to be caused by "unstable weather conditions in the region, partly brought on by Typhoon Conson" with more rain falling during the two hours than the average for July. Among the effects: knee-high flash flooding which led to stalled cars, public buses going offline, trees falling, power going out. So it's awesome that the Team made it for the trip! Bravo!

To those who wonder whether we ever cancel a monitoring trip for bad weather: No, we go when it's low. While we may not eventually monitor if the weather is still bad when we arrive, we never cancel a trip and will make our way to the shore regardless. As long as the seagrass is out there. So perhaps only a tsunami will lead us to cancel a monitoring trip!

Although we arrived late, it meant that the kindly NEA staff were already on site to drive us to the shore. Thank you! The skies were still dark, and in a mizzle (miserable drizzle) we walk out to our various sites.
Joo Yong, Yen Ling and I head out to the furthest site. Each of us are doing a line alone as we are short handed.
There's still some bleaching on the shore.
But not all the corals are bleached. And the seagrasses are still doing fine.
After we finished monitoring, we had look around the shore on the long walk back. We spot a bleaching Giant carpet anemone!
Underneath the anemone was a little anemone shrimp!
We also saw an upside down jellyfish, which is quite commonly seen on this shore.
As we reached Site 2, we saw that Cheng Puay and his team there were dealing with a huge driftnet that had been laid over the shore. Sadly, driftnets are very commonly seen on this shore. Unless removed, these nets continuously trap and kill marine life.
Since we had so many hands, we decided to remove as much of the net as we could. While some Team members released the trapped animals. Others hauled out the net.
Cheng Puay led a small team to pull out the net that was further way and only stopped when the tide turned and the water got too deep. The driftnet is really long!
Meanwhile, the rest of us put the transect squares (properly called quadrats) to good use!
We pile the nets on the quadrats so that we could more easily carry them out! In no time at all, we hauled the nets to the road when NEA staff have kindly offered to dispose of them properly.
With many team members hauling net, Yunfeng has worked out a good use for his long umbrella to help carry our gear back.
The Team sure did a lot of good work today!

The fabulous team today included: Yen Ling, Hui Peng, Joo Yong, Gao Xiao, Yunfeng, Sean, Jason, Cornie, Jocelyne, Cheng Puay, Charmaine, Shufen and the interns from NParks.

We also had the Singapore Poly water quality team with us: Nelson, Zhi Sheng, Catherine who pitched in with the net removal.

Bravo to everyone!

Other posts about this trip:

More about driftnets on the wild shores of singapore blog.
Jason photos on facebook.
Jocelyne photos on facebook.

Cyrene Reef (16 Jul 10)

2010-07-16T21:55:00.009+08:00

TeamSeagrass arrives at sunrise on Cyrene in high water!
And high spirits too!

We had arrived a little too early to land. The tide was still high so Cyrene Reef was still submerged, and the sun hadn't risen yet. So Shufen takes the opportunity to show us the cool new datasheets that Wei Ling has crafted for us out of laminated sheets overlaid by waterproof transparencies. Awesome!
After we land on Cyrene, we had to slog through high water to the sliver of sand bar that has just emerged. And set up for our monitoring.
Then we head out for our sites although the tide is still high.
As I looked back, the team at Site 1 is already at their transect lines! In the background, ominous clouds over Jurong Island.
Meanwhile, three of us head out for Site 2 as the sunrise lights up the giant cloud that has formed over Pulau Bukom from the emissions of the petrochemical plants there. We are short handed today, so each of us is monitoring our transects alone.
Despite Cyrene's location in the 'industrial triangle', it has great seagrass meadows and lots of marine life! Cyrene Reef has lots of Noodle seagrass (Syringodium isoetifolium) which is rather rarely seen on our other shores.
More seagrasses. I'm not too good at taking underwater photos.
Today, some parts of our transects at Site 2 were coated in a brown scummy layer.
A closer look at the scummy stuff growing over the seagrasses.
Here's a look at the scummy brown stuff underwater.
A closer look at scummy brown stuff underwater.
We finished monitoring just before the day got too hot. Here's a look at our cool new datasheets and gear. The new datasheets work like a charm!
As we head back from Site 2, I notice huge clouds over Jurong Island with rain already falling in the distance.
Lightning starts to strike nearby so we hurry to get back to the boat. Even though it was very sunny on some parts of Cyrene still!
Wow, a storm is building up over us!
Here's the first half of the team going home on the dinghy with trusty Jumari making sure we arrive alive.
As we wait for the dinghy to return for us, we spot a large Knobbly sea star (Protoreaster nodosus)! Cyrene is full of these fascinating sea stars!
We all got back safely and shared what we had seen. Among the highlights, the Site 1 team saw two Long-horned cowfishes (Lactoria cornuta). Cyrene Reef is truly awesome!

Glad to have with us today: Joo Yong, Gao Xiao, Yunfeng, Nor Aishah, Chay Hoon, Charmaine and Shufen!

More about Cyrene on the Cyrene Reef Exposed blog and facebook page.

Other posts about this trip:

Singapore oil spill in Seagrass Watch Magazine issue 41, Jun 10

2010-07-02T14:19:00.004+08:00

The Seagrass-Watch magazine issue 41, Jun 2010 is now online!
The lead feature this issue explores the important issue of putting an economic value to seagrasses: "Many would argue that ecological systems are 'priceless'. However, by not valuing natural resources, when decisions are made, the value may be assumed to be zero" begins the authors in the introduction.

The article discusses the why and how of pricing seagrass meadows. And provides a table of some astonishing values.
In this issue, Rudi has kindly included a compilation of events and sightings during the recent oil spill in Singapore. It basically consolidates much of the information that is available on the Oil Spill facebook group, and on wild shores of singapore posts about the oil spill.
I was eagerly looking forward to Len's valuable insights and information on what happens when crude oil hits seagrasses. Len explains that seagrasses are not so much affected by the "more spectacular oil slick" but are primarily harmed by "the absorption of seawater-soluble fraction (SWSF) of oil." This SWSF thing is a kind of cocktail of dissolved or suspended tiny bits of icky hydrocarbons. Toxic bits are "thought to be able to pass from the SWSF" into seagrass blades where they tend to accumulate in the chloroplasts, the stuff that allows seagrasses to undergo photosynthesis.
Another possible consequence of an oil spill is a bloom of algae (seaweed) which can smother seagrasses. It may take a year before things return to normal on a seagrass meadow, and there may be lingering "sublethal" effects for five years or more. Len ends by saying that our understanding of oil spill impact on seagrasses is limited because "there is a general lack of substantial long-term field data" before and after an oil spill.

Thus, the work that TeamSeagrass has done monitoring Chek Jawa's seagrasses well before the oil spill will hopefully allow us to better understand the impact of oil spills here and elsewhere too! Bravo for the Team!

There's also a lovely feature about Choo Chee Kuang, a dear friend of TeamSeagrass, and his team who are looking after the marinelife at Pulai. Choo is working very hard to protect the Pulai meadows.
Pulai lies just across the Johor Strait from our Tuas monitoring area. And it's near the mysterious Pulau Merambong that we often see on the horizon when we are on Tuas. Of course, the Pulai shores are enormous!
Wow, see what awesome seagrass species they have there!
Just a few weeks ago, it was announced that a joint study is being conducted to develop a cross-border tourist attraction involving Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and three Johor Ramsar sites of Sungai Pulai, Pulau Kukup and Tanjong Piai. Read more about this study and about Sungai Pulai from wild shores of singapore.

It's fascinating reading stories and seeing photos of seagrasses in faraway places that yet look so familiar to us. Seagrass meadows do join hearts and hands together across the oceans! Read about efforts to protect the Gili Islands off Lombok, the beautiful Shoalwater Bay and Roebuck's Ramsar Wetland in Australia, students on Suva in Fiji, and the awesome "Centre of the Centre" or Verde Island Passage of the Philippines, which as been described as the epicentre of marine shorefish biodiversity.

Looking at the feature on Madagascar seagrasses, aren't you glad we don't have to monitor our seagrasses this way?! Well, of course, we can't even if we wanted to. Alas, our waters aren't as crystal clear. Sigh.
The issue ends with a delightful feature on everyone's favourite shore creature, the cuddly hermit crab. Well, he would be cuddly if he didn't pinch so much. Learn all about these endearing creatures, including how they might use as 'homes': coral, stones, wood and even broken coke bottles!
So download the magazine from the Seagrass Watch website and read all these fascinating articles!

Chek Jawa seagrasses after the oil spill (19 Jun 10)

2010-06-19T18:55:00.013+08:00

Today, the Team heads off to monitor Chek Jawa after the oil spill that hit this shore about three weeks ago. How are our seagrasses doing? While earlier reports by shore lovers and in the media suggest no major immediate impacts, effects of an oil spill can develop over the long term.
As the more experienced Team members do a quick survey of the rest of Chek Jawa, this means some of our newer Team members have to lead the monitoring.

The day begins with a quick revision on how to use the GPS, with Wei Ling patiently explaining how it is done.
Then as the bulk of the Team head for the monitoring sites, Andy, Chay Hoon and I head off to do a broader survey.

I check out the southern side of Chek Jawa near House No. 1. There used to be large patches of the rare Beccari's seagrass (Halophila beccarii) here. Did they survive the oil spill? I was glad to see that there were still large patches of them. Here's one patch circled in yellow.
This tiny seagrass is often mistaken for scum! It is very rare globally and we are very lucky to have lots of them on Chek Jawa. And I'm glad they seem to have survived the oil spill, so far.
Those I saw seemed normal. They were green, and while some had dark bars, I have seen this kind of pattern in the past.
As I check out the meadows of Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis) near House No. 1, alas, I notice lots of patches of pale seagrasses.
The leaves of some of the Spoon seagrasses have turned transparent!
This must be the 'bleaching' of seagrasses that Len of Seagrass-Watch told me to look out for as one of the signs of oil spill effects on seagrasses.
'Bleaching' happens when the seagrasses lose their chlorophyll, the green pigment that helps them undergo photosynthesis. Of course, this not good for seagrasses.
There are patches of 'bleached' Spoon seagrasses on the meadows in front of House No. 1 on both sides of the jetty there. Even some of the Lettuce seaweed (Ulva sp.) is also bleached. Siti believes the 'bleaching' is in patches because these are probably where crude might have settled on the meadows.
The tide was rather high today, so I couldn't tell if the bleaching happened all the way out to the sand bar near the beacon.

Closer to the boardwalk, there were some Needle seagrass (Halodule sp.). They looked fine.
On the way back to the Information Kiosk, I have a look at the large meadows of Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata). The meadow is still quite large.
The leaf blades looked alright, with no 'bleaching'. Although many were pale at the base of the leaves. And there were many leaf blades washed ashore, broken off at the base.
I didn't see much Fern seagrass (Halophila spinulosa) where I walked, but the others saw some on the northern side. I also didn't get a chance to check up on the Sickle seagrass patch (Thalassia hemprichii) as it's on the northern shore. Nor the Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides) which are found near the beacon as the tide was too high today.

I didn't get a chance to take any photos of the Team at work. By the time I was done with the quick survey, the Team was also done and getting ready to go back.
I also checked up on signs of oil spill effects on the mangroves, and other marine life on Chek Jawa. Meanwhile, Andy and Chay Hoon also did a survey of oil spill effects on the northern parts of Chek Jawa. See links below for more of our reports.

Glad that today we were joined by Team members: Joo Yong, Nadine, Chi Keung, Joe, Natalie, Jason, Amber, Angeline, Connie, Kah Ming, Gao Xiao, Yunfeng, Sam, Bin Qi and Bin Di.

Today, we are also joined by Kwok Chen Ko and his new Water Quality Team. As well as a team from CRISP.

Thanks also to Andy and Chay Hoon for surveying other parts of Chek Jawa. And Siti and Wei Ling for coordinating the trip.

Other posts about this trip by:

Other checks on Chek Jawa after the oil spill:

Annabelle on 4 Jun on facebook
Joseph Lai on 2 Jun
Joseph Lai on 31 May
Cynthia on 31 May
Andy on 29 May

More about the oil spill in general on wild shores of singapore.

Tuas (15 Jun 10)

2010-06-15T13:06:00.007+08:00

The weather wasn't cooperating, but a team of brave volunteers from Schering Plough led by the intrepid Sheryl and Helen went ahead for TeamSeagrass monitoring of the meadows just off their premises at Tuas.

Sheryl gives a briefing about seagrasses and the importance of monitoring them.
The dominant seagrass on this shore are Spoon seagrasses (Halophila ovalis). They are nice and fresh and green today. Today there's quite a lot of Sea lettuce seaweed (Ulva sp.) on the shore too.
This shore has a tiny patch of Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides). Which doesn't seem to be doing very well today.
Alas, the designated site at Tuas has no seagrasses as these have 'moved' to another part of the shore. So Sheryl and Helen had already done the monitoring in very quick time. Instead, the volunteers are given a tour of the shore by Helen. And Sheryl and Helen have already marked out some interesting sights for the volunteers! Here's some sea cucumbers commonly found on the shore.
The volunteers are fascinated as Helen shares about how crabs moult.
Soon the weather turned for the worse, with lightning and thunder. Before we leave the shore, a quick group shot!
Bravo to the team and let's hope we have better weather the next time around.

A small team comprising Mei Lin, Chay Hoon and Hoong Wei came much earlier to recce the shore and sadly, found a lot of coral bleaching. Read more about the coral bleaching at Tuas on wild shores of singapore. For more about coral bleaching, see Bleach Watch Singapore.

Seagrass-Watch Magazine Issue 40 March 2010

2010-06-09T11:33:00.005+08:00

Apologies for the very late post! Here's another great issue that informs about seagrasses around the world by Seagrass-Watch.
This issue highlights the impact of rising sea temperatures on seagrasses.

"2009 ends the world's warmest decade on record" begins Len McKenzie in this article. He also shares that "over the years the Seagrass-Watch program has reported many instances when intertidal seagrasses have been observed to be 'burnt'." It is not an isolated phenomenon, and has been observed across several countries, species and intertidal seagrass habitats.
Alas, we have seen 'burnt' seagrass too on Singapore shores. What does this mean and what can we do? Read more in the article.

Then there is an article by Fiona Bishop about an outbreak of Lyngbya in Broome, Australia.
A bloom of this cyanobacteria can smother seagrasses. And I found out that the cyanobacteria can "become toxic at certain stages of its development" and the toxins can become airborne and may be inhaled when the cyanobacteria dries up. This can affect humans, and animals too.
This hairy stuff looks very much like something that we sometimes see on our own shores! Read more about this in the article.

There is also an article about seagrass cycles, and another about the effect of cyclones on seagrasses.

But not all is doom and gloom. There are articles with great photos of locations like Seribu and Pangandaran. (We should take a nice photo of our sea stars in seagrasses too!)
And this great issue ends with a fantastic article about sea hares! Len and Rudi have kindly used photos of Singapore sea hares! Learn more about these fascinating beasts in the article.
Download the full magazine from the Seagrass-Watch website.

Massive oil spill off Changi East

2010-05-26T08:32:00.004+08:00

There was a massive oil spill of Changi East on 25 May. Shores nearby include Tanah Merah, East Coast and our northern shores including Changi, Ubin (Chek Jawa) and Pulau Tekong.

from Channel NewsAsia video clip 25 May;

Oil of course can seriously harm our seagrasses.

How big is the oil spill?
MPA said a helicopter recce by the Republic of Singapore Air Force at 2.20pm 25 May found an oil slick measuring 4 kilometres by 1 kilometre, about six kilometres south of Changi East. By volume it is "enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool", or "equivalent to three days of leakage from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

From a Reuters video clip 26 May 10;

Dispersants being sprayed on the spill,
from a Reuters video clip 26 May 10;

Oil boom around the damaged tanker,
from Channel NewsAsia video clip 25 May;

A close up view shows the damage on the Malaysian flagged MT Bunga Kelana 3 after a collision with a bulk carrier in the waters between Malaysia and Singapore May 25, 2010, from Reuters

Photo from the Straits Times

What is being done to deal with the spill, what is the likely impact on the environment? Has any crude landed on our shores? What about the 'petrol smell' in the air? For info on these questions and other updates and news see:

Singapore Changi East Oil Spill (25 May 2010) Facebook Page for latest info, updates and observations of the oil spill.
wild shores of singapore updates with consolidated news and checks on our shores for signs of crude and impact of spill.

NEW blog - Cyrene Reef Exposed!

2010-05-26T08:29:00.001+08:00

A new blog featuring nothing but Cyrene, one of the Team's favourite monitoring sites.
Cyrene Reef Exposed! is a blog dedicated to exposing this remarkable submerged reef in Singapore!

Cyrene lies in the middle of the 'Industrial Triangle' made up of petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom, massive heavy industries on Jurong Island and world class container terminals at Pasir Panjang.

Despite this, Cyrene has amazing marine ecosystems! Often leading many to consider it the "Chek Jawa of the South". Cyrene's seagrass meadows are awesome!

We go when it's low

Well hidden under water most of the time, Cyrene is only exposed for brief periods during super low spring tides at certain times of the year. Then begins the mad dash against the tide, to visit and learn as much as possible about Cyrene.

Showcasing Cyrene

This blog hopes to provide exposure to the various aspects of Cyrene: the wondrous marine life, the work done by intrepid scientists and volunteers on Cyrene, and activities to raise awareness and protect this marvellous reef.

Straits Times journalists with Siti of TeamSeagrass on Cyrene.

Over the last few years, there has been a steady stream of visitors to this submerged reef.

From stories about their trips, it seems that Cyrene is indeed Singapore's best-loved submerged reef!

So drop by the Cyrene Exposed! blog and join the Cyrene Exposed! Facebook page.

Want to make a difference for Cyrene?

Leave a comment in the guestbook!

If you've already been to Cyrene, we would love to feature your thoughts and experiences so that others can see Cyrene through your eyes. Email your stories to cyrenereef@gmail.com and upload your photos of Cyrene to the Cyrene Exposed flickr group.

Pulau Semakau (18 Apr 10)

2010-04-18T18:12:00.009+08:00

It's sunrise and the Team is already well on the way to Pulau Semakau!
We're already passing by the dumpling shaped Pulau Jong as the first rays of the sun light up the sky.

After a quick briefing and getting our gear in order...
We take a looong walk along the landfill road to the natural shores of Pulau Semakau. But it's a lovely cool morning and it was a nice opportunity for everyone to catch up and get to know one another.
Then we head out to our sites. I did Site 1 again, with some enthusiastic first-timers. It's the furthest site from the entrance to the shore, but relatively easy so it makes a good introduction to our monitoring. In the distance, flaring is still going on at the petrochemical installations on Pulau Bukom.
Jason and I did Transect 3. There's not much seagrasses, and lots of Codium seaweeds (Codium sp.).
And at some parts, zero everything!
But near our transect, the Fire anemone (Actinodendron sp.) is still there! It gives a nasty sting and none of us wanted to find out just how badly it stung.
Although the seagrasses were not flowering today, we saw several large hairy fruits of the Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides).
Andy kindly took the GPS readings for our site after he finished with his transect.
While Yen-Ling and Yunfeng are finishing up their work.
After we finished our monitoring, we had a quick look around on our way back. Jason spots a long Big synaptid sea cucumber (Family Synaptidae).
Gao Xiao has really sharp eyes and she spots this pair of mating Ceratosoma nudibranchs (Ceratosoma sp.)!
As well as the Jorunna nudibranch (Jorunna funebris).
And this little filefish (Family Monacanthidae) leapt out of the water as we walked along. After we quickly took some photos, we made sure it got back safely into into the water.
Just before we reached the exit from the shore, there were lots of Common sea stars (Archaster typicus).
Jason also spotted a green smasher mantis shrimp (Gonodactylus chiragra) and a pufferfish but they were too quick for a photo.

How delightful to find out that NEA is kindly providing us a bus ride back to the jetty! The morning had been getting hotter and I was dreading the long walk back. Thank you NEA! Here's Gao Xiao and Yunfeng, still lively and happy!
On the bus, there's a big poster of the Semakau Landfill (the man-made portion with sea walls sectioned off into smaller areas where all of Singapore's incinerated trash is dumped) and the natural original Pulau Semakau (the irregularly shaped portions on the left hand side, with mangroves, reefs, sandy shores and of course lots of seagrasses!).
After a quick wash up of self and gear, we're back on the ferry. On the ride home, Andy is our favourite seagrasser. Because he has brought yummy egg-tarts for everyone! Thank you Andy!
We had a small team today: James, Chay Hoon, Joo Yong, Yen-Ling, Andy, Vanitha, Suryati, Nadine, Gao Xiao, Yunfeng, Dawn, Dewei, Jason and Kian Seng. Thanks to Shufen for arranging the ferry, Wei Ling for preparing for our trip as usual and Siti for making sure we got it done right.

There will be no monitoring in May as the team managers have lots of other stuff to do during the year's intense series of super low tides.

See you for our next monitoring session in June!

Other posts about this trip

Cyrene Reef (2 Apr 10)

2010-04-02T16:27:00.011+08:00

It's our first morning low tide for the year, and a small team land on Cyrene Reef in the first light of dawn.
Cyrene is a submerged reef surrounded on three sides: by the heavy industries on Jurong Island, the huge refineries of Pulau Bukom (in photo above), and our world-class container terminals. Despite this, it has one of the best seagrass meadows in Singapore!

It's also Shufen's first time back out on Cyrene for a long long time! She can't resist taking a photo of the glorious sunrise. Behind her, the Pasir Panjang Container terminals and the city skyline.
While some of us trek all the way out nearly 1km to Site 2, the other half of the team are already set up at Site 1. With the huge industrial installations of Jurong in the background.
We soon got started, and Steve and I got an easy transect. Alas, some of the seagrasses have burnt tips, and all the Tape seagrasses have lost their tips and are very short. Some parts are covered with a scummy thing.
But still, there is a lot of seagrasses. With the most number of species in one location. So it's rather tricky to monitor.
Sometimes, along the transect line, our monitoring point is right on the barest patch of the seagrass meadow. Sigh.
All too soon, we were done! And we had a quick look at Cyrene on our way back to the pick up point. Besides seagrasses, Cyrene also has vast sandbars teeming with Common sea stars (Archaster typicus) and Cake sand dollars (Arachnoides placenta).
And some spots are crowded with big Knobbly sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus). Here's Steve having a look at them.
These sea stars come in all shapes and colours. One in the water was really fat and bloated. Perhaps it ate a lot? While another was pale and somewhat bluish.
One of the sea stars had lost an arm. A sea star can purposely drop off an arm if it feels stressed. This is why we should never pick up a sea star by its arm or dangle it about by its arm. In fact, we should try not to touch sea stars to avoid stressing them.
Cyrene is also ringed with reefs! And the seagrasses grow right into the reefs. There are all kinds of hard and soft corals here, with seagrasses poking out among them.
Sean and Jocelyn also saw the special Pentaceraster sea star (Pentaceraster mammilatus)! This sea star was first spotted on Cyrene and turned out to be a new record for Singapore. Marcus also saw a cushion star (Culcita novaeguineae). More about we saw in the blogs linked below.

It got really hot by the time we had to leave. Poor Siti is tired out from working on coral spawning and other seagrassy stuff. Our pile of life vests make a nice shade for a quick snooze.
There's no jetty at Cyrene so it's an amphibious landing with a dinghy.
It's tricky getting in and out of the dinghy especially with the big waves washing up as the gianormous ships pass by Cyrene Reef.
So it's always a relief to have everyone safe and sound at the end of the trip! And enjoyed more cookies from Sean!
It's jellyfish season! We saw lots as we got in and out of the boat, and more at the Marina when we arrived on the mainland. These Ribbon jellyfishes (Chrysaora sp.) have a really nasty sting that hurts and takes a long time to heal. This is why we need to cover all our skin when we do an amphibious landing.
Since it was a holiday and nice and hot, I gave the equipment a good wash!
Glad to have spent a fruitful monitoring day out with Siti, Shufen, Chay Hoon, Marcus, Jocelyn, Sean, Steve, Kah Ming and Joo Yong!

Other blog posts about this trip

TeamSeagrass Outdoor Orientation at Chek Jawa (28 Mar 10)

2010-03-29T18:35:00.010+08:00

After our Indoor Orientation session, it was time to head outdoors and try out monitoring in the field!
Here's the very enthusiastic Team on a very hot day out at Chek Jawa!

We were all in good spirits on the way out, some of us still snarfling lunch.
It was great to have Sijie and the Scouts with us again.
After a quick briefing, we head out to the shore to finally have a closer look at the various seagrass species.
Siti highlights how to tell the species apart.
They are rather small and we have to look hard to see all the features.
Then we split up into the two Sites to do the monitoring. I join the team at Site 2 which is far far away near the Northern sand bar. As usual, we walk in a single file and stick to hard sand to minimise impact on the seagrass meadows and shores.
Oh dear, one of the transects on Site 2 goes right over bare sand! The sand bar has shifted a lot! This is why it is important to monitor and monitor over a long period to have a good understanding of the dynamics of the shore.
Thanks to all the transect ICs for showing the new members the finer aspects of monitoring.
While this was well in hand, I headed off to check out the situation on the Northern sand bar. Alas, this small patch of Sickle seagrass (Thalassia hemprichii) seems to be buried by the moving sand bar.
Fortunately, there is another patch that's a little larger. I hope it can keep up with the moving sand bar as these are so far the only two patches of this species that I've seen. We probably need to do a more thorough survey of the rest of the meadows to see what else has been changing outside our sites.
Much of the Sickle seagrass also has brown leaf tips, possibly sunburnt in the recent hot weather?
I trekked out to the Northern most point to look for the Beccari's seagrass (Halophila beccarii) that we've seen before. Alas, I found none. Although there are pools with Needle seagrass (Halodule sp.) and Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis).
Closer to the Boardwalk, the Ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata) seems to be doing alright. While we saw some patches of green Beccari's seagrass.
We were also dismayed to see many bleaching carpet anemones, a sign that they are stressed. More about this on the wild shores of singapore blog and sgbeachbum blog.
The field orientation went well! Everyone did a good job. Sometimes, too good a job as it took a long time for some to finish their transects. Still, we had time to make a quick round on the mangrove boardwalk at the end of the monitoring. We gawked at fiddler crabs, thrilled at splashing mudskippers of all kinds, and enjoyed the shade of tall mangrove trees and learnt more about mud lobsters and their mounds.

What a thrill it was when Alvin spotted a spitting cobra! It slithered very rapidly among the mud lobster mounds right beneath our feet! You can read more about the Equatorial spitting cobra (Naja sumatrana) on Nick Baker's excellent fact sheets on snakes.
It had been really hot so most of us were tired. Only one person had the energy to climb up the Tower and take a photo of the group. He said we looked like the map of Singapore. Wow!
Then it was time to wash up the gear, drink copious quantities of sugary drinks from the vending machine, and snarfle up the cookies provided by Sean and Andy. And from somewhere, bananas too!
What a great day with an awesome Team! Alvin Lee, Joyce Ang, Chew Jia Hui, Ding Kian Seng, Edi, Gan Bin Di, Gan Bin Qi, Gao Xiao, Grace Gan, Melissa Heng, Hazel Huang, Ling Chai Joo, Nadine Clark, Nur Azlyna Binte Mohamed Tahir, Oliver Lim, Ong May Lwin, Shen Yunfeng.

Thanks especially to the transect ICs: Andy, Sijie, Yen-ling, Joo Yong, Sean and Jocelyne. And of course, Siti and Wei Ling for looking after all of us.

We're looking forward to seeing more of everyone in our upcoming trips!

This is the last of the evening trips for this tide cycle and the next few trips will be in the blessed cool of the morning! See you then!

Other posts about this trip

NatureScouter Rambles by Sijie - see our group photo in the shape of Singapore!

TeamSeagrass Indoor Orientation (Mar 2010)

2010-03-27T21:50:00.008+08:00

It's that time of the year to do the annual Orientation once again! And this time, TeamSeagrass is Three!
As the Anniversary badges tell us.

How nice that some of the volunteers came early to help set up the room! Thanks guys!
And here's our youngest Team participant, Ethan, with dad Kevin and mummy Shufen. Being introduced already to all our field gear.
I start off with a quick introduction to our shores, and some background into how TeamSeagrass started. It all began with Joseph Lai's first ever survey of Chek Jawa in 2001, followed by annual surveys: at Chek Jawa in 2004, mangrove survey at Pulau Semakau in 2005, then our first seagrass survey at Sentosa 2006, which led to seagrass monitoring with international Seagrass Watch since 2007!
Then Siti shared with us lots of Seagrassy Stuff, including how seagrasses are a part of a continuum of various marine ecosystems: from mangroves to reefs.
Oops, an illustration is lost in the Mac to PC translation of Siti's presentation. But this doesn't stop Siti from showing us nutrient transport in the various marine ecosystems with theatrical animation.
We then learn why it is important to monitor seagrasses, with details on why it takes a few years before we can get a good baseline. It is only after this that we can properly understand changes in a seagrass meadow.
We also have a good indepth session on how to tell apart those pesky seagrass species. This year, I've done up simple diagrams with simple notes on key differences, which we can use in the field to help figure out the tricky ones. Team members can also refresh their memories by looking at the seagrass fact sheets on wildsingapore.
Siti also goes through the monitoring methods, and here's the other side of the field seagrass ID sheet, with reminders on what we should do and take note of during monitoring. The full details of the process is on the Seagrass Watch website (pdf). Our sheet also has some photos of common seaweeds that are sometimes confused with seagrasses. Here's more about how to tell apart seagrasses and seaweeds.
We also try out using a compass. Everyone gets it quite easily.
We have a little session learning how out to fill out the datasheet properly, and a short review with a 'bad' datasheet. It's not so easy to do it properly especially if there are many seagrass species, which some of our sites are quite blessed with.

Then Shufen tells us how to use a GPS.
It seems challenging, but fun!
Then everyone tries it out. First, we have to get those satellites.
Then we have fun walking around a bit to find waypoints and mark unsuspecting trees and benches.
Meanwhile, some of us are quietly having playing with Ethan. He responds best to funny faces.
Aunty Wei Ling shows us how to do it.
And here is Aunty Siti attempting to look after Ethan while mummy is doing work.
Ooo, look, Ethan has a name tag too!
But Ethan is happiest with mummy, who carries on the GPS exercise once everyone is back from their little walk.
Mum and Dad are very much a part of TeamSeagrass, even spending their honeymoon at Cyrene Reef monitoring with the Team! So it's great to see Ethan at the Orientation.

Just before we end, we review safety on the shores. We often forget that shore safety includes safety OF the shores. We really don't want to trample and kill the very shores we are trying to protect. So there's some insights and tips on how to keep our footprints light on the shores.
But of course, safety of the Team is also important. So we go through some potentially dangerous marine life, of which there are quite a lot for those who don't know what they're doing. It's hard to tell the dangerous animals apart from less harmful ones. So it's best not to touch anything, walk carefully and to cover all skin.
Here's more about safety on the shores. You can also try this quiz and see if you will survive a trip to the shores!

wild shores safety: will you survive a sea sh… » Online Exam maker

Before we leave, Siti shares her awesome photos of the incredibly beautiful seagrass meadows at Bintan!
Wow, look at the clear waters and all those amazing critters among the seagrasses!
I had lots of fun at the session and am looking forward to the field session tomorrow!

Thanks to Wei Ling for preparing the room, the gear, the snacks and making sure everything went smoothly. And Siti and Shufen for their presentations.

And glad to see lots of new faces as well as some long-lost old ones: Alvin Lee, Ding Kian Seng, Gan Bin Di, Gan Bin Qi, Gao Xiao, Grace Gan, Melissa Heng, Jocelyne Sze, Lee Yen-ling, Ling Chai Joo, Muhd Isa bin Mohd Sarif, Nadine Clark, Natalie Hosnay, Nur Azlyna Binte Mohamed Tahir, Ong Joo Yong, Ong May Lwin, Sean Yap, Shen Yunfeng, Ashok Kumar, Ivan Tan.

And of course Ethan and dad Kevin for being there.

TeamSeagrass is Three!

2010-03-18T20:52:00.004+08:00

We are three years old! To celebrate, a badge with three sea turtles!
Three sea turtles for three years of hard work for our seagrass meadows. If you love sea turtles, you should love seagrasses. And TeamSeagrass sure love sea turtles and seagrasses and our shores!

The badge will be given out during the upcoming TeamSeagrass orientation. And while stocks last throughout 2010 to team members at upcoming monitoring sessions. So sign up for the sessions soon!

Happy Seagrass Birthday!

Here's the TeamSeagrass badges through the years...

Two dugongs when we were two years old.
Our first badge!
Looking forward to many more good seagrassy years!

2010 TeamSeagrass Orientation 27 & 28 Mar (Sat & Sun)

2010-03-02T14:33:00.006+08:00

Have you wanted to make a difference for our shores? Curious about these wacky people who work on our seagrass meadows?

Want to get a glimpse of some of their adventures?

And find out more about what actually happens during a monitoring session?
Well, the best time to do this is at the annual TeamSeagrass Orientation session. It happens only once a year!

This is the programme for the 2010 TeamSeagrass Orientation

27 Mar (Sat): Part 1: Indoor Training Session 9am-1.30pm
Includes briefings on seagrasses, seagrass ID, monitoring methods, shore safety. With fun hands-on activities in seagrass ID, filling out datasheets, how to use a GPS and more! Venue likely to be at Singapore Botanic Gardens, to be confirmed closer to the date.

28 Mar (Sun): Part 2: Outdoor Training Session at Chek Jawa 1.30-8pm
Join regulars to conduct an actual monitoring and put into practice what we have learnt at the Indoor Training Session.

Sign ups for the Orientation close on 12 Mar (Fri).

If you've always wanted to join TeamSegrass, now is a good time to do so. You'll get a proper introduction to the seagrasses and to the Team!

How to join? Simply email these details
(a) your full name
(b) your age
(c) your email address
(d) your contact number
(e) any previous experience
to Ria at hello@wildsingapore.com, please put "TeamSeagrass" in your subject header.

Before you sign up, please do read the FAQs for more details about the programme.

See you at the Orientation!