We were met by Anthony, Helen and Sheryl, staff of Schering Plough, the company whose property fronts this shore. Schering Plough has adopted the shore and are already working with CHIJ students on a shore project. They kindly provided access through their grounds to the shore.
In answer to Siti's wish, there were indeed steps down the seawall to the shore!! We are most impressed.
Because of sensitive equipment being used at the company, we couldn't use our handphones.So walkie talkies were kindly provided to us.
Which was a great thrill for Siti to use, no doubt to the amusement of everyone else on Channel One.
"Seagrass Here!!" Siti announces. And indeed, there's plenty of seagrasses on the shore.
There's lots of Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis). And even a small clump of Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides).
We meandered our way out to Merawang Beacon where the best of this relatively untouched shores is found.
A soft coral garden blossoms there! These colourful plant-like lifeforms are actually animals.
The ground is alive and thick with all manner of creatures.
Along the way, we spot large carpet anemones. Small hard corals are also settling there.
It seems to be the season for sea hares. They were everywhere. These large slugs squirt out a purple dye when they are annoyed.
The rarely seen Tiger moonsnail is quite common on this shore.A large Melogena snail was also seen laying her typical eggcases.
But for me, the most incredible find were these tiny Clithon snails. I have not seen them yet on any other shore. These delicate snails come in a mind-boggling array of intricate designs. Each looks like it was decorated patiently with a fine black marker pen!We'll certainly want to include this fabulous shore for seagrass watch!
No comments:
Post a Comment