Wildfacts updates: Rare snails!

We had no idea just how special these snails were when we saw them during last week's low tide trips.Kok Sheng found a living one of these rather strange looking conch snail (see his blog for more). Just a little earlier, I had seen an empty shell.

Little did we know at that time, that it is listed as Critically Endangered! According to the Red Data Book, it was found near our coral reefs and was present in small numbers until the 1960s. "It was rarely seen since then" and possibly "now wiped out". How AMAZING then, that we saw it!

We knew it's a conch (Family Strombidae) because it had the typical knife-like operculum at the end of its muscular foot. After going through my reference books, I figured that this snail is probably Strombus aratrum or the Dark Diana conch.

There's a long explanation of its common name. According to Abbott, this is a subspecies of S. aurisdianae. 'Auris' means 'ear' and indeed, the beautiful underside of S. aurisdianae may be what the ear of the goddess Diana looks like. The common name of S. aurisdianae is the Diana conch or Diana Ear conch. S. aratrum is more elongate and has a brown-stained shell opening. Thus its common name is Dark Diana conch!

Kok Sheng also found this strange conch snail.
It is obviously also a strombid (Family Strombidae), but I failed to discover what this might be.

During the same trip, I also saw this odd moon snail for the first time. It was really flat compared to the more commonly seen moon snails.
This is probably the Egg-white moon snail (Neverita albumen) because of the deep U-shaped depression on the white underside.

Another special snail that Alicia found on Pulau Hantu some weeks ago was this living Clear sundial snail (Architectonica perspectiva).
It took me a while to find out more about this snail and upload a factsheet about it. Sorry. This snail is listed as 'Endangered' in the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore. The original shores where they were found have been lost to reclamation. So it's very special to see it!

The shell coils form a disc shape with a flat base. This shape allows the snail to burrow through sand to find its prey. Snails of the Family Architectonicidae feed on sea anemones, corals and zoanthids. The mouth region is lined with a tough cuticle to protect against the stings of their prey. Kind of a glove for the tongue. Cool!

More photos and videos of the Clear sundial snail

• Partially wet @ Pulau Hantu by Chay Hoon on her colourful clouds blog.
• Sundial snail @ Pulau Hantu by Andy on his sgbeachbum blog.
• When the sun's up by Marcus on his the annotated budak blog.

But Kok Sheng's most fantastic find was this Grey bonnet snail (Phalium glaucum).
The shell is helmet-shaped with a large body whorl, large shell opening and tiny spire, thus resembling a bonnet. The shell is smooth and grey without any markings.
It has a notch in its shell so that its siphon can be extended vertically upwards like a snorkel, probably allowing it to breathe while it stays beneath the sand to hunt or eat its prey. When I first saw the siphon sticking straight up from the shell, I thought the snail was creeping past a tubeworm tube!

And what does this amazing snail eat? Snails of the Family Cassidae feed almost exclusively on echinoderms: sea urchins or sea stars, mainly at night and often while both predator and prey are buried in the sand. Snails with heavy helmet-shaped shells eat sea urchins. The smaller Phalium feed on sand dollars.

The Gladys Archerd Shell Collection describes their feeding technique dramatically: To feed on sea urchins, the helmet snail creeps up slowly, raises its heavy shell quite high, then abruptly drops the shell in such a way that the urchin is completely engulfed. Since urchin spines contain a poison, the helmet snail releases a paralytic enzyme from its salivary gland, then it secretes sulfuric acid sufficiently strong to dissolve the sea urchin shell in about 10 minutes before consuming its meal. Wow!

In another description by Poutiers, the snail first squirts neurotoxic saliva over its prey to paralyse the spines. The snail is initially protected from these spines by the thick skin of the foot. Then, the snail pushes its snout through the unprotected anus, or through a hole rasped by radula in the test of the victim which may also be crushed under the weight of the snail.
Indeed, when I first posted a photo of this sea urchin test (skeleton) on my flickr, venwu225 commented that the hole might have been created by the acid produced by a Helmet snail. So we really shouldn't have been that surprised to find this beautiful helmet snail during the recent explosion of sea urchin populations on the shores.

Sadly, the Grey bonnet is listed as 'Endangered' in the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore, due to habitat loss and over-collection. The Red Data Book states that it has not been seen since the early 1970s and "its status needs investigation to determine if there are any remaining populations". Wow! Have we found a population? This certainly is most exciting.

It motivates us to keep exploring and to look more closely for the more hidden treasures on our shores!

Though I'm barely recovered, I'm already looking forward to another thrilling but exhausting series of back-to-back predawn trips starting this weekend until Thursday.

More links

• Weird snails at Changi on Kok Sheng's wonderful creations blog for more about these snails.
  

References

• Gastropods by J.M. Poutiers on the FAO website (PDF file).
• The Gladys Archerd Shell Collection at Washington State University Tri-Cities Natural History Museum website: brief fact sheet with photos.
• Tan, K. S. & L. M. Chou, 2000. A Guide to the Common Seashells of Singapore. Singapore Science Centre. 160 pp.
• Abbott, R. Tucker, 1991. Seashells of South East Asia. Graham Brash, Singapore. 145 pp.
• Davison, G.W. H. and P. K. L. Ng and Ho Hua Chew, 2008. The Singapore Red Data Book: Threatened plants and animals of Singapore. Nature Society (Singapore). 285 pp.
• Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore. National Council on the Environment. 163pp.

New headland to be constructed at East Coast Park

Such beach 'improvement' generally damages existing habitats. But eventually, may create areas where there can be recovery. We shall just have to visit the shores and see what's there.

Restoration of shoreline along East Coast Park
from Port Marine Notice No. 56 of 2009 dated 4 May 09

With effect from 04 May 2009 to 03 Nov 2009. 24 hours daily including Sundays and Public Holidays, at East Coast Park (see attached plan):-

The restoration works will entail topping up of sand/stone in the revetment and construction of new headland.

The works will be carried out by excavators from the landward side and the materials for the restoration works will be provided by the work barges. A safety boat will be deployed in the vicinity of the working area to warn other craft to keep clear of the operations. Further general enquiries relating to the project can be directed to Mr Eric Ang Sim Ai, the project manager, (Tel: 9759 5668 or email: ericang@koon.com.sg).

Future of petrochemicals on our Southern Islands?

Singapore's petrochemical industries are bracing for an avalanche of new Gulf capacity - especially in Saudi Arabia and Iran - which is almost quadruple Singapore's current capacity.

Shell petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom lies just next to the living reefs of Pulau Hantu.

Our Southern Islands of Jurong Island and Pulau Bukom are the site of Singapore's petrochemical industries. Rich reefs and shores nearby include Cyrene Reef, Pulau Hantu and Pulau Semakau.

Even with the upcoming two new crackers here - Shell's US$3 billion, 800,000 tpa project in early-2010 and EM's second US$5 billion-plus, 1 million tpa facility in early-2011 - the new Gulf capacity will be more than double that of Singapore.

And on top of that, China is investing in about 9 million tpa of new capacity.

Petrochem plants close to full capacity
China demand hits 90% of what it was before downturn
Ronnie Lim, Business Times 5 May 09;

THANKS largely to a recovery in demand in China, Singapore's petrochemical plants returned to near full operating capacity in the first quarter - and Q2 promises to be even better.

'From a 20-30 per cent plunge in Q4 last year, operating rates improved about 3-5 per cent each month in Q1, so most plants are now operating at 90-95 per cent,' said Stan Park, deputy managing director of Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore (PCS).

There has been a sustained recovery in China, with petrochemical demand there back up to about 90 per cent of what it was before the global downturn, he said.

'There has also been some revival in demand in Indonesia and Malaysia, but not been as strong as that in China.'

Following the Q1 upswing, demand stayed strong in April, with Mr Park saying he expects 'Q2 will be even better than Q1'.

'The key issue going forward for the industry here is not economic recovery, but new cracker capacity coming on stream in the second half in the Middle East and China, like from ExxonMobil's Fujian cracker,' he said.

This will affect Singapore's petrochemical plants and others in Southeast Asia, so 'We are in for volatile times, and we are all holding our breath'.

If Chinese demand continues to hold up, this will offset the new Gulf and Chinese capacity, Mr Park said.

If not, sales here may fall 10-20 per cent.

Singapore now has two operating petrochemical complexes on Jurong Island - PCS's 1.4 million tonnes per annum (tpa) facility and various downstream plants, plus ExxonMobil's (EM's) 900,000 tpa Singapore Chemical Plant (SCP) complex.

EM meanwhile yesterday said it has shut down several units at SCP for scheduled maintenance and upgrading, which is expected to take about two months.

'Unit shutdowns such as these are infrequent, but necessary, to ensure continued safe and reliable operations,' said SCP plant manager Derk Hartgerink. 'We have communicated the shutdown to our regular customers and have made plans to meet their product needs during this period.'

The EM shutdown should not have an impact on Singapore's petrochemical supplies, as operators build up inventory ahead of such a move.

Of greater concern is the coming avalanche of about 9 million tpa of new Gulf capacity - especially in Saudi Arabia and Iran - which is almost quadruple Singapore's current capacity.

Even with the upcoming two new crackers here - Shell's US$3 billion, 800,000 tpa project in early-2010 and EM's second US$5 billion-plus, 1 million tpa facility in early-2011 - the new Gulf capacity will be more than double that of Singapore.

And on top of that, China is investing in about 9 million tpa of new capacity.

Ancient seahorses found

Discovery of the oldest seahorse fossils to date in Slovenia may help better understand how these poor swimmers were able to spread around the globe.

Photograph and illustration courtesy Jure Žalohar

Oldest Seahorses Found; Help Solve Mystery
Charles Choi, National Geographic News 4 May 09;
Photographs and illustration courtesy Jure Žalohar

May 4, 2009--The oldest seahorse fossils discovered to date have been uncovered in Slovenia, including this two-inch-long (five-centimeter-long) adult female Hippocampus sarmaticus fossil (left, and in an artist's reconstruction, right).

The 13-million-year-old finds, which include the only known extinct seahorse species, are shedding light on how the naturally weak swimmers managed to disperse around the world.

Researcher Jure Žalohar of Slovenia's University of Ljubljana first spotted a fossil in the water as he was washing his hands in a stream after a jog.

Žalohar and colleagues were originally investigating fossil insects in this area, so finding the fossil seahorses was "completely unexpected," he said.

The findings appeared online April 17 in the French-language journal Annales de Paleontologie.

Earlier seahorses likely lived in the temperate shallow coastal waters of the passageway between Europe and Africa that linked the Atlantic with the Indian Ocean until about 15 million years ago, the researchers say. That passageway would have helped the fish slowly spread around the globe.

They probably dwelled in dense beds of seagrass, where food--such as small crustaceans--was abundant. The seahorses' black flecks would have camouflaged them in the vegetation, which the fish also likely anchored themselves to using their prehensile tails.

The abundance of newfound seahorse fossils suggests that these ancient species had broods of at least ten offspring at a time, researchers said in April 2009.

The new finds suggest that the fish could have held onto floating clumps of seagrass for weeks or months with their prehensile tails. If caught in a current, these rafts of seagrass may have carried the seahorses as far as 160 miles (260 kilometers) in a month--possibly explaining how the poor swimmers were able to spread around the globe.

In a recent expedition, scientists found seahorse fossils of different ages living near each other, probably in what were once dense beds of seagrass.

Piling works next to Berlayar Creek until Sep 09

Piling works at Marina@Keppel Bay will take place, right next to Berlayar Creek which has living shores and mangroves.
This shore is also just opposite Sentosa's natural shores and around the corner from Labrador shore.

Other major works already on-going in the area include:

• On Sentosa: reclamation for the IR and bridge building and causeway extension.
• Next to Labrador: massive reclamation for a new container terminal

Piling Works at Marina @ Keppel Bay
from Port Marine Notice No. 51 of 2009 dated 30 Apr 09

With effect from 2 May 09 to 30 Sep 09. 24 hours daily including Sundays and Public Holidays. Cruise Bay, within a working area (see attached plan above):

Piling work will be carried out by the crane barge “POE CB 5”. The works will entail drilling by the crane barge within the working area. Hydrographical survey and side scans will be carried out periodically. Further enquiries relating to operation can be directed to Mr Vincent Mouille, the project director, at Tel: 9662 5269,(email: maritech@singnet.com.sg)

World Migratory Bird Day 2009

The second weekend each May is World Migratory Bird Day. Initiated in 2006, it is a global campaign to raise awareness about migratory birds and their habitats.
This year's theme for World Migratory Bird Day is "Barriers to migration".

In Singapore, celebrate World Migratory Bird Day at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve with art workshops and talks.

What are migratory birds? and what are the threats to them?
from the World Migratory Bird Day website

Migration is a natural process. Various kinds of birds fly over very long distances (hundreds and thousands of kilometres) to find the best habitats to feed, breed and raise their young. As low temperatures make conditions at breeding sites unfavourable, migratory birds move on.

Migratory birds are perfectly adapted to fly fast and across long distances. Nevertheless, their journey is often an exhausting one during which they go to their limits. Our wetlands and shores such as Sungei Buloh and Chek Jawa are important rest stops where migratory birds can replenish their energy and continue on their journey.

Migratory birds have to cope with a scarcity of food, stopover sites that are shrinking in area, predators, hostile weather and the expanse of seas, huge mountains and endless deserts.

Yet, humans have created additional obstacles to further complicate their journeys.

Dazzling spotlights from city skyscrapers, tall glass windows and guy wires of television towers can be invisible to birds and cause collisions that result in bird fatalities. Proliferating communication towers and masts, wind turbines, tall buildings, power lines, and fences kill or harm huge numbers of birds each year and represent increasingly fatal barriers which have a detrimental impact on entire populations of migratory birds.

Read about these threats and some possible solutions on the World Migratory Bird Day website.

More about migratory birds

• Migratory birds of Chek Jawa on wildsingapore.
• Shorebirds and waders on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog.
• More related links on the World Migratory Bird Day website.
  

Chek Jawa with TeamSeagrass

Back for another morning trip with TeamSeagrass for the Seagrass Watch workshop.
And Pulau Ubin is decked out in colourful banners for Vesak Day!

Pulau Ubin is one of the rare places in Singapore where the old festivals are still celebrated in full splendour in accordance with traditional practice and not as a tourist attraction. It was nice to be able to share this with Len and Rudi of Seagrass Watch HQ.They made the trip to Singapore specially to train the volunteers of TeamSeagrass. And today, we learnt how to set up a monitoring site.
While first time volunteers learnt more about how to conduct monitoring.After the first batch of volunteers finished monitoring, I took them on a very quick run through the mangrove boardwalk. With a brief stop to look at the lovely Bruguiera sexangula planted there. This tree is very rare in Singapore and these are seedlings from a tree in Pulau Tekong. See Dr John Yong's comments about this tree on my earlier post about it.Here's a comparison between the Bruguiera sexangula (on the left) and the more commonly seen Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (on the right). B. sexangula has a yellow calyx (the cup shaped thing with pointy tips) while B. gymnorrhiza often has a red one, although those that grow in the shade may also have pale or yellowish ones.One key difference is in brown petals of the flower. B. sexangula petals don't have the long tassels at the tips of the petals that B. gymnorrhiza has.

Even at a quick run through the boardwalk, we saw flowering Hoya as well as noticed the planted Sonneratia caseolaris near the tower. Can't wait to see them bloom and fruit!We hopped quickly over to the shore next to House No. 1 and it is still covered with the rare and tiny Beccarii's seagrass (Halophila beccarii)! This seagrass is so tiny that it looks like scum and is often overlooked.It can be identified by its narrow leaves that appear in a rosette of about five leaves. Although small, they do have deep roots.Today I noticed Beccarri's seagrasses seemed to be growing well among mounds of what looked like Nest mussels (Musculista senhausia). These tiny mussels create 'beds' by trapping sediments with their byssus threads.Here's a closer look at the seagrass and the tiny holes where the mussels lie buried. We noticed an abundance of these mussels following the massive flooding that affected Chek Jawa in 2007. Does this sort of thing encourage the growth of this tiny seagrass? There's so much more to learn about our shores.
Alas, some areas where there were lots of Beccarii's seagrass (marked with yellow arrows) were also the location of some large abandoned fishing nets. These nets are still there despite earlier efforts to remove them. There's just too much of them!Meanwhile, veteran TeamSeagrass member Andy was checking out the shores for marine trash. Andy is also with International Coastal Cleanup Singapore, and is finding out more for planning for the mass cleanup. And he got stuck in soft mud. But us experienced shore explorers know how to get out of such sticky situations. Alas, Andy found lots of litter including an entire sofa!Cheng Puay quickly shares about some of the magnificent mangrove trees on this shore, before we head back.While waiting to go home at Ubin jetty, I noticed this man bringing home a bucket of clams.

It has been a gruelling series of field trips, and low tides start again in barely less than a week.

The Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity

Singapore is helping to develop a grading system to measure how cities worldwide are conserving their plant and animal species.

The Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity would measure performance and assign scores based on three categories:

• Biodiversity - the number of plant, animal and other species that exist in a city;
• The services that these plants and animals provide, such as pollination and as carbon sinks; and
• How well a city manages its biodiversity - for instance, by setting up a conservation agency or a museum to document species and habitats.

The index is expected to be ready for use next year.

At the same time, Singapore is coming up with a national plan to protect its biodiversity for the next 10 to 15 years. Details of the plan are being worked out and will be announced later this month, but it will include biodiversity monitoring programmes, species surveys and the reintroduction of rare species.

Commenting on the index, NParks chief executive Ng Lang said: 'You can't manage what you can't measure. So it will create a more scientific approach to helping countries know where they stand relative to others.'

The idea for the index came from Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan at the Bonn Diversity Summit in Germany, to assist cities in benchmarking their biodiversity conservation efforts.

When he suggested the concept, Minister Mah said “Currently, there are no well-established indices to measure biodiversity in cities. Such a City Biodiversity Index can assist cities in the benchmarking of our biodiversity conservation efforts over time.

“It can help us to evaluate our progress in reducing the rate of biodiversity loss.”

He noted that Singapore, urbanised as it is, has managed to not only set aside 10 per cent of land for parks and nature reserves — it has even increased the green cover, consisting of parks, park connectors, streetscape and waterfront greenery, to 50 per cent.

This is a 10-per-cent increase over the past 20 years, despite a 70-per-cent growth in population, he said.

Other testaments to Singapore’s convervation efforts is the creation of an on-site coral nursery alongside the Semakau landfill.

And the Oriental Pied Hornbill, which disappeared from Singapore for: more than 50 years, is now establishing healthy populations on Pulau Ubin.

Links to more

• Singapore to develop biodiversity index Project will help chart how cities manage their range of flora and fauna, Grace Chua, Straits Times 1 May 09
• Singapore is getting greener Arti Mulchand, Straits Times 25 Jun 08;
• Bringing wildlife back to the city: Singapore’s idea Sheralyn Tay, Today Online 30 May 08;
• More recent media reports about Singapore's biodiversity on the wildsingapore news blog.

Seattle Aquarium unveils exhibit of coral grown in-house

An alternative to 'wild-caught corals', some aquariums grow their own corals for their exhibits.

Most large- and medium-sized aquariums now grow some of their own coral for exhibits instead of taking from wild reefs, Sim said. Aquariums tend to specialize in the kinds of coral they raise, and it's common to trade species among facilities.

Coral fragments can be legally harvested in some places with proper permits. An international organization has formed to set standards for sustainable harvesting. Seattle Aquarium also gets coral from aquaculture companies that grow and sell the animals for public aquariums and aquatic pet stores. The aquarium also gets a small amount of wild coral from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency confiscates live corals that are brought into the country illegally, then contacts local aquariums to see if they have space to take them.

Seattle Aquarium unveils exhibit of coral grown in-house
Michelle Ma, Seattle Times 1 May 09;

The Seattle Aquarium recently unveiled its first large exhibit devoted to corals grown in its laboratory. The 2,500-gallon tank, located halfway through a meandering corridor showcasing tropical fish, invertebrates and plants, now is filled with nearly 20 different coral species mostly grown in-house.

After a little super glue, lots of clean water and many months to grow, a group of colorful critters is ready for the main stage.

The Seattle Aquarium recently unveiled its first large exhibit devoted to corals grown in its laboratory. The 2,500-gallon tank, located halfway through a meandering corridor showcasing tropical fish, invertebrates and plants, now is filled with nearly 20 different coral species mostly grown in-house.

"We've had corals and clams in smaller exhibits on public display, but this was just a great opportunity to really highlight what we've been doing with in-house propagation techniques," said Andy Sim, a Seattle Aquarium biologist.

Biologists will adjust parts of the exhibit for several more months, then allow the corals to grow and fill the tank.

The aquarium started remodeling its lab space two years ago to accommodate growing corals. New water storage and pipes, high-intensity lighting and shallow tank space were added.

Most corals are invertebrate organisms made up of multiple animals living together in colonies. One small coral fragment can include hundreds of individual creatures. Coral forms a calcium-based skeleton, and living tissue grows over the skeleton's supportive frame.

Corals live in nearly every saltwater environment around the world, including Washington's waters. Large, colorful coral reefs usually thrive in tropical waters such as the South Pacific and Indian oceans. In recent years some reefs have faced die-offs and massive destruction. Experts cite polluted, warmer water as the culprit.

"Coral has been around for a really long time, but it's not very adaptable," Sim said. "It survives well in very stable conditions."

The biggest concern now is the impact climate change could have on coral reefs, said Terrence Gosliner, senior curator of invertebrate zoology and geology at the California Academy of Sciences. As the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide and its water becomes more acidic, coral reef skeletons are vulnerable to breaking down, he said.

Still, coral fragments can be legally harvested in some places with proper permits. An international organization has formed to set standards for sustainable harvesting.

Most large- and medium-sized aquariums now grow some of their own coral for exhibits instead of taking from wild reefs, Sim said. Aquariums tend to specialize in the kinds of coral they raise, and it's common to trade species among facilities.

Locally, Seattle Aquarium and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma often trade corals grown in their labs. The Tacoma aquarium has had success growing hard, stony corals and can offer them to other facilities, said John Rupp, aquatic-animal curator for Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium.

Biologists need only a tiny coral fragment — and plenty of time — to grow enough for an exhibit. With adequate light, temperature and water flow, corals can grow, plus propagate asexually or spawn with each other.

For this exhibit, Seattle Aquarium biologists started by super-gluing small coral fragments to stones and placing them in shallow tanks. When species grew large enough, biologists transferred the animals to the larger exhibit. The corals will continue to grow and propagate, filling the tank over time, Sim said.

"We place them in a way to plan for future growth," he said. "It still looks sparse right now, but we have to give animals room to grow."

The exhibit will look different in just six months, but probably won't be completely filled for several years. A small fragment can take six months or a year to reach baseball size, Sim said.

Seattle Aquarium also gets coral from aquaculture companies that grow and sell the animals for public aquariums and aquatic pet stores.

The aquarium also gets a small amount of wild coral from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The agency confiscates live corals that are brought into the country illegally, then contacts local aquariums to see if they have space to take them, said David Cripe, special-exhibits coordinator with Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

Pulau Semakau with TeamSeagrass

Bright and early at first light, I'm off to Pulau Semakau with TeamSeagrass.It was a regular monitoring PLUS, with an audit by Len and Rudi of Seagrass Watch HQ. After all the work was done, we had a quick look around the shore.
Rudi and I chanced upon this huge and happy Noble volute (Cymbiola nobilis) slowly bulldozing through the seagrasses. These snails are quite commonly seen on Pulau Semaku.Heading out to the reef edge, I came across this bluish Knobbly sea star (Protoreaster nodosus). Nearby were several more Knobblies. Some of the TeamSeagrass members who looked at the area said they saw about 10 Knobblies! It's great to know these stars are doing well on Pulau Semakau.Today I made the new Sneaky Camera go swimming. And she did a great job with this submerged Bubble tip anemone (Entacmea quadricolor).

Other sightings include small 'sotong' (possibly the Pygmy squid, Idiosepius sp.) and big 'sotong', a Ceratosoma nudibranch, an Upsidedown jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.) and sting rays.

During their monitoring, Cheng Puay's team came across a Banded filesnake (Acrochordus granulatus) in their transact! The snake was seen to burrow away! What a fantastic observation.

Collin and Belinda saw a Dog-faced water snake (Cerberus rhynchops) while they were near the mangroves! Alas, Collin didn't spot any Estuarine seahorses (Hippocampus kuda) which he is interested in.

Kok Sheng who was guiding on Semakau today, spotted dolphins when they arrived this morning. More on his wonderful creations blog.

Pulau Semakau is indeed home to some fascinating marine life. Which is why it's important to monitor its health, as TeamSeagrass is doing. It is also important to look out for and note early signs that things may not be quite well.
Today, I came across about 10 cases of slight bleaching in hard corals of various sizes. Most only had small patches of bleaching.There was also this single Carpet anemone (probably Stichodactyla haddoni) that was yellowish and sickly looking.

On a lighter note, as we were boarding our ferry, we noticed the crew had adopted an environmentally friendly way to dry their washing!
Another field trip out with TeamSeagrass tomorrow!