Marine life at Keppel Bay wins!

Congratulations to Marina at Keppel Bay for winning global recognition for its marine conservation efforts!

more on the Marina at Keppel Bay website.

An amazing variety of marine life grows on the pontoons at this Marina that makes an effort to keep the waters there clean. Thanks to Chang Ai-Lien for a great article about this in the Straits Times today.

Community in Nature: an exciting new outreach effort!

Karen Teo tells us more about this exciting new way to reach out to Singaporeans about our very own biodiversity!

Volunteers with NParks gathered this morning to learn and share about Community in Nature; a programme to inspire individuals, community groups and organisations to take part in nature awareness activities. The programme was first launched during the Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III.

What can we learn from dead corals?

A recent study of dead corals suggests that we have seriously underestimated the biodiversity of the world's coral reefs!

The brown bottom half of this coral colony is still alive,
while the upper half covered with scum is dead.

The scientists studied dead corals because "live corals defend themselves from being inhabited by other invertebrates". But once a coral dies its structure becomes covered with algae, sponges, crustaceans, worms, molluscs and other creatures.

Blue Carbon: mangroves, seagrasses and other marine life

The oceans are the largest active carbon sink on Earth, absorbing 26% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Five United Nations agencies are working on 'Blue Carbon' as a new form of tradable carbon market.

Coastal forest, seagrasses and other marine life
on Sentosa's natural shore.

The ocean's "biological pump" removes carbon dioxide, changing it into living matter and distributing it to the deeper water layers. Out of all the biological carbon captured in the world, 55% is taken up at sea by marine living organisms, and thus called 'blue carbon'. At least half of this is captured by the ocean's vegetated habitats - mangroves, salt marshes, seagrasses, and seaweed. These cover less than 0.5% of the seabed, but play an important role in regulating the climate and mitigating climate change.

'Pen'-house living at Changi

How many creatures can live on a sea pen? On a sandy shore, a sea pen is probably like a luxurious apartment to many small animals that need shelter.

Yesterday, Kok Sheng and I checked out a broad sandy shore at Changi that we rarely visit.