Pulau Ubin mangrove delights

Super low tides during Lunar New Year was the routine in past years. This year, strangely, there isn't a very low spring tide.Undeterred, a bunch of die-hard shore explorers decided to have a look at some shores on Pulau Ubin. Despite all our many travels, I'm rather embarassed to say I've never done this stretch of shore before. The tide was low enough, at least to look at the mangroves!

Since going to Pulau Semakau with Dr Jean Yong, I've got bit by the mangrove bug! Pulau Ubin sure has lots of interesting mangrove trees.Among the prettiest mangrove trees must be Tumu (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza) or as Dr Jean says, the tree 'with lipstick'! There are quite a few of these trees on the shore today.Another common Bruguiera is Bruguiera cylindrica or Bakau putih in Malay. It has delicate white flowers and develops slim propagules with sepals that are bent upwards towards the stalk.
There are also all the common Rhizophora or Api-api. Since Dr Jean's explanation, I can't forget how Rhizophora apiculata develops long prop roots that form a skirt around the stilt roots! There were also a few pretty Rhizophora stylosa and Rhizhophora mucronata trees.We also came across a lot of Xylocarpus trees. Some were growing among the other mangrove trees, so we had to look carefully to sort out the different trees. This one had elegant snaky buttress roots. They all had flaking bark. So they are probably Xylocarpus granatum. We couldn't find any fruits or flowers so we can't be very sure.There was a very pretty Ceriops tagal tree festooned with long propagules like a green Christmas tree!From Dr Jean's field explanations, we recall that Ceriops tagal has a smooth brown fruit and a white collar around the propagule. On the right are the pretty flowers of this dainty tree.And what a pleasant surprise to find several Ceriops zippeliana trees! These have brown fruits with textures. We couldn't find any with propagules though.These are the flowers of Ceriops zippeliana. They are quite small and seem less numerous than those of Ceriops tagal.And what a superb delight to encounter a large old Penaga laut (Callophylum innophylum) tree in full bloom! The sprays of white flowers looked like sparkling stars against the dark green glossy leaves.Here's a closer look at the delicate flowers of this ancient tree.On the high shores, there was a small patch of shrubby Lumnitzera littorea with its bright red blossoms. After seeing these short plants, I am in awe of the tall trees of L. littorea at Pulau Semakau!
There were also a few stands of Nipah palms (Nypa fruticans). The photo on the left appears to be a bunch of flowers about to 'bloom'. The ball-shaped one are the female flowers, while the male flowers appear on a long stalk, golden with pollen, and will emerge from the sheaths besides the ball-shaped bunch. On the right are fruits at various stages of development.

Nipah palm leaves are of course the source of thatching for attap huts, while the developing seed is eaten as 'attap chee' in our favourite desserts, and 'gula melaka' or brown sugar is made from the sap extracted from the palm.Sadly, one of the palms had a rope tightly tied around it. What a way to treat a plant that is so useful to us.The mangroves of Pulau Ubin are teeming with all kind of animals. We came across quite a few spiders. This one might be the Mangrove big-jawed spider (Tetragnatha josephi) which was named after Joseph Koh, our dear friend and spider expert who wrote the Guide to Spiders of Singapore.And this pretty spider with a special web is probably the Mangrove St. Andrew's Cross spider (Argiope mangal) which was described by Joseph Koh.Here's a closer look at the spider. Only the female Argiope mangal builds webs. These are contain only 2 white zig-zag lines, called stabilimentum. Argiope versicolor, which is found inland, makes the "full" cross with 4 stabilimentum.
Earlier in the forested area, we came across a large Golden web spider. She was busy wrapping up her catch, which looked like a butterfly.
A closer look suggests she is the Batik golden web spider (Nephila antipodiana) as she had all black legs (no red or yellow 'knees') and also from the pattern on her abdomen. Like other Golden web spiders, little red spiders (Argyrodes sp.) not only live in her web but may also steal her food.
Here's the team taking photos of the Golden web spider. Today, we are glad to have Brandon gamely join us. While Chay Hoon took the opportunity to bring her new camera for a test run. We were very fortunate to have Andy join us as he was very familiar with the mangroves here so we didn't miss the exits for an easy departure.As we were leaving, we spotted a humungous hornets' nest high up a mangrove tree.Here's a closer look at it. I wished John our wasp expert was with us. I'm sure he would have found this interesting. But we just tip toed quietly away.

How vital are mangroves?

Mangroves (and seagrass meadows) apparently play a critical role in healthy reefs and perhaps even the health of the planet.One study in 2002 found mangrove forests and seagrass meadows an indispensable and stable nursery ground for coral reef fish in the Caribbean. Fish did not enter the nursery grounds by chance before subsequently moving to a coral reef. The coral fish deliberately chose a certain place. The fish use the mangrove forests as a shelter from predatory fish. Seagrasses not only serve as a safe haven but also as a feeding place. Due to changes in their diet, carnivorous species move from the nursery ground to the coral reef whilst still immature. The herbivorous fish mostly depart due to becoming mature.

Another study in 2006 found mangroves to be far more important to the global ocean's biosphere than previously thought. Mangroves provide more than 10 percent of essential dissolved organic carbon that is supplied to the global ocean from land. The researchers speculate that the rapid decline in mangrove extent threatens the delicate balance and may eventually shut off the important link between the land and ocean, with potential consequences for atmospheric composition and climate.

Coralreef fish desperately needs mangrove forests and seagrass fields
EurekAlert 15 Nov 02

Biologists from the University of Nijmegen have demonstrated that some coral fish really do choose nursery grounds before heading for the coral reef. According to the researchers, managers of the waters around the Caribbean islands must devote more attention to the coast as a whole and not just to the protection of coral reefs.

Up until now scientists suspected that seagrass fields and mangrove forests (trees which can survive in salt water) were nursery grounds for coral fish because young fish were often found there. However, there was a lack of scientific evidence to support this. The conclusions from the Nijmegen research have changed this. They lend support to the idea that mangrove forests and seagrass fields are an indispensable and stable nursery ground for coral reef fish around the Caribbean islands of Curaçao, Bonaire, Saba and Belize.

The Nijmegen PhD student Elroy Cocheret de la Morinière studied the nine most common fish species in the nursery grounds around Curaçao. He examined how each of these nine species behaved around mangrove and seagrass fields as well as on coral reefs.

It turned out that the nine species of fish did not enter the nursery grounds by chance before subsequently moving to a coral reef. The coral fish deliberately chose a certain place. An examination of the fishes' stomach contents together with chemical analyses revealed that the fish use the mangrove forests as a shelter from predatory fish. The seagrass fields not only serve as a safe haven but also as a feeding place.

Due to changes in their diet, carnivorous species move from the nursery ground to the coral reef whilst still immature. The herbivorous fish mostly depart due to becoming mature.

The coral fish are important for both commercial fishing and local subsistence fishers in the tropics. Until now mangroves have often been chopped down, to build jetties for example. The seagrass fields are frequently polluted. The researchers state that the mangroves and seagrass fields must be protected. Without the nursery grounds, a number of very common and economically important coral fish species will not survive.

The critical importance of mangroves to ocean life
Eurekalert 27 Feb 06;

WASHINGTON -- Mangroves, the backbone of the tropical ocean coastlines, are far more important to the global ocean's biosphere than previously thought. And while the foul-smelling muddy forests may not have the scientific allure of tropical reefs or rain forests, a team of researchers has noted that the woody coastline-dwelling plants provide more than 10 percent of essential dissolved organic carbon that is supplied to the global ocean from land, according to a report to be published 21 February in Global Biogeochemical Cycles, a publication of the American Geophysical Union.

Thorsten Dittmar at Florida State University in Tallahassee reports that mangrove plants, whose finger-like roots are known to protect coastal wetlands against the ocean and as important fish habitats, cover less than 0.1 percent of the global land surface yet account for a tenth of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) that flows from land to the ocean. Dittmar and his colleagues at several German research institutions analyzed the carbon output from a large mangrove forest in Brazil and suggest that the plants are one of the main sources of dissolved organic matter in the ocean.

The researchers note that the organic matter that is dissolved in the world oceans contains a similar amount of carbon as is stored in the skies as atmospheric carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas. Dissolved organic matter is an important player in the global carbon cycle that regulates atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate.

"To understand global biogeochemical cycles it is crucial to quantify the sources of marine dissolved organic carbon," Dittmar writes. "Here we show that mangroves play an unexpected role in the global carbon cycle."

Dittmar reports that the mangrove root system slows carbon-rich leaf litter running from continental land and allows it to settle into shallow sediment, where dissolved organic matter is leached in large quantities into the coastal waters. The daily rise and fall of the tides then flushes the dissolved carbon into the open ocean (like a teabag being dipped in an out a cup). Once in the ocean, however, the intense tropical sunlight destroys some of the most delicate dissolved organic carbon molecules. But more than half of the dissolved organic matter survives the attack from sunlight or bacteria.

The authors measured the chemical signature in water samples from the massive mangrove forest in northern Brazil, using natural carbon isotopes and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy--an established and common technique for determining the structure of organic compounds--to determine that mangroves are indeed a main source of dissolved organic carbon in the open ocean. In total, they concluded that the carbon exported from mangroves is approximately 2.2 trillion moles of carbon per year [2.2 x 10(12), similar to the annual Amazon River discharge], nearly triple the amount estimated from previous smaller-scale estimates of the carbon released into the ocean.

Mangrove foliage, however, has declined by nearly half over the past several decades because of increasing coastal development and damage to its habitat. As the habitat has changed, ever-smaller quantities of mangrove-derived detritus are available for formation and export of dissolved organic matter to the ocean. The researchers speculate that the rapid decline in mangrove extent threatens the delicate balance and may eventually shut off the important link between the land and ocean, with potential consequences for atmospheric composition and climate.

Marine soil investigation at Changi East continues

Apparently the investigation involves "Vibrocoring". What is this?

A vibracore device uses a vibration source to sink a sample barrel into unconsolidated, water-saturated sediments. The vibrations cause disturbance in the sediment that is in contact with the sample barrel to facilitate penetration. The disturbance is minimal and sedimentary structures are preserved in the sample. These samples are suitable for both environmental and geotechnical projects such as beach restoration, construction evaluation, pollution localization, pre-dredge studies, stratigraphic research, and others.

from the Athena Technologies website

This corer uses motors to generate a centrifugal force to vibrate the sample barrel into the ground. It enables samples to be taken in granular material and in stiff clays. Typical applications include: mineral exploration, aggregate resource evaluation, pre-dredging geotechnical surveys, sand search, reclamation quality control, near-shore site investigation, cable route surveys, pipeline route surveys.

from In-situ Soil Testing an online book

Marine Soil Investigation at Changi East
from Port Marine Notice No. 11 of 2009 dated 23 Jan 09

This is a revision of Port Marine Notice No 223 of 2008. The work detail has been revised.

With effect from 29 Jan 09 to 05 Feb 09, 24 hours daily including Sundays and Public Holidays, off Changi East (see attached plan):

Soil investigation work will be carried out by means of Vibrocoring. The work boat will be anchored with one bow anchor for the duration of the soil investigation works. A circular safety zone of 50 metres radius is centred around the work boat. Further enquiries relating to the project can be directed to Mr. J H Kim, the person in charge, (email: jhkim07@hdec.co.kr) at Tel: 9729 3453.

Dredging and construction at Pasir Panjang continues to Jun 09

Work that began before 2007 continues until Jun 09. The area is just in front of Cyrene Reefs.
There was quite a lot of work going on there, including reclamation, when we passed by on our many trips to Pulau Semakau recently.

Dredging and construction of berths (P13 to P18) and stacking/storage yards at Pasir Panjang Terminal
from Port Marine Notice No. 10 of 2009 dated 22 Jan 09;

This is a revision of Port Marine Notice No 181 of 2008. The working area has been revised and working period extended.

With effect from 30 Jan 09 to 29 Jun 09, 24 hours daily including Sundays and Public Holidays, at Pasir Panjang Terminal (see attached plan):

Four (4) buoys will be installed to mark the working area limits. Dredging works will be carried out within the working area by grab dredger held by 4-point anchor moorings with a circular safety working zone of 50-metre radius centred at the dredger. Construction works will also be carried out within the same working area which entailed piling of the decking structure, revetment works, soil investigation works and installation of the marine fendering system and bollards. The crane barge and grab dredgers will be held by 4-point anchoring systems. Soil Investigation works will be carried out by a crane barge. A safety boat will be deployed to warn other craft of the project work area.

Further enquiries relating to the operation can be directed to Mr N Yambao, the project manager, at Tel: 6773 0978, email: ppttoaqaqc@toacorp.com.sg.

The work site (in green) in relation to Cyrene Reefs (highlighted in yellow).

Sea dragon: a sad reflection on aquariums

It's tragic, the depths to which an aquarium will stoop, and the things that will be put into in a tank, to attract visitors.


Jakarta Post 23 Jan 09;

Visitors at Sea World in Ancol, North Jakarta, watch a dragon dance inside an aquarium Wednesday. The city’s atmosphere has been energized in anticipation of the Chinese New Year, which this year falls on Jan. 26. (JP/J. Adiguna)

Three Fish: are actually one fish

"It tells you how little we know about the deep sea".

Cetomimidae, a type of whalefish, had been known since the 19th century, but only females had been found. Mirapinnidae, or tapetails, and Megalomycteridae, or bignose fish, were identified in the 1950s and 1960s. Tapetails were only found as juveniles and bignoses only as males. Although their skeletons indicated the three were related, there were so many differences no one could believe they were the same fish at different sexes or stages in life. But it turns out that is the case!
This undated composite image provided by the Biology Letters of the Royal Society shows, from top, tapetail postlarval stage of cetomimid whalefish off Cozumel, Mexico; adult male of cetomimid whalefish from the Gulf of Mexico; and juvenile female of cetomimid whalefish from the eastern North Pacific. Researchers believe they have solved the puzzle of three seemingly different fish, one all males, one all females and on all juveniles. They are the same fish, an undergo remarkable changes as they mature. (AP Photo/Biology Letters of the Royal Society) Top image: Photo/Donald Hughes Middle image: Photo/G. David Johnson Bottom image: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Bruce Robison.

Scientists solve mystery: Three fish are all the same
Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press Yahoo News 23 Jan 09;

WASHINGTON – Researchers believe they have solved the puzzle of three seemingly different fish, one all males, one all females and one all juveniles. They're the same fish, and undergo remarkable changes as they mature. "You can imagine it was a pretty exciting discovery," said G. David Johnson, an ichthyologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. "The pieces kept falling into place."

"And it tells you how little we know about the deep sea, Johnson said in a telephone interview.

The fish live in the sparsely populated deep water thousands of feet below the surface, though as youngsters they rise to shallower levels where there is more to eat.

Cetomimidae, a type of whalefish, had been known since the 19th century, but only females had been found.

Seemingly related species called Mirapinnidae, or tapetails, and Megalomycteridae, or bignose fish, were identified in the 1950s and 1960s. Tapetails were only found as juveniles and bignoses only as males.

Although their skeletons indicated the three were related, there were so many differences no one could believe they were the same fish at different sexes or stages in life, Johnson said.

But it turns out that is the case, Johnson and colleagues report this week in Biology Letters, a journal of Britain's Royal Society.

All three will now be classified as Cetomimidae, he said.

Johnson said the researchers were able to link the fish through comparative anatomical study and, once they obtained fresh samples, by their DNA.

The larvae are called tapetails because they grow long streamers, he said. The purpose of the streamer remains unknown, but several fish larvae develop similar appendages, so it must have some value, he said. They reside within 600 feet of the surface, a region well stocked with food.

As adults, however, these fish descend thousands of feet down into the dark ocean.

There is scarce food there and the females cope by developing a large mouth — a common trait among fish living in the deepest waters — and they even develop teeth in their gill area that can serve as an additional mouth.

Even stranger, males who reach adulthood don't eat at all. Having gorged as larvae, their jaw fuses and they develop a vestigial gut that only stores shells from previous meals. That's an advantage, Johnson said, because in the deep ocean "there's not a lot of food, you're better off taking your lunch with you." The males gorge as larvae and grow a giant liver, storing energy there to live on.

"This thing was basically a set of testes looking for the female," Johnson said.

The males also develop a large nose to sense smells in the dark water.

Meanwhile, researchers had noted that females have some unusual tissue, separate from the skin, on their body. It's not luminous, so Johnson speculated that this tissue may produce a pheromone that the big-nosed male can home in on.

Co-authors of the paper were John R. Paxton of the Australian Museum, Sydney; Tracey T. Sutton of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Takashi P. Satoh and Mutsumi Nishida of the University of Tokyo and Tetsuya Sado and Masaki Miya of the Natural History Museum, Chiba, Japan.

New Fish: climbing catfish

Discovered in remote Venezuela, the fish has a specialized pelvic fin that decouples from its body and moves backward and forward independently. This feature - used in combination with a grasping mouth - allows it to move like an inchworm up rocks!

A new species of climbing fish, Lithogenes wahari. Photo credit: S. Schaefer

It began with an anthropologist who sent samples of local foods for identification. "It looked like it was run over by a truck. We needed better specimens." It took years to pin down where the fish was found.

Climbing could be an advantage to these fishes because of the irregular and sometimes high-flow of streams in higher elevations. When the scientists found the new species, the water level was so low that the fish were literally picked off of rocks.

New Catfish Species Climbs Rocks
LiveScience.com 22 Jan 09;

A previously unknown species of climbing catfish has been discovered in remote Venezuela, and its strange traits are shaking the evolutionary tree for these fish.

The newfound catfish, Lithogenes wahari, shares traits with two different families of fish - Loricariidae (armored catfishes) and Astroblepidae (climbing catfishes). It has bony armor that protects its head and tail, and a grasping pelvic fin that helps it to climb vertical surfaces such as rocks.

These characteristics in L. wahari suggest to ichthyologists Scott Schaefer of the American Museum of Natural History in New York and Francisco Provenzano of the Universidad Central de Venezuela that the common ancestor of the Loricariidae and Astroblepidae probably could grasp and climb rocks with its tail and mouth. Fish in both families, as well as the new catfish, have sucker mouths.

The unusual catfish caught the team's attention 20 years ago in Caracas. An anthropologist, Stanford Zent of the Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, working in the remote state of Amazonas collected samples of local foods and brought them to the Instituto de Zoologíca for identification.

"The fish was so strange in morphology that it did not fit into any taxonomic category that we were aware of," Schaefer said. "But it looked like it was run over by a truck. We needed better specimens."

It took years to pin down where the fish was found, but the team collected L. wahari after several trips further into the headwaters of the Río Cuao, a tributary of the Río Orinoco. They literally picked 84 specimens off of rocks.

The new samples of L. wahari confirmed that the species is a member of a group that bridges two catfish families. Bony plates on its head and tail, plus other features, link the species to the Loricariidae, the widespread and successful family of fully armored catfishes.

But L. wahari also has a specialized pelvic fin that decouples from its body and moves backward and forward independently. This feature - used in combination with a grasping mouth to move like an inchworm up rocks - is otherwise found only in a family of climbing catfish restricted to the Andes, the Astroblepidae. Climbing could be an advantage to these fishes because of the irregular and sometimes high-flow of streams in higher elevations. When the scientists found the new species, the water level was so low that the fish were literally picked off of rocks.

Schaefer and Provenzano think that L. wahari is the third known species in the subfamily Lithogeninae, and that the specialized features shared among the three species confirms their placement within the family Loricariidae at the base of this large radiation of catfishes.

This evolutionary arrangement suggests that the common ancestor to both families probably inhabited upland, rather than lowland, streams of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins, where most of the family diversity is currently found.

"We see new fish species all the time, but when you also get new information about the biological history of a group, it's the most fun," Schaefer said. "The question is whether the grasping pelvis and climbing behavior evolved once or if it was independently acquired in these groups. I don't think it evolved twice, although there are slight anatomical differences - so the jury is still out."

The paper is published in the journal American Museum Novitates, and the research was supported by the Constantine S. Niarchos Scientific Expedition Fund and the National Science Foundation.

Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) budget exceeded

The $2.5 billion budget to build the MCE has been exceeded because of higher construction and material costs, explained Transport Minister Raymond Lim in Parliament.

Artists Impression of Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) on the LTA website

Another reason is that soil at certain stretches is weaker than expected. So more robust and deeper temporary structures have to be used and additional works done to improve the soil.

An earlier report suggested "some issues in awarding the tender due to a wide gap in tender bids" for this project.

Higher prices drive Marina expressway costs up
Straits Times 23 Jan 09;

THE $2.5 billion budget to build the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) has been exceeded because of higher construction and material costs.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim explained this in response to Madam Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC), who asked why the 5km expressway was costing more than expected.

Mr Lim said the budget for the MCE - which will link the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway and the Ayer Rajah Expressway - was approved based on preliminary engineering and construction prices in 2006.

Since then, material and resource costs have risen significantly.

Another reason is that soil at certain stretches is weaker than expected. So more robust and deeper temporary structures have to be used and additional works done to improve the soil.

Agencies like the Building and Construction Authority also called for tighter specifications for temporary works such as earth retaining systems, while the Singapore Civil Defence Force wants compliance with the latest international fire safety standards.

Mr Ong Kian Min (Tampines GRC) asked if the ministry looked at other possibilities before deciding to build 'underground and under water'. Mr Lim said his ministry considered other possibilities but found them unsuitable:

'I'd like to assure the House that when it comes to infrastructure projects such as the MCE, the Government takes a stringent financial approach and transport agencies would evaluate the cost and match that against the benefits of the particular infrastructure project.'

The benefit of the MCE, slated for completion in 2013, is to support increased traffic volume when the Marina Bay area is developed.

MARIA ALMENOAR

Related post

Reclamation for the Marina Coastal Expressway

Singapore SPCA speaks out against wild dolphins for Resorts World Sentosa

Yes, people must be educated to appreciate marine life, but not at the animals' expense: says Singapore SPCA.

Although Singapore has stated that the dolphins here will require CITES import and export permits, this in no way addresses or eliminates the stress, suffering and health risks these creatures have been subjected to and will endure in the whole process.

Marine Life Park has said its dolphin enclosure will more than meet the minimum space requirements for the dolphins, but in an era where corporate social responsibility is emphasised in relation to environmental concerns, it will not reflect well on Singapore's image and may also cause a dent in its reputation.

The act of taking these animals from the wild (endangered or not) is at odds with the letter and spirit of Singapore's Wild Animals & Birds Act, which prohibits the taking of an animal from the wild.

Pity the dolphins caught from the wild: SPCA Singapore
Straits Times Forum 22 Jan 09;

I REFER to the article, 'Senator cites Mexico's sad experience with dolphins' (Jan 12), which reported that Mexican senator Jorge Legorreta Ordorica had written to National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan last month to relate Mexico's experience - 12 out of 28 dolphins Mexico had imported from the Solomon Islands in 2003 had died from illnesses, ranging from a muscle disorder to pneumonia.

Mr Ordorica urged Mr Mah to consider the disturbing mortality rate of the animals when evaluating import applications for such animals.

It had been reported previously that seven bottlenose dolphins, part of a group of 18 destined for Resorts World Sentosa, were taken from the wild in the Solomon Islands.

Although Singapore reportedly thanked Mr Ordorica for his letter, and has stated that the dolphins here will require Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) import and export permits, this in no way addresses or eliminates the stress, suffering and health risks these creatures have been subjected to and will endure in the whole process.

Marine Life Park has said its dolphin enclosure will more than meet the minimum space requirements for the dolphins, but in an era where corporate social responsibility is emphasised in relation to environmental concerns, it will not reflect well on Singapore's image and may also cause a dent in its reputation.

The act of taking these animals from the wild (endangered or not) is at odds with the letter and spirit of Singapore's Wild Animals & Birds Act, which prohibits the taking of an animal from the wild.

The list of injustices throughout the dolphins' ordeal is extensive and heart-rending to those in animal welfare:

# Removing them from their natural habitat involves loss of their freedom and natural behaviour;

# Being subjected to long holding periods before their arrival in Singapore;

# Having to endure a stressful journey involving handling and transport; and

# Forcing them to adapt to an alternative lifestyle in a man-made structure, to be tamed and trained for human benefit and enjoyment.

The SPCA wrote recently to Resorts World Sentosa to object to the import of these dolphins caught from the wild and asked for a review and reversal of its decision.

Kudos to cargo air services company UPS, which reportedly refused to ship the dolphins from the Philippines to Singapore because 'the practice violated its environmental principles'.

Yes, people must be educated to appreciate marine life, but not at the animals' expense.

Deirdre Moss (Ms)
Executive Officer
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Related articles and links

• Philippines asked to return dolphins to the Solomon Islands Solomon Star 16 Jan 09;
• 
  
• Dolphins at the Sentosa Integrated Resort: Senator cites Mexico's sad experience with dolphins Grace Chua, Straits Times 12 Jan 09;
  
• Facebook Group: Boycott Sentosa Marine Life Park
• SUFFERING, NOT SMILING: The Truth About Captive Dolphins on the Acres website.
• Singapore warned on dolphin imports for Resorts World Sentosa The Solomon Star 31 Dec 08;
  
• Animal activists decry need to import wild dolphins for Resorts World Sentosa Grace Chua, Straits Times 27 Dec 08;
• Another 11 Solomon dolphins for Resorts World Sentosa
• What will the Solomon dolphins go through in the Philippines? Some background of the facilities that will train them.
• Confirmation that the 7 dolphins are going to Resorts World Sentosa and what the dolphins cost
  
• First hints that the 7 dolphins were going to Resorts World Sentosa.
  
• Universal Studios distances itself from dolphins at Resorts World Sentosa.
  
• More about dolphins in general: their status, threats and other issues, on the wildsingapore news blog.

Seawall restoration at the East Coast until Jul 09

Existing "damaged" seawalls will be removed and sand and stone topped up. 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.
This may have something to do with the serious erosion problems encountered on the East Coast reclaimed lands.
Erosion is quite extensive on some portions and is affecting old trees.

While the reclaimed East Coast may appear to be lifeless, it is very much alive and in fact turned up some new records recently, including a new snail and a new clam.

Restoration of Revetment at East Coast Park
from Port Marine Notice No. 8 of 2009 dated 21 Jan 09;

With effect from 23 Jan 09 to 18 Jul 09, 24 hours daily, including Sundays and Public Holidays, at East Coast Park (see attached plan):

Here's a closer look at the working area...

The restoration works will entail the removal of existing damaged revetment and topping up of sand/ stone in the revetment. These 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 Jerry Teo Cheng Lin, the project engineer, at Tel: 9800 1149 (email: jerry.teo@koon.com.sg).

Jetty construction at Loyang until Jul 09

This area is near the Changi boardwalk and the location of the last mainland rocky shore in the North.


Marine Jetty Construction Works at Loyang off Sungei Selarang
from Port Marine Notice No. 9 of 2009 dated 21 Jan 09;

With effect from 23 Jan 09 to 22 Jul 09, 24 hours daily including Sundays and Public Holidays at Loyang, off Sungei Selarang (see attached plan):

A closer look at the area...

The construction works will entail the installation of sheet piles and RC piles, removal of the existing jetty and any debris from the removal works and construction of a new jetty.

Construction works will be carried out on a concrete platform from the landward side and no marine craft will be involved in the operations. Excavators, crawler cranes and other construction vehicles may be deployed from land onto the platform for the construction works.

Further general enquiries relating to the project can be directed to Mr Barry Goh, the project manager, at Tel: 91893951 (email: kudo@pacific.net.sg).

Synthetic sex smell to kill 'vampire fish'

The study is thought to be the first time that pheromones have been used as a potential way of controlling animal pests other than insects.
A pair of sea lampreys cling to and feed on a brown trout: The sea lamprey has preyed on native species of the Great Lakes since its accidental introduction in the 1800s Photo: GETTY/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

The sea lamprey has preyed on native species of the Great Lakes since its accidental introduction in the 1800s. The sea lamprey is known as the "vampire fish" because of the way its circular jaws lock on to larger fish before its sharp tongue carves through its scales. Lampreys then feed on the blood and body fluids of its temporary host, often killing it in the process, before swimming up a stream to breed and die.

Synthetic sex smell could rid Great Lakes of 'vampire fish'
A synthetic "chemical sex smell" could be used to rid North America's Great Lakes of a pest known as the "vampire fish".
The Telegraph 20 Jan 09;

Scientists used a version of a male sea lamprey pheromone created in the laboratory to trick ovulating females into swimming upstream into traps.

The sea lamprey has preyed on native species of the Great Lakes since its accidental introduction in the 1800s.

The study is thought to be the first time that pheromones have been used as a potential way of controlling animal pests other than insects.

Lead researcher Weiming Li from Michigan State University in East Lansing, whose findings are reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, told BBC News: "There's been extensive study of pheromones in animals and even in humans.

"But most researchers have presumed that as animals get more complex, their behaviour is regulated in a more complex way, not by just one pheromone."

Professor Li's team released the synthetic version of a lamprey hormone from a trap placed in a stream where lampreys come to breed.

When they scented it females would swim upstream until they found the source, with some becoming trapped in the process.

The sea lamprey is known as the "vampire fish" because of the way its circular jaws lock on to larger fish before its sharp tongue carves through its scales.

Lampreys then feed on the blood and body fluids of its temporary host, often killing it in the process, before swimming up a stream to breed and die.

The Great Lakes on the US-Canada border support recreational fishing worth billions of dollars a year, which the lampreys would wreck but for a £20m annual control programme.

"Why we're so enthusiastic about the pheromone work is that we see it as another tool in the arsenal," said Dr Marc Gaden from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC).

"We see it as away of tricking these spawning lampreys, and then you can do things to manipulate their behaviour in ways that would work against them - for example you could lure them into streams without suitable spawning habitat, or just into traps."

Sex smell lures 'vampire' to doom
Richard Black, BBC News 20 Jan 09;

A synthetic "chemical sex smell" could help rid North America's Great Lakes of a devastating pest, scientists say.

US researchers deployed a laboratory version of a male sea lamprey pheromone to trick ovulating females into swimming upstream into traps.

The sea lamprey, sometimes dubbed the "vampire fish", has parasitised native species of the Great Lakes since its accidental introduction in the 1800s.

The work is reported in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The Great Lakes on the US-Canada border support recreational fishing worth billions of dollars a year, which the lampreys would wreck but for a control programme costing about $20m annually.

This is thought to be the first time that pheromones have been shown to be the basis of a possible way of controlling animal pests other than insects.

"There's been extensive study of pheromones in animals and even in humans," said lead researcher Weiming Li from Michigan State University in East Lansing, US.

"But most researchers have presumed that as animals get more complex, their behaviour is regulated in a more complex way, not by just one pheromone," he told BBC News.

Professor Li's team released the synthetic version of a lamprey hormone from a trap placed in a stream where lampreys come to breed.

Females scenting it would swim vigorously upstream until they found the source, some becoming trapped in the process.

Death wish

The sea lamprey's natural life cycle takes it from birth in a stream to adulthood in the ocean, where it gains its vampirical appellation.

Circular jaws lock on to another, larger fish, and a sharp tongue carves through its scales.

From then on the lamprey feeds on the blood and body fluids of its temporary host, often killing it in the process.

Eventually, the satiated lampreys - both males and females - find a suitable stream to swim up, breed and die.

Unlike salmon, which seek out the stream they were born in, lampreys appear willing to take any stream indicating a suitable breeding place; and perhaps pheromones play a role in identifying streams worth selecting.

In their native Atlantic Ocean, their numbers are controlled by predation; but in the Great Lakes they have no predators.

They first appeared in the 1800s after completion of the Erie Canal linking the lakes to New York.

Colonisation was completed a century later when other canals provided unfettered access to the upper lakes.

What followed was decimation of native fish.

"It was one of the worst things to hit the Great Lakes in the history of European settlement," said Marc Gaden from the Great Lakes Fishery Commission (GLFC), the body responsible for controlling the lamprey problem.

"Before it, we had a thriving fishery largely dependent on native fish such as the lake trout... but by 1940 they had colonised thousands of streams and fishermen were beginning to see the devastation."

Getting fresh

Many fish can survive only in fresh water or only in the oceans - or, like salmon, have a set migration between the two - but the lamprey appears to have thrived on its move from the saline Atlantic to the fresh environs of the five lakes.

Each individual devours a total weight of up to 20kg of trout or other host fish during its parasitic lifetime.

The GLFC has established a complex set of control measures, including dusting the streams with pesticides specific to the lamprey, building barriers to block their upstream migration, and releasing sterile males to reduce breeding.

"Why we're so enthusiastic about the pheromone work is that we see it as another tool in the arsenal," said Dr Gaden.

"We see it as away of tricking these spawning lampreys, and then you can do things to manipulate their behaviour in ways that would work against them - for example you could lure them into streams without suitable spawning habitat, or just into traps."

Professor Li's team is now planning a larger experiment, using the pheromone to trap female lampreys in 20 streams feeding into the lakes, which will take three years to complete.

Bacterial infection of corals getting worse with global warming

Yellow band disease (YBD) seems to be getting worse with global warming and a team of scientists have identified the bacteria responsible for the disease.
The effects of yellow band disease (YBD) can be seen on the coral Montastraea (A and C) and Diploastraea (B and D), which are found in the Caribbean and the Florida Keys, and the Indo-Pacific, respectively. Researchers found that YBD seems to be getting worse with global warming. (Credit: James Cervino, Pace University)

A group of four new Vibrio species, which combine with existing Vibrio on the coral to attack the zooxanthellae. This is the first demonstration that the same bacterial culprits are to blame for the disease throughout the Caribbean as well as half way around the world in Indonesia.

The broad distribution of the core group of Vibrio also helps explain the expanding incidence of YBD throughout the world's tropical oceans.

Bacterial Pathogens And Rising Temperatures Threaten Coral Health
ScienceDaily 20 Jan 09;

Coral reefs around the world are in serious trouble from pollution, over-fishing, climate change and more. The last thing they need is an infection. But that's exactly what yellow band disease (YBD) is — a bacterial infection that sickens coral colonies.

Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and colleagues have found that YBD seems to be getting worse with global warming and announced that they've identified the bacteria responsible for the disease.

Just as a doctor can diagnose a child with chicken pox by the small, round bumps on her skin, you can tell a coral with yellow band disease (YBD) by its own characteristic markings. This affliction etches a swath of pale-yellow or white lesions along the surface of an infected coral colony. The discolored band is a mark of death, indicating where the bacterial infection has killed the coral's photosynthetic symbionts, called zooxanthellae. The coral host suffers from cellular damage and starves without its major energy source, and usually does not recover.

In a paper published in the November 2008 issue of the Journal of Applied Microbiology (JAM), lead author James Cervino, a guest investigator in the WHOI Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry department, and his colleagues report isolating the bacteria that cause YBD: a group of four new Vibrio species, which combine with existing Vibrio on the coral to attack the zooxanthellae. This is the first demonstration that the same bacterial culprits are to blame for the disease throughout the Caribbean as well as half way around the world in Indonesia.

The broad distribution of the core group of Vibrio also helps explain the expanding incidence of YBD throughout the world's tropical oceans, Cervino says. The JAM study documents YBD infection in Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. According to Cervino, "In the U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida, the Caribbean, YBD is one of the most threatening coral diseases."

The Vibrio bacteria that cause YBD are part of a family with a reputation for disease. "What we have are coral pathogens that are genetically close to shellfish pathogens," Cervino says. For example, one of the Vibrio bacteria found in corals also causes infections in prawns, shrimp, and crabs. The bacteria are also distantly related to Vibrio cholera, the pathogen that causes human cholera epidemics. There is no known danger to humans from YBD, however.

Cervino and colleagues grew Vibrio pathogens together with healthy coral. They found that YBD infection occurs at normal ocean temperatures, but that warmer temperatures made the disease even more virulent. Cervino explains, "Contrary to what many experts have assumed, this disease occurs independently of warming temperatures." However, when the temperatures go up and the corals are already infected, the infection becomes more lethal. "Thermal stress and pathogenic stress are a double-whammy for the organism," emphasizes Cervino. With the Vibrio core group occurring in tropical oceans all over the world and water temperatures on the rise, he says, the prognosis for corals and the spread of YBD is rather grim.

Cervino is a professor at Pace University in New York and a visiting scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Cervino works in co-author Konrad Hughen's lab in the Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry. Of their joint work Cervino says, "You have biology and chemistry merging together in this lab at WHOI and it's turning out to be an amazing collaboration."

Jurong Port: facilities upgrade

Due to the growth of cargo volumes in recent years as well as the closing of Pasir Panjang Wharves, a conventional facility operated by PSAC, JP had since 2005 begun an ambitious and intensive programme to develop new and upgrade existing facilities and services including IT infrastructure, to accommodate future throughput growth and business requirements. Many of these projects were recently completed to enable the port to provide improved services to its users.

map from sg.pagenation.com

The port is continuing with works on other infrastructure and facilities which include the upgrading of about 27,000 sq m of open storage and realignment of internal roadways for more efficient and safer operations as well as further systems enhancement.

Jurong Port thriving as multi-purpose gateway to region
Business Times 21 Jan 09;

DEVELOPED as a wharf in 1965 to support Singapore's first and biggest industrial township, Jurong Industrial Estate, Jurong Port (JP) today is a thriving multi-purpose port which handles a diverse range of cargoes and vessels. A fully owned subsidiary of JTC Corporation, it was corporatised on Jan 1, 2001, to generate greater dynamism, flexibility and responsiveness to the fast-changing trends in the shipping and port industry.

The port handles an average of 19,000 vessel calls per year, ranging from small wooden crafts to 8,488-TEU container vessels. In 2008, JP handled a total of 8.2 million tonnes of general cargo, 6.2 million tonnes of dry and liquid bulk cargo and 0.97 million TEUs of containers.

The port has seen tremendous cargo growth in recent years. The type of cargoes are diverse; such as provisions carried by small wooden crafts between Singapore and the nearby Indonesian islands, rubber and cargoes in pallets, machinery and mechanical appliances, project cargoes, steel products for the construction, shipbuilding and offshore oilfield-related industries, forestry products and scrap metal. It also handles liquid bulk cargoes such as lubrication oil in pipelines which are linked directly from the berths to storage facilities in the port.

On its 153-hectare site, located in close proximity to Jurong Island, facilities include a cement terminal, a container terminal, a small-craft terminal, landing craft roll on-roll off mechanical ramps, bulk cargo berths equipped with unloaders, and conventional berths supported by ample transit, back-up warehouses and open storage areas.

It has 23 berths with a total length of about 5,630 metres and a maximum water depth of up to 16 m, about 162,000 square metre of warehouses both in and outside the port and 213,000 sq m of open storage area. Its container terminal consists of 1,410 m of berths equipped with 14 quay cranes (to handle vessels up to 22 rows across) supported by a 35,000-TEU container stacking yard, 34 rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes and other container handling equipment. Jurong Port is also a London Metal Exchange approved warehousing facility for the storage and trading of metal ingots.

Its cement terminal is one of the world's largest common user cement terminal serving Singapore's needs. The terminal has two berths equipped with three cement unloaders and linked by a fully enclosed conveyor system to 12 silos operated by six cement companies.

It also operates two bulk unloader cranes to handle dry bulk cargoes such as clinker, copper slag and industrial chemicals that are essential components for industries such as shipbuilding and cement and paint manufacturing.

JP also serves state-of-the-art vessels that ship refined sugar from Australia, through a food grade conveyor directly from the berth to the silo. This is repacked for local industries and re-exported to the region. This high-tech facility is an example of the types of partnership JP has developed with customers.

It has also recently developed a Penjuru Terminal along Sungei Jurong, to cater to Singapore's lighterage and shipchandling business. The terminal is equipped with biometric-based security, a canteen and dedicated mooring facilities.

Jurong Port has in recent years also won awards such as the Best Container Terminal - Asia (under one million TEUs per annum) at the Asian Freight and Supply Chain Award (AFSCA) 2008; the Best Emerging Container Terminal Operator - Asia at AFSCA 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007; and the Best Asia Pacific Container Terminal at the Supply Chain and Management Logistics World Awards 2007.

In the 80s and 90s, Jurong Port grew in tandem with the rapid growth of the Jurong Industrial Estate. More warehouses were added, more berths were extended and added; and the channel deepened to enable more and larger vessels to call. Other supporting and shore facilities such as cranes and conveyor systems were also built and installed to complement the berths and wharves as well as to cater to the increase in cargo throughputs.

The port's role as a regional distribution hub further grew in importance as many multinational corporations set up their facilities in Jurong, giving rise to strong demand for port facilities.

To support these activities, the port mechanised and computerised its facilities and services to improve productivity which led to quicker turnaround times for vessels through faster cargo handling. The port also reclaimed the island - Pulau Damar Laut (PDL) - from 21 hectares to 61 hectares and linked it with a causeway to the mainland, to create more deepwater multi-purpose berths to handle a diversified cargo mix.

This further strengthened the port as an ideal transhipment centre, where timely shipments were facilitated to markets in the Asia-Pacific. For example, steel and forestry products from Europe and the Americas were stockpiled at the port and shipped out as and when the cargo was required by the customers. Many panamax and capesize vessels, which plied the international routes, also started calling the port with large volumes of cargo for distribution to the regional ports. Likewise, small lots of cargo could be consolidated at the port into larger and more economical consignments for transhipment.

As JP sailed through the decades into the 21st century, it made good progress, offering more than excellent infrastructure; providing comprehensive, cost-effective, quality port services that are flexible, responsive and innovative; and most importantly, backed by a service culture that puts customer needs first, and partnering them to charter new frontiers of growth in the region and internationally.

JP extended its services when it started the Container Terminal in mid-2001 with two quay cranes and four RTGs. Seven years on, the Container Terminal is equipped with 14 quay cranes and 34 RTGs with an estimated annual handling capacity of over 1.8 million TEUs. Its key customers include United Arab Shipping Corporation (UASC), Emirates Lines and CSAV Norasia, contributing 973,000 TEUs in 2008. JP is the South-east Asian hub of UASC, whose A7 Class (6,900 TEUs) vessels make regular calls. Its growth over the few years, as well as accolades it received, is testimony to its ability to serve a niche within a highly competitive container handling market.

Due to the growth of cargo volumes in recent years as well as the closing of Pasir Panjang Wharves, a conventional facility operated by PSAC, JP had since 2005 begun an ambitious and intensive programme to develop new and upgrade existing facilities and services including IT infrastructure, to accommodate future throughput growth and business requirements. Many of these projects were recently completed to enable the port to provide improved services to its users.

The port is continuing with works on other infrastructure and facilities which include the upgrading of about 27,000 sq m of open storage and realignment of internal roadways for more efficient and safer operations as well as further systems enhancement.

To support its core businesses, JP focuses on IT development to enhance efficiency and productivity. It has developed a front-end interface system, JP-Online, a berth planning system, a container terminal management system and a general bulk management system (GBMS), which are integrated, to better manage port operations. A noteworthy GBMS feature is the cargo space planning system, which speeds up the storage planning process for all types of cargo in the port.

JP has transformed into a premier multi-purpose gateway, serving Singapore, the region and the world. This multi-purpose and multi-faceted role sets it apart from many of the other terminals in the region and places it in a good position to continue to support growth in Singapore and the region. Notwithstanding this, the port continues to take conscious steps to meet future challenges by constantly reviewing and improving its key operational processes, organisation structure and competencies.

This article is contributed by Jurong Port

Malaysian department recognises importance of seagrass

Official response to the call to conserve the lush seagrasses and marine ecosystems in Johor should be preserved, especially as they lie close to planned industrial developments, says a letter to The Star.
These shores lies across from the TeamSeagrass monitoring site at Tuas. Among the habitats mentioned were seagrasses and reefs at Pulau Merambong (here's more about this island). The area is also near on-going reclamation at Tuas.

The Star 21 Jan 09;

WE refer to the letter “Seagrass site of great value” (The Star, Jan 1) by Mah Hong Seng on his suggestion to the Department of Fisheries to gazette the Merambong seagrass site located close to Sungai Pulai (Gelang Patah), Johor.

The department has jointly with the Malaysian National Seagrass Committee published a book entitled National Seagrass Report Of Malaysia.

The report is the outcome of a project collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Program-GEF conducted during 2003-2006.

About 30ha of seagrass are estimated at the Merambong site. We fully agree that the seagrass ecosystem is a very important habitat for many commercially important species of fishes, shrimps and shellfish.

In fact, seagrass is recognised as essential food for dugongs, sea horses and sea turtles.

At the moment, the seagrass is partly protected in marine parks, state parks, fisheries protected areas (i.e. Pulau Talang Talang, Sarawak), mangrove forest reserves and also a Ramsar site (i.e. Sungai Pulai).

The department fully supported the idea of gazetting these areas as marine protected areas. Apart from encouraging the development of the fishing and aquaculture industry, the department will always be aware of the responsibility to protect ecosystems that support the fisheries sector.

Halijah Mat Sin,
Public Relations Officer,
For the Director-General, Department of Fisheries Malaysia.

Three Camouflage Tricks of the Cephalopod

"Cephalopods are the most changeable animal on earth for camouflage," says Roger Hanlon, a senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), who has spent 35 years studying animal camouflage.
"There is no animal group that can equal it for speed or diversity of disguise. They have the widest range of patterns and they have the fastest change. Therefore, they are a good model to help unravel the general principles of camouflage."

He has discovered three broad classes of camouflage body patterns.

Uniform and mottle patterns are what most people recognize as camouflage. The patterns function by resembling the background. The patterns in the third class, disruptive coloration, tend to obscure the outline of the animal against certain backgrounds. While a predator might easily detect the pattern, it won't recognize it as prey. "Viewed against the right background, that body pattern is just an odd jigsaw puzzle. The pieces don't connect into an animal," Hanlon says.

"Visual predator-prey interactions are one of the most widespread phenomena known in natural selection," Hanlon says. "In terms of being an evolutionary force, camouflage is one of the great defenses."

Now You See It, Now You Don't: Scientists Unraveling The Mystery Of Camouflage
ScienceDaily 19 Jan 09;

At Hogwarts, Harry Potter uses an invisibility cloak to hide from his enemies. In nature, animals like cuttlefish and chameleons use the awe-inspiring tricks of camouflage to hide from theirs.

Roger Hanlon, a senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), has spent 35 years studying animal camouflage, and in that time he has moved beyond awe at nature's disappearing tricks and discovered three broad classes of camouflage body patterns. He and his colleagues detail these three pattern classes, and how they achieve several mechanisms of visual deceit, in this week's issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. The issue is entirely devoted to camouflage.

"Camouflage is found throughout the animal kingdom, among big, small, wet, and dry animals, but it is probably one of the least-studied natural phenomena we know of," Hanlon says.

This is one of the first efforts to quantify camouflage body patterns. "No one has successfully quantified, for instance, what is exactly meant by 'background matching,' which is when an animal visually blends into its environment," Hanlon says.

Although Hanlon and colleagues have begun to compare camouflage tactics in many animals—large primates, amphibians, reptiles, fishes, insects—this week's analysis focuses on the cephalopods, which include squid, octopus, and cuttlefish. Remarkably, these soft-bellied mollusks are able to dynamically produce all three classes of camouflage body patterns (termed uniform, mottled, and disruptive).

"Cephalopods are the most changeable animal on earth for camouflage," Hanlon says. "There is no animal group that can equal it for speed or diversity of disguise. They have the widest range of patterns and they have the fastest change. Therefore, they are a good model to help unravel the general principles of camouflage."

Hanlon is developing a mathematical description of camouflage patterns that can be used comparatively across the animal kingdom to better understand this biological phenomenon. To accomplish this, his team developed a software program that measures the degree of contrast and granularity (spatial scale) in the light and dark patches on the animal's body. These two metrics allow them to broadly sort all kinds of photographs of animal camouflage into the three classes of body patterns.

Uniform and mottle patterns are what most people recognize as camouflage. The patterns function by resembling the background. Such background matching is not so simple, however. In cephalopods, there are few high-fidelity matches to the background. More commonly, there are varying qualities of match in terms of color, intensity, pattern or 3-dimensional texture of the skin. How to measure these in terms of visual perception by the predator is still a daunting task.

The patterns in the third class, disruptive coloration, tend to obscure the outline of the animal against certain backgrounds. While a predator might easily detect the pattern, it won't recognize it as prey. Disruptive coloration is a controversial camouflage mechanism among vision scientists. "It's a counterintuitive notion," Hanlon says. An extreme example is a panda bear in a tree. If viewed by looking up into the brightly lit sky, the bear's large-scale black and white patches may not be recognized as animal skin, but rather as disjunctive areas of shadow and bright light. "Viewed against the right background, that body pattern is just an odd jigsaw puzzle. The pieces don't connect into an animal," Hanlon says. His research marshals evidence that strongly supports the notion that disruptive coloration is a bona fide mechanism of camouflage.

As a next step, Hanlon and colleagues plan to quantify camouflage body patterns in fish. "We hope that other investigators will pick up this technique to describe and quantify camouflage patterns in other animal groups," he says.

"Visual predator-prey interactions are one of the most widespread phenomena known in natural selection," Hanlon says. "In terms of being an evolutionary force, camouflage is one of the great defenses."