Crab-eating monkey with 'crab'!

For first time, I saw a monkey handling a crab-like creature from the seashore! The commonly encountered Long-tailed macaque is also called the Crab-eating macaque and is quite at home in the mangroves and along the shore.

Today, I saw this monkey holding onto what seems to be a horseshoe crab moult.

Can eat or not?: Sea anemones

In Spain, apparently, yes can! The Snakelocks anemone (Anemonia sulcata) is highly prized by Spanish gourmet restaurants and eateries leading to poaching and over-exploitation which seriously damage the coastal and intertidal shores there.

'Snakelocks anemone', bred in captivity
by the University of Granada spin-off, iMare Natural S.L.
(Credit: Image courtesy of University of Granada)

Fortunately, the University of Granada have developed methods to breed this sea anemone in captivity.

Southern Expedition (20 May - 7 Jun 2013) of the Mega Marine Survey

Last night, Dr Tan Koh Siang shared much anticipated details of the Southern Expedition of the Mega Marine Survey.

Like the recently completed Northern Expedition, this event brings together 45 scientists from Singapore and around the world, for a frenzy of field trips including intertidal walks, diving, dredging and trawling! The Southern Expedition will be based at St. John's Island.

Threats to seagrasses and what you can do

Seagrasses all around the world face many threats. These are highlighted in the latest magazine of Seagrass-Watch with beautiful photos and great information.

Dredging, agricultural runoff, trawling, ports and shipping, boating, coastal development, invasive species, urban and industrial runoff. On the less gloomy side, there is also lots of information on mitigating the impacts of these threats as well as efforts in seagrass restoration.

Blue Carbon and climate change: a new website

Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses are some of the most productive on Earth. By storing ‘blue’ carbon from the atmosphere and oceans, they are an essential part of climate change mitigation.

TeamSeagrass monitoring the seagrasses at Chek Jawa
just in front of the mangroves there.

The knowledge and action to maintain and restore coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrasses have increased significantly in the last two years said the International Blue Carbon Initiative during the launch of a new website that provides the latest blue carbon science and policy.

Hermit crab view of Changi Beach

This morning I took a really REALLY close look at the seagrasses at Changi. I was literally crawling along the entire beach.

Here's what the beach looks like from below. There were lots of Striped hermit crab (Clibanarius infraspinatus) on the shore, many had lots of little Drill snails stuck on their shells.

Two Terumbus in one trip!

We land at first light on Beting Bemban Besar! The tide is a little high but we have a lot of ground to cover on this very large submerged reef.

We also hop over to nearby Terumbu Bemban as part of the recce for the Mega Marine Survey's  upcoming Southern Expedition in May.