There is sliver of shore at Changi that has become our favourite because it is so rich with marine life. How is it doing today?
On our last survey in
Aug 2015, I noticed a sharp decline compared to my last trip in
May 2015, when I already noticed a decline compared to our last visit here in
May 2014 and
Jun 2013. Today, the situation did not seem to have deteriorated further.
This shore used to be very rich in echinoderms.
Biscuit sea stars are still the most common sea star here, with many small and medium-sized ones. There were also a few small
Cake sea stars. I didn't see any
sand stars today.
We did see a large
Eight-armed sea star.
This shore also has a wide variety of sea cucumbers. It's always a delight to see the large colourful
Sea Apple sea cucumber.
There were still many
Thorny sea cucumbers and
Pink warty sea cucumbers. I saw a few medium sized
Garlic bread sea cucumbers, some
Orange sea cucumber, one
Purple sea cucumber. Burrowing in the sand were many
Ball sea cucumbers as well as some
Smooth sea cucumbers.
I saw a few very large
White sea urchins, and one small
Thorny sea urchin.
This Biscuit sea star appears to be eating a
Sea pencil? There were many Sea pencils and
Spiky sea pens, also some
Slender sea pens. But I didn't see any
Flowery sea pens.
I saw many small
Ball flowery soft corals. Almost all of them had a very large
brittle star living on them. Jonathan also found a small
feather star.
There were also many
Cerianthids, most of them with
Phoronid worms. And also many large
Geographic seahares and their pink egg strings.
I saw two
Seagrass pipefishes. But none of us saw seahorses. I didn't see any other fishes.
This small
Flower crab appears to be eating a Seagrass pipefish which is already cut into two pieces.
We saw a few small
Big head seagrass octopuses. hese poor animals are often harvested by fishermen and used as bait. We also saw some horseshoe crabs, both
Mangrove and
Coastal.
I saw two
Babylonia snails. This beautiful snail was identified as a
new record for Singapore in 2013. Before then, we have not seen them. Now, we often see them on
Changi, as well as
East Coast and signs of them at
Pasir Ris. Where did the snails come from? Does this suggest a change in our shores? I also saw one small
Noble volute and one
Ball moon snail. I also saw a few large living
Fan shell clams.
There was good cover of
Spoon seagrasses both with large and small leaf blades. But only a few patches of
Needle seagrass. I did not see any
Fern seagrass today, unlike on our last survey in Aug 2015.
Kok Sheng spotted a patch of
Smooth ribbon seagrass!
There were some patches of what look like
Beige sheet ascidians that look like they were growing on the seagrasses.
I came across several furrows that look like
dugong feeding trails.
I saw a few medium sized
Haddon's carpet anemones. Most of them had
Tiny carpet anemoneshrimps. This anemone was heavily covered in sediments. Oh dear. Usually, the animals manage to keep themselves clear of sediments. We also saw the usual anemones that are common here, like the
Tiger anemone,
Striped sand anemone,
Big hermit hitching anemone.
I noticed the area has become much sandier and firmer. In the past it used to be softer. The narrow shore along the beach has changed in shape. In
Aug 2015, I had already noticed that there are large sand bars bare of seagrass and the entire area is much firmer. In the past, it was much softer.
Where is all the sand coming from? From reclamation nearby?
At sunrise, two people came to the shore foraging with a plastic bag and torch. I didn't get to talk to them as they moved quite fast.
In the distance, a man in what looks like a dinghy was checking the net laid parallel to the shoreline. It appears that netting happens all along the Changi shore all the time.
Our shores are rich but narrow and impacted by a wide variety of unmanaged impacts. Let's hope Changi stays safe until we can visit again.
Posts by others on this trip
Others on this trip: Nicholas Yap.
