We return for the first time in 6 years to this tiny submerged reef.
This mostly rocky shore did not have many corals, but those we saw were not bleaching. Alas, we saw and had to leave behind an abandoned fish net.
Terumbu Selegie is a tiny submerged reef that lies just off Sentosa, Pulau Tekukor and near the Sisters Islands and St. John's Island. According to
Infopedia by the National Library of Singapore, "the word "selegie" is believed to be a Malay word that refers to a wooden spear sharpened and hardened by fire. There is also a Bugis pirate race known as Orang Selegie." Our last visit here was in
Jun 2011.
Terumbu Selegie is a rocky shore with a tall pile of sand in the middle that sticks out even at mid-tide!
Here's a video of the shore. The water is very clear here and there are strong waves washing over the shore.
There are not many corals on this small reef.
Mostly
Pore corals (I saw about 10 colonies) and one
Merulinid (formerly Favid) coral. I only saw two small
leathery soft corals. On our last survey here in
Jun 2011, I saw more individuals and a wider variety of hard corals.
The most abundant anemones were
Giant carpet anemones (but no anemonefishes seen) and
Frilly sea anemones.
Other cnidarians include
zoanthids and
white-tip corallimorphs. There was also some
Broad feathery soft corals.
There were some
ascidians and a sprinkling of
sponges.
The
Sargassum bloom is dwindling and there was a bloom of
Hairy green seaweed. There was also a lot of
Cotton candy floss red seaweed. As well as some other seaweeds. Some of the
Encrusting coralline red seaweed was white.
The most abundant animal of this shore is most definitely the
Long black sea cucumber! Similar to our last survey here 6 years ago.
I saw a baby
Giant top shell snail, and a few empty
Cone snail shells. The most common snail was
Dwarf turban snails.
The best find for me was by James who spotted this tiny
Red-stripped flatworm. James also spotted many
Marine spiders.
Alas, as we were leaving, Russel pointed out the pile of abandoned net on the shore. It was about 2m by 1m by 50cm. Unfortunately, it was firmly embedded among rubble and rock. Fortunately, we could not find any animals trapped in it. Since it would take more time and manpower than we had to remove it, we sadly had to leave the bundle on the shore.
There were also piles of rubble and deep holes on the edges of the Terumbu Selegie suggesting boat strikes on this reef.
On the way to Terumbu Selegie, we noticed there has been a landslide on Pulau Tekukor.
On the way back, we had a challenging time getting into the dinghy because of high waves from the surrounding shipping traffic. Thankfully, we got back safely, in the good hands of Alex and his team.
It will a while before we are back on this shore. Let's hope it stays safe until then.
Photos shared by others on this trip
