A quick look at the rich shores at Changi Point this morning.
My first time back here in four years. So glad to see an explosion of pink sea cucumbers among lush seagrasses!
My special find of the trip was a
Japanese bonnet snail, which is said to feed on burrowing heart urchins. I also saw the usual predatory snails that feed on buried prey: lots of
Tiger moon snails, a
Calf moon snail and a
Noble volute next to shells of a bivalve which it probably just ate. Also abundant, little
whelks which scavenge on left overs. I didn't come across any octopuses. And glad that I didn't see any
Horse mussels here.
The absolutely most abundant animal on the shore today were
Pink warty sea cucumbers. I only saw a few
Thorny sea cucumbers,
Purple sea cucumbers,
Orange sea cucumbers,
Ball sea cucumbers. There was also one tiny
Armoured sea cucumber that looks like a chiton!
I was glad to see an
Eight-armed Luidia sand star, a few small
Biscuit stars, small
Cake stars and
Painted sand stars and
Plain sand stars. I didn't see any
Common sea stars, or sea urchins or feather stars.
The ground is soft and silty towards the low water mark. Perfect for burrowing anemones. I saw a few small
Haddon's carpet anemones, one with a Peacock-tail shrimp. I also saw a
Glass anemone,
Big hermit hitching anemone, a
Tiger anemone,
Swimming anemone and other small anemones. There were also other burrowing cnidarians such as
Common cerianthids and
Spiky sea pens.
Richard Kuah was also at Changi Point, while Marcus Ng was on the opposite side of Changi Creek. They saw lots of special animals. Among Richard's special finds were a sea horse, a live Rare-spined murex, lively Babylon snails scavenging with whelks, a bright orange Cake sea star and Spearer mantis shrimp. Among Marcus' special finds were a frogfish, a small crab that might be a new record for Singapore, a Many-banded snapping shrimp and a Slender seagrass octopus capturing a crab. Check out their albums below for more photos.
Seagrasses still grow lush here, similar to my last visit in
Jun 2019. Mostly
Spoon seagrasses (large and small leaf blades) and
Needle seagrass (narrow leaf blades) growing from the low water mark towards the sea. I didn't come across
Fern seagrass. The small patch of
Smooth ribbon seagrass where the pipes used to be are still there, first observed on our
Jun 2016 survey. And I saw some
Hairy spoon seagrass.
The rocky area opposite Changi Point Ferry Terminal were mostly bare. Although there were still some patches of healthy
Zebra corals, there were only a few sponges and other encrusting animals.
This was an unscheduled survey under a full moon. Although the tide was very low, it was short. Perfect for Changi Point which is best seen at tides below zero, but is not large so can be surveyed in about an hour. I bumped into Richard who had the same idea! He saw a seahorse here!
What is the fate of these shores?There doesn't seem to be a change in 2013 plans to reclaim all of Pasir Ris, all of Changi from Carpark 1 to Carpark 7 and beyond, and reclaim Chek Jawa and Pulau Sekudu. These appear to remain in place in the
Long-Term Plan Review. Including plans for a road link that starts at Pasir Ris, crosses to Pulau Ubin, right across Chek Jawa to Pulau Tekong, and back to the mainland at Changi East.
See Changi shores for yourself before it's gone!They are easy to get to, and enjoyed by many people. But it remains rich in a variety of marine life. More details in
"Changi - an easy intertidal adventure for the family".
More photos by
Richard Kuah
Meanwhile,
Marcus Ng was surveying Changi Creek across from Changi Point.
