Ginger Rocks e Shores, e Sand & e Seas

Sentosa Family Trail I - 5th Jun

2008-06-09T01:19:00.000-07:00

This marked the first instalment of the Sentosa trails this year and i was glad to be a part of this. The family i guided :)

The fruit of the tape seagrass
A green algae

carpet eel blenny and a sea cucumber

mating horseshoe crabs washed ashore and returned safely by the 'naked ones'
red egg crab. Do not eat this.
mosaic crab. check out the beautiful patterns on its shell.
check out the width of this soft coral

a coral partly bleached.
wing of an insect and some tadpoles in the pitcher plant

Sentosa Family Trail II on 9 June

2008-06-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

We were greeted by the wild residents taking a dip at a pool when we made our way back from the trail.

The peacock also came to greet us at the beach.

Before that, Ley Kun gave some facts about the pitcher plant.

Gayatri & Jerald spotted the following: 1)swimming crab 2)egg crab 3)worm

Some shells found on the rocks

Onch and barnacles

I'm glad we had a good find today :)

Chek Jawa on May 1st

2008-06-07T00:45:00.001-07:00

I had the privilege of going round with Ivan while he was guiding some visitors at Chek Jawa on Labour Day :)

Mud lobster mounds - like condo dwellings not just for the landlord, Mr Mud Lobster but also for crabs, frogs, etc.
Fruit of the Nipah Palm. Contains seeds - remember attap chee in your ice kachang?
The flowers of the Nipah Palm.

The Sea Hibiscus

The stem of the leaf produce a sweet sap that attracts ants.

Poo of the civet cat. The best coffee beans are those of the famous Kopi Luak.

Hermit crab in a shell

The prop roots of the Rhizophora

Pulau Sekudu aka Frog Island

After the walk, i moved on exploring ubin with my friend. Amongst the things we saw include:

a spider near one of the kampong houses

fish-tail palm

quarry which is restricted

one of the Malay kampong houses

Semakau Trip 7 June 08

2008-06-06T23:46:00.001-07:00

Met up with "The Mangroves" team this morning at about 5.30am. Was trying to catch the morning sunrise however, we were out of luck. But it was relatively cool and that was a bonus.
Pre-dawn shot of "The Mangroves"

I didn't spend much time snapping away the things we've spotted along the intertidal walk. Only managed to remind myself to do that much later...

Ocellated sea cucumber. Like most sea cucumbers, they extract the organic matter by ingesting large amounts of sediment. This serves as a food source.

Sunflower Mushroom Coral - A single living organism. The coral derives its colour from the zooxanthallae.

Puffer fish - This is a delicacy favoured by the Japanese. However, great lengths must be taken to ensure how this fish is prepared. This is a first sighting for me.

Bunch of sea grapes

"The Mangroves" with the Raffles Lighthouse in the horizon. Standing at the southern most point of Singapore which the public has access to.

Overall, it's an interesting day with a seahorse, two phylid nudibranchs, hairy crabs etc. Thanks to "The Mangroves" for being very spot-on during the walk.

Recce trip @ St John's Island on May 8, 2008

2008-06-02T07:18:00.000-07:00

CBD at dawn

Breathtaking sunrise

Part of the coastal forest and rocky shores. We even saw the heron perched on top of the hill.

It was my virgin trip to St. John's Island and i must say i'm extremely lucky. Guess it has been a while since i did any exploratory trip/guiding, so everything's out to greet me :P. Among the many finds, we spotted the following:

Soft corals

Hard corals

A type of sponge. Sponges are filter-feeding animals. Produce chemicals that are mostly toxic.

A garoupa spotted and set free in natural settting

Copper-banded butterfly fish. Notice the false eye it has at its fin.

Flatworms

Other animals - feather star, anemone, pyhlid nudibranch, emperor shrimp, octopus, hermit in conch shell, sapsucker

Some types of algae

It was an extremely good day at St. John's. I'm looking forward to end June's trip.

OJT on 9 March

2008-03-11T19:46:00.001-07:00

It was raining cats and dogs when we arrived at Semakau Landfill that afternoon. Fortunately, it was a passing shower. Soon enough, we reached the site where we began our run through the secondary coastal forest. Our plans to dash across were stalled as the soil was flooded. There were not much mosquitoes hunting at this time. Perhaps, the rain had just stopped and there was not ample time to launch an attack. We were greeted with a surprise. Some branches of what i believed to be that of a seagrape hung down low enough to warrant our attention.

Grapes, anyone?

I snapped this in a rush but reckoned that this should be the Seagrape. It seemed like the leaves were round and large while its fruits appeared in a cluster.

Giant clams spotting a marine creature in action

'Poo' excreted by the Acorn Worm

These were the droppings of the acorn worm. Acorn worm are deposit feeders. They take in the nutritious organic matter from sand or mud. Then, they remove the waste through coil-like sediments shown above. Acorn worms are hard to spot.

Sandstars mating?

We were able to spot a number of seastars after we crossed the seagrass lagoon. This was one of my stations and it was a little nerve-wrecking. I was fumbling my notes when i started not because i don't know my facts but somehow having the notes in my hand seemed reassuring. And, of course, that was a wrong move. I saw how my visitors lost contact with me. To revive the situation and with Samson's help, i managed to interest them by holding the seastar and pointed to them the anatomy of this creature - its tube feet, its penta-radial symmetry, how it moves via a water vascular system, how it can regenerate its arm, its relation to echinoderms, its feeding processes and how they reproduce. There's a real lesson to be learnt, perhaps i should prepare my notes on index cards. That way, i won't feel so "gan-cheong".

As we made our way towards the reefs, we also spotted the hairy crab. I was told that the hairy crab is mildly poisonous if consumed because of its diet of zoanthids and seaweed. But it is largely a harmless animal.

Baby Noble Volute

At the spot where we saw the resident noble volute laying its eggs, there's a baby volute spotted by one of our hunter-seekers. Alongside this was an empty volute shell and a moon snail.

Moon snail (Front) & empty volute shell (back)

fan worm

Samson also spotted this fan worm. Perhaps, a keen eye to spot things along the way, is a must for a guide.

Assortment of sea cucumbers

My next station consisted of three sea cucumbers, the sandfish, the ocellated and one i could not make out. As you know, sea cucumbers are a delicacy amongst Asians especially the Chinese in new year dishes. If you spot a sea cucumber releasing water while it is in water, it is actually taking the oxygen out of the water. Of course, they would also do so and even excrete out their guts when they are stressed or threatened by a potential predator. But not to worry, sea cucumbers can actually regenerate.

swimming crab

This is a swimming crab that Robert spotted and giant clams spared no time snapping pictures of this creature.

Giant Clams from Kampong Kapor with a knobbly

Although we spotted the giant clam, unfortunately, some of us (i'm guilty too) actually disturbed the clarity of the waters and made the area muddy. Despite that, Samson's ultra torchlight managed to show the magnifience of this creature as we shared the symbiotic relationship it had with the algae.

Once again, many thanks to Samson & the Giant Clams who enjoyed the trip!

Semakau Training on 23 Feb

2008-02-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

We took a 72-seater boat to Semakau and i must say it's great as trainees are "privileged" to have the lounge seats next to the open deck. Some of the southern islands as we moved on includes St. John's Island, Lazarus, Pulau Jong and many others.

Pulau Jong (Resembling a 'Bao' )

While i must say, there are still many islands yet to visit, (i think i'm one of the few in the group who has not visited St. John's or Kusu yet) the focus here is to familiarise ourselves with the procedures of our guiding trip and it's great that Luan Keng actually began with Q&A session with us right from the start. [I know i really should be "kok-ed"at- to think that i didn't know (i really didn't know) the two VIPs that actually spearheaded the reafforestation project.]

I am surprised too as i learnt that 13 hectares of land with 400,000 mangrove trees are replanted in the project.

You might be wondering why mangrove trees are replanted in Semakau Landfill. The reason mentioned is because as a number of mangroves are previously destroyed, they wanted to restore them back and so one way of doing this is replanting. How then can we distinguish which among the trees are replanted? Look for those similar in height, compacted to one another and lighter in colour like the one below taken in one of my trips. As you can see in the pictures below, the replanted mangroves are those of the Rhizophora.

Replanted mangrove trees

Talking about mangrove trees, I've learnt a new fact today courtesy of Luan Keng. Mangrove trees are in fact very good filtering systems that they can detect minute amounts of heavy pollutants like Boron. This characteristic is especially useful because in a landfill area like Semakau, the authorities can detect if there are any chemicals being introduced in the waters by looking at the condition of the mangroves. Of course, in Semakau Landfill, there are also monitoring wells found along the cells. These wells test leachate and there is even a Leachate Treatment Plant in the island.

1)A monitoring well 2)Geofabric with layer of geomembrane to keep off chemicals

We had a quick tour of the Marine Transfer Station where we saw the barges which are used to contain the incinerated waste from mainland Singapore to Semakau Landfill. There are 2 barges coming in from the Tuas Marine Transfer Station everyday carrying thousands of tonnes of waste. This spells a lot about the amount of waste we throw down our rubbish chute. At the rate we're throwing our waste, Semakau Landfill would probably be filled up by the year 2040. Shouldn't we start to reduce, reuse and recycle?

1) Map of Semakau Landfill 2) Marine Transfer Station

Stockpile of incinerated waste where long-arm excavators dig up and later transfer them to trucks for tipping.

Tipping site where tipping cells are found for compacting & levelling of incinerated waste by bulldozers.

As we headed towards our southern most point of Singapore that can be accessed by the public, we spotted the great billed heron on the lagoon. This is in fact the tallest bird in Semakau and like the grey heron, it is a resident bird. Its unique name came from its long bill.

Once we are out of the mangroves, we are greeted by thousands of creeper snails and of course, it is thus important to drive the message that as much as we want to discover the marine life, we should rightfully create minimal impact as much as possible on the shores.

A creeper shell

As much as Semakau Landfill is a restricted area, it is a shame to find a poacher setting a number of such nets to trap marine animals along the way. Perhaps what we could do collectively is to petition that such acts should be strictly prohibited even implement some FINES system?

Net with some chicken feet to lure crabs

Ok depressing as it may be, here are some interesting finds from this trip which i hope to explain the uses/functions, whether they can be eaten and their sexual reproduction:

Baby mangrove horseshoe crab

Probably one of the living fossils on earth, the horseshoe crab has been around since the pre-historic age. Although it appears "aggressive" with its shield-like body and sharp tail, it is actually quite harmless. In fact, the tail is used to right itself when overturned.

Onchidium

Onchidiums are more closely related to land snails. They have simple lungs to breathe air. If you pick up an onch, try to place it back close to the spot where it had been previously. Can you see that their skin seem to match the colour of rocks and sands they're in?

Heart-shaped cockle

This is a good find as common heart cockles are not red. Heart cockles are bivalves, can you see that both sides are symmetrical to the other forming the heart shape? Unlike clams that open their mouths vertically, heart cockles open up horizontally.

Gigantic carpet anemone

Carpet anemones are cnidarians. have tentacles with stinging cells so do not touch it with your bare hands! This is a useful feature because the animals trapped in it will be entangled and paralysed thus serving as food for the anemone. However, not all animals will be trapped. Certain animals like the clownfish actually has a symbiotic relationship with the anemone. The anemone provides food and shelter for the clownfish away from predators while the clownfish attracts potential prey for the anemone.

Sea cucumber
The name goes because of its shape similar to a cucumber. Sea cucumbers are related to sea stars. They have a water-vascular system. This is why we should not take them out of the water for too long. What do they feed then? Sea cucumbers feed on decaying organic matter and plankton.

1)Ocellated sea cucumber 2)Sandfish sea cucumber

Synaptid sea cucumber is a little different in that it does not have tube feet. If you touch it, it seems sticky. Like the picture seen below, synaptids coils around sponges. Can you spot the "feeding tentacles"?

Flower crab is a type of swimming crab which we often find on our dinner table. For me, this is the only crab that i can eat due to my allergy. Flower crabs have legs that are flat so this enables them to paddle. Notice also the long pincers with sharp spikes. These pincers are used to snatch fishes and other fast-moving prey. Flower crabs move sideways but they can move back and forth too. As you can see from this picture, flower crabs often 'hang out' in waters because they cannot live out of waters for long periods unlike other crabs.

Mushroom corals

1)Mushroom coral 2)Sunflower mushroom coral

Mushroom corals do not form colonies unlike other soft corals. Usually, there is only a single polyp. They are called mushroom because when young, they attach themselves like mushrooms do to the reef. However, when they mature, they usually detach themselves and live on the seafloor.

Zoanthids
They also have stinging cells. They are in fact, colonial anemones. Like the picture seen here, the zoanthids actually form mounds on the rock. Caution, some zoanthids are poisonous.

Nudibranchs
They are a type of sea slugs because they are snails without shells. Most species have their gills displayed prominently. There is a reason why nudibranchs are very attractive. This is actually to ward off potential predators about how toxic they are. Often enough, we can find nudibranchs on sponges. What do nudibranchs feed on? Some species feed on on fellow nudibranchs while others feed on sponges and anemones. Which is why it is not advisable to keep nudibranch in a marine aquarium as it preys on others.

Can you spot the tentacles on the polka-dotted nudibranch? These are called rhinophores and it is believed to be used as a sensory organ to locate food and to find a mate.

Can you spot the exposed gills? 1) gymnodoris"orange spotted" 2)polka-dotted"oreo-cookie")

Knobbly sea star

Notice the tube feet on the underside of the knobbly.

So that's it for this session. I am looking forward to my OJT :)

Sentosa Flowers, Tales of Spring 17 Feb 08

2008-02-17T03:13:00.000-08:00

Tks Is, for that point and shoot technique. I think it helped... Some of these flowers lack ID when i toured around...

Hydrangea

Bird of Paradise

1)Lily

Hibiscus

2) Marigold

A flower native to Africa

Daisies

RMBR Field Training at Pulau Semakau (9 Feb)

2008-02-09T08:38:00.001-08:00

Ron gave us trainees an overview of what we could expect while guiding at Pulau Semakau. He started by giving us a brief introduction that Pulau Semakau as we currently identify as, is actually made up of two islands - Pulau Sakeng and Pulau Semakau. However, Sakeng is completely gone due to reclamation works part of which the landfill operations stands. Part of Semakau is what we would be exploring in the intertidal walk.

As we started into the secondary coastal forest, Ron showed us the Sea Almond Tree.

The Sea Almond Tree

The sea almond, named so, because it tasted like an almond.

As we moved along the mangroves, Ron pointed to us a mangrove tree, the Rhizophora also commonly known as the Bakau tree.

The Bakau tree has a prop roots system unlike other types of mangroves; the sonneratia (cone-shaped breathing roots) or the avicennia (pencil-like pneumatophores). One common feature of mangrove trees is its adaptability to harsh factors such as water salinity and poor soil conditions.
Ron also added that often enough people mistook the seedling of the Bakau for its fruit. In fact, the fruit of the Bakau sprouts into a seedling first. Notice also that the seedling is grown vertically to the ground. This enables the young plant to disperse easily on water so that it would not compete with the adult plant for food and minerals.

We moved on to the the sandy shores and found traces made by the sand bubbler crab. These crabs are detrital feeders. Once they processed the sand grains, it would look like sand balls. The dark sand patches are probably those that have not been completely processed.

Close to that, we saw a number of oysters stuck on the rocks. Oysters are filter feeders.

My first sighting of a volute laying eggs.

Exploratory Walk to Pulau Hantu (8 Feb)

2008-02-09T08:37:00.001-08:00

Second stop was at Pulau Hantu Besar.

How the island got its name goes like this: (I took a snap shot from the information board)

The stuff we've spotted:

Sea star

Fiddler crab (male)
The enlarged pincer serves two purposes:
-Attract the female fiddler crabs
-Intimidate its rivals.

Flower Crab - The only crab i'm not allergic to.

Hairy Crab

This is a pretty large nudibranch, probably the largest in the world.

A False Clown Fish swimming on an anemone.

Nudibranch

Exploratory Walk to Big Sister's Island (7 Feb)

2008-02-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!! It was the first day of the Chinese New Year and a bunch of Naked Ones gathered for a special 'ang pow' treat. This was the first of a series to come for the next few days and me being a "non-practising" Chinese, grabbed those golden tickets to enjoy my virgin trips on our southern shores. My first stop was to Big Sister's Island.

This uninhabited island also goes by the name of Pulau Subar Laut. To find out about how the island got its name, you can check out http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/sisters.htm

As we walked along, we could spot a monkey. Ria said that the monkeys here are rather aggressive for they had some experiences of their food being snatched up. It's a pity though I didn't get to see my relative up close.

Let me share what i've spotted:

Turban Shell

I've found this near the crevices of some rocks. What's interesting is the significantly thick operculum, known as a 'cat's eye'. In the old days, this 'cat's eye' is made into buttons because it's shaped just like a button. An opercullum is important to the snail because it acts as defence mechanism, away from crabs.

Anemone?

I chanced upon this one as it looks like an anemone. What's unique is that it shrinks itself up when disturbed and has an interesting underside. You can see in the above pictures that it has white spots all around the underside.

We've also spotted a heron along the lagoon.

Some of the corals in Big Sister's:

Like the hard corals below, it's akin to HDB flats where tiny animals known as polyps live within each cell.

Coral containing finger-like structures

Goniopora, a hard coral

This is the mermaid's fan that caused quite a stir...

Briefing notes @ NTU Yunnan Gdns, 26th Jan

2008-02-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered what lies in NTU Yunnan Gardens? Here's a peek:

Alamanda (Golden Trumpet)
All parts of the plant are poisonous.
The sap from the plant can irritate your skin.
Purpose: Landscaping

Sea Apple
A native species in Singapore
It adapts to coastal conditions hence it has thicky, waxy leaves
The fruit smells like an apple. If you ever feel hungry, this is an edible fruit though it's dry to the taste.
It hails from the Pea family.

Pong pong Tree
A common tree in Singapore
All of its parts are poisonous
Leaves grow in a bunch

Song of India
A slow-growing plant
Requires little maintenance
Able to gather dust with its leaves, also known as a natural feather duster
Purpose: Ornamental plant

Saga Tree
Also known as 'Xiang si dou' (love seed). There's a legend in China that spins of a tale between a loving couple. The husband has to leave for war and the wife sat below a tree, waiting patiently for her loved one to return.
[X'tra: The original xiang si dou is black on one side and red on the other.]
A nitrogen-fixing family, it helps to rejuvenate the soil

Cycas
A plant that can be classified as a living fossil
Purpose: Ornamental plant

Sea Almond
Grows along the coasts
A coastal plant with thick, waxy leaves
Fruit bats adore this tree
Tree is deciduous

Bird's Nest Fern
A non-flowering plant
Makes food through decomposition of flowers, fruits on its bare 'trunk'

Frangipani
Easily spotted as it has bare leaves to make its crown
1 - 2 flowers

Credits: July, thanks for your insights on the gardens.

I'm a wild ginger LOL

2008-02-01T04:42:00.000-08:00

My interest in the environment in particular, the flora and fauna sparked off during my diploma years. I still remember how a geography trip for the Social Studies cohort to Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve turned my fate/life around. Before the trip and the lectures that went along with it, i was rather clueless about Nature. All i know is that Mother Earth is pretty equipped so there is nothing much that Man can do. I was of course, silly then. My voracious appetite for knowledge proved handy, i was finally moving on to bigger and better things.

All these years, my interest grew through the various exploratory trips both in and out of Singapore. I was even much more amazed with the extent of interesting knowledge that i have acquired from the various guides in these trips. I was simply enchanted with the act of guiding itself. Thus, i have finally set myself up to be a guide myself and explore these green frontiers.

It took a lot of encouragement and nevertheless, peer pressure (special thanks Jun & July) to commit this in writing. I must admit it is pretty challenging to begin with, not to mention the number of times i am going to proofread for every entry i have included here. Nevertheless, like the wise would say, "the journey of a lifetime begins with a single step"; so here i am trying my bit to accumulate and share my experiences as i trailed across the shores, (the land and possibly, the seas) of Singapore and beyond.

In the process of my training and upcoming guiding experiences, you might catch a glimpse of how i tumbled and fall and back again. Perhaps, we could both learn the what and what nots or even develop an exhaustive manual like "An Idiots' guide to Guiding". Whatever the outcome, the process is one to be treasured. Thus, as i begin uncharting new territories, i hope the journeys recorded here so lovingly will allow tiny pockets of reflection to seep in both for myself and you, my friend.

love,

ginger