We’ve been very lucky so far - visibility was again, an amazing 4-5m, and there was little current at the site. With a team of 6 today, we managed to get the lines laid out and work started in short order. There was even time for a bit of exploring, and training of the two Reef Check trained volunteers from SMU in a bit of the LIT codes.

Saw some pretty amazing stuff - large seafans (at relatively shallow depths, I might add), and a few red featherstars (which seem to be all over the place the last couple of months).

Bright red-orange seafan along the transect.

The red featherstars that seem to be all over the place. Nice!

The good visibility also allowed the fish transect to be conducted smoothly … at the shallow transect, I was followed by a large school of rabbitfish (Siganus canalicaulatus), and we also encountered a very large puffer that trying its best to look like a rock.

School of rabbitfish .. this one’s for you Marco!!

Jun, harassing the puffer … note the ruler to the side, which Jun tried to use to gauge the puffer’s size in her photo

All in all, a very good day out.

Cheers, Jeff

The visibility was almost unbelievable at 5-6m, which made work really easy. Unfortunately I didn’t bring along my camera for this trip, so of course, all the nice stuff popped out to say “Hi!” .. two huge trevallies, two Ceratosomas, a few Red-breasted Maori wrasses (Cheilinus fasciatus), and two Six-barred Angelfish (Pomacanthus sexstriatus). Hopefully the others managed to get some nice shots of these things and will post them up soon.

In the meantime, I am mulling over how real life seems to have taken its toll among our surveyors, and most of our Scientific Officers. Many are overseas, or otherwise occupied. With the up coming departure of Marco and Ming Sheng, our situation will get more dire .. so this is sort of an appeal for volunteers to step up to the plate to be trained as surveyors, and eventually as Scientific Officers.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Cheers, Jeff
Reef Friends Team

This time round, however, the waters were calm, and the surge, slight. Visibility was pretty good, at about 4m, which made the survey go really smoothly, even though we were short one pair of hands. We even had time (or at least I did) to check out the lower reef, where I encountered the largest seafans I have ever seen in Singapore.

(space here reserved for seafan picture)

Data processing is still on-going and I’ll post more on the results and other pictures when I get hold of them. In the meantime, you can check out Chay Hoon’s account of the trip.

Cheers, Jeff
Scientific Officer
Reef Friends Team

YJ showing a family the ever-popular common seastars. You look like a pro girl.
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Howard with his group of wide-eyed reefwalkers.
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XL doing her stuff.
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Hmm.. wonder what Abby’s showing with her fingers… perhaps she was showing how your booties can go through the venomous dorsal spines of a certain very grumpy looking fish. a fish that looks like this…?

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It’s MS’s fave bud.. Mr Stonefish.. again!

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“The venom hurts so much that some people who’ve been stung have wanted the limb amputated. It can cause shock, paralysis, tissue death, and even fatalities if not treated within a few hours. The stonefish has at least one beneficial use. It’s a very expensive sashimi called okoze in Japan.” - Environmental Graffiti

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Then I have to mention this waaay cute baby butterflyfish spotted by one of the TPJC students. It was about as big as a 10 cent coin! sharp-eyes! Good chance to mention the false eye-spot at the tail end and how its true eye is always within a coloured stripe. Also how butterflies are good reef health indicators as they are coral polyp eaters.

“For those species of butterflyfish which are obligate corallivores, a decline in the health of a reef, manifested by decreasing food quality of the stressed coral polyps, will result in a decrease in the abundance and diversity of these species and an increase in territory size, feeding rate and agonistic encounters as mated pairs attempt to maintain their nutritional intake by expanding their territories to include more coral colonies” - coral reef indicators website

Thanks to MS for the photos.

Till the next reefwalk. Cheers.

]]> http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/the-return-of-mr-stonefish/feed/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/seasons-greetings-to-all/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/seasons-greetings-to-all/#comments Fri, 14 Dec 2007 09:25:52 +0000 reefwalk http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/seasons-greetings-to-all/

]]> http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/seasons-greetings-to-all/feed/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/last-reefwalk-for-2007-sobz/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/last-reefwalk-for-2007-sobz/#comments Sun, 28 Oct 2007 10:36:35 +0000 juanicths http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/last-reefwalk-for-2007-sobz/ Yesterday we had our very last public walk of the year. I know that there are still many people who are interested in coming for our walks but we are a bit overdue for some training of new guides. Do bear with us and stay tune for the dates of next year’s walk! In the meantime, do sign up with us if you are interested in joining our team of guides in introducing Kusu’s intertidal life to others!

Prior to any intertidal walk, guides would need to give a safety briefing to the participants. We do want to keep everybody safe while enjoying Singapore’s natural environment.

Followed by a quick introduction to the beach and lagoon as the tide goes out

In the meantime, our seekers (Abby and MS) have already been sent down with our little tags and containers to help the guides in finding things to introduce to their groups. And yes, we collected back all our little tools of the trade as the tide came in.

Onward to where all the action is! To the intertidal area!

Here is where our team of guides where in their element. Talking about the wildlife found here. From all the little shrimps and crabs, to sea stars and sea cucumbers, to corals and sponges, and even snails!

“Uncle Daniel” telling the children about the common seastar

Look at the field of seastars!!! All preparing to mass produce many more little seastar babies. Can you spot the non-5-armed seastars?

Another member of the echinoderms (”spiny-skin”), the bumpy black sea cucumber. Looks rather different from the common seastar but they are still related all the same, on account of their texture and radial symmetry amongst other things. This individual was quite stressed for some reason as can be seem from these sticky white threads that were spewed out…

examples of shrimps that we frequently (and very easily encounter) on Kusu’s shores

mantis shrimp. one of the more difficult-to-spot-difficult-to-trap shrimps. this particular individual was rather curious as it still popped out of it’s hidey-hole after a failed attempt at getting it out for people to admire. even posed nicely despite me literally shoving my camera in its face for a macro shot. not all mantis shrimps are so drab looking. the ones deeper down in the sea are actually very colorful!

we get to see anemone shrimp on almost all the walks but this is the first time I got to see a pair of them on the same anemone! like many marine animals, the larger one is actually the female, and she does look like she’s carrying eggs too! the male is a little more difficult to spot since it is smaller and the white and purple bands are far less distinctive.

there seems to be quite a bit of excitement at this “3-tag station”

and it’s mr stonefish again!! (this time minus the super-enthu participant) judging from the size and the only-mother-can-love face, we suspect that it’s the same fella we saw met last month. Also mentioned here. Another reason why we think it’s the same one: It made some movement/noise as MS was going past it, resulted in it being spotted. Perhaps it was giving a *snort* of recognition at MS our BWV shirt? It was still a brilliant example to go with the take-home-message of being having proper footwear when exploring nature areas

=============

Of course, ReefWalk is not just about bringing people around on a intertidal eco-tour. It’s also about the group of wacky people who all share this love for nature and the passion to share with others. Our resident RW pirate orang asli, MS, wrapped up this walk with a mini guide appreciation session during the boat ride back. Just to make this last public walk of 2007 all the more memorable for us. (Thanks dude! *round of applause*) Everybody was clearly in a celebratory mood. (p/s. There’s something missing in all the photos here. Can you find it?)

Our 3 newly graduated guides: Yujie, Regina, and Hanchong

And the bunch of long suffering guides ^^
(Abby, Dionne, Ching Ling, Gillian, Howard, Jun)

More photos from Abby

Until the low tides next year folks!
= Jun =

]]> http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/last-reefwalk-for-2007-sobz/feed/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/blue-monday-no-more/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/blue-monday-no-more/#comments Tue, 09 Oct 2007 16:48:48 +0000 reefwalk http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/blue-monday-no-more/ These two Mondays have been totally different in term of “bluishness”. This Monday gave me some kind of withdrawal syndrome as I did nothing but fix my car and some photos over last weekend, while last last weekend was packed with ReefWalk and HantuBlog dive (or perhaps I was too tired on that Monday to feel any bluishness). So, to get rid of the blue, what else can be better than reminiscing the event I miss doing on weekend?

After four months and a couple of oversea trips to Malaysian Borneo and Indonesia, I was finally back guiding on the Sep 29 ReefWalk. Last ReefWalk we bid farewell to Wai who has gone study at N. Carolina, USA. This ReefWalk we welcome back Jani, who has completed her MSc at Newcastle, U.K. *clapclapclap* Thanks to her and Dionne, we saw lots of AMAZING stuff during the walk!!!

what other Cs would you hunt & seek for in Singapore? no prize for guessing
these are mine: Cuttlefish, Clownfish, Catfish, Chromodoris, Corals, Cowries, Crabs, and er.. seaCucumber?

I’m not going to talk much about the sightings as Juanhui has probably summed it up nicely. Just throw in a couple of nudibranch(s) for your viewing pleasure:

blue dragon, Pteraeolidia ianthina

Chromodoris lineolata

Cap it with “the reason why we MUST wear proper footwear and avoid walking into water pool”:

my second stonefish in the lagoon

and something that puzzled me for awhile:

looks like toy-ball, feel like toy-ball, but should be a sponge

Of course, other than the creatures, we always enjoy

the satisfaction of sharing knowledge and passion,

the thrill of riding new boat,

and the FRIENDSHIP!

Guides out there, if you miss all these, join us come Oct 27, the very last walk of 2007 . Surprise awaits!

= MS =

]]> http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-walk/blue-monday-no-more/feed/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/general/dress-up-as-your-favourite-plant-or-animal/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/general/dress-up-as-your-favourite-plant-or-animal/#comments Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:37:29 +0000 abby http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/general/dress-up-as-your-favourite-plant-or-animal/ Or fungus, protist or bacteria…who are we to discriminate eh? Plus get to meet Jane Goodall in person!

Here’s the blurb from the organisers:

Greetings from the Jane Goodall Institute, Singapore!

You are invited to join Dr Jane Goodall and friends at an event to advocate for our wild plant and animal species at The Singapore Wildlife Stampede on November 2^nd at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Join in the parade dressed as a plant or animal, or just come picnic at the Palm Valley and see Dr Goodall in person.

Let us know you are interested by emailing: Elizabeth eberdz@gmail.com or Lynette lynette_cdz@hotmail.com

Or register on-line at our website http://wildlifeparade.wordpress.com/

Act for Earth!

Join the Singapore Wildlife Stampede on November 2 led by Dr. Jane Goodall (primatologist and conservationist) and her friends. Suitable for kids 5 to 95!

Parade: 4pm Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden en route to Palm Valley, Singapore Botanic Gardens

Picnic: 5pm Palm Valley, Singapore Botanic Gardens

Dress up as your favourite endangered plant or animal and advocate for our wild habitats!

Bring an eco-picnic and see Dr. Goodall in person with her chimpanzee mascot, Mr H.

For more information and to register, http://wildlifeparade.wordpress.com/

To find out more about Dr. Jane Goodall and her work, check out http://www.janegoodall.org/

Help us make this an eco-friendly event:

BRING re-useable drinking bottles, natural mats not plastic, & homemade picnic food

- reduce picnic disposables & litter

- reuse old materials for costumes

- recycle after parade

Help us create a better awareness about our fragile Earth and her endangered wildlife.

]]> http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/general/dress-up-as-your-favourite-plant-or-animal/feed/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/general/blog-is-wonky/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/general/blog-is-wonky/#comments Thu, 28 Jun 2007 05:39:07 +0000 abby http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/general/blog-is-wonky/ Please bear with us while we try to fix this problem. You can still read the blog posts by clicking on the link to the individual blog entries on the left menu bar.

-Abby

FIXED!!! by our resident web-wizard Jacki

-Jeff

]]> http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/general/blog-is-wonky/feed/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-friends/reef-friends-survey-at-kusu-23-jun-2007/ http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-friends/reef-friends-survey-at-kusu-23-jun-2007/#comments Mon, 25 Jun 2007 03:33:00 +0000 reefinfo http://www.bluewatervolunteers.org/reef-friends/reef-friends-survey-at-kusu-23-jun-2007/ The second island to be surveyed in our Reef Friends programme for 2007, Kusu has always been a challenging site to survey, mainly due to the huge waves generated by the mega-ships that ply our waters. The waves generate momentum and by the time they hit Kusu, can be a meter or so in height.

Map of Kusu Island, showing the location of the survey site.

This has not daunted the reefal organisms though, as Juanhui’s blog shows.

The coral life in the shallows was still pretty amazing, with many sizable colonies more than a meter wide recorded on our transects. Deep down, gorgonians and sea whips thrive, although at a seemingly shallow depth (about 7m) then previously encountered.

The gorgonian garden (photo by Minsheng)

Huibing and Marcel complained (happily, I might add) about the profusion of featherstars (deep invertebrate) and anemonefishes (shallow fish) on their transects. Huibing indicated in an email that she was seeing (feather)stars in her sleep!! There were sometimes so many featherstars on the whips and seafans that they were bent double from the weight!

Marcel, on the other hand, found out why Kusu’s reefs are also known as “Anemone City” to some of us. He had fun counting all the anemonefish that made these anemones their home.

The clincher, however, was the sighting of a lobster at the start of transect 5 (also see Juanhui’s blog). I think almost everyone (except me - I was too busy recording) took the time to go look at the little fella.

The little fella (photo by Minsheng)

Up top, the waves were not as active today as other days - this combined with relatively clear waters and a clear sky, made for a very pleasant trip out - at least, all of us were still looking fresh and smiling at the end of the trip

The data still needs to be compiled as it comes streaming in, so I will post those separately when they are done.

Cheers, Jeff

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