FEER the REEF

Dear Everyone,

2008-10-04T13:29:00.001+08:00

We are currently having their final examinations, and are suffering from argh-please-let-my-grades-be-sufficient-to-go-to-a-university-itis. It is a common infectious disease among high school seniors. (If we are well-educated, we will be in a much better position to advocate marine conservation.) We will be back with lots of posts once the symptoms clear.

(On a brighter note, we both passed our diving medical examinations, so that means we'll get to dive with the marine biology lab once our exams are over! Look forward to more posts on Singapore's reefs!)

Our articles have links to them on the right hand side, hope you enjoy them until the next time. Alternatively, check out this other cool blog for marine conservation.

The Ocean Skeleton
(They've got a bit about sharks which is totally Theo's favourite animal. Read, read!)
(We feel inspired. Please go and watch Sharkwater)

Loves,
Jacque & Theophilus

The World Is Awesome

2008-09-13T20:26:00.003+08:00

We love the whole world and the coral reefs.

Boomdiada Boomdiada...

Jac and Theo who???

2008-09-06T17:23:00.009+08:00

At the beginning...

Once upon a time, there were two JC kids who tried to live as all other model students did. They also loved the outdoors and seafood. They tried their best to study as little as possible and get away with wearing ankle socks. They were very happy and comfy, a little bit complacent about their place in the world, but that is to be expected from childish naivety.

One day they found out that their school had implemented an internship program that would allow them to go to school on Mondays and Tuesdays, and work Wednesdays to Fridays! School for 2 out of 5 days? Why not!

Wanting to please their parents, the two students tried to choose a reputable institution for their internship. Not interested in anything presented on the school's list of institutions, , they signed up with the NUS Marine Biology Labs. The students duly filled out the form, expecting 9 to 5 work hours and the benefit of cheap food from the canteen. Little did they know they ~~would be involved with the most cutting edge technology in the fight for world peace~~ were to be the lab butler and maid.

They helped out with experiments, scanned papers, stared at excel sheets, cleaned out the storeroom and polished boots. (Okay that one isn’t true) At the same time they raided the library and with much reading and learning, understood the threats facing one of the most productive and beautiful places in the world...

The coral reefs.

This blog is an account of whatever that captured their interests, actually compiled with some motivation from IYOR activities (YMBA2008). After this much information, they transformed from the average student to marine biology junkies and people who truly care about the reefs. If you love the oceans, world peace or want to know what's so interesting about a bunch of sessile creatures, read on! (You can do that by clicking on the links on the right, under the section 'archive')

Reefs in the Region: Pulau Tioman

2008-09-03T11:18:00.006+08:00

Tioman Marine Park
Haven

32 nautical miles off the coast of East Malaysia, Pahang, in the South China Sea sit a group of islands – The Tioman Marine Park. Pulau Tioman is the largest of the nine islands making up the marine park (P.Tioman, P. Tulai, P. Labas, P. Sepo, P. Seri Buat, P. Tokong Bahara, P. P. Gut, P. Cebeh and P. Sembilang). These islands and the surrounding waters were deemed a Marine Park in 1994. So far, 221 species of coral have been recorded in the waters around P. Tioman.

It is interesting to note the semi-pristine conditions there. Echoing the sentiments of Professor Chou Loke Ming of Singapore’s reefs are some divers on the conditions at P. Tioman, “Last time don’t even need to dive, just snorkel can see beautiful coral beds near the beach, now cannot already.” Despite Singapore’s sheer mass of pollution we boast of 250+ species of coral. Yet our waters are hardly considered a marine park, an industrial park yes but not a marine park.

Following are some pictures taken while diving at P. Tioman and the surrounding islands.

nemo

fish

more fish

nudibranch

coral and endemic species

One day. Singapore can be like this. All we've got is potential to be better. Singapore is surrounded by water, it is our backyard. Our city's a garden but our yard is a dump. Let us grow a garden in our yard so that Singapore can be more than a garden city but a garden nation.

(Pictures by Theo)

CSI: Tioman - Hunter hunted

2008-09-03T09:29:00.006+08:00

Every criminal leaves something behind. And coral reefs have been scenes of criminal activity for years. Be it humans or alien action these are some examples of damages in the reefs:

corals for aquariums, trawling, land reclamation, overfishing, global warming, industrial pollution, dynamite fishing, silt from land erosion, sewage and oil and pesticide wastes, warm water outflows, ocean acidification, over predation, tourism, coastal development, disease, invasive species ... ...

Reefs are in danger all around the world from threats as mentioned above. The atrocities cannot continue! The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) have developed a universal toolkit and training program which can be used to assess damage in any major coral reef region. This program will create new initiates of coral reef Crime Scene Investigators, who can identify and quantify the extent of damage to reefs, and take on anyone about the subject with good solid evidence.[1]

CSI instructors are only a handful: Angelique Brathwaite, Ken Goddard, Dave Gulko, Patricia Ramírez Romero, Rubén Torres, Karenne Tun (Boss 1), Eric Clua.[2] The initiates: Coral reef managers, Enforcement Officers and other Natural Resource Trustee-associates involved with the preservation of their respective regions.

The latest CSI workshop was conducted at Pulau Tioman, a Malaysian national marine park, from 1st to 6th September 2008 for the South East Asian associates.

The course is intensive and grueling on the mind and body; daily dives, long lectures and reading assignments. Getting out of the classroom is emphasized and techniques are practiced on land prior to the underwater exercises. With these skills and tools the managers can assess the damages done to reefs and ascertain from ‘fingerprint’ evidence who dunnit.

[1] http://www.icran.org/csi-training-workshops.html
[2] http://www.icran.org/csi-team.html

Photos by Theo

What YOU can do for the World

2008-09-02T13:39:00.004+08:00

After all that's said and done, we hope that our dear readers feel the urgency to help our salty coral friends. The future for the reefs, seafood and marine recreation lies in your hands! Here are some of the things almost ANYONE and EVERYONE can and should be doing (: If you really love the marine world, here's a chance to kick off your less-guilty lives:

Don't buy coral jewelry
Removing corals to wear around your neck is deadly, to the corals. Either way, stringing them like beads is nothing compared to the beauty of actual live corals. A quote by Tiffany and Co., '[such things are] too precious to wear'

Choose your seafood wisely
You heard of dolphin free tuna? Also, choose seafood that's sustainably harvested and safe to eat (oh both factors are incredibly important). How do I know what to buy

Leave a legacy
Include any marine conservation groups in your will. That way you can help even when you're not around

Educate others
Tell them more about what you know and the importance of reefs! Alternatively you could send them a link of our blog, and we'll take it from there. Feel free to mail us with your questions (: reefmealone@gmail.com

Propaganda
Send e-cards with corals/marine life. These cards are nearly always beautiful, and can be used in a wide variety of situations.

Donations Donations
Time / Money. Both are so so important. If you love the reef, but don't have time, try buying some dive magazines or other products. You learn more about what you love, get amazing pictures and articles, and have contributed a sum for a good cause. If you aren't working and have time, join any local society that helps marine life (i.e. the local university's marine lab, coastal cleanup or conservation groups, etc.)

Contact the media
If you're in school, write (or ask someone to) a coral related article in your school's newsletter to get everyone started on conservation. If you're an adult, how about the newspapers' forum section where people get to write in?

3R's
Reuse, Refuse and Recycle. Lessen the impacts of pollution and global warming and the corals benefit too!

Help us!
Thought of another way to contribute which we haven't? Thought of an interesting topic to write about corals which we have yet to write about? Send it to us at reefmealone@gmail.com (: Let's make this a group effort!

Now that you know what you can do, do it! Hopefully influence all your friends and family to do the same and the whole world will thank you for it.

We love the earth group 1: Prof Chou, Coral Reef Guru and his 2 cents

2008-08-21T17:54:00.004+08:00

Coral Reef Guru and his 2 cents

Professor Chou Loke Ming
Department of Biological Sciences, Marine Biology Lab
National University of Singapore
IYOR 2008 Key note address
From Beach Bum on vimeo

IYOR 2008 Singapore - Keynote Address - Prof Chou Loke Ming from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Here is a video of Prof Chou Loke Ming giving his 2 cents at the IYOR 2008 launch on 8 August. And what a mighty 2 cents it was.

During his address, Prof Chou mentioned an incident with some research counter parts from overseas; to them the situation in Singapore looked dreadful, worse than a barrel full of crown of thorns. They were all for giving up because there was no point in conserving coral that was half dead. But Prof Chou said, “You have been doing reef restoration in the Red Sea, beautiful clear waters no problem at all so no challenge. No challenge what’s the point? What we want is a challenge, so if we can get reef restoration to work here, then it’s a great challenge.” And what a challenge it will be with waters murky with sediments and barges bowling over coral like a cow over grass.

A recent development was the setting up of sediment screens at the Semakau landfill to protect the surround coral reefs from sedimentation. This is one of steps taken to ensure the protection of our national heritage and we still have a staircase to go. As quoted from Prof Chou, “I don’t think we should give up hope… The reefs have not failed us… so we should not fail the reefs.”

Singapore is known as the Garden City. And surely Singapore has territorial waters, but where is the garden in the water? If Singapore can be committed to transform our waters into a Coral Paradise - as is Prof Chou’s vision - by 2018, not only to boast of our achievements by the next IYOR, it will also be a testimony that if Singapore can do it so can the rest of the World! That is what makes International in International Year Of the Reef.

We love the earth group 3: NGO & initiatives

2008-08-21T14:58:00.004+08:00

Knights of the Singapore Marine Roundtable

The Singapore Marine Roundtable (MRT) is made up of several individuals and organisations passionate about marine conservation. Imagine the King Arthur's Knight. Underwater World Singapore (UWS) is part of this honorable table and they are the main front for the MRT, imparting cruicial knowledge to the general public and tourist in order to convert them into reef conservation sympathetics; like King Arthur of the Knights of the Roundtable.

Apart from educational activities, UWS also recently lauched an annual competition titled Young Marine Biologists Award (*hint hint*). UWS wishes to promote awareness of the threats to the marine environment by engaging primary to tertiary levels in this competition.

Another NGO the Marine Conservation Group (MCG) also emphasizes upon the local spread of knowledge. Among other things they host public talks, slide-talks, publications and photo exhibitions. Apart from outreach MCG also calls out to the NEA to draw protected areas around the southern islands.

There appears to be a silent consensus around the table that saturation of public minds can bring about change to the futurescape of Singapore's coral reefs. And this might be the case. Apathy is brought about by sloth and ignorance. Bringing the experience from marine to terra surely will change the mindsets of such people. A good analogy of this attitude is the fight or flight behaviour. Visualize this, Ken walks into a bar and buys a beer. He is happily sipping his beer. He pays no attention to the world around him. Then somebody else in the bar decides he would like to emboss Ken's face in the counter. Ken would either fight or flight (run; in light of his lack of flight enabling appendages). Are you like Ken?

Are you in your comfortable stool staring into your beer mug? What would it take for you to get up and do something about the problem at hand? It is only through challenge that people stand up and do something. The Knights of the Singapore Marine Roundtable are taking the fight to the public through talks, and real-life, hands-on experience. So here's a challenge. You can be a Knight too. Take the initiative.

Pictures taken from www.theplatelady.com and stuffeducatedlatinoslike.wordpress.com

We love the earth group 2: Private sector

2008-08-21T13:55:00.008+08:00

Art of War, Sun Tzu "He who wishes to fight must first count the cost"

Over the years, several of local private sectors have actively sought the conservation of the reefs. Like all conservation, reef's are not cheap to maintain. Money is put into research and development, publicity and projects. Some members of this group are Keppel Corporation, Singapore Underwater World, Raffles Marina and 1deg15 Marina. These companies have taken up the fight for our corals and they have counted well the cost.

Keppel corporation initiated Singapore's first coporate-sponsored marine environmental project,sponsoring $250,000 over a period of two years. The project aims to set up the first Coral nursery. Volunteer divers from Keppel have a collaboration with NUS divers as acting nannies at the coral nursery. Chores include monitoring of progress and removal of nasty, fouling organisms from the nursery.

It appears that the whole planet's reefs are being decimated. The Planetary Coral Reef Foundation (PCRF) was set-up in 1991 to fight the destruction. As South East Asia contains a major part of coral reefs globally PCRF will also base its operations in Singapore and the region. To accomplish this noble purpose, PCRF has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Francis Lee, President of Ra, Raffles marina has also decided to chip in an effort to save the reefs of Singapore.

Another local corporation which brings marine life from the water unto dry land without killing them is Underwater World. “Underwater World Singapore is committed to marine conservation and environmental awareness, through its public education, breeding, rescue and rehabilitation and research initiatives. The joint collaboration with WWF further reinforces our firm belief in corporate social responsibility towards, amongst others, our environmental conservation efforts,” said Chng Hwee Hong, Deputy Chairman of Underwater World Singapore. *Applause*, period. One day we might just get back what we once had. But for now the work in the private sector might leave our reefs to fight another day.

photo from http://www.underwaterworld.com.sg/tellafriend.htm

Foreword for Conservation: The way forward into the future

2008-08-21T13:48:00.003+08:00

Humanity is like a large family, there are parents and children, honorable men and delinquent. And it so appears a sizeable portion of our dear relatives do not like doing chores like keeping the house clean. Earth is the only home in our universe. Some people act as if there are millions of houses just like our own. In the past Singaporeans were not too enthusiastic about conservation. But the times have changed and now we come to an understanding that nature, brambles and bushes, coral and mudflats, are not obstructions to progress. Some understand that this is all we have, and what we had was initially very good. These people come from all areas of society and they, like us want to conserve; preserve the earth. Because we love the world.

(And we love the salty world best ^^)

A starfish special

2008-08-15T16:02:00.008+08:00

3 arms too many?
A Starfish special
Many thanks to Kok Sheng
NUS student and fellow labmate at computer terminal
Kok Sheng’s Blog. Highly Recommended!

Recently we visited St John's Island, to the south of mainland Singapore. It is not very well known among local teenagers. It is where you find the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) and lots of cats.

St John Island once held a prison for Singapore, or more delicately phrased by Singapore Tourism Board, it once was a penal settlement. It’s located relatively far from mainland Singapore, so the extent of damage from land reclamation works are lessened. We have our very own reef at St John! The Tropical Marine Science Institute is situated on St John, and has facilities to help researchers find out more about our local marine life. It is over here that the experiments are held for our starfish feature.

Starfishes are not fishes, no matter what their names suggest. They belong to phylum echinodermata, meaning that they are in the same family as sea cucumbers and sea urchins. They have pentaradial symmetry, having 5 lines of symmetry, although some starfishes have more than 5 arms. The do not walk with their 5 arms, but rather have hundreds of tube feet below their arms which move the entire starfish at once without bending the arms. They are most famous for their ability to regenerate lost arms.

Want to learn some more about starfishes?

Starfishes are extremely important to the reefs. The different species occupying the reef serve different functions:

The predators

The infamous starfish known as Crown of Thorns preys on corals. They invert out one of their stomachs, and happily digest away the helpless animals. While this sounds extremely brutal and cruel, and before you scream 'blue murder', it is important to have a small number of them on the reefs. They keep the fast growing corals from wiping out the slower growing ones. (although now their huge populations just seem to wipe out all the corals)

The cleaners

Starfishes like the Blue Sea Star eat dead stuff like crabs and fish, and also forage around the bottom of the sea floors for organic films. They are important for nutrient recycling in the ocean.

The population controls

Blue Sea Stars also eat sponges, which compete with corals for space, and also bore holes in the calcareous skeletons. The comb sea stars feed on clams, and the cushion star feeds on algae, controlling the populations of organisms which could usurp the reef.

To all those aspiring to keep starfishes as pets, they demand even greater care than your average cat and dog. They die if not given filtered salt water from the sea. They die if you not circulate the water around their tanks. They die if you leave too much food around and foul up the tank. And to top it off, they are literally spoon-fed (or forceps fed if they are small enough)

(The mouth is at the bottom of the starfish. To film this video, the starfish was turned upside down, thus the tendency to keep flipping over. Please do not overturn starfishes you find for entertainment, and don't feed them random objects)

Interesting, isn’t it?
Can you be responsible for feeding it everyday?
Don’t keep one in an aquarium.

(Photos by Jacque and Angie)

Experiments to Save the World (II)

2008-08-11T13:21:00.006+08:00

Red flare upon the rocks
Conducted by: Boss2
Angie Seow, Research Assistant, NUS Marine Bio Lab

The life cycle of the coral is quite similar to the human’s. A quick explanation of the spawning procedures: mature adult coral will produce babies (larvae) which like all delinquent children move away upon spawning. The larvae will swim and search for a future home (any stable substrate). Upon picking its preferred substrate the larvae will stick to it and grow into adults which will eventually bear more children.

(This is coral spawning!)

Coral larvae are not very picky creatures. All stable substrates are considered real estate. Or so it seems. Studies have shown that estate locations are somewhat marked. It does appear that coral larvae prefer substrates covered by coralline algae. Coralline algae are red algae that grow on rocks. They are quite like simple plants, photosynthesizing to make food and they appear to attract coral larvae. An illustration for example: Soviet manufactured 1985 Yugo GV (regular substratum) would shrink up and crumple into a big hulk of metal in the light of a bright, flashy, red, screaming Ferrari (coralline algae). The cause of the attraction is yet unknown.

Never to leave a stone unturned (or coral rubble), Angie Seow aka Boss2 is turning stones to further understand the true potential of coralline algae and its effects on young budded babies (coral larvae). An experiment was set-up to test whether substrate with coralline algae can attract more larvae than substrate without.

We are proud that out of 250 species of coral in Singapore only 1 has gone extinct but we have already lost 60% of our coral reefs.[1]

!!! 60%!!!

And another 15% are going to die soon.[1]

!!! 15%!!!

At the rate of pollution in Singapore waters we’ll reach the 75% mark in no time.

!!! 75%!!!

But all hope is not lost! With a consolidated from all Singaporeans in the private, public and government sector we can save our reefs! And coralline algae might do just the magic when it is proven that coralline algae do attract coral larvae. Imagine a coral nursery with coralline algae, the coral larvae will flock like a group of delinquent teenagers to a metal concert (no offense to delinquents or metal concerts). We might be able to bring back that 75%. The coralline algae just might be the flare, a bright shining flare in the dark, hazy murk of the sea, the flare upon the rocks to welcome the babies home. That they might grow and flourish! Majulah Singapura!

(Spawning picture by Ms Angie Seow, ferrari from Thoughts of a crazy RedHead)

Experiments to Save the World (I)

2008-08-11T13:12:00.011+08:00

Sandstorms: a totally marine phenomenon
Conducted by: Boss1
Karenne Tun, Research Assistant, NUS Marine Bio Lab

There are many things at the bottom of a coral reef.
1. Animals [eg. Stingrays, fishes, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, coral (yes coral are animals!)]
2. Vegetation (eg. Sea grass, algae)
3. Dead matter (eg. Dead animals and vegetation)
4. Sediment (eg. Sand, silt, mud, fine dead matter)

Sediment is the topic of interest. Marine environments with little disturbance along the bottom will have clearer waters because sediment sinks. The picture below is an example of a beautiful reef. Of course if the disturbance increases or by some magical means sedimentation (deposition of sediment) occurs then the waters would be less clear.
Illustration as below.

An illustration: A Fun Activity

Create your own pristine marine environment! Get a clear plastic bottle, add in about 2cm of beach grade sand and fill with water; clear waters with undisturbed sediment. If want of more chaos give the bottle a good shaking. The result is a ‘smoothie’ otherwise known as murky water. Leaving it to stand would cause sedimentation where the sand is deposited on the bottom of the bottle.

Imagine adding 2cm of sand into that bottle everyday. Imagine placing your pet goldfish in that bottle and dumping sand on him everyday. Imagine swimming at the bottom of the pool when suddenly you’re drowning in a flood of sand. This is what Singapore’s corals have been experiencing, sandstorms.

Coral possess zooxanthellae (photosynthetic organisms eg. Like plants) which produce food for the coral by photosynthesis (process of making food by light and carbon dioxide eg. Like plants). Note that light is a requirement. How do they survive such onslaughts of sedimentation? Sedimentation would surely cloak the corals from their precious sun.

Coral have an efficient mechanism for removing such filth. MUCUS. Before you run away screaming in horror do not forget it is the human equivalent of blowing your nose. Mucus is a fantastic substance. Dirt sticks to it like glue. The sediment coagulates (clumps together) on the mucus which is then swept away by the currents.

Your regular mucus excrements would contain some microscopic dust. Imagine now that dust increasing in concentration tenfold. You would have some major blockage in your pipes. Similar to this analogy, an outstanding amount of sediment would be next to impossible to remove. And daily sedimentation would cause prolific proliferation (mass production) of coral mucus. Please do not think that mucus is brought in buckets by the mucus fairy for all to use happily ever after, mucus is an organic substance it is produced by the organism and therefore coral need to spend more energy producing more mucus. It is the equivalent of a student working 15 extra hours each day instead of spending it as developmental time eg. Sports, R&R, sleep.

And thus a question is born out of the mind of Karenne Tun aka Boss1. What level of sedimentation can corals take before they die? The hypothesis is practical, the experiment grueling and the conclusion prudent. With a quantity for coral deaths (rate of sedimentation), the people managing the people who cause sedimentation can put a check on the amount of sediment being introduced into Singapore waters.

Singapore with our magnificent biodiversity and 249 species of coral [1], will surely be an extraordinary diving and snorkeling location. If the results from research like this are made into practice our reefs might not need to weather such sandstorms again

References
[1] Hope for coral reefs here: just one species gone; concerted effort can reverse extinction trends
By Shobana Kesava
The Straits Times, Saturday, August 16 2008 PPB9

Picture of pristine site by Karenne, Poisoned goldfish by Theo and Mucus illustration by Jacque

No animals were harmed in the making of this article

Experiments to Save the World: A Foreword

2008-08-10T13:06:00.007+08:00

We know who are killing the corals: Us. But to understand how we can save coral, we first need to comprehend how they live and how they die. It is as quoted in Art of War by Sun Tzu, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles”. Avant-garde Professor Chou Loke Ming with NUS Marine Bio Lab is at the forefront of marine conservation. And so begins the battle for the coral reefs.

Our two bosses at the lab Karenne and Angie are currently conducting experiments to further understand how corals respond to different stimuli. This is the start of our strategy, to know oneself, or know one’s coral. Like all other respectable scientists, the scientific process was followed with much rigor.

For those who have not heard of the scientific process, here is a condensed version (the kind you find in science textbooks for 3rd graders):
Scientific process: hypothesis, experiment, conclusion.

A simple example of a hypothesis would be: does prodding people stunt growth?

The experiment would of course have to test the response of growth upon prolonged prodding. For example we would gather a group of homologous (similar) people and prod them with a prodding device for a time period. Their respective heights should also be monitored.
After such a period, the final heights can be compared to initial heights. And thus the conclusion.

Now that everyone has the same basic understanding of the subject matter, we can proceed with more technical jargon ^^ Click on the other experiments (links on the right) to find out more!

(photo of wooden dolls from http://www.swiftdev.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4191)

Threats to corals

2008-08-07T12:06:00.007+08:00

Any animal in the wild surely faces numerous threats which can extinguish its existence like a candle flame in a hurricane. After all, mother nature is tough on her children. The threats get even more numerous if you are a sessile creature, unable to walk out of harms way. I.e., being firmly rooted to the middle of the road in the way of an oncoming SUV tearing along at 70mph. I hear voices of protest now, 'Surely corals do not have to content with crazy drivers underwater! Well, they have to put up with much worse.

That's what they get reduced into.

In the natural world, they have to deal with predators like crown of thorns and parrotfishes. Then of course, humans come along into the picture, and fish the corals out of the water for aquarium trade, or drag fishing nets all over them in trawling, blow them up with dynamite fishing or just destroy the ecosystem they are in by overfishing. Of course, the same humans then proceed to destroy other parts of the planet which also affects the corals such as polluting the waterways, land erosion, pesticide wastes and warm water outflows. Let's examine some interesting ones in depth.

Corals for aquariums
Some people who love exotic marine life but are hydrophobic. Corals are used in aquariums so that the underwater tank resembles an exotic coral reef. The concept is rather like a zoo: take the animal from it's homeland and chuck it in an enclosure somewhere. The market to keep these hydrophobes happy is on a global scale. The problem with it is that when you keep removing healthy individuals by the truckload from the reef, there won't be a reef to mimic in the first place. Irresponsible catching of organisms will bring instability to the fragile reef ecosystem.

Bottom trawling and dynamite fishing
Both trawling and dynamite fishing are non specific methods of fishing. You catch whatever you can. In bottom trawling, a net is dragged over the sea bed and everything in its path destroyed and hauled up. (This is how you get your cod, squid and halibut. Guilty?) In dynamite fishing, you throw an explosive into the water, kill all the marine life within a certain radius, collect whatever fish floats up and sell/eat them. Except corals don't float when they die, they aren't edible, and they are dead anyway.

Global warming
Ooh! Everyone knows this issue about global warming and how the polar caps are melting. There is a closer consequence anyway, one that's happening around the tropics rather than the arctic/antarctic circle. Zooxanthallae, the secret behind the success of corals, the wing beneath their wings, the wave beneath their tentacles, do not like heat. No sir, not one bit. A slight change in temperature (like a couple of degrees) is enough so make them go crazy, so crazy that they'd jump out of a building (figuratively). They'd leave their coral hosts and just float around in the ocean, leaving the corals behind without any photosynthetic partner, friend, colour and self-esteem.

Warm water outflows
Same as global warming, but more regional. Same effects as global warming (prelude of what is to come, eh?)

Land reclamation and land erosion
While these two seem to be opposing each other (reclamation = more land! erosion = less land!), they both do the same damage to corals. Land reclamation works and soil erosion causes large amounts of silt to be dumped into the water. If you were a coral you'd be freaking out. Imagine being stuck in a sandstorm while someone cemented your feet in a 10000kg stone slab. Corals get really stressed out when there's alot of muck and mud on them. They start producing massive amounts of mucus (think: what your nose does when you have the flu) to get rid of the dirt. Of course, when you waste all your energy making mucus, you don't really get to grow and do other things.

Sewage and pesticide wastes, industrial pollution and oil spills
All of these are like dumping rubbish into people's houses. Would you like someone dumping pesticides and sewage into your room? I had a neighbour who had a leak in his house, and he kept complaining to the management for weeks on end, telephone calls and letters and emails. Can you imagine each individual coral complaining to upper management? It's gonna be an administration nightmare. Sewage and pesticides are NOT part of ANY animals recommended diet.

Tourism
Tourists directly or indirectly destroy corals by pollution, bad diving practices and irresponsible docking of boats.

Ocean acidification
Think trees are the only things that remove carbon dioxide? Here’s what you should think, the ocean is the largest carbon sink on earth. The ocean is like a carbonated drink the only problem is that we can’t shake it. Continued release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere means the largest of carbon sinks is getting larger. When carbon dioxide reacts with water carbonic acid is formed. pH changes are bad for coral and all life for that matter.

Coral disease
Like all living organisms coral can catch diseases too, from bacteria and fungi infections and from viruses. When someone is sick he shouldn’t be rolling around in dirt otherwise exacerbating his illness! Sadly corals don’t get breaks from a constant slew of environmental threats.

Crown of Thorns

Crown of thorns (COT) is a star fish. It is not cute at all. Believe it or not they are ferocious creatures. Two mechanisms ensure their survival. Puking mechanism enables throwing up of stomach to digest coral. Spiny mechanism deters predators. It is a lean mean eating machine. In normal quantities they improve reef biodiversity by controlling competition between coral species. Their larvae (babies) are predated upon. But over-fishing removes such predators and COT flourish.

Invasive species

Aliens are real. The introduction of foreign species will disrupt the ecosystem. Without any predators such aliens will multiply like the children of Abraham. An example would be the red-eared slider (terrapin) as they infest the waters of Singapore displacing the locals.

References:
http://www.iyor.org/reefs/status.asp
Photos by Jacque

'Singapore got reef meh?'

2008-08-02T13:53:00.009+08:00

Ask a random person off orchard road / your neighbourhood and watch their response to the question: 'What do you think of Singapore's coral reefs?'

The answer you'd get is likely to be

'Singapore got reef meh?'

Many singaporeans aren't aware that there exists any life in the mucky waters surrounding our wonderfully small island. The very idea of a living kicking coral reef is practically unheard of. (Oh yes, the huge concern about overpopulation and associated housing problems. where will we house the corals?)

Beautiful pristine reefs?
In mucky Singapore waters?

Fortunately, nature is more generous than people give her credit for. Even in muddy Singapore waters, one can find amazing reef habitats and reef life. (Although they are much stressed out by the mud. Can you live happily while covered with mud? Some people I know don't even want to live with grass.)

Singapore's reef is small. As with our sunny island, it represents a very small fraction of total coral reef area (<0.001% of total reef area in SEA). Before anyone looks down on the extremely small figure, it is important to note that we also have immense biodiversity on the little patch we call our own, more than 60% of species found in South East Asia. (HA! Take that!) The reefs in the seas around Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore are all fringing reefs. These kind of reefs occurs in shallow water near the shore. These reefs form a border between the island and the sea. The upside of this is that when there is a tsunami about to wipe out a fraction of our population, the reefs take much of the damage for us and keep us relatively safe. (Being surrounded by Malaysia and Indonesia seems to lessen the dangers of a tsunami in Singapore, but please don't let that be the reason for complacency) As an added benefit, one can put on a snorkle and mask, wade out from the beach and swim around the reef (chasing clownfishes and begging for a joke)

Singapore's reefs face a threat that all locals will be very familiar with: land reclamation. Land reclamation is a very useful method in increasing land space on a small island surrounded by relatively shallow waters! Add lots and lots and lots of sand into the shallow parts of the sea until they are higher than sea level and hey presto! More land to use.

What happens then? Corals don't spontaenously sprout legs and walk away from the sandstorm, so Of course there's no reef left! (none left, unless you want to dig under all the sand to extract their squashed skeletons. trust me, these buried reefs won't turn into oil fields anytime soon, and no they wont produce enough oil to power Singapore for more than 5 minutes)

So land reclamation has been going on, and yet there are still reefs in Singapore! Here is where we thank our lucky stars that land reclaimation techonologies have their limitations. Land reclamation projects haven't reclaimed ALL of Singapore's waters, and so haven't massacred all of our beloved reefs.

What's remaining?

Yes, taken here in Singapore! And people can go and swim there, and see all of it for themselves. (And you should do it or do something about it soon, or all you get are these pretty virtual pictures)

'Singapore got reef meh?'
Now you all know better

(Photos by Ms Karenne Tun)

Reef-friendly Recreation!

2008-08-01T14:08:00.007+08:00

There are many things to do at a marine park! That is why marine parks enjoy numerous tourists almost all year round. Sadly, most tourists visiting marine parks end up damaging coral reefs, despite their best intentions. They continue their outrageous littering, pick up and bring home things that ought to remain in the wild, and hurl objects off boats for stress relief. Let's see some of the activities one can participate in, and how to be responsible while experiencing the marine parks (good for you and the corals):

1. SCUBA diving and snorkeling
Immersing yourself in the same environment as the corals and exploring every nook and cranny with the fishes, turtles, sharks and squid. These activities have minimal impact on the corals and yet give people the chance to observe spectacular marine life up close. One can take in great underwater views and great pictures while swimming around the reefs. When participating in either activities, try to control your buoyancy so that you do not smash into the corals

2. Boating and Yachting
Speeding on the water surface, enjoying great views, sparkling white beaches, quaint islands and amazing coral cays; boating and yachting in marine parks allows one to enjoy things above and below the surface. One can chase the whales during migrations, or observe friendly dugongs in shallow waters from the comfort of the boat deck. When participating in these activities, do not go too close to the animals or run them over with your vessel. Use the speed limits in the area and avoid colliding with animal and coral structures!

3. Bird watching
Marine parks tend to have a large amount of seafood, and consequently a large amount of seafood loving birds. As the name suggests, it's bird watching, so keep your distance and contend yourself with only watching, not harassing.

4. Fishing
Fishing can give one the huge satisfaction from literally earning his/her own dinner. Fishing (recreational, not commercial) is sometimes allowed in marine parks, as it is a fun sport for the whole family. Please do not use dynamites, non-native baits, and only fish at the designated fishing spots. If everyone adheres to the rules, we all get seafood for dinner! Halibut, anyone?

5. Motorized water sports
This means jet skiing, tube riding, para sailing, and water skiing amongst others. One can race over the water surface and enjoy the sea spray on their faces. As with boats and yachts, avoid collisions with marine animals and corals at all costs!

6. Lazing about in the sun
Of course, not everyone likes to run around and get all sweaty and exhausted by the end of the day. Most marine parks boasts pristine, soft sandy beaches, where one can just lounge on a mat and tan or watch the waves in the shade. Often, there are boats traveling to different islands, and one can experience all the different beaches, and take some awesome snapshots. Just remember to bring your rubbish along with you, so the beaches remain pristine.

Well, there we go! Some of the fun things people can do in marine parks and some precautions to ensure that we can all enjoy it for many years to come (:

Resources:
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
Pictures by Jacque (although who took the picture of Theo remains largely unknown)

Reef Ecology

2008-07-30T14:29:00.010+08:00

The coral reef looks very much like a garden, except flooded with salt water, and very possibly more colourful. (That is if the corals are still alive and not bleached, and you remember to put a red filter when photographing underwater)

The corals form a colossal underwater garden and is the basis of all activities on the reef. It is food, shelter, jail and much more to the animal on the reef (some beautiful, some ugly, some invisible and some imaginary). This post will help the lay person get to know the inhabitants of the reef and appreciate the diversity of life found on the reefs, including fish, jellyfish, turtles,sponges, nudibranchs (our cover girls), crabs, shrimps and so on and so forth. A more technical guide to cover the extremely numerous animal and plant life will be severely voluminous and costly, and if ever it should be published, it will be in hardcopy to earn the authors of this blog some income.

Shall we begin?

Secret ingredient
'The secret ingredient is... there is no secret ingredient'
'Yeah, okay'
'Wait. You believed what I just said?'
'Well, person like you can never keep a secret ingredient a secret, so I'm not surprised'
'No way! I can totally keep secrets okay. The secret ingredient is zooxanthallae, so there!'
'...'
'I so did not say that out loud.'

The secret for success for reef-building corals is the microscopic plant called zooxanthallae living in the tissues of the coral. These plants photosynthesize (don't ask me why. it's a plant thing to like sunlight) and build up organic matter. Zooxanthallae helps corals with calcification, allowing them to grow bigger. The precise reason why zooxanthallae is such an important player is still kept a secret (perhaps my pet rock can help you on this one). Some suggest that the oxygen produced by the photosynthesis is used by the corals for respiration, or that the corals digest bits of the zooxanthallae as a sort of diet supplement. While this sounds rather cannibalistic, let me remind my readers not to grow too emotionally attached to zooxanthallae. They are, after all, plants.

Prisoners

Ah, this one is rather interesting. The crab, Hapalocarcinus marsupialis, (not the one above!) is one very willing prisoner. So willing, in fact, that one does not need to have jail wardens or even a jail cell; this prisoner will build his own, in a manner of speaking. The crab induces abnormal growth of corals (of family Pocilloporidae) to form a tiny cage around itself. Only females do this though, the males wander around on the coral surface wondering why he can't seem to find a date. Certain shrimps also have the same paranoid practice (Paratypton siebenrocki) of locking themselves in, although the males and females prefer to live together (hanky panky!)

Casual associates

Too many to count! Many organisms temporarily make use of corals and have no lasting loyalties. These include protozoans, flatworms and copepods that creep around on the surface of the corals, molluscs and crabs that hide in the nooks and crannies of the reef, and fishes that seek shelter among branched colonies or under coral heads.

Permanant neighbours

Some organisms stay with their coral neighbours for their whole life. Either they've got incredible loyalty, or they've got no choice cause they aren't able to move to a prime estate with waterfront residences. Barnacles make homes on top of coral skeletons, and stay there for the rest of their lives. Blennies inhabit holes in the corals and use it as a vantage point to catch their prey. Sponges (family Cliona) are extremely hostile neighbouts, actively boring their way through the corals foundations by mechanically and chemically scraping through the coral skeleton, making the structure extremely weak. Some molluscs do the same, although we shall not give them their 15 minutes of fame for such bad behaviour. Remember guys, good neighbours day is on 13 November!

Predators

Crown of thorns, parrotfish. Of course, these organisms absolutely love corals! On the menu that is. Enough said.
(The corals on the left of the crown of thorns have been eaten already. Look how white they appear!)

References:
Wood, E. M.. Introduction, In: Corals of the World. 1983, T.F.H Publications,Inc., Ltd. pp 11 - 25
First image by Ms Karenne Tun. Other images by Jacque

Internation Year Of the Reef

2008-07-27T16:52:00.004+08:00

International Year Of the Reef (IYOR): Boogie that Be!

This year 2008 is the International Year Of the Reef after the first declaration in 1997. This campaign aims to increase the awareness of the threats which coral reefs now face and to motivate the world to take steps in protecting our global heritage. IYOR 97 was extremely successful, with over 225 organizations in 50 countries, providing the base which local and global conservation initiatives lift off.

Sadly IYOR 97 did not impact the world like an epidemic. After ’97 the world still deteriorated. Reefs still deteriorated. The threat of global warming loomed on the horizon. The world pretty much seemed bound for hell.

But some chose not to give in. The International Coral Reef Initiative chose 2008 as the International Year Of the Reef. Now, the IYOR is back, bigger and better. Approximately 50 countries will be celebrating the IYOR and Singapore is proud to be one of them!

(This blog is a direct result of IYOR2008! If you have learnt more about reefs and feel motivated to help, visit the site (click the logo above) to see how you can help. Also, remember spread the word around!)

Of corals and reefs

2008-07-21T16:46:00.007+08:00

Corals are the architects and builders of the massive structures that form the bulk of the coral reef. Each reef began from a single coral polyp (an animal!) that settled down on the seafloor of shallow waters, and began to grow.

The basic unit of a coral is a polyp. It is a tubular animal with a ring of tentacles surrounding its mouth, which is located right smack in the center. It grows by budding off neighbours, which settles down and does the same, until there is an entire colony. These polyps build a cup shape skeleton around themselves for protection, and the colony grows with the skeleton into branches, coulders, shelves or pillars amongst others.

After a long enough time, the colony dies off. New colonies take over the dead skeletons as a base to grow on, and when they die another colony will. Eventually there is a build up of large mounts of calcarous matter, and you will obtain a thin mantle of living polyps covering an enormous stony mass, which are the corals you see

Corals under ideal situations will grow and grow and grow everywhere and every size imaginable. However, nature is rather harsh, and only the fittest will survive. Waves pound against the corals, tidal ebb and flow reduce coral skeletons to sand, predators feed on the polyps and large amounts of freshwater from storms kill off corals on shallow waters. Furthermore, zooxanthallae living in the tissues of corals require sunlight and certain temperatures, limiting corals to depth of less than 30++ metres and geographic distributions of between latitudes 25N and 25S.(the warmer areas. there are reefs in Japan too, actually, even though it's rather cold over there)

The growing of corals can lead to different kinds of reefs, as shown below:

Reefs around Singapore, Malaysia and the philipines are fringing reefs

Corals and their reefs also support a HUGE ecosystem, and are one of the most beautiful places on Earth. While reefs are damaged from natural events, the most serious threat comes from humans. Coral reefs are exploited for food, trophies, building materials and so on. Healthy coral reefs are exotic and beautiful, supporting unbelievable amounts of yummy seafood and other resources, and shields us mortals from the terrors of tsunamis.

Read our other articles (click on the links on the right side) to learn more about the reefs and how people enjoy, threaten and save them (:

References:
1) Henrey, L.. Reefs and Builders, In: Coral Reefs of Malaysia and Singapore. 1982, The Print House Pte Ltd. pp 3 - 10
2) Wood, E. M.. Introduction, In: Corals of the World. 1983, T.F.H Publications, Inc., Ltd. pp 11 - 25
All pictures were sponsored by Ms Karenne Tun and Ms Angie Seow
(Except the last one. That one is from www.geology.uprm.edu)