lekowala!

One fieldtrip left and a seminar series at the science centre before the Biophilia programme draws to a close for the year. Hopefully we can run it again next year. The idea is to arouse biophilia in students, who otherwise would not have an authentic experience of nature here in Urban Singapore. But its more than that. Besides the place-based learning, the students come up with their projects here and all we do as part of that process is socratic questioning. Its a bit frustrating for students and its not easy to come up with a scientific question. But we’ve been to the fieldsite for about 5 times already and each time we spend about 3 hours there (what a blessing to have enthusiastic and supportive colleagues taking turns or even coming regular for this). We’ve seen some “ecological literacy” developing so that’s a nice development.

Here’s a pair of anemone shrimps. We found 2 pairs on two different anemones. They are delightful creatures to watch and they are, as we found out through the weeks on the Biophilia programme, almost always there when there is a submerged carpet anemone. They are known to wait out in a nearby pool if the anemone is totally exposed during the low tide, and return again.

This is the second time I have seen it in the flesh/carapace, and they provide a nice source of distraction from the world. The seem to potter about busily around the tentacles of the anemone and its been recorded that they fend off any outsider (be it a fish) that comes close to the anemone. So the pair’s highly territorial. Their almost transparent body makes them hard to spot but once you know there’s a high chance of spotting them beside the nice obvious bloom of the anemone, their movements give them away. The smaller one of the pair is the guy.

For much better pictures and a sciency account go to the Annotated Budak post

Nat Low and I were debating over this row of eggs. I had roughly remembered it to be some mollusc that would lay such eggs. She, being more cephalopod-biased, suggested it was too big for small snails… well not too big for the spiral melongena I guess.

Here’s a nice picture of the spiral melongena from Dai Jiao’s photostream in Flickr.

Because the tide was low, we decided to hope over to another stretch of rocky beach on the southern most point of Singapore and saw this pair of horseshoe crab doing their thing. What an interesting sight for students who have not even seen the creature before, seeing the mating ritual of the horseshoe crab. I am sure they, like me before, find it interesting to know that the horseshoe crab has blue blood, as unlike us, they have copper instead of iron as the prosthetic group to carry oxygen. The blue blood is very valuable as it has anti-bacterial properties that scientists have been studying. See the youtube video here.

The morning started out with a nice view of the seashore exposed by the low tide (0.3 m). The sky was clear and the sound of the ebbing waves beckoned.

The students were to carry out their transect study. I was with a group of them when they set up a 40 m long line transect across the intertidal zone. It must have been one of those fulfilling days as a bio teacher. The sun, the sand and the ebbing waves washing at our ankles as we looked for yet one more creature to surprise us with its existence in its strange form. The day’s new creature of the day started off with the slender seamoth.

Its not uncommon on these fieldtrips to the shore to hear students go “wow” in amazement at an entirely new creature they have seen…. Come to think of it.. how many times in our lives do we come across anything really new in the flesh.

The slender seamoth was really calm as we comtemplated it… see the shadows of our heads hovering over it as we trained camera lenses on it. We pondered over whether it was a stargazer or seawasp.

That’s the 40m transect which took a group an hour plus to complete documenting the creatures they saw.

And here’s a makeshift square transect that the group who had done were particularly proud of.

The low tide really exposed a lot of creatures and lots of carpet anemones were exposed in those pools. It was with Mr Nah’s patience and keen eye that we spotted the prawn that was swimming within those tentacles of one. And soon enough what must have been quite the highlight of the day was to spot a clownfish, at home within the tentacle of the carpet anemone. Now, we have seen Nemo in aquarium and the movies, but to come across on in situ was a different thing all together… we all beamed at such a discovery.

It must have been on of the most fulfilling visits to that fieldsite. I think partly it could be attributed to the fact that we set up transects and had a more considered approach to our survey.

We work to the ominous backdrop of mega construction and each time I go there, I half expect the place to be cleared and cordoned off for some pointless attraction. The day that happens, I will be cynical, for I have come to know of creatures who await discovery by students.

Sometime in 2006, I was looking for a seashore environment to bring students to study the intertidal zone. The Changi coast near the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal was a nice choice but there were too many sandflies. So one day, I decided to go to Sentosa with my family. The reclaimed beaches just didn’t make it cos it was void of life… almost except for pesky sunbathers. I was there for about half an hour when Joshua needed to pee, so I brought him to the toilet in one of the areas in Sentosa. It happened to overlook a sandy/rocky seashore beach which happened to be exposed as the tide was low. That was the beginning of many visits to the area.

Beautiful Life

The tide was low and the waters just reached ankle height even when we waded far from shore… I was instantly brought back to my childhood days of beach exploration when my parents used to bring me to the beach and I would explore the rocky areas and look at the rock pools, fascinated by the creatures like hermit crabs and little fish that got trapped with the outgoing tide. Josh, Matt and I waded in the waters for about an hour or more. We met a carpet anemone, sea cucumbers, an octopus (would you imagine that!), a leaf porter crab. Every now and then Josh and Matt would be amazed at the little crab who would hide under a leaf… how curious it was.. and I was there to show it to them. We spent the remainder of the time chasing crabs, fast swimming flower crabs that darted about in the surprisingly clear waters… The kids’ amazement and wonderment were enough to make me satisfied. It was an enrichment class, or place-based learning experience, well call it what you will but we totally were in the flow (see “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Csíkszentmihályi”)

Just some of the beauties at the beach area.

Naturally I was excited about this and decided that this would be the place to bring some students to experience it as a fieldtrip. After assessing the safety and planning and making sure that the students wouldn’t affect the environment, we went there and had our fieldtrip. We caught several creatures, displayed them in tanks and released them back to their habitats. The feedback was good and generally, most would not have experience that kind of environment here. A year later we brought another batch of students there and the same “magic” was felt. I had hoped to instil some kind of love for the environment and creatures in this students. This year, I have expanded the fieldtrip to an enrichment programme called the Biophilia Programme where students will propose and study the ecology of the site to assess biodiversity and ecology there with minimal impact.

However, the last field trip there last week left me with a heavy heart. Just a few hundred metres away, there was a big barge and major construction works. I guess for the resort world. Was this place going to be affected, will it totally go? Can the programme still continue… will Joshua and Matt see Mr Octopus? My heart sank further when I realised that the patch of halophila (or sea grass) that was verdant the year before had now been razed to the muddy substrate.. all the sea grass and sea weed was gone. Those seaweeds and seagrass were home to the octopus, the carpet anemone and the many leaf porter crabs my sons and I had discovered by flipping the the floating leaves. They were now gone. Naturally I am upset… depressed if you will. Even more so when I read this post by Rambling Leaf monkey… here.

This rich patch of halophila and seaweeds is now gone…

I can’t reconcile with the fact that the rocky shore habitats at Sentosa may be gone along with its denizens, the octopus, the curious leaf porter crabs, the many scurrying crabs, baby squids, the file fishes, the carpet anemone, the sea cucumbers will be gone… Will there be an Oceanarium there? Will it be part of the habitat destruction? Already underwaterworld puts me off with the lonely dugong and a gazillion fish swimming in what seems to be overcrowded tanks. Honestly, I think picking up some hermit crab along a rocky shore is more authentic. I can’t help but feel the greed of society impinging on God’s creation or mother nature, whatever floats your boat. Will Sentosa become more artificial again. I had hopes that all the rocky shores might be left unharmed and I hope that they will be, but the razed patch of seagrass has me thinking deep.

In this age of science, I would think that as Carl Sagan, puts it albeit a little righteously, that Science will be a candle in the dark. Its a demon-haunted world in a different sense today where biodiversity is concerned. Look at over-fishing, pollution, animal slaughter in the abbatoirs. No longer are people ignorant, they just turn a blind eye. I hope that this isn’t the case for the Sentosa management and that the people at Sentosa realise that the rocky shores are precious and hopefully, hopefully, any biodiversity surveys of the rocky shores there will be a candle in the dark for them…

Guess who said this.

“It was the death of a chicken that finally strengthened my resolve to become vegetarian.

“These days, when I see a row of plucked chickens hanging in a meat shop, it hurts.”

Watch out for part II for the answer.

There is something fascinating about whales and dolphins. I remember giving a lecture in school on Lipids (an ‘A’ level biology subtopic) and as a digression, I told the class a story about Whaling in Nantucket in the 18th century. Its somewhat related to lipids as the whaling industry was mainly based on the lipid found in the spermaceti of the sperm whale. A large whale could provide up to 3 tons of that valuable wax which was odorless and non-oily to the touch.

Anyway, I played some sound clips of whales singing (yes, they do sing and in different dialects too, depending on which pod they belong to) and after that auditory experience, the students (about 300) clapped and cheered. There must be something mesmerizing about whales in our human psyche. I was glad to know that most students displayed a sense of biophilia, sensu E.O. Wilson.

Scientifically, Cetaceans are animals belonging to the Order Cetacea, which, include whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Actually the reason why I am posting here is because I came across this article about whaling in Japan and its just inexplicable that whaling still occurs. Hey, I understand if the Iñupiat Eskimos do it to survive (see my post on a book I read about Eskimo whaling) but to state scientific reasons for whaling is entirely beyond reasonable acceptance. Its like killing cats randomly and saying we need data.

Note this statement - “Over a six-month period, it will kill 1,000 whales as part of what it says is a scientific research programme.”

I am no whale fanatic but they are just lovely creatures. I have had nice dreams about dolphins and whales too and those were deep and meaningful ones for me. They at least represent the wonders that nature has produced. And at most, are inspiring to many people. Scientifically, the are really peculiar and interesting ends of the evolutionary tree. See link below about the recent fossil discovery that shed new light on the evolutionary research to trace which extinct land-dwelling mammals were the probable ancestors of Cetaceans

Ivan’s Dolphins Galaxia and Into the Deep feature some whale and dolphin sounds. They are so enchanting and give a sensitive dimension to the music.

My point is “Stop Whaling!”

Saw this guy on the sand. This fish looks alive. Its thinking about how wonderful it was swimming in the shallows just a few hours ago.

I have even composed a song about it.…ha!

Was at Changi beach a few days ago and decided to walk along the strandline, the line of sea debris, usually made of anything washed up the shore. Usually, this means dried fruits, rubbish, straw etc etc. Not surprisingly, I came across Cynometra ramiflora legumes again. This time there were four of them. I was thinking, great, they are pretty common, but where are they gonna take root? Very few back mangroves around now.

Also picked up other interesting stuff like the sea urchin, the fruit of a species of plant (Finlaysonis obovata) from the family Asclepiadaceae.

Its been 6 months since Jen and I took our long walks in the forest. This I call my mindfulness walks and she calls it trail walking.

It was 5.15 pm when we set off from the start of the trail and by 7 pm it got a bit dark. As we were walking along the boardwalk I began to smell the scents of the forest. I remember reading that moth-pollinated flowers tended to maximise their output of floral scents in the evening. Read more about floral scents here at the full content paper in the journal Plant Physiology

By this time of the walk we were into the 8th kilometre of the walk and so endorphins were kicking in and no doubt we were feeling good. The nice scenery helped

Here’s the lake of reflection. If you read The Monk who sold his Ferrari, there would be mention of a lake where the monks spent the first part of their day, which is early in the morning meditating infront of a still and reflective lake, visualising their goals.

So, the other day we were at the East Coast Park beach playing with the sand when Josh picks up a “brain”, well a hard fruit the size of a lime that looks much like a brain. It took me a while before I did a double take and realised, my goodness, he had picked up a rare legume… the fruit of a member of the bean family.. That family of plants basically contains the peanut, soya beans, rain trees, in essence anything that has a pod, to be more accurate, a legume. the legume is a fruit that has 2 valves that will split along a line and reveal beans, which essentially are seeds. A pod is more layman and can be applied loosely to other fruits.

Anyway, what Josh had picked up was a rare native of Singapore called Cynometra ramiflora L. var. ramiflora, its an inhabitant of back mangroves, which basically means, somewhere behind the mangroves where the ground isn’t so muddy anymore and resembles more a a forest.

Why rare? When I revised the group for the Flora of Singapore, I listed it as “probably extinct”, following a previous status accorded to it by other botanists. After a few years, someone else spotted it along one of the offshore islands. So it was really great that Josh simply picked up the legume from the strand line along the east coast park beach.

Here’s Josh presenting the rare legume. He had inadvertently picked it up and brought it to the at first unappreciative local authority on the Caesalpinioid legumes of Singapore.

This is Matt contemplating the size of the fruit. Its hard and corky so definitely buoyant. I am not sure where it came from though but at least it is here.

I looked around the strand line for more of the fruit and found another. How serendipitous.

Here’s my botanical illustration of the species.

I was watching Makansutra on the Asian Food Channel when suddenly I felt the TV screen with Seetoh eating his chengtng swaying. He had just mentioned that the chengtng he was eating from that shop was not sour, so the ingredients were of high quality.

I thought it was a giddy spell, as I have had one two many meetings these few days. But having experienced the swaying buildings before in March this year (see this post by me and this post by Otterman), I knew it may be another tremor. I could definitely feel the sway, so I asked the wife, wassup? She was listening to snow patrol and suddenly felt giddy and then we saw the one of our kids’ bag hanging on the doorknob sway. And then the building swayed a little again…. So we decided let’s just walk down stairs bringing the kids who thought it all fun. So before I could feel paiseh about it, I met quite a few block members hanging around the pavement and looking at the buildings. The ground floor of the flats across the junction were also gathered some people who were also looking up at the buildings.

Called Siva, because he would probably be online and being so Web2.0 savvy could check out what was happening. I remembered also that he knew where to check in real time the websites that reported earthquakes, but he didn’t answer handphone, so called Ladybug who was at a seminar/class but didn’t feel anything even though her friend later said the projector screen was shaking… Finally got Siva and he checked up the useful USGS site to tell me that it was a Sumatran earthquake measuring about 8 in magnitude. Check out his first post today about it here and the second one on how to report tremors.

Check out also Leafmonkey’s extensive and interesting perspective of Singaporean’s reactions to the tremors.

Later our upstairs neighbour recalled that she was trying to put her baby to sleep when felt the bed moving, so she listened out to see if there were anyone in the block screaming, a measure of how serious the situation was and then went back to tuck her baby into bed.

Here are some pictures at Sengkang. By this time the crowd slowly petered out.

One of the families brought down a suitcase.

By this time, the crowd was petering off and I was relaying to them Siva’s news that it was a sumatran earthquake.

extra notes

Jen said she felt giddy cos maybe she had been too busy with her flu and work

Siva said that he felt giddy cos he thought he was fighting off an infection and overworking on lectures

I said I felt giddy because I thought, that’s it, must be the many meetings I have attended this week.