5am and we're back on the shore with Dr James, this time at Pulau Hantu.
We find more examples of the zoanthids we saw yesterday at Kusu Island.
There is Palythoa tuberculosa that looks like a rubber mat and coats rocks and rubble. 
This zoanthid can take on different forms. Some are smooth and unfragmented.
Others are highly fragmented and look almost like pomelo segments! Dr James confirmed that this zoanthid does sometimes purposely break off pieces that are washed away and eventually settle down to start a new colony. It is believed that they mostly reproduce asexually (by division or just expanding the colony). In fact, there are problems in understanding how zoanthids reproduce sexually.
They also come in different colours, some have tinges of other colours such as green.
These zoanthids include sand in their bodies and feel a bit rough to the touch. Dr James elaborated that the sand grains are actually incorporated into the body and not stuck on the outside. Different species of zoanthids may select different sizes of sand grains.
Dr James shares that not every colony of this zoanthid is toxic. Some may have the toxin and others may not. The toxin is being studied for applications in human medicine.
This is another Palythoa species, Palythoa mutuki. Unlike the rubber mat zoanthid, these have more distinct body columns.
But they too have a shared base of tissue, as you can see from the close up in the photo on the right. When they are out of water, the tentacles are tucked into the body columm.
When submerged, you can see the broad oral disc fringed by short tentacles.
The polyps may be closely packed against one another.
And come in different colours. This clump was found near a mangrove tree!
This is a Zoanthus species, those we saw were mostly Zoanthus sansibaricus.
These zoanthids don't include sand in their bodies so the surface is smooth to the touch.
Here's a closer look at the much smaller polyps.
The Zoanthus polyps are also embedded in a common tissue, although this is sometimes hidden by a layer of sand or sediments.
As we looked for zoanthids, we came across other marine life that resembled zoanthids.
Zoanthids often crowded next to other kinds of marine life such as sponges, hard and soft corals. This Palythoa tuberculosa is growing next to a brown sponge that, at low tide, looks very much like the zoanthid colony.
Here's a close up of the sponge on the left photo, and the zoanthid on the right photo.
The Goniopora hard coral also resembles zoanthids.
Its polyps are also a circle of short tentacles on a long body column.
But a closer look will reveal the hard skeleton (photo on the left).
Here is another ball of Goniopora hard coral.
Another hard coral that looks like zoanthids at first glance is the Galaxea hard coral.
A closer look will reveal the hard skeleton that form tall tubes.
And here's a hard coral that looks like Palythoa tuberculosa at first glance.
A closer look reveal the hard skeleton that is in the shape of small mounds. The polyps emerge as tiny flowers in the centre of the hard mounds. This hard coral is probably Astreopora sp., a member of the Family Acroporidae.
In the silty sand, there are sometimes tiny sea anemones.
That may be mistaken for zoanthids as they grow close to one another. But closer examination will show that they are not connected to one another like zoanthids are.
We also showed Dr James this intriguing colony of animals. I've seen it sometimes on our shores.
It's not a zoanthid and Dr James thinks it might be a hydrozoan. Wow! There's really a lot more that we can learn about our common marine life.
As we looked for zoanthids, we also came across many amazing reef animals. Kok Sheng has shared all the spectacular finds on his wonderful creations blog. So I'm just going to highlight a few.
At first mistaken for a mantis shrimp, this creature is a Ghost shrimp (Glypturus sp.)
It is very rarely spotted and Dr James says it's a "Hantu Shrimp". Wow, he also speaks Malay. I'm very impressed.
There were lots of fishes in the pools left behind on this very low tide. Including this very pretty filefish.
I don't know what kind of filefish it is.
And along the reef edge were these spectacular balls of spines! 
Diadema sea urchins usually have all black spines. But this has white spines and some spines that are banded!
Another one further down had long black spines but short pale spines!
Wow, I wonder what they are?
We did quite a long circuit of Pulau Hantu as the tide was very low and long. 
Pulau Hantu's shores are magnificently alive although they are right next to the major industrial installations on Pulau Bukom and Pulau Busing.
Other blog entries about this trip
Zoanthid hunt at Hantu on Kok Sheng's wonderful creations blog.
Jun 5, 2008
Zoanthids of Pulau Hantu
Jun 4, 2008
Zoanthids of Kusu Island
4am and we're at Kusu! This time with Dr James Reimer, a zoanthid expert who is with the very cool sounding JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology).
Dr James is a great person to be with out in the field. Although he just arrived in Singapore a few hours before, he was bright and cheery and delighted us with all kinds of insights about our zoanthids.
What are zoanthids?
Zoanthids look like tiny sea anemones with tiny tentacles on a tiny oral disk supported by a tiny body column. But while sea anemones are solitary polyps, most zoanthids live in colonies like corals do. But zoanthids don't produce a hard skeleton like the hard coral colonies. Instead, their skin is leathery.
Each polyp has a smooth, flat oral disc with short tentacles, usually in two rows close to one another. When they are out of water, the tentacles are tucked into the body column so that the zoanthid may look like sausages or blobs. Dr James says he prefers to see them with their tentacles expanded to have a better idea of what they are.
Zoanthids may have three different living arrangements. Each zoanthid polyp may be solitary but located near one another. These polyps are large with thick, fleshy polyps on tall columns. Or the zoanthid polyps are joined one another in the colony by stolons (tube-like structures that spread across the ground like a root or runner).
On one part of Kusu Island, the shores are thick with zoanthids. We are glad that Dr James finds this area interesting. They are mostly two diffent kinds of zoanthids.
These small ones are Zoanthus species also sometimes called Button zoanthids. They can come in many different colours and patterns. Dr James says these generally don't incorporate sand in their bodies so they are smooth to the touch. He also said that although in the past, they were assigned different species by their shape, DNA studies show that many are actually the same species. The most commonly seen species on Kusu Island were Z. sansibaricus.
The bigger brown ones are Palythoa species (although previously called Protopalythoa, Dr James says DNA studies show that they are Palythoa). And most of them on Kusu's shores were Palythoa mutuki. Dr James says some of these incorporate sand into their bodies so they are more rough to the touch.
In some zoanthid species, the polyps may be embedded in a common, shared mat of tissue. The tissue may be strengthened by incorporating sand. The colony may form mats on the sand or encrust rocky areas. Like these Palythoa tuberculosa, which I call the Rubbermat zoanthid...haha.
Here you can see some of the polyps open in the portions that are submerged.
Dr James is quite intrigued to find many of these Palythoa tuberculosa on Kusu Island with 'fractures'. Each clump is actually a colony which might be clones of one another.
Here is a comparison of the various kinds of zoanthids, with a 'fractured' Palythoa tuberculosa.
The shape of the same zoanthid species may vary depending on where they are found. Those inhabiting areas with strong waves tend to be short and hug the surface. Others found in deeper, calmer waters are taller, with longer tentacles. One the advantages of being a blob is to be able to take on different shapes.
Dr James found these other species of zoanthids quite interesting.
He will have to study them more closely to determine exactly what they are.
Some zoanthids contain powerful toxins to protect themselves against predators. The most toxic marine poison, palytoxine, was discovered in a zoanthid. Minute quantities of palytoxine can paralyse and even kill.
So we are careful not to handle zoanthids with open wounds on our hands or touch our mouth or eyes after handling them. However, some animals have adapted to the poison and even eat zoanthids. These include the Hairy crab (Pilumnus sp.). Dr James says he has seen them eating zoanthids.
Most of zoanthids feed on plankton, some also feed on finer particles. Many harbour zooxanthellae (symbiotic algae) inside their bodies. These carry out photosynthesis and may contribute nutrients to the host polyp. Dr James shared that his studies show the same species of zoanthids may have different kinds of zooxanthallae. But zoanthids also capture and eat food from the water. Dr James said some zoanthids he kept for study ate salmon!
We saw this poor Palythoa tuberculosa that was sick.
The white portion is spongey and soft and rotting. Dr James says zoanthids can also bleach just like corals as they lose their zooxanthallae. As such, they are a good indicator species as they tend to be more sensitive and bleach before the hard corals do. However, bleaching in zoanthids is not as obvious as in corals. The only way to be sure is to monitor a bunch of zoanthids to observe changes in their colour.
Some photos and ids shared by Dr James can be seen on the CoralPedia website
Along the way, we also spotted many other creatures on this rich but narrow reef at Kusu Island.
For some reason, there were lots of cowries out and about this morning.
I saw this Wandering cowrie (Cypraea errones) which I usually encounter more often on our Northern shores.
We saw two of these beautiful Onyx cowries (Cypraea onyx). This cowrie is listed among the threatened animals of Singapore due to habitat loss and over-collection and is rarely seen.
And we also saw an Arabian cowrie (Cypraea arabica)! This large cowrie is rarely encountered and is also listed among the threatened animals of Singapore due to habitat loss and over-collection.
Dr James shared that in Japan, there are some times of the year when the villagers go out and collect cowries as they appear in numbers. Wow, could there be some Cowrie Event this morning that we still don't know about?
Another interesting snail is the Spider conch (Lambis lambis) which are still commonly seen on our reefs, although it is also listed among the threatened animals of Singapore.
This one had an orange design on the inside of the shell. The animal is using its long muscular foot tipped with a knife-like operculum to turn itself back the right way.
I also saw this lovely flatworm (Pseudobiceros fulgor) which I have not seen for many years.
And Chay Hoon spotted this well camouflaged Spotted-tail frogfish (Lophiocharon trisignatus)! Although it was quite large, it blends in perfectly with its surroundings and thus requires an eagle eye like Chay Hoon's to spot.
We also saw octopus, clown anemone fish and of course lots of hard corals and soft corals and the other amazing marine life on this little island.
All too soon, it was sunrise and the tide came in.
Here's Dr James in green shirt having a last look at the zoanthids on Kusu Island before we break off for breakfast.
Looking forward to our trip tomorrow, in a few hours, to check out the zoanthids on Pulau Hantu!
(This entry is really late because yesterday, my desktop died. Then my backup laptop actually caught fire -- well it was smoking! Normality resumed just two hours ago. And only made possible thanks to Victor Ang, my PC Angel, who delivered a replacement laptop within 24 hours. Thank you Victor!)
7 Jun (Sat) Talk about Cyrene and our shores
There will also be a free public talk on 7 Jun (Sat) by Ria Tan on "The Naked Truth: See Our Shores in a New Light"
There is much beauty and wildlife in Singapore’s shores. But there is a fragile balance that is all too easily disrupted. So many things can go wrong – beginning from ‘small’ things like littering to major construction projects – and that beauty is lost. Forever.
Through 300-600 recent photos, Ria will share and stories of adventures and discoveries on our living shores.
With a special focus on Cyrene Reef! more about this reef
Nemos, sea snakes, living corals and more! From Changi to Tuas, Sentosa to the Sisters Islands, and beyond.
Ria will also share about some of the threats to our shores, and how ordinary people CAN make a difference.
For a sample of the photos in the talk, see the wildsingapore flickr site
All are welcome!
Transitions Optical, the world leader in the manufacturing of plastic photochromic lenses is pleased to support The Naked Hermit Crabs. Just as Transitions lenses help protect eyes from the sun’s harmful UV rays and glare, the mission of The Naked Hermit Crabs is to protect our threatened shore-life. The group’s mission is to alert the public to the diverse marine life and natural beauty on our shores, and enlist their help in their protection and preservation. The Naked Hermit Crabs actively conduct talks and free excursions for the public, much of it funded by the members themselves.
Time of talk: 3pm
Venue: The Plaza, The National Library, 100 Victoria Street.
Website: http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/cyrene.htm
Contact: Ria at hello@wildsingapore.com
Jun 3, 2008
Pasir Ris Bliss: Stars!
3am and I'm on Pasir Ris alone. It's my first time on this shore but have heard from Kok Sheng that there's lots of sand stars there. My job this morning is to take photos of them and their measurements. And wow! There sure were lots of sand stars!
They came in all kinds of colours, in various sizes,
And all kinds of patterns too.
Sand stars belong to the genus Astropecten. We're not sure if the one with the pretty patterns on the arms are a different species from the plain ones. It takes close study by scientists to sort out issues of species. So I'm glad Kok Sheng is on top of this question.
The sand star has large flat spines along the sides of the arms. There are also large squarish plates on the sides of the arms.
The upperside of the body is covered in tiny patches of bristle-like structures. The white spot is the madreporite; water is sucked into the sea star through this seive-like structure. The mouth is on the underside with grooves along the arms, through which emerge pointed tube feet.
Some of the sand stars had little white snails on them.
Even tiny sand stars like this one. Which is why the snails looked relatively large. I believe these are parasitic snails. I'm sure Kok Sheng can tell us more later on. I've seen these snails on the sand stars at Changi as well.
While most sand stars have five arms, there are some with four arms. Elsewhere, I've seen them with six arms too. Here is a four-armed sea star in the little measuring tray that I used to take quick photos of them before returning them.
Alas, today, I saw many sand stars with broken off arms. Otherwise, though, they seemed healthy. They did not have 'rotted' wounds or lesions or other signs of disease.
Sea stars can purposely drop off an arm if they feel threatened. This is how they might escape a predator that has chomped on an arm. Or if a stone happens to roll onto an arm.
For this reason, those of us studying stars should NEVER pick up a sea star by the arm. Even big ones like the Knobblies. We should gently lift them by the central disk.After taking their measurements, we should quickly put them back where we found them.
Unless there is a good reason for doing so, it is best not to touch sea stars, especially not to remove them from the water. Taking photos with them out of the water is not a good way to promote care for our shores. Those of us who love our shores should avoid doing this and avoid encouraging people from doing this.
I took measurement of nearly 40 sand stars! I stopped after heeding the protestations of my aged knees and back. So sorry Kok Sheng.
There were also other stars on the shore (which was sprinkled with large rocks), including several Crown sea stars (Asterina coronata).
And I came across one medium sized Cake sea star (Anthenea aspera). How nice to see this star on a rather silty shore.
There were also other echinoderms. A few buried ball sea cucumbers (Phyllophorus sp.), and black sea urchins (Temnopleurus sp.). LOTS of black sea urchins!
This gathering of very many sea urchins stretched all the way out into the deeper waters!
We've seen this sort of gathering of black sea urchins on Changi as well. But it has been a long while since I've come across such a gathering.
The black sea urchin has short black spines. And tends to 'carry' things such as bits of shells, dead leaves, seaweeds and other debris.
Like other sea urchins, the mouth is on the underside. The black sea urchin often has a long banded worm-like thing curled around its mouth. I've seen this several times also on the black sea urchins on Changi.
Quite creepy actually! I have no idea what the worm-like thing is or what its relationship is with the host sea urchin. Yet another mystery that needs more study!
Pasir Ris Bliss: more critters!
Besides stars and urchins, the Pasir Ris shore was also alive with all kinds of other animals!
Under the scattered stones and rocks there were octopuses! I saw two of them, but just their arms sticking out from under a large rock. They seemed quite large and appeared to be the kind that we see on Changi, rather plain and smooth, unlike the more colourful ones we see on our Southern shores. The tide was very low so they weren't out hunting.
What was out hunting though, was this Tiger moon snail (Natica tigrina).
Moon snails love to eat button snails. I looked and I looked (because Kok Sheng is interested in them) but didn't see any button snails, not even on the small sand bars nearer the low water mark.
The shores were lively with Flower crabs (Portunus pelagicus) of all sizes, and I saw this large Moon crab. 
The old scientific name of this crab is Matuta lunaris and now more and more people refer to it as Ashtoret lunaris. Here's some details from the stunning Systema Brachyurorum Part 1 by Peter Ng et. al (2008) in The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, "an increasing number of workers have chosen to recognise ... Matutidae and Calappidae as two taxa as distinct families ... Until more work is done, we take the somewhat more conservative approach and keep the Matutidae and Calappidae in one superfamily, Calappoidea."
Quietly having little parties in small groups of two or three were lots of tiny little hermit crabs.
These are probably the Tidal hermit crab (Diogenes sp.). There were not that many Striped hermit crabs (Clibanarius sp.) unlike at Changi.
Another cuddly couple was this goby and snapping shrimp!
Some gobies live together with a snapping shrimp in its burrow. The more keen-eyed goby keeps a look out for danger and annoyances (such as shore explorers). Meanwhile the short-sighted snapping shrimp does the house-keeping on the burrow like a little bulldozer. It was dark and I guess they don't equate a weak torchlight with danger. But after this flash photo, they both disappeared into the burrow in a flurry of sediments.
The pools were thick with tiny little gobies. There were the usual Brown shore gobies (Drombus triangularis) and Shadow gobies (Acentrogobious nebulosus). 
But here is a pretty goby with little red spots whose name I don't know. Lacking a name doesn't stop us from admiring it.
Worms might seem icky to many, but I find marine worms quite fascinating.
These fluffy worms with a double fan in trendy pink and black belong to the Phylum Phoronida. The phylum has less than 20 species! That's a really small phylum. Consider that fishes, birds, gorillas, us all belong to one Phylum Chordata. These Phoronid worms are often found with Peacock anemones (Order Ceriantharia) and indeed, this bunch was found near the bottom of a Peacock anemone that had retracted into its tube.
While bending over to take photos of sand stars, I noticed this colourful tube worm making a quick foray outside its tube.
Isn't it pretty?! With iridescent body and feathery gills. OK, we got to ignore the scary tentacles on the head.
And here's a bunch of stuff sticking out of the sediments. I see this all the time and still haven't got a clue what they are.
Probably the tentacles of some sort of worm. I also saw a short and small ribbon worm (Phylum Nemertea) with stripes, and of course, lots of bristleworms.
But the shore was truly teeming with tiny little sea anemones of all kinds.
Thanks to having to keep bending down to measure the sand stars, I got a good look at them, even these very tiny ones!
And there were two of these beautiful large sea anemones that I've not seen before. They had a inner ring of intriguing lobed structures.
I've seen something similar, but these were transparent with white markings and seen near mangroves at Kranji and at Sungei Buloh. We must bring Dr Daphne to Pasir Ris when she's next in town!
The short stretch of Pasir Ris that I went to today was mostly soft and silty with scattered rocks and stones. There wasn't much on the stones aside from a sprinkling of sponges and some seaweeds. Although there were a few tiny patches of hard corals!
This is Zebra coral (Oulastrea crispata) that is often seen on our Northern shores, but in tiny colonies.
There were also few small patches of Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis) with big green leaves, like the kind we see at Changi.
There's much more of the shores to explore on Pasir Ris, and we must certainly find some opportunities to do so.
5-15 June: Cyrene and our shores featured on RE-live! @ Atrium
The Naked Hermit Crabs will be setting up a booth at the Double A RE-live! @ Atrium environmental carnival. With a wide range posters about Cyrene and our other living shores.
Bring your friends and family!Join the many exciting events organised at the carnival!
The carnival aims to engage the public on the importance of leading a more environmentally sustainable lifestyle, and to drive the public to RE-think and RE-live their existing habits. Some of the highlights of the event are:
- AIBI Bike-a-thon: Reduce your carbon footprint! Be part of a record breaking event!
- The Green Mile: Join us in this walk to make your stand!
- Eco Trail: Discover the environmental groups in Singapore
- Palmessages: Pledge to RE-live!
- Launch of Engage! Roadshow: Learn the realities of eco-living
- Bazaar: Sale of eco-friendly products from 5th to 20th June
- Exciting stage events!: Snakes and Ladders, Guess!, and Handicraft Competition. Attractive prizes to be won!
Venue: Atrium@Orchard (outside Dhoby Ghaut MRT/Plaza Singapura)
Website: relive blog and Facebook event
Contact: relive@eco-singapore.org
Jun 2, 2008
Master Plan 2008: comments in the media
From articles in the media on 2 Jun
YouthInk writers share their thoughts on the URA Master Plan unveiled recently
Straits Times 2 Jun 08;
full article on the wildsingapore news blog
Go natural
LEISURE parks here need not necessarily have to be man-made.
We can embrace what we already have, Singapore's surrounding islands - Kusu, St John's, Sisters and Pulau Ubin.
Getting away from the concrete jungle is one of the most refreshing things one can do.
These islands are full of history and serenity. Singaporeans get the chance to enjoy the boat ride, clean air and, of course, fresh seafood.
The authorities should keep Singaporeans abreast of current developments on some of these islands.
In addition, they could enhance existing attractions on the islands by including hiking and walking trails, or offering ranger services.
These add value to time away from the city and also encourage a healthy lifestyle and an appreciation for Singapore's history.
Heighten the awareness of these islands to provide Singaporeans with more options to relax and enjoy life away from the fast lane.
Tabitha Mok, 21, is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Western Australia
Is the URA's Leisure Plan a good idea?
Is the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Leisure Plan a good idea? What do you like most about it and what would you change or add
Business Times 2 Jun 08;
full article on the wildsingapore news blog
Tan Tiong Cheng
Managing Director
Knight Frank
URA has cleverly crafted the Leisure Plan by turning our weaknesses into strengths. We are a small island limited by physical size. Yet when fully developed, we will have a 150km route for joggers and cyclists, 4,200ha of parks connected by a web of 300km tracks, and 24/7 urban entertainment and lifestyle hotspots.
We are a city - yet the countryside of farms and marshes is at the door-step. I am impressed that every square centimetre of land is fully utilised.
Perhaps the only area left out of the Leisure Plan is the Southern Islands of Kusu, Lazarus, Seringat, Sisters and St John.
The Leisure Plan will meet the needs of citizens, residents and visitors. It is a strategic piece of the jigsaw puzzle to make Singapore a unique place to live, work and play. The vision and objectives are bold and I look forward to its implementation.
