While the girls and their “man-slave” were surveying the shore and the seawall, I took the opportunity to look at the Sargassum at the high water line.

The “seawall” girls and their “man-slave”

Almost all the Sargassum here were S. polycystum. Almost all were short, with almost no vesicles. A spiny stem was the defining character for this species locally. I also waded into the water a bit, and even though it was the colour of teh tarik, the Sargassum were easily seen; collecting was a little bit more difficult, but not impossible.

Very short Sargassum polycystum, growing on the rocks at the high water mark. The spines on the stem are thick and obvious in this specimen.

Photography was almost impossible, although I managed to get a few shots in – the glass of the housing was almost constantly wet, and nothing dry to wipe it down with.

Finally finished at 4.45pm, called for the boat (which took 30 mins to get here, because the rain was so bad it was “white-out” almost everywhere). Cold, tired and hungry, I opted to eat a hot and spicy (and unhealthy) plate of Char Kway Teow after dropping the girls off. Yum. At least that will see me through the tedious task of pressing my Sargassum specimens.

All the photos I took can be found in my a Tekukkor set.

More information on Semakau can be found here:

TeamSeagrass, who two survey seagrass sites on Semakau.
Blue Water Volunteers, who survey two coral reef sites at Semakau.
WildSingapore has a bunch of stuff on Semakau too!
Project Semakau also has many interesting stories to share.

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The talk was part of a series of talks on Singapore’s marine environment hosted by the National Geographic Store. Next week, Ria will speak about the secret shores of Singapore, and the week after, Siti will talk about the forests of the sea!

Debby from Hantu Bloggers wrote one day to say she was in discussion with the Nat Geo Store about a marine exhibit, and several email exchanges later, Nat Geo set up the exhibition.

Hand-in-hand with the exhibition are four talks, the first on Nov 19th, on coral reefs in Singapore, then on the 26th, Debby will be speaking on her favourite island, Pulau Hantu.

Two other talks, not listed on their website yet, are by Ria (Dec 3) and Siti (Dec 10) on Singapore’s wild shores and seagrass, respectively.

This is a chance for you to find out more about our shores and marine environment, and visit the fantastic Nat Geo Store.

See you there!

…. half-meter long pufferfish ….
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… and the mythical meter-long batfish!

I’ve never met the man, but his name is familiar. He worked in Singapore between the 80s and the 90s, was an active member of NSS and wrote many articles about conservation in Singapore:

Environmental assessment in Singapore: an enigma wrapped up in a mystery!

How Well Are Human and Wildlife Sharing ‘Green’ Corridors?

The Birds of Singapore

A guide to the common birds of Singapore

Fascinating!

1. Siganus canaliculatus (White-spotted Spinefoot), a common species that seems to be seasonal; particularly abundant around year’s end. Found in the waters around Ubin and, in this case, at Cyrene Reef flat.

2. Siganus guttatus (Gold-lined Spinefoot) , a common reef species. I have photos from my old artificial site, but none digital, yet.

3. Siganus javus (Streaked Spinefoot), another common reef species, although it has been caught off Ubin before.

4. Signaus virgatus (Bar-head Spinefoot), a rare species, so far only seen around Pulau Satumu.

Taken at Pulau Satumu in Dec 2010.

5. Siganus vulpinus (Fox-face Rabbitfish), a very rare species. Seen once from the jetty at Pulau Satumu, on a day with very clear water. No image.