40 new sponge records for Singapore!

SINGAPORE'S only sponge expert has uncovered 40 new records of this primitive life form in local waters over the past year.

This is just a fifth of the total number now known in Singapore, says Mr Lim Swee Cheng, 31.

'It was rather easy to find them. Every trip I made to places like Cyrene Reef and Pulau Semakau, I'd see 20 to 30 species. Our tropical waters make the biodiversity very rich with species,' the researcher said.

The new finds all come from the inter-tidal zone - the shoreline which receives the most exposure to the elements with the rise and fall of the tide.

RED MAIDEN FAN: Arguably Singapore's prettiest sponge, the Oceanapia sagittaria is just 7cm high. The fanlike protuberance is not always present and its body is buried in soft sediment, making it hard to spot despite it being common in local waters.

Read the full article!

A spongy kind of love
Expert finds 40 new species to add to rich haul in local waters
Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 30 Aug 08
full article also on the wildsingapore news blog

Sea turtles and Singapore's reefs!

Today it was reported that another Hawksbill sea turtle has been radio tagged at Malacca as part of the ongoing study to better understand these wonderful marine creatures.
Data from the radio tracking shows that some of these sea turtles spend their time in Singapore waters!

More details on the wild shores of singapore blog

Cyrene Reef mapped!

This fabulous map was kindly shared by Dr. D. Kumaran Raju based on his GPS mapping of Cyrene Reef on in May and July. Dr Raju also shares that the total area of Cyrene Reef is 45.7 hectares.

More about the mapping of Cyrene on the wild shores of singapore blog.

This fabulous map and Dr Raju's other amazing maps are hosted on wildsingapore.

More about Cyrene Reef on the wildsingapore website.

Southern Haunt: video clip of talk

Debby Ng of the Hantu Bloggers gave this talk at Reef Celebrations on 9 Aug 08

IYOR 2008 - Debby Ng - Southern Haunt - The Hantu Blogs from sgbeachbum on Vimeo.
All about the beauty of our very own wild reefs at Pulau Hantu!

Thanks to Andy who filmed and uploaded the clip on his sgbeachbum blog.

Are there reefs left in Singapore? - video clip of talk

Jeffrey Low gave this talk at Reef Celebrations on 9 Aug 08.

IYOR 2008 - Jeffrey Low - Does Singapore have Coral Reefs? from BeachBum on Vimeo.
Find out all about our living reefs!

Thanks to Andy for filming and uploading the video on his sgbeachbum blog.