A return to Pulau Semakau after a good 3 month away. My partner for this session was S who's a student at NIE. A Biology teacher in the making too! The survey area we were assigned to this time was very near to the 'dead zone' At the mangrove area, we spotted quite a fair bit of Cerithidea cingulata and Batillaria zonalis. Wonder why these species are always found at the mangrove area. There were a couple of Porcelain Fiddler Crab. The large claws which the male possess is actually used to court females.
Would be interesting to find out the different 'courtship wave' for the different species of fiddler crabs.
Moved on to the seagrass area, it was really tough trying to look for organism amongst the seagrass. Always wary of my next step, never know if I would step onto any stonefish lying in the seagrass area. Was wondering if any ghost pipefish have been spotted amongst the seagrass in Semakau. Would love to spot one! Saw some greenish ascidians on the seagrass along the way.
Moved on to the seagrass area, it was really tough trying to look for organism amongst the seagrass. Always wary of my next step, never know if I would step onto any stonefish lying in the seagrass area. Was wondering if any ghost pipefish have been spotted amongst the seagrass in Semakau. Would love to spot one! Saw some greenish ascidians on the seagrass along the way.
While walking through the seagrass, spotted a smasher mantis shrimp moving. Both me and S tried to snap pictures of it but everytime we got near it, it started moving away. To make matter worse, it was green in colour, so it was really tough trying to spot it amongst the seagrass. As the name implies, these shrimps use their front pincers to hit their prey till they are immobilised before dragging them back to their burrow.
Moving on from the seagrass area, we headed out to the more sandy area and spotted many Sand-sifting Sea Stars.
I've heard some other groups spotted many Knobbly Sea Star but in our area, didn't even spot any. Wondering why do these sea star just occupy a particular area, or are they constantly on the move? Along the way, we spotted a Haddon's Carpet Anemone and found two anemone shrimp within it. Think one of it is the juvenile as it looks much smaller compared to the other shrimp. The anemone shrimp are protected from the sting of the anemone because of a layer of mucus. Wonder if the layer of mucus is similar in chemical composition as that of the anemonefish.
Saw a fan shell in the sandy area.
There was also the familiar sighting of the hairy crab. Wonder why they are always in abundance at Semakau.
At the coral rubble, we spotted a Cushion Star! It was my first sighting of it at Semakau!
Saw a fan shell in the sandy area.
There was also the familiar sighting of the hairy crab. Wonder why they are always in abundance at Semakau.
At the coral rubble, we spotted a Cushion Star! It was my first sighting of it at Semakau!
As we walked along, we spotted a Polka Dot Nudibranch. The markings are actually raised black bristle on the skin.
A flower crab was also seen. Flower crab are recognised by most Singaporeans as they usually end up on our dinner plate. The last pair of legs for these marine crab are shaped like a paddle and helps the crab to propel through the water.
As we walked towards the reef edge, a Sandfish Sea Cucumber was spotted. These sea cucumber are dried and sold in medical shops. The price for sea cucumbers can be rather pricey too.
An Upside Down Jellyfish was also seen.
At the reef edge, I noticed that there were a number of Red Swimming Crab. Tried to snap some picture but was not very clear.
It was yet another enjoyable and fun-filled hunting-seeking session. Never fail to go home, intrigue by the wonders of Nature.
