Discovery @ Cryrene on 21 July 2008

Seventy First Discovery Posting:

My second trip to Cyrene reef and I was knobbly eyed again like the first time round.

This is because Cyrene reef is the only known place in Singapore at the moment where the knobbly sea stars are commonly seen. A last count by Star Trackers recently showed that there is as much as 186 individuals on Cyrene! Read more about it on the Star Trackers' blog (http://startrackers.blogspot.com/).

And if you are wondering how a knobbly sea star looks like, here are 3 individuals (picture below)!
As this was my second trip, I decide to talk towards a part of the reef I didn't cover the last round and it was worth it as I came across possibly a juvenile cushion star (picture below)! First 'discovery'.
Flipping the cushion sea star around would give you a better idea that this is indeed a seastar (picture below).
Discovery Note:
1. They have this 'cute' or funny shape (however you wish to describe it) is probably because that such a shape would make it harder for its predators to take a bite at it.
2. Cushion sea stars are known to eat corals! Click on this link (here) to see an abstract of a paper which tells you more about it.

Of course, I also took many photos of the knobbly sea star I saw (pictures below). By the way, the ruler which you see in the photos is a 15cm ruler and it's there to aid Star Trackers for their project. Enjoy~

Well, Cyrene doesn't only have knobbly sea stars, you can also find common sea stars (picture below) and other kinds of sea stars if you are lucky. Anyway, second 'discovery' is the common sea stars.Discovery Note:
1. Their tube feet are interesting as they are used for walking, handle food as well as breathing, and probably to catch prey as well, talk about multi purpose!
2. Sea stars get stressed when out of water, this is because while we have blood circulating our bodies, they have sea water circulating their bodies.
3. They are not as common as their name suggests. This is due to past over-collection and habitat lost past and present. So don't take them away from their homes when you see them. =)
4. Some sea stars are predators that prey on worms, crustaceans and bivalves while some are known to eat decayed plant matters.
5. Many sea stars eat with their stomach outside their body. When doing this, their tube feet will pull the two shells of a bivalve apart. And while still attached to their prey’s body, they extend their stomach out through their mouths into the bivalve shell.

And also sand dollars which are related to the sea stars (picture below), third 'discovery'. Discovery Note:
1. Living sand dollars are coated in fine, harmless spines that made them very velvety.
2. The spines are movable and are used to dig into the sand or move around.
3. The dense layer of spines also helps to keep off sand and silt so there is a flow of oxygenated water across the body.

On Cyrene, I also saw the biggest piece of soft coral I have ever seen in Singapore's waters (picture below).Oh, if you are wondering what is the white thing in the picture. It's the 15cm I had with me. I placed it there to give everyone an idea how big is this piece of soft coral. Wow!
Cyrene is not only special because of the many knobbly sea stars you can see there. It is also special because it is a submerged reef (only exposed during low tide and is not connected to any land, thus amphibious landings are required) and it is located within the busy channels of our shipping lanes (near Jurong Island).

More about Cryene:
http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/cyrene.htm

Here's a picture to show you that it's near Jurong Island (picture below)And it's also not far from our city central (picture below). The background shows our central business district and also Sentosa. And the most interesting knobbly individual for the day had to be this (picture below).This (above) is also CK (a star trooper, not the one in Star Wars, but one from Star Trackers) favourite knobbly on Cryene.

And as we started to head back to our pick up point to go back, JH found a melibe nudibranch! A first sighting for me. Fourth 'discovery' (picture below)!Discovery Note:
1. This looks very different from all the other nudibranchs I've seen.
2. One major difference is that it has an expandable hood (you can see it in the picture above) which it used to grab small and possibly slow prey aka food.

Soon, it was time to head back before we get 'buried' in Singapore waters. =P (picture below)Thanks to Ria again for organising this trip and others for making this trip another interesting one too!

Extra:
a) If you are interested to visit Cyrene Reef, join in the blogging contest of "Let's go to Cyrene Reef", click here to find out more about it.
b) Check out Wildfilm's blog on the trip also on 21 July.
c) Wildfilm's blog again but for a trip on 22 July.
d) KS's blog for a trip to Cyrene on 22 July.

Discovery @ Cyrene Reef on 8 July 2008

Sixty Ninth Discovery Posting:

Along our major shipping lanes, ringed by Jurong Island and Pulau Bukom (where you can find many petrol chemical plants), there lies a haven hidden by the waters, appearing only when the tides are low enough. Can you see it (picture below)?
As this haven is not connected to any land, the only way to get there is to make an amphibious landing, this calls for a small boat and physically getting wet (part of the fun going for shore trips =P ) (picture below)
Why do I call Cyrene Reef a haven?
Because studies from Star Trackers show that Cyrene is probably the only reef in Singapore where juvenile Knobblies are commonly seen. And probably also the home to "the only sustainable population of Knobbly sea stars".

Side Note:
a) Star Trackers does monitoring body growth, survivorship, habitat utilization and movement patterns of knobbly seastar (Protoreaster nodosus) individuals at marine habitats in Singapore.
b) And the 'star troopers' running this project is primarily CK and SJ
c) Their blog address is http://startrackers.blogspot.com/

As I explored the reef, I 'discovered' 27 individuals of the Knobbly sea star, below are pictures for some of them. Enjoy~ =)

This was my favourite star of the day (picture below)You might wonder how big are the juveniles of the knobbly sea star, here's a scale of two with my hand (picture below). Do remember they can grow to as big as your face!Seeing so many knobbly sea stars really left me star studded. Besides that, knowing a place such as Cyrene Reef exists reminded me once again that our waters although murky, it is rich in marine life! And it will continue to be if we all take care of them one way or another.

Ways can include:
a) putting your rubbish where they belong (in the rubbish bins or recycle bins), not littering/dumping into our waters,
b) leaving marine life at their homes (don't collect marine life nor shells, cause the empty sea shells may be potential homes for hermit crabs).
c) You can also learn more about them to understand their value in our environment, and probably share this knowledge with your family/friends or possibly even volunteer/blog for our shores!
d) And speak for our shores if possible, because marine life don't speak our language. =)

Very soon, we had to leave Cyrene the way we came (picture below). And looking at our busy shipping ports nearby, (with expansion going on nearby Cyrene Reef) (picture below), I marvel at how Cyrene can be so starry. Probably all the strict rules for ships is one factor?Finally, would like to thank Ria for arranging this trip and all who came. =)

Extra:
a) Read the entry on wildfilms about this trip to Cyrene.
b) Read more about Cyrene Reef here.