We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at Pasir Ris on the Northern Expedition Day 13. With more interesting sea anemone finds.
The weekend began quietly, with few volunteers turning up. But we had fun reviewing some special finds the day before.
Early in the morning, a small team of volunteers are already hard at work sorting. Today, we have fewer than expected volunteers.
Dr Kathe and Chay Hoon are pleased by the
Mangrove leaf slug that Marcus Ng found yesterday.
Here's another look at the special slug.
Oo, here are the strange little sea anemones that we found yesterday. Dr Daphne is intrigued and we need better photos and lots of work to figure out what it is.
Rene patiently sets up for a better portrait shot of this sea anemone.
Rene tries another shot at the sea anemone. It's hard to get a good photo of the animals!
Meanwhile, Dr Kevin and Cheng Ann are 'sharing' a specimen. Among Dr Kevin's bryozoans are lots of nematodes that Cheng Ann is interested in. Actually, both of them need an even more powerful microscope to see the important ID parts of these super tiny animals.
Besides animals, we also collect and preserve specimens of plants and seaweeds! These are drying nicely on this hot day.
Yesterday, at Nordin Beach, Kwang Siong picked up some parts of the super rare Bakau Mata Buaya,
Bruguiera hainesii. So rare, the trees are considered the 'Panda' of the mangroves, Kwan Siong found several of these trees at Pulau Tekong earlier in the year and his exciting find was
highlighted recently.
Over lunch Dr Prosanta tries to identify the fish we just ate. A bit tough to do this on a deep fried, nibbled specimen. Fortunately, our wild specimens are in much better condition.
In the afternoon, the teams split up between Lim Chu Kang and Pasir Ris. Pasir Ris mangroves is next to manicured gardens that is popular on the weekends. With roller blading, cycling and other people enjoying the outdoors. The awesome boardwalk through the mangroves here is less well known and has amazing wildlife. It's great that we are surveying it during the Expedition. Ordinary people can also visit the mangroves at any time day or night. Join the Naked Hermit Crabs'
free guided walks at Pasir Ris too.
The tide is not very low, but there's lots to see. Tiny fiddler crabs, lots of snails, different kinds of seaweeds and more. I found another fish in wood.
Hurray! Prof Daphne has found the 'spotty' sea anemone that is possibly a new sea anemone.
I've yet to learn what the team at Lim Chu Kang discovered. I'm sure they had an interesting trip too.
Oh dear, Dr Fujita is leaving today and he is packing up the specimens before he goes. Signs that we are nearing the end of the Expedition.
We must savour these last few days. Tiring but exciting, learning so much every day.
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