Unbelievably, according to Dr Chan, Singapore is home to 255 species of hard corals out of 800 species in the world! That's a great number, considering the small land and sea area that we perceivably have. These corals are largely found in the islands south of mainland Singapore, such as Pulau Hantu, Pulau Sudong and Kusu Island. While there seems to be little attention given to these precious creatures, more effort is being put in place to protect these coral reefs these days.
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| A feather star found in the waters of Pulau Hantu (Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/environment/story/sea-the-hidden-depths-singapore-20140822) |
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| A lion fish also photographed in our very own waters! (Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/environment/story/sea-the-hidden-depths-singapore-20140822) |
Just last month, Singapore's first Marine Park, the Sisters' Islands Marine Park was announced, which will span 40 hectares around Sisters' Islands and other nearby islands. The Marine Park will provide a safe haven for Singapore's coral reefs, as well as the ecosystem that it supports, which is inhabited by many species of endangered marine life such as rare seahorses and clams. In April, 1600 coral colonies were also relocated from the Sultan Shoal to waters near St John's Island in order to protect them from the possible damage due to the building of the new Tuas Terminal.
However, there are still threats to Singapore's coral reefs. Sedimentation poses one of the greatest risks to these reefs, namely through land reclamation, dredging of shipping channels and dumping of earth spoils. The high turbidity of our waters not only restrict sunlight from penetrating through the waters, limiting coral growth; it is also why we seem to have forgotten about these precious creatures - simply because we cannot see them.
Still, it is indeed heartening to know that there is still much biodiversity in Singapore out there for us to admire, value and protect. Singapore is not merely the city of award-winning skyscrapers we know of; it is also home to hundreds of rare species of marine life that we do not know of. Yet, it does not mean that we should neglect their existence simply because we do not see them; rather, more should be done to for them because there's much more we can learn about them. National University of Singapore marine biologist Chou Loke Ming puts it well: "Since visibility is restricted, most people don't see our reef life - it becomes a case of 'out of sight, out of mind'." Let us not forget these beautiful creatures residing around us, because there is so much value in them that is waiting for us to discover and appreciate :)
References:
Establishing Singapore's First Marine Park. National Parks Board, Singapore, 19 May 2013. URL: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/MediaFactsheetMarinePark.pdf (accessed 29 Aug 2014)
Reef Ecology Study Team, NUS. What are coral reefs?. Coral Reefs of Singapore, date unknown. URL: http://coralreef.nus.edu.sg/(accessed 29 Aug 2014)
Tan, A., 2014. Explore the hidden depths of Singapore's waters. The Straits Times, 22 August 2014. URL: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/environment/story/sea-the-hidden-depths-singapore-20140822 (accessed on 29 Aug 2014)
