Contents
LECTURE 1-1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 2
LECTURE 2-1: INTERTIDAL HABITATS ................................................................................................................................... 3
INTERTIDAL ANIMALS ...................................................................................................................................................... 5
LECTURE 2-2: PRIMARY VEGEGATION ................................................................................................................................. 8
PRIMARY VEGATAION ...................................................................................................................................................... 9
CANOPY STRATIFICATION .............................................................................................................................................. 10
PRIMARY DRYLAND FOREST .......................................................................................................................................... 10
FRESHWATER SWAMP FOREST ...................................................................................................................................... 11
LECTURE 3-1: SUBTIDAL ..................................................................................................................................................... 13
COMMON BENTHIC ORGANISMS .................................................................................................................................. 13
SINGAPORE WATER ORGANISMS .................................................................................................................................. 14
CORAL REEF HABITAT (most magnificent in the subtidal habitats) ............................................................................... 15
LECTURE 3-2: SECONDARY VEGETATION ........................................................................................................................... 18
1. LOW SECONDARY FOREST AND SCRUB ..................................................................................................................... 18
2. TALL SECONDARY FOREST.......................................................................................................................................... 19
3. OTHER SPONTANEOUS SECONDARY VEGATATION ................................................................................................... 20
VEGETATION ON RECLAIMED LAND .............................................................................................................................. 23
RECLAIMED LAND ANIMALS .......................................................................................................................................... 24
WASTELAND ................................................................................................................................................................... 24
WASTELAND ANIMALS ................................................................................................................................................... 24
LECTURE 5-2: BIODIVERSITY .............................................................................................................................................. 26
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS.................................................................................................................................... 26
LECTURE 6-1: COASTAL VEGATATION................................................................................................................................ 31
1. MANGROVE FOREST .................................................................................................................................................. 31
2. SANDY BEACH ............................................................................................................................................................ 33
3. ROCKY SHORE OR CLIFF VEGETATION ....................................................................................................................... 33
LECTURE 8-1: MANAGED HABITAT .................................................................................................................................... 36
Organisms ...................................................................................................................................................................... 36
Aquatic Plants  introduced ......................................................................................................................................... 37
TERRESTRIAL HABITAT ................................................................................................................................................... 38
LECTURE 8-2 LOST HERITAGE............................................................................................................................................. 43
LECTURE 9-1: HUMAN IMPACTS AND CONSERVATION ..................................................................................................... 48
LECTURE 9-1 CHALLENGES ................................................................................................................................................. 53
CA revision #1 .................................................................................................................................................................... 59
Mutualistic relationships: .............................................................................................................................................. 59
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LECTURE 1-1: INTRODUCTION
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Exotic species (introduced)
o Brought in for purpose
▪ Guppies  malaria
▪ Tilapia  protein supply
▪ Ornamental plants
o Accidentally introduced
▪ Cockroaches
▪ Great African land snail
• Indigenous species
o Found locally
o Means native
o Changeable lizard (exotic)
▪ Displaced indigenous species
o Red-ear slider (exotic)
▪ Brought in due to trade contract between Singapore and US
▪ Aggressive
▪ Parasites
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LECTURE 2-1: INTERTIDAL HABITATS
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Supralittoral  area where the high tide sea level will never reach
Sublittoral  area perpetually covered by water no matter how low the tide goes
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Littoral (intertidal)
o Incoming tide
▪ high energy
▪ Wave action  sand particles will rub against animals must withstand abrasion
▪ Incoming tide also brings about more marine predators
▪ Substratum instability
o Outgoing tide
▪ Low energy
▪ UV radiation
▪ wind
▪ Desiccation  Salinity increases as water recedes and evaporate
▪ Rain  salinity decreases again  osmotic fluctuation
▪ temperature drops from rain
▪ Terrestrial/aerial predators (e.g. humans)
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Salinity
o Regulators (e.g. humans): unaffected by changes in salt concentration
o Partial regulators
o Conformers (adjust to salinity but sometimes if changes are too big they will die)  if salinity increase, they just
follow and increase their ion levels until they just die  massive deaths at Chek Jawa 18 Jan 2007 due to surge
of fresh water
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8: E.g. On Tuesday 25 May 2010, 6:05am, 2 tankers collided in the Singapore Strait, 13km south-east of Changi
East. One of the tankers, a Malaysian Oil tanker, MT Bunga Kelana 3, suffered damage to one of its cargo tanks,
resulting in an oil spill of an estimated 2,500 tons of crude oil.  crude oil stain the beaches. They ended up
scooping the oil stained sand to throw away BUT will end up scooping molluscs and insects.
9: E.g. Oil spill 700m east of Sultan Shoal, Jurong Island on 9 Sep 2012. Less than 60 metric tonnes of bunker fuel
was spilled btw 2 bulk carriers. Shores that lie east of the spill include pristine islands and submerged reefs of the
Live Firing Area, Raffles Lighthouse. Further away are Pulau Hantu and the submerged reefs nearby.
3 oil spills in 2 weeks in Jan/Feb 2014.
ADD  e.g. Bleaching event 2016 in Australia (Great Barrier Reef)  the corals will get bleached. E.g. the sea
anemone that clownfishes hide in become whiter (less orangey) hence cant camouflage and protect themselves.
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Reasons for living in intertidal habitats:
High biodiversity in intertidal areas
o High nutrients (that are properly mixed) from land and sea
o Effective mixing of nutrients Sea water mix with freshwater the nutrients will settle down and they can get
it.
o Strong solar energy  enough sunlight even when fully submerged at high tide
o Tide movements  high concentration of dissolved oxygen
o Close contact between producers (e.g. plants) and consumers
o Complexity  diversity of micro-habitats
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INTERTIDAL HABITATS
o Mudflat  e.g. Sungei Buloh  Can be very soft (step and sink). There are orgs living IN the mud
o Seagrass  e.g. chek jawa  photosynthesise, provide refuge for organisms
o Sandflat  e.g. chek jawa
o Mangrove (plant or habitat)  e.g. sungei buloh
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o Reef flat (coral reefs + all living things associated)  e.g. chek jawa
o Rocky shore  e.g. Labrador, Chek Jawa, St John’s Island, Sisters Island, etc.
o Algal bed  e.g. chek jawa
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Habitat Complexity  Rocky shore is physically more complex than a sandy shore because larger surface area
allows more organisms to live on it. Rocks of all shapes and sizes add complexity, provide hiding places. Crooks
and crevices when rocks pile up tgt.
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Upper tidal zone  first to get exposed during low tide, last to get covered during high tide -> greatest
environmental variation
Lower tidal zone  last to get exposed during low tide, first to get covered during high tide -> least environmental
variation
Zonation: Hence, upper tidal zone experiences more variation  so burrow deeper as they will be exposed faster
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INTERTIDAL PLANTS
o Macroalgae  red, brown, green  iodine and other rare minerals  made into agar-agar
o Coralline algae  calcium carbonate deposits  become sand particles on seashore after they die
o Padina spp.  harvested and made into cream
o Sargassum spp. (can float)  abundant everywhere. In water, they grow like plants. They can float due to air
bubbles, they have air bearings that contain air and can float. Some orgs like to stay inside so that they can also
be carried away in the waves
o Caulerpa spp. (Sea grapes) abundant in sg but nobody eats it.
o Halimeda  calcium carbonate deposits
o Ulva spp. abundant
o Macroalgal beds  support the variety to org, like sea cucumbers and clams, others crustaceans
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Seagrasses ARE NOT algae
o grp of flowering plants that is fully submerged in seawater
o have roots, stems and leaves
o stems creep underground
o leaves project above seabed
o propagates easily
o primary producers of ecosystem
o grow in mud, sand or both, shores and coral flats
o seagrass habitat found in shallow coastal waters
o Mixture of mud and flats
o 50 species of seagrass worldwide. 20 in SEA. 12 in SG.
o 38: e.gs of seagrasses. Halophila ovalis. Ovalis  oval in shape
o 39: Halophila spinulosa  leaves are spinal forms
o 40: Cymodocea serrulata  blade like serrulate
o Enhalus acoroides
o These are all scientific name not the common name.
o Sandy shore < muddy shore < rocky shore < coral flats (most common)
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Seagrass beds
o Seagrasses can photosynthesise  Supports high species diversity
o Leaf blades  surface area for epiphytes to grow
o swimming animals  seek shelter and food
o Benthic animals (don’t swim)  crawl to feed on rich organic detritus
o Roots stabilise the substrate + provide good anchorage
o When they occur in extensive patches, provide refuge and nursery grounds to numerous species such as fish,
seahorses, crabs, shrimps and molluscs.
o STORE CARBON
o support endangered species
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▪ Reptiles:
o Green sea turtle  Chelonia mydas
o Olive Ridley  Lepidochelys olivacea
o Loggerhead  Caretta caretta
o Flatback Chelonia depressa
o Hawksbill  Eretmochelys imbricate
o Wart snake  Acrochordus granulatus
▪ Mammals:
o Sea cow Dugong dugon (fully dependent on seagrass)  cannot feed on any other stuff other than
seagrass.
INTERTIDAL ANIMALS
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protect themselves against the harsh conditions
Prevent themselves from being swept about with incoming & outgoing tide
Prevent themselves from drying out and against solar radiation.
BUT for plants, if got harsh conditions (and die), they are resilient if roots and stems are present, they are able to
rejuvenate and grow back again.  not necessarily just decompose and become fertilisers.
SIZE OF SEDIMENT PARTICLES
• Large grain size  greater space between particles  better movement of water and dissolved oxygen into
deeper layers of substrate.
• Small grain size  Less space between particles  Restricted movement of water into deeper layers of substrate.
(Explains the anaerobic respiration (archaebacterial) in mangroves. They use sulphur instead of the o2 in water
production of hydrogen sulphide giving muddy substrate the characteristic odor
• meiofauna (in the sediment)  they live in btw the particles or latch onto the particles. Usually very small and
microscopic.
• Sand Anemones. Sand anemones are found mainly in sandy habitats. They are very obvious, can be big and can
see. Also known as carpet anemones
• Barnacles (3 types)  most common and widely distributed of all intertidal and sometimes subtidal animals.
o Barnacles can be found in rocky areas and rocky shores.
o Have calcareous (containing calcium carbonate) plates to prevent desiccation
o 2 types  Stock barnacles and encaustic barnacles.
o They are classified as crustaceans instead of molluscs (used to be in this group)
o sometimes considered to invasive species, not only grow in shores but also water pumps (under the hull of
ships) so will travel in the sea. But people will want to scrape it off as its calcareous (with backbones and
heavy).
o Blistering barnacles  covered by a layer of mud Baby barnacles  Secrete cement to attach itself to the
substrate when they are drifting in water. The more you smash them, the more babies are released
• Oysters attached to rocks, but subjected to predation. Predation by birds and humans.
• Giant clams  secrete enzymes to dissolve the rocks  squeeze themselves into the rocks for protection
o Blue colour
o Symbiotic rs with algae  Thingy photosynthesise and give excess food to the giant clams  affected by
bleaching
o Mud lobsters
• Mud lobsters (thalassina anomala)
o Aerate the soil
o Keystone species (large effect on environment despite small population)
• Moon crab
o Bury themselves into the sand very quickly (3 seconds)
▪ E.g. matuta planipes
▪ ashtoret lunaris
• Xanthid crabs (fan crabs)
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Pilumnid crab Leelumnus radium  Mendoza & Ng, 2011 discovered 5 years ago, in the encrusting communities in
SG.
Leucosid crab (jade crab)
Red egg crab, Atergatis integerrimus (mildly toxic) and Mosaic crab, lophozozymus pictor (very poisonous) have
bright Colours as warning
Velcro crab, Camposcia retusa also a spider crab that will stick everything to its body.
Fiddler crab, Uca spp.
o Bigger claw usually male
o Defend territory and attract mates
Hermit crab carries its house so that will protect from predators.
Hairy crab (Pilumnus vespertilio) traps sediment and debris in the long, soft hairs that cover its body
Mudskippers
o semi-terrestrial fish that can live above water for extended periods of time provided they are kept moist.
o modified pectoral fins are effective for slithering quickly over the ground.
o Very common in mangroves and mudflats.
o E.g. Giant mudskipper (Periophthalmodon schlosseri)
o E.g. Dusky-gilled mudskipper (Periophthalmus novemradiatus).
Corals in intertidal zones have special adaptations
o UV protectants
o Fluoresce to deflect light  won’t be fried
Sand bubbler crab (Scopimera spp.)
o has membrane on each leg for exchange of air
o Red areas  parts that are no calciumfied  part that allows gaseous exchange
o Form sandballs
o Building a shelter: 1. Makes shallow pit in sand. 2. Runs around pit, pushing sand pellets up to form curved
wall. 3. Makes a complete canopy of sand. 4. Burrows deeper beneath thick dome
Sand tubeworm. Exposed part of tube is made by incorporating small pebbles, all stuck on by mucus secreted by
the worm. Provides strength to the exposed tube. They filter feed in the water.
Sea cockroach (Ligia spp.). Marine equivalent of cockroach.
Marine snails
o Secretes protective calcium carbonate shell throughout life.
o Protective reflex is to withdraw entire body completely into shell
o Operculum  opening is sealed with a protective plate carried on foot of animal. Forms an effective seal 
complete protection, no water/predators can enter
▪ E.g. Trochus spp. 66: Black-lipped conch
▪ Strombus urceus e.g. Gong gong
▪ Cowries
▪ Can be used as currency
▪ Very clean shell due to self-cleaning mechanism
o Spider conch, Lambis lambis
▪ has long spines,
▪ moves about with leaping motion
▪ for maintaining stability. If you flip it upside down, it will make sure to use its foot and spine to push its way
onto the right side up.
Brittle stars
o Able to regenerate the arms very quickly
o Same family and group as sea stars (starfish)
o They will let go and break off if you try to pick them up
Knobby seastar, Protoreaster nodosus  have nodules on their surface. Usually eye catching and big.
sea urchins. Instead of eviscerate, they have spines on it. Spines are v sharp and brittle. Hence v difficult to take
out.
Sea cucumbers
o eviscerate, throw out their guts, eject sticky toxic substance
o Can regenerate as well
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Snapping OR Pistol shrimp (Alpheus species)
o Use highly modified claw to make loud snapping noise
o Have mutualistic relationship with goby fishes (Amblyeleotris species)
o Shrimps dig and maintain burrow for goby; goby acts as sentry for shrimps (shrimps have poor eyesight)
• goby fishes (Amblyeleotris species)
o mutualistic relationship with snapping OR pistol shrimps
• Great billed heron (Ardea sumatrana)
o Up to 1.25m tall
o Frequents rocky, muddy, mangrove seashore to hunt crustacean and fishes
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• 82: horseshoe crab
o spine for balance  turn itself back up if they are flipped
o older than dinos. They are not crustaceans, more closely related to spiders than crabs and prawns.
o Contains bioactive compound that can detect toxins from bacteria v quickly.  test for toxin shortened to 1 day
or a few hrs.
• 84: Frogfishes  use of lure to catch food. Like bait, to catch. Dangle over their heads using modified spine to use
as lure. Hence less energy exerted.
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LECTURE 2-2: PRIMARY VEGEGATION
WHY STUDY BIODIVERSITY
• Biodiversity = “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia [among other things],
terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes
diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.” from the Convention on Biological Diversity.  SG’s
biodiversity also has values!
BIODVIERSITY VALUES
• Ethical
o 1. Based on value systems of religions and cultures
o 2. Every species has a right to exist
o All species are interdependent
o Respect for human life and human diversity is consistent with a respect for biological diversity
o Nature has spiritual and aesthetic value that transcends economic value
o 3. Has any one species (i.e., humans) the right to make another extinct?
• Aesthetic value
o Beautiful works
▪ e.g. Common birdwing (Troides helena cerberus)
▪ Blue spike moss (Selaginella willdenowii)
▪ Cicada tree (Ploiarium alternifolium)
o BUT Cockroaches and rats are very prolific
▪ E.g. American cockroach (Periplanata americana), Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)
▪ American: 14-16
▪ German: 48
• Mental health
o measurable mental benefits and may reduce risk of depression.
• Economic value  what people will pay for a product/service
o DIRECT  harvested
▪ Consumptive: consumed locally but NOT sold (e.g. honeycomb, durians)
▪ Productive: consumed locally/elsewhere AND sold
o INDIRECT
▪ Non-consumptive: services that provide enjoyment (e.g. fresh air, shade)
o Greenery ameliorating heat island effect  if living next to forest, the greenery absorbs heat in city
 No forest, no rain  forest slowly release water + water is not so quickly lost when it rains
o Water filtration by the forest surrounding reservoirs  water filtered comes out as streams, done
by forest trees  Cheaper and easier to treat clearer water  if not less water will be contained
(affect water catchment size)  eventually less water in the rivers and dams
o Forest provides space for recreation
o Landscape for photography
o Greenery improves patient recovery, human happiness and mental health reduce blood pressure
and improves mood good for hospitals.
▪ Potential: The potential to provide an economic benefit to humankind in the future.
o Important to keep all biodiversity options available, because you never know which will yield
important uses or values
o Uses vary with time too  may have potential value in the FUTURE. But if its removed/gone, will have
no chance of having potential value. E.g. Cockroach, got protein that can harvest, could be beneficial
for us. Hence with R&D the potential value may CHANGE over time
o E.g. Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia)  Almost made extinct based on timber value  Pacific
Northwest, in Canadian coast  Source of paclitaxel for curing lung, ovarian and breast cancers
o E.g. genes  you can earn royalties from patenting products utilizing genes  Ppl have tried to
patent Tamarind
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HABITAT: locality, site and local environment of organism
• Abiotic (non-living)
o Latitude (with ref to equator)
o Altitude (how high mountain is)  trees have red leaves to protect against UV
o Climate
o Soil
o Disturbance  e.g. burning forests  increase temp and humidity
• Biotic (living)
o Organism
o Own species
o Other species (can interact with one another)
▪ Competitors  competing for the same food/resources.
▪ Parasite living either on or IN (outside or inside) another host org, taking nutrients from it
▪ Predator and prey
▪ Symbionts  both benefiting from the relationship. E.g. Clownfish and sea anemone
VEGETATION
• Vegetation: all plant life in an area
• Forest: large area covered in trees
• Tree: large woody plant with trunk
SINGAPORE HABITATS
• Terrestrial (=on land)
o Primary
o Secondary
o Waste & reclaimed
o coastal
• Aquatic
DISTURBANCE GRADIANT
• Pri  most diverse  but for pri, more species, may have more new species after grow back
• Sec  far less diverse
• Waste  could be reclaimed land used to build stuff and species there will be v different.
• BUT coastal, species wont change  not species rich area, when grow back, usually composition of species wont
change..  v unpleasant conditions for most plants, cuz v salty sea air, harsh env. So if got disturbance  species
will be less. But composition most likely will not change even after recovery
PRIMARY VEGATAION
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Never been cleared
Resembles known primary vegetation
Vegetation that grows after primary vegetation has been cleared is called secondary vegetation. Under the right
conditions, secondary forest may become primary again (but there are no known examples)
All native, no exotic
No fast growth. Fast growth  soft  topple easily but primary vegetation is strong?
Iceage
o All connected by dryland
o Places share similar species
o But sunda and sahul have very different species due to the divide
279 ha now, very rare
SYNUSIAE: groups of structurally and functionally similar plant species in a vegetation
• Synusiae (singular: synusia): plant forms with similar ecological requirements
• Tropical rainforests  high humidity  low temp  low light  in the forest.  Hence in these conditions, got
high species diversity, they all share this same requirement.
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Trees, shrubs and ground have different ecological requirements
AUTOTROPHIC  CAN PHOTOSYNTHESISE
o Mechanically independent  erect  no support
▪ Woody  (single: tree, multiple: shrub)
▪ Non-woody  (e.g. herb)
o Mechanically dependent  leaning or climbing
▪ Water (called hydrophytes)
▪ Air (epi: air, phyte: plant, phyll, leaves
o Creepers/trailer OR climbers  grows on ground or leaning for support
o Epiphytes  grow on another plant’s stem/branches  can become woody climbers  Does no
apparent harm to the support plant
o Epiphyll (parasites)  grow on leaves  ancient plants that came before trees  Usually mosses or
liverworts, algae too  In very wet habitats (Usually found in places with high humidity.)  Harms
support leaf by blocking off sunlight so reduces photosynthesis  (self-amputate), then grow new
ones (pg19)
o Hemi-parasites  can photosynthesise but grow on stem to extract water and mineral nutrient
e.g. mistletoe make use of cinnamon
o Hemi-epiphyte  roots from top down that strangle the host eventually  kills host  Stranglers
have roots that strangle host’s trunks  Kills host to take over its space in community  Locally, only
figs (Ficus species) do this
• HETEROTROPHIC  CANNOT PHOTOSYNTHESISE (aka achlorophyllous)
o Saprophyte  from organic matter
▪ Achlorophyllous  no chlorophyll (myco: fungus, heterotroph: getting nutrients from elsewhere)
▪ Nutrient get from fungus, fungus break down the material
▪ Thismia aseroe, now probably extinct in Singapore
o Parasite  from other plants
▪ Achlorophyllous (e.g. rafflesia is a parasite of a climber)
CANOPY STRATIFICATION
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More strata = more diversity  emergent, main canopy, sub-canopy, treelet/shrub layer, forest floor herbs &
seedlings
Primary dryland forest has the most (5) strata cuz of high diversity, complexity of structure and great height of the
canopy
Secondary forest has 1−2 strata
Temperate forests have fewer strata  so less diversity  less strata.
Forest floor herbs and seedlings-> treelet or shrub layer -> sub-canopy trees -> main canopy trees -> emergent
trees (highest component)
FOREST GROWTH CYCLE
• Forest growth cycle: trees die  holes (gap) in canopy  replenishment and repair by younger trees as sunlight
can now penetrate (building)  maximum height (mature)  eventually die again (degenerate)
PRIMARY DRYLAND FOREST
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Forest that grows on ground that is not wet most of the year
BTNR: (hill dipterocarp forest)
o 162.6442 ha total area • 38.3 ha primary forest
o About 2,000 plant species • Several thousand animal species (insects, etc.)
o Tiger formerly top predator (Big animal and consume many prey.) No large mammals now • Now insectdominated forest
• CCNR: (lowland dipterocarp forest)
o 153.6 ha primary forest • 3,043.1 ha total area
o Includes reservoir water areas (reservoirs not natural)
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o About 2,000 plant species • Several thousand animal species (insects, etc.)
o Tiger formerly top predator • No large mammals now • Now insect-dominated forest
• Dominated by meranti family Dipterocarp (Dip: two, tero: wings)
o They flower at the same time  due to triggering by fungus web (communication between the dipterocarps)
o Seraya: flower of the dipterocarp.
o Other tree families
▪ Bean family (Fabaceae)
▪ Chinese olive family (Burseraceae)
▪ Chiku family (Sapotaceae)
▪ Mango family (Anacardiaceae)
FRESHWATER SWAMP FOREST
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Forest that grows on ground that is temporarily to semi-permanantly inundated by acidic, mineral-rich fresh water
with water level fluctuations through periodic drying of the soil
When its soaking the ground, the rotting of vegetation under the water body will be anaerobic  lead to acid
production  hence water acidic. Hence input may not be acidic, but in swamp forest, waterlogged area will rot.
different from peat swamp forest which has acidic waters (usually < pH 4.0; in rest of SE Asia) • In Singapore,
freshwater swamp forest mostly in Nee Soon Swamp Forest (87 ha).
Pg 35 change non acidic to acidic
no oxygen  no decomposition by oxygen  becomes acidic (?)
Peat swamp  more acidic with more rotten/half rotten veg. peat swamp  older than freshwater.
Freshwater swamp forest  over time  become peat swamp
Adaptations for water logged (less oxygen) and unstable substrate:
o Prop and stilt roots
o Kneed breathing toots
Animals:
o Primeval Singapore had the whole range of forest animals  Large mammals like the tiger (top predator),
elephant, deer, tapir, etc  all majestic animals no longer around except for sambar deer. (bottom left pic)
o Top predator is now the reticulated python  attacks giant prey even humans  Have cat like eyes for night
vision, and heat sensing. They don’t have venom, hence hunt by heat sensing, followed by strangling.
o Small mammals: Banded leaf monkey (big pic on left), Cream-coloured giant squirrel (big pic on right), Malayan
colugo (flying lemur), Long-tailed macaque (common)
o Asian or common palm civet (not in tb): they produce coffee thru their bowel system after they consume a
certain berry. Berry will pass out as coffee bean. Factory farms present. Extremely expensive coffee beans.
“luwak” but suppliers cannot guarantee that civets are kept ethically
Economic value
o Direct values
▪ Wood for timber, construction
▪ Fruits
o Indirect values:
▪ Aesthetics (scenery, good view)
▪ Recreation (hiking, cycling)
▪ Education (nature study, research, military training)
▪ Amelioration of micro-climatic effects (rain, cooling down)
▪ Maintenance of water quality (filtering  when you have forest, will def have rain, to ensure that water is
clear and easy to filter.)
▪ Genetic resources for patents (industrial and medicinal products  we should study it but need money and
resources.)
▪ Removal of carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis
▪ Source of ornamental plants, etc
BTNR isolated from CCNR. Cannot cross over  ecolink
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82: tb pg 42, propagate forest plants. Under natural conditions (wild), mortality is very high and establishment
difficult. • Replant at suitable age at correct planting distance • Monitor growth and maintenance this is
expensive exercise.
83: tb pg 43, re-intro nat dispersers. • Some dispersers already extinct (e.g., larger birds like hornbills) • Larger the
bird’s gape, the larger the fruit that can be eaten • Trees with large fruits cannot disperse without their disperser.
Birds will feed on fruit seed that cannot be digested, will be passed out. Hornbills were lost but came back over
time. Without the dispersers the plant will eventually die out. E.g. Success Oriental pied hornbills.
84: tb pg 43, keystone species. • Keystone plant species = those that flower and fruit throughout the year •
Keystone animal, e.g., general pollinator of several species  e.g. carpenter bees will visit many plants in the sec
forest. And many of them are pollinators.
85: tb pg 43, poaching. • Increase surveillance and enforcement by park rangers and staff • Poaching of plants and
animals must stop • Poaching of plants for growing in gardens, e.g., mosses for bonsai, orchids for hobbyists •
Poaching by fishing hobbyists • Poaching by people for exotic meat
86: tb pg 43, construction works. • Construction works damage surrounding areas and trees • Can leave
permanent pollution or damage. Loose soil  soil erosion  too much soil  murky waters  less o2
Avoid introducing exotic species
Lightning protection  kills trees  protect old (tall) ones
Forbid smoking  637 bush fires during jan to mar 2005
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LECTURE 3-1: SUBTIDAL
BENTHIC HABITATS
• (tb pg 148) Subtidal = benthic
• Muddy, sandy or rocky
• Muddy or sandy seabed referred to as “soft bottom habitats”  can dig into them since soft. Subtidal can
develop into shallow water and deep water.
• Shallow, refers to manageable water, don’t need much help and equip can just dive down.
• deep, need submarines or other devices. Not easy to study seabed habitats (need specialized equipment and
logistics support)
• relatively constant environment
SHALLOW WATER SAMPLING
• Smith-Mclntyre grab. (tb pg 149) on the left, close the 2 valves, and just grab whatever that’s there. For shallow
waters and seabed
• Dredges  Nets with pocket. Lay it flat, then pull and dredge. Can be used with help of boat. Depending on the
mesh size of the net, will collect diff orgs.
• 8: Sledge  have 2 sides, more sophisticated.
DEEP SEA EXPLORATION
• Submersibles  Usually can only carry 1 or 2 people. These were invented by oil companies to see when they can
drill oil but ppl use it to see the creatures.
•
(graph in tb pg 151) sg river system not as good.
COMMON BENTHIC ORGANISMS
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Benthic organisms, particularly sessile forms (means stuck at the bottom) and filter feeders, are more affected by
sedimentation. They are filter feeders that are v badly affected by sedimentation. A lot of sediments. Filter feeders
have difficulty trying to survive. SG got a lot of sediments due to land reclamation.
Sea fans (tb pg 154)
sea pens (related to corals)
Noble volute (Cymbiola nobilis) they are molluscs, found in the waters. They have protective egg cases
Sponges
Baler shell (Melo melo) molluscs, also endangered species.
basket star (gorgonocephalus caputmedusae)
IMPORTANCE OF SEABED BENTHIC HABITATS
• condition the bottom sediment  burrowing to oxygenate substrate  bioturbation
• make use of accumulate nutrients
• contribute to food chain
• exploited for food (cockles, clams, marine snails, solefish, etc.)
OPEN SEA
• 3-dimensional env, depth  water column offers wide range of opportunities.
• Don’t need to know about the water column
o just know that there’s upper, middle layer and deeper waters
• Fully exploited by marine orgs
• 3 Principal lifestyles: tb pg156
o Drifting  e.g. plankton  limited swimming ability; mostly microscopic; dependent on water currents for
transport form one area to another.
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o Swimming  e.g. Nekton (divided into pelagic and demersal.)  strong swimmers, includes most adult fishes,
squid, turtles, prawns and whales; movement between areas independent of currents. Pelagic species occupy
the upper water column, while demersal species stay closer to the bottom.
o Attached  Benthos  Bottom-dwelling orgs; generally attached to the substratum or lifestyle strongly
associated with the substratum. Orgs that are stuck there, once they are wiped out, they are gone. Unlike
swimmers that can move around. Or drifting that can just follow the current.
• plants not found on our seabed >7m depth: (tb pg 155)
o sediments
o If cannot see the things in the water  means no light had penetrated into the sea.
o If no light, means no heat, water will be cold. And many of these plants will not be able to survive  hence
plants not found.
o Pressure  greater in deeper seas, may not be able to survive when brought back up to land level. Hence may
need to preserve down there before they bring it back up.
o Temperature difference is slight if there is effective tidal circulation
SINGAPORE WATER ORGANISMS
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Shallow waters, abt 20m in depth (average)
Sg have only deep channels at the SG strait, for the big containers to travel.
MACROALGAE
sargassum spp. found around Singapore waters  subtidal & intertidal  provides living spaces for the juvenile
(small) fishes.
diatoms
o algaes
o silicon cell walls
o Microscopic orgs. They seem to be made of glass as they reflect light and comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
ZOOPLANKTON
dinoflagellates (red tides)=marine plankton
o If disturbed, if got a lot of diatoms, will emit bio luminescence. They are associated with diatoms (algae)
o have bioluminescence when disturbed
o not good  cause paralytic shell poisoning (saxitoxin)
o consumed by fish/shellfish  choke up fishes if eaten
o Cockles/oysters/all filter feeders that will eat on dinoflagellates since not affected by it, but will affect humans
if we eat it
copepods
o crustaceans
o second most abundant organisms in the ocean
o flash lights  luminous poop to confuse the predators
rays (all tb pg 157)
sharks
o largest shark  giant whale shark (Rhincodon typus) vegetarian that feeds on plankton
o one whale shark was trapped in fish trap in Singapore in 1960s
o hammerhead sharks common in the past
bony fishes
o e.g. pomfrets, ikan bilis, ikan kunning, ikan kurau(?)
o sawfish spotted before
marine turtles (ENDANGERED)
o loggerhead turtle
o green turtle
o leatherback turtle
o hawksbill turtle
sea snakes (Laticauda colubrine).
o very powerful venom  that will breakdown muscles (heart muscle first)
o look at tail (sea snake has flattened tail like pedal)
o they come up on land to drink freshwater, they cannot drink seawater
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indo-pacific humpbacked dolphins
bottlenose dolphins
o used for therapies for children with depression
o Johor
whalebone whale
o floating off pulau bukom
false killer whale
o seen in tuas bay in 1994
o injured due to Singapore sea boat
sperm whale
o Found in Jurong in late 2015
o ingested plastic cups
o lost ability to swim due to fractured tail
dugong (ENDANGERED)
jelly fish
o one of the longest living animals
o produce cells to replace dead cells
flower crabs (Portunus pelagicus)
o can swim and does not walk, legs behave as fins
poisonous crab (after eating)
o Common name: mosaic reef crab one of the most poisonous crabs. 1mg of toxin is enough to kill an adult.
o eat it and kena poisoned
o toxins will not be destroyed by high temperatures
venomous snails (injection)
o feeds on fast swimming fishes. Uses harpoon to shoot and penetrate prey and inject toxin, fish paralyse and
drops to bottom, snail eats fish.
o cone-shells insulin-like substance that cause hypoglycaemia
traumatigenic fishes (physical injuries)
o mouth modified
o stone fish both traumatogenic and venomous  has spine on dorsal fin that contains toxins. Stepping on it
would cause such pain that you wish you would die lol. Toxin doesn’t go straight into bloodstream.
Razorfish
Cone shell (Conus spp.)
CORAL REEF HABITAT (most magnificent in the subtidal habitats)
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high tide  reef flat covered
low-tide  reef flat exposed
so, corals living at reef flat have to have certain adaptations
patch reefs
o associated with a raised seafloor with no connection to land mass
o exposed during low tides and covered during high tides
o individual reefs
fringing reefs
extends from land to water
Main impact on existing reefs is sedimentation. Average visibility reduced from 10m in 1960s to 2m today.
Sedimentation; particles go down and cover reefs.
coral spawning
o march/april
o They eject their sperms and eggs into the water. Water current may carry them off, away from parents to
somewhere new to start their own colony.
o Of the 197 coral species known from Singapore reefs, two are believed to be locally extinct. Seriatopora hystrix
and Stylophora pistillata. The one on the right, stylophora pistillata reappeared briefly in 2006 before it
disappeared after 2010 bleaching
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Zooxanthellae
o algae that live with animals
o can be found with corals  animals
o corals will secrete calcium
o is what gives corals their colour  mutualistic relationship corals and zooxanthellae
o coral: provide home, zooxanthellae give excess food to the corals
o bleaching  zooxanthellae moves away and corals lose their colour
o also found in giant clams and nudibranchs and sea anemone
corals
o hard corals
▪ branching corals
▪ boulder corals
▪ foliose corals
▪ encrusting corals (form a thin layer stuck onto a stratum)
Intertidal reef flats (tb pg 163).
o Reef slope and reef crest have better environment, hence only species that can tolerate periodic exposure will
survive on reef flats  water temp went up to 35 degrees during low tide. 2015 was hottest year in sg. 0.13
degrees  most of us will not feel it but to them 0.13 deg they will feel the effect.
o Corals do have species that can tolerate exposure to low tide and heat (to a certain extent of temp increase).
▪ Reef flat: platigyra spp., favites spp.
▪ Reef slope: diploastrea spp., tubinaria spp.
▪ Lying free on reef bed: adult mushroom coral (inflate themselves to increase buoyancy to move)
reef associated plants
padina spp. expenseive cosmetic
o halimeda  coralline
o ulva  typical seaweed
o sargassum
reef associated animals
o tunicates
o sea urchins
o nudibranch  got zooxanthellae
o giant clams  got zooxanthellae
o soft corals
o hydroids
o sea fans
o sponges
o molluscs
o crustaceans
o sea anemones + clown fish (mutualistic relationship)  got zooxanthallae
▪ start as males, largest males will undergo sex change
▪ clownfish immune to stinging, helps attract prey
▪ excess food given to clown fishes
SUBTIDAL PROBLEMS
• Habitat degradation/modification: Oil company find oil  build oil rigs and leave them there to extract oil. Later
find things growing on rig  remove rig  disturb habitat. Build rig  disturb habitat, remove rig  disturb
habitat again. New practice in Thailand (and other countries)  when rig is no longer in used, they clean it up and
topple it into the ocean  provide new substrate.  become rigs to reef
• artificial barrier: release larvae into the sea, artificial barriers prevents the larvae from burrowing to the land to
find shell
• toxic chemical and oil spills
• threat from invasive species  species introduced into sg (could be from boats coming from other parts of world
coming into sg). When ships dock in sg, many of these org living on the bottom of the ship gets unloaded. When
boat leaves sg also carries org (from sg) and transport them to somewhere else.
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species loss
climate change  monsoon patterns. Larvae of sessile animals carried by water current and can be linked to the
monsoon patterns.
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LECTURE 3-2: SECONDARY VEGETATION
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Secondary vegetation = Vegetation that has re-grown after the destruction of the original vegetation (primary
vegetation), by natural or, more commonly, human impacts. pri  undisturbed.
Secondary  if leave it long enough can become pri again.  but so far no successful eg for that. We never leave
the sec long enough to be pri. Takes decades/centuries.
Bare ground  secondary vegetation  pri vegetation
ecological succession: bare  some growth  more growth (continuous, one-direction)
o Primary forest  Cleared ground or big gap in forest canopy  after clearing, first to appear is Trema belukar
(if soil is undegraded, still quite undisturbed, still got its nutrients)  Tall secondary forest (if seed sources are
available)  Primary forest (if seed sources are available)
o Primary forest  Cleared ground  Agriculture (soil is degraded when crops use of the nutrients.) 
Adinandra belukar  Tall secondary forest (if seed sources available)  Primary forest (if seed sources are
available).
Managed sec veg: Succession prevented by periodic human disturbance (stops succession) like mowing or
pruning. Once intervention stops, succession to forest can proceed. e.g. padang.  ground is actively mown, to
prevent shrubs and eventually forest growing.  hence sec does not necessarily mean forest  also refers to just
a patch of plants like this that are maintained.
SECONDARY VEGATATION
• most common forest type in SG
• About 4% of Singapore’s area now – Originally = about 0%.
• Large continuous patches.
• Mostly in – Western reservoirs – Pulau Ubin – Pulau Tekong – BTNR and CCNR*
• Most common forest type in BTNR and CCNR. Indicative of past human activities even in nature reserves.
• Agricultural crops of old sg:
o 13:Gambier. (tb pg 61)
▪ climber
▪ plant that is v hungry for nutrients, take in a lot of nutrients from the ground
▪ ppl boil and extract tannin from it and let them solidify.  good for curing leather, for leather to become
stronger and will not decay. (value)
o pineapple
o Hevea brasiliensis (rubber)
▪ not native  Rubber comes from south America  used for latex.
▪ Rubber fruit will explode to disperse seeds.
▪ Look similar  15: Vitex pinnata (got 5 leaflets, same size, no latex) but Hevea brasiliensis (rubber) got 3
only (SAME SIZE, got latex)
▪ three segments in rubber fruit
▪ one seed in each segment
o Vitex pinnata
o Pepper
o 16: Tapioca plant
▪ poor man’s food.
▪ Common but Not native, also from south America.
SECONDARY FOREST TYPES
1. LOW SECONDARY FOREST AND SCRUB
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Trema belukar  secondary forest that grow on undegraded soil that has not gone through agriculture
o dominated by Trema species. 2 species, lesser trema and rough trema
o Tends to be found in nature reserves where soil is undisturbed.
o A natural type of secondary forest.
o Occurs when large gaps form in the canopy from natural (e.g., tree fall) or human disturbance.
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o pict: windstorm blew the tall trees down  short secondary forest
• Adinandra belukar  gone through agriculture degraded soil
o species-poor, anthropogenic, acidic soil
o Very low species diversity in plants, fewer animals and microbes than in primary forest. Dominated by
medium-sized to short trees – tiup tiup, simpoh air, tembusu, tropical pitcher plants, common acacia, etc.
o dominated by tiup tiup (Adinandra dumosa)
▪ hangs downwards
▪ petals don’t open up
▪ requires a carpenter bee
▪ fruit + style (see pict) which grows into flower
▪ lesser dog-faced fruit bat dissipates the seeds
o simpoh air  dillenia
▪ carpenter bee vibrates and causes the pollen sac to release pollen (buzz pollination?)
▪ carpenter bee carries pollen to another flower  forms red fruit  attracts yellow-vented bulbul
o Tembusu
▪ Flowers in May, has a nice scent
▪ Yellow flower  pollinated  red berries
▪ Trunk  sharp fissures (when it rains, bubbles form around)
o Tropical pitcher plants
▪ Get extra nutrients
▪ Attract insects (e.g. ants)  produce nectar  ants fall inside because too slippery  drown in fluid which
decomposes them
▪ Modified leaves
▪ Spiders KS and catch the insects instead
o Common acacia
▪ Introduced
▪ Young seedlings have leaves  grow older they stop developing leaves
▪ The leaves stalk expand  become modified leaves (phyllodes)
▪ Aril  orange parts  attracts yellow vented bulbul
o Mosses and liverworts
▪ Persistant
▪ See slide 40
Mosses or Liverworts
Vascular plants (herbs, shrubs, trees)
Earliest to come on land (400mya)
Later (200mya)
No phloem or xylem
Phloem and xylem present
No roots  water will just pass thru
Roots present
Reproduce by spores  Spores can be blown
Reproduce by seeds
by wind
One part of its life cycle requires water
Does not require water
Does not need a spore dispersal agent
May need a seed dispersal agent
SECONDARY FOREST TYPES
2. TALL SECONDARY FOREST
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Tall secondary forest = Forest that succeeds adinandra or trema belukar
Mostly found in: CCTR, BTNR, Labrador nature, botanic gardens
Fewer species, dominated by some  less than primary forest, but more than adinandra/trema
Tree species medium-sized to tall. Some of the families, some are not.
Albizia tree  not native, grow tall quickly and become tall sec forests. Trunks are soft, can be blown by wind.
Can be use to make matchstick,
• Silver Back tree. (tb pg 65) underside silvery in colour  Melastoma malabathricum and Silver back Rhodamnia
cinerea. These 2 plants got same type of veins, but if you look underneath, not the same.
• Mahang, ant plant
o Rubber family
o Macaranga gigantea (because the leaves are huge)
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Senduduk (tb pg 58) by buzz pollination by carpenter bee as well.
Rasam fern
o Branches branch into two
• Fig
o also has latex
o maple leaf looking
SECONDARY FOREST TYPES
3. OTHER SPONTANEOUS SECONDARY VEGATATION
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secondary fresh water swamp
o (tb pg 66) primary freshwater swamp  disturb  secondary freshwater swamp
o Hence, species-poor
o In CCNR
• Secondary vegetation of aquatic plants
o Ponds, canals, reservoirs are not natural, they are man-made and the aquatic plants are all introduced and
non-native
o Plants: hydrilla, water lilies, lotus
SECONDARY FOREST ANIMALS
• mammals
o similar to primary
o Warm-blooded, milk-producing animal. (tb pg 67)
o lesser dog-faced fruit bat
o Malayan pangolin
o plantain squirrel
o long-tailed macaque
• reptiles:
o 50: Reticulated python
• Insects:
o Golden Orb Spider (Nephila pilipes)
▪ more common in sec than pri forests even though present in both.
▪ male is the smaller one
▪ sexual dimorphism (diff size/shape/colour)
▪ its silk is similar to what is produced by Madagascar golden orb spider (not in SG) (nephila madagascarensis)
use to weave a cape
ECONOMIC VALUE OF SECONDARY FOREST
DIRECT VALUE
• wood for timber, fuelwood, construction
• wild game, etc. not so much direct use as well.
INDIRECT VALUE OF SECONDARY FOREST
• acts as buffer area for primary forests  protects them from noise, wind, heat etc.
• main role: water filtration  cheaper alternative
• and other usual indirect effects of primary forests
THE FUTURE
• trema/adinandra belukar  tall secondary forest  primary forest
• if left undisturbed
• and if there are proximity to seed sources –> may need human aid
• Human intervention
o Adinandra belukar:
▪ Modify soil (replace soil for plantings)
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▪ Plant primary forest specie
o Trema belukar and tall secondary forest
▪ plant primary forest species
• Adinandra belukar patches retained for education
o Low species diversity makes it easy to understand (beginner’s rain forest!)
o Easy accessibility all over Singapore (many parks have this, e.g., Kent Ridge Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park, Mt.
Faber Park)
o Good for teaching about forest
o Unique to this part of the world
•
secondary forest will dominate all of the tropics
o massive rate of loss of primary forest
o abandoned plantations and farms
o abandoned habitats
SUMMARY
• secondary forest was very rare in primeval Singapore
• major vegetation type in SE asia
• complex and diverse, almost no exotic species  second highest in value after primary vegetation
• numerous economic products and services  main role: water filtration
• can develop into primary forest if given enough time
•
Fertilisation process
o Pollen  stigma  style  ovule  fruit (seeds inside)
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LECTURE 4-2: WASTE AND RECLAIMED LAND
• Waste land (e.g. SG)  cleared to have low species diversity
• VS American waste land  desert/polluted land
• Reclaimed land
o Usually shore is very straight
o Nearer to coast while wasteland are more inland (so abiotic conditions are quite different)
• Dredging marine sand from seabed  kills marine life
• Inland sand  from hills
• Buying sand from other countries
• Reclaimed land quite unique to Singapore
• 24.4% of SG current land area is reclaimed land
RECLAIMED LAND FILL MATERIALS
• Subsoil
o Ran out years ago
o Inland excavations
o tend to be yellowish/clayey  softer and stickier
o compact  poorly aerated
o retains water -> flooding during rainy season
o and hardly any life forms
• marine sand
o bought overseas
o sandy  well-aerated  also allows water to drain through easily -> no floods
• alluvial sand/marine clay
o found at bottom rivers
o intermediate between subsoil and sand
Subsoil
Inland excavations. Ran out years ago
Clayey
Compacted = poorly-aerated
Retains water, hence waterlogging or flooding
during wet season
Marine Sand
Dredged from SG sea beds, purchased from other
SEA ctries nowadays
Sandy
Loose = well-aerated
Drains water, hence well-drained; never floods
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
• high light intensity
• high wind speeds
• high maximum temperatures
• low relative humidity
• salt spray  very open, no plants  wind blows sea spray
o metal rusts easily at the coastline
o physiological dryness  drinking seawater  draws water FROM body  dehydrates body
ADAPTATIONS TO DRY CONDITIONS
• xerophyte (xeric = dry, phyte = plant)
• adaptation
o reduce water loss
▪ tiny or modified leaves
o e.g. casuarina  swollen joints are their leaves + stem has become modified to photosynthesise)
o e.g. cactus  spines as modified leaves + stem can photosynthesis
▪ thick-walled epidermal cells and cuticle (Cuticle is a waxy hydrophobic layer that helps reduce water loss)
o several layers of wax secreted by the plant
▪ good stomatal control
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o got water  stomata open  water can enter and go out
o found on underside
o store water (e.g. aloe vera)
▪ water storage cells
VEGETATION ON RECLAIMED LAND
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2 types:
o Spontaneous  through wind, animal and water dispersal. plants that appear themselves on reclaimed land.
▪ Exotic  become naturalized (to have many generations)
▪ Native  widespread in many countries
o Managed  Plants cultivated by National Parks Board (NParks), MINDEF, etc. Pasir ris: managed, trees
planted at regular intervals
2 types:
o Sandfill
o subsoil
spontaneous sandfill
o pioneer species
o NATIVE
▪ morning glory (5 leaves) vs seashore morning glory (1 leaf)  distribution similar to that of coconut’s
▪ casuarina (aka Rhu) seeds very light  distributed by wind
▪ coconut  plant can establish itself when there is water. Coconut can float for months in sea water, surface of
coconut is not affected by seawater. Float  hit beach  settle  start to produce roots and shoots  new
coconut tree. Coconut water that we drink are tiny cells. As coconut ages, cells become solid  coconut flesh.
Coconut water good for tissue culture plants  got growth hormones. Coconut trees have trunks that will
bend under strong wind but the tree will not collapse.
▪ sea lettuce
▪ jambu air laut  syzygium grande  thick and fleshy leaves, trunk is resistant to burning hence they were
planted to act as fire protection
▪ Paku laut (Acrosticum aureum) (tb pg 83) a fern only found near the sea, have spores
▪ Screw pine (Pandanus odoratissimus) (tb pg 83): Wild pandan plants. Spiny leaf. Fruit is the red thing. Each
one drops off individually and gives a new plant.
o EXOTIC
o saga plant (poisonous) has compound leaves that grows out together at the same time (bean family:
legume)
o albizia  exotic  matchsticks made from this wood (they are very soft, tend to fall over) + they grow very
fast so they take the place of tall trees
o common acacia
o leucaena
cultivated sandfill
o native or exotic coastal forest
spontaneous subsoil-fill plants (USUALLY EXOTIC)
o albizia exotic  matchsticks made from this wood (they are very soft, tend to fall over) + they grow very fast
so they take the place of tall trees
o common acacia
o leucaena  (tb pg 85) compound leaves with tiny leaflets. Has pods.
o giant sensitive plants  when leaves are touched, they will slowly close. Produce similar looking flowers
(purple)> Produce seeds in pods (top right pic), when seeds germinate the pods (flat looking) open.
Cultivated clayfill sites
o Use same species found inland
* exotic: albizia, common acacia and leucaena can grow on both subsoil-fill and sand fill
* albizia very soft  topple  First accident in Bukit Batok Nature Park in May 2007, woman died, friends injured.
Subsoil-Fill Plants
- Albizia (exotic)
Sandfill Plants
- Albizia
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Common acacia
Leucaena
Giant Sensitive Plant
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Common acacia
Leucaena
Casuarina
Coconut
Sea lettuce
Seashore morning glory
RECLAIMED LAND ANIMALS
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birds
o white-headed munia
o brown shrike
o javan myna
o house crow
o pipit
• frogs and toads (pg 88)
o crab-eating frog
o banded bullfrog
o Asian toad
• land hermit crab (pg 88)  body of hermit crab is quite soft. Need shell to protect itself. In order to grow, need to
change shell. Diff from those sea hermit grabs. If thrown into deep water, may drown. When they want to
reproduce, female moves to water body to lay egg in the sea, hatches in sea and then babies come back on land.
• Lizards
o Garden supple skink
o Changeable lizard
WASTELAND
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Vacant urban land awaiting development
o construction sites
o idle land
o abandoned farmland
o secondary vegetation
• Spontaneous wasteland plants (MOSTLY EXOTIC) pg 90
o Mostly exotic weeds
o Come from places (south America) that share similar climate with Singapore
o Old ships used soil as ballast  seeds found in the soil will be transported together
o African tulip (Exotic) west Africa  flowers are very big  accumulate water  breed mosquito
o Albizia (exotic)
o Common acacia
o Malayan cherry (native) yellow-vented bubul, lesser dog-faced bat
o Mile-a-minute (exotic) grows very fast
WASTELAND ANIMALS
o Green crested lizard, Bronchocela cristatella (not in tb?): Native lizard. Unable to compete with non-native
lizards  not v fast moving, doesn’t react to danger (like humans going near it).
o Spitting cobra (Naja sumatrana) (not in tb?): spits a jet of venom to warn other organisms from getting closer.
Typical snake inject venom by biting. Spitting cobra can also bite but they tend to sit as a warning
o Red jungle fowl
o King cobra (Ophiophagus hannnah) prey on other snakes  control population
FUTURE OF WASTE AND RECLAIMED LAND
• Waste  waiting for development  Even if rare species live there, habitat has to be removed.
• Reclaimed  reclaimed for certain purposes
• Instead of growing native species, we are growing exotics and conserving genetic resources for other countries,
but we should actually grow our own native species and repopulate those areas
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SUMMARY
• Rather unique to Singapore
• Reclamation is necessary but at expense of marine environment  but there is also potential for spontaneous
vegetation
• Species diversity quite high, but mostly exotics  low conservation value
• Best to use native plants
* Wasteland  used to be forest, clear it, temporarily waiting for future development
* Reclaimed: artificial, nv existed before. Both eventually will be developed.
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LECTURE 5-2: BIODIVERSITY
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS
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CITES-Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
o Ensures that international trade in specimens do not threaten survival
o Level 1: Pandas, tigers (very threatened and on the brink of extinction)
o Level 2: Slightly better
o Level 3: Endangered but can be allowed trading for research purposes
• CBD-Convention on Biological diversity
o conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of the
benefits from the use of genetic resources
o E.g. Pharmaceutical companies
COMPONENTS OF ENVIRONMENT
• Atmosphere (air) - Shield earth from UV (UV light harmful) - Moderates temperature - Life-support gases (Life
support gases like o2)
• Biosphere (life) - Plants convert solar/chemical energy to organic matter - Facilitate cycling of materials Environmental cleansing - Physical environment modification
• Hydrosphere (water) - Moderates climate- absorbs/ releases heat - Contributes moisture to atmosphere and
lithosphere - Contributes essential elements/compounds  contributes essential.. to orgs.
• Lithosphere (soil) - Contributes essential elements/compounds
LIVING VS DEAD SYSTEM
• good living system  coral reef system  a lot of colours and life around it.
• Dead system  may or may not recover. Once coral reef is dead, it will be covered by slime. Its secreted by some
kind of microbes, slime can be called biofilm, may encourage other org to come and settle down (good), but some
may repel the org (hence bad) and will never survive again.
•
Biodiversity
o “natural capital” Biodiversity helps with life support. Ecosystems are resource systems – they provide goods
and services. Important to maintain healthy ecosystems in order to enjoy the goods and services.
FOREST ECOSYSTEM
• Goods (tb pg 277): Timber, Fuel wood, Pulp, Fruits, Leaves, Roots, Traditional medicines (and poisons)
• Services (pg 278): Retard soil erosion, regulate climate (taking in co2), Regulate water cycle (can absorb water and
transpire and release into the atmosphere and fall as rain), Energy flow and chemical cycling (Convert solar energy
into chem energy), Carbon fixing (plants need co2 to photosynthesise. Good at photosynthesising and trapping
them into carbo.), Purify air and water (bc they can absorb water from ground and release into atmosphere),
Provided habitat to numerous species (provided habitat for org to live IN or ON itself.)
o Resin (?) comes from (?) plant
o Smilax makes sarsi drink
SEAGRASS ECOSYSTEM
• Goods: food, medicine, fertiliser, fodder  e.g phyllophorus
• Services: binds sediments, reduced turbidity, retards erosion, pollution filter, nursey, support large invertebrate
stocks, critical habitat of dugongs, food for green turtles and young hawksbill
o Dugongs feed entirely on seagrasses
SIGNIFICANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
o Food  Magnolia flowers present in SG and SEA (Preserved wild magnolia flowers (love food, allergies)).
Clitoria ternatea (not in tb) (colouring for kueh kueh) or tea. Clitoria  healthy tea. Stingray and crabs,
shrimps, fishes  all come from biodiversity. Hence provide us with food.
o Medical and pharmaceutical importance
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▪ Ginseng can slow down growth of cancer cells, other species will promote instead
▪ Wild Tumeric  cancer, skin diseases, jaundice, liver complaints, asthma, wound. Cissus Quadrangularis 
cold, acidity, piles, osteoporosis, anorexia and fracture. Lalang grass roots  hemoptysis (expectoration of
blood from some part of the respiratory tract), hematemesis (vomiting blood), epistaxis (nosebleed),
hematuria (blood in urine)
Construction Materials: Tree trunks and wooden planks are bound together using rattan, a similar species to
bamboo. The structures are anchored in the sea by driving large piles deep into the seabed creating a sturdy
surface for the entire structure.
Physical environment protection
▪ Mangroves protected them from tsunami
▪ prevents mud and sand from being washed away
▪ helps regenerate soil by aerating it
Balanced cycling of materials: E.g. Forest – Materials, water, nutrients etc. Bacteria: Fresh water fish produce
ammonia in waste  Nitrosomas spp consume Ammonia and convert to Nitrite  Nitrobacter spp consume
nitrite and convert it to nitrate  Plants use nitrate for growth. Plants and animals help in the cycling of the
materials. If an org gets eaten by another org, the nutrients and minerals gets transferred to that org.
▪ Mud lobsters  It excavates below the surface of the mud, pushing mud to the surface and making its home
higher as it digs. In this way, it helps to bring nutrients from deep underground to the surface, helping in the
recycling of nutrients in the ecosystem.
Ecotourism: involves conservation, profits and locals. Principles of ecotourism: Minimise impact; Build
environmental and cultural awareness and respect; Provide positive experiences for bother visitors and hosts;
Provide direct financial benefits for conservation; Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people;
Raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate.
Carbon fixation and Carbon sink: (look at diag)
soil enrichment
▪ earthworms promotes the growth of trees, particularly fruit trees
32: Stores and purifies water: Water cycle. water gonna be expensive commodity in the future since not
possible that we have freshwater ALL the time. We need to buy raw water and treat the freshwater. Water
treatment is gonna be ex. SG is surrounded by seawater, so how are we gonna purify it to drink? So freshwater
more expensive and essential than seawater. SG q innovative with desalination plants, collect waste water and
convert them into drinkable and potable water (NEWater).
33: Filters and detoxifies pollutants and wastes products. Biochemical Mechanisms of Detoxification in Higher
Plants: Basis of Phytoremediation. Phytoremediation buffer. Basic removal pathways include volatilization,
plant accumulation, soil and plant biodegration. Pollutants must be within rotting zone.  Higher plants can
detoxify soil. They can absorb the toxins in the soil and cleanse the soil.
casuarina (in india)
o can live in very saline (to have salt) environment
o grows very fast, can be harvested within a year
o the species in Singapore is different
o soil remediation
nature parks (not the same as nature reserves)  not protected. Natural ecosystems are self-sufficient, no need
fertilisers, etc. unlike modified ecosystem. Modified ecosystems have lower productivity (carbon fixation) than
natural ecosystems.
Ecosystems are resource systems, capable of renewal and regeneration.
Ecosystems provide services that benefit human society.
Healthy ecosystems provide a wide range of services. Stress reduces quality and quantity of these services.
To enjoy ecosystem goods and services, ecosystem integrity must be maintained.
ECOSYSTEM STRESS
• Local level: heavy metal pollution. Oil spills.
• Landscape: Air pollution, pesticides, fertilisers/nutrients.
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Regional: Air pollution, salinization.
Continental: Acid rain, UV-B penetrance.
Global: Increases in atmospheric co2.
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY
• Introduced species:
o Unintentional introductions:
▪ Ballast water releases from ships, hull fouling.
▪ Organisms in or on timber/wood products, in packing materials and shipping containers/cargos.
▪ In or on various modes of transportation like cars, trucks, boats, airplanes, ships, etc.
▪ Organisms in imported nursery soils.
▪ Organisms in imported fruits and vegetables.
▪ Tourists and their luggage/equipment.
o Intentional introductions:
▪ Release of unwanted pets and aquarium animals into the wild (e.g. Red-eared Slider)
▪ Plants introduced for gardens/ landscaping
▪ Biological control (e.g. House Crow).
• 41: Over-exploitation (overharvesting): Fisheries, forest, water, hunting
• 42: Excessive habitat degradation
o 43: Ecosystem renewal and regeneration: Ecosystem can recover but it will take time.
o 44: Coral Regeneration: Researchers find corals in Northern Australia healed themselves in just 12 years. Scott
reef in northwest coast of Australia was severely damaged by a period of warming in 1998. Researchers found
after 6 years mature corals began breeding again.
BIODIVERSITY IN SINGAPORE’S CONTEXT
• Sg inputs  energy, food, water, raw materials, manufactures goods
• Sg Outputs  pollutants, greenhouse gases, solid waste, waste heat (the temp of sg rising hence we need to use a
lot of aircon and fan. But aircon’s by product is actually heat), and manufacture goods.
• We depend heavily on external inputs. We have a lot of eco footprint as well
o Ecological footprint = area of productive land and aquatic ecosystems needed to produce the resources
demanded by people, and to assimilate the wastes produced
• non sustainable approach:
o Pollute, then clean up;
o Waste disposal (bury/burn) (produce more carbon instead. We do not reuse and recycle. );
o Increasing use of resources;
o Population growth;
o Environmental degradation;
o Protect species (we only protect hose that need to be protected, heck the rest.);
o Overexploit/degrade natural capital  protect species but not habitat
• Sustainable approach:
o Prevent pollution; so we don’t waste time to clean up. We throw rubbish unnecessarily (e.g. cuz we can afford
and like for CNY) no way we can;
o Waste reduction (reduce/ recycle);
o Efficient use of resources;
o Population stabilisation (last time in sg, they only allow the 2child policy);
o Environmental restoration;
o Protect habitat (is where the species live. If they don’t even have proper place to live will still go extinct no
matter how you try to save it umbrella species  find a species living in that particular habitat that ppl find its
cute then use it as an icon to rep habitat for promotion. Hence when ppl protect that habitat, will also protect
all the other species in that habitat, hence UMBRELLA species. Cannot protect one or 2 things, you must protect
more and the habitat as they are all interrelated.);
o Protect natural capital
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ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
• Environment supports life and life supports environment
• Total environment protection
SINGAPORE’S SITUATION
• We do not depend on them for goods, services etc. so why conserve
• gardens (on roofs)
o reduce air temperature and lower energy cost
o can be used as filter to catch soil contaminants from the surface runoff producing cleaner water which will be
cheaper to treat  called ‘RAIN GARDEN’
• 57: Cross island MRT line. not much news since the early half of the year. Why is that particular forest so
previous?  the small patch below the red line  ORIGINAL VIRGIN FOREST, no man has gone in before. 
Uncharted by humans hence a lot of NGOs looking out for this area.
• 58: with recent event, we will lose even more, can we even do anything? Look next slide for conservation. E.g.
mass coral bleaching at cyrene reef 20 aug 2016
EVIDENCE FOR BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION
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59: Conservation efforts: having nature reserves and parks; NParks established the Biodiversity Centre in 2004 and
the National Biodiversity Reference Centre in 2006; Singapore Green Plan 2012
60: Case study Cleaning of Singapore River and Kallang Basin (restoration): 10 year programme commencing
1977 to 1987, Cost: US$150 million  used to be the worst polluted
Case study preserving mangroves/coral reefs at pulau semakau
Case study mega marine survey Singapore
SOURCES OF POLLUTION
• Pigs and duck farms
• Unsewered premises  untreated sewage before it enters the rivers.
• Street hawkers
• Riverine activities  all near the warehouses. And boats that transport the goods. Ppl throw thrash and wash things
inside
• Vegetable wholesale activities
CLEANING OF SINGAPOR RIVER
• Proj by Mr LKY!! Due to:
• Gross pollution
• Biologically-dead rivers
• Stench
• Health risk  fall into the river, you drink water and probably die
• Open sewer and garbage dump
USES OF RIVER
• Uses of rivers: Singapore River – River of history and entertainment.
• Kallang Basin – Basin of fun and entertainment. before entertainment and uses  need to clean up place first LOL
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BOD = “Biochemical Oxygen Demand” gives an indication of how much an aquatic habitat is polluted by sewage
and organic waste. The breakdown of organic matter in water by microorganisms consumes dissolved oxygen –
the greater the amount of organic waste, the greater the uptake of dissolved oxygen.
TSS = “Total Suspended Solids” refer to the amount of particles suspended in water. This is caused by sediment
and detritus washed into the aquatic habitat, which affects water clarity and quality. they tested BOD and TSS.
Both will indicate how bad or good the river is. Kallang river was worse cuz don’t have good irrigation for the tide
coming in at the river mouth. Stopping bad activities at these places will help the quality.
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65: now  both rivers drain into marina barrage which has been converted into a freshwater reservoir but the
water need to be clean first in order to get the reservoir. Impt cuz so we get water source. At city center  sg and
foreigners can go as well. 269 tons rubbish removed. 0.5 million m3 contaminated mud removed. Aquatic
biodiversity increased:
o Singapore River: 18 Families (1986) to 47 (1992)
o Kallang Basin: 28 Families (1987) to 41 (1995)
SEMAKAU LANDFILL
• Preserving mangroves/coral reefs at Pulau Semakau (development and ecosystem compatibility in sg)
o Protection of coral reefs and mangroves.
o Restoration of mangroves.
o semakau  made up of 2 islands, pulau semakau and pulau sakeng(?). they use biomembrane to surround
these 2 islands then they excavate and remove the corals first. Use membrane to prevent sedimentation.
Membrane can last for 100s of years. Then fill up the island. After they build all these they dump in the sand
and start building the mangroves. Also, first time in the world that use 2 islands to convert into a landfill
Comprehensive Mega Marine Survey. • Launched by NParks • Global and local experts from RMBR (Raffles Museum
of Biodiversity Research), TMSI, NUS, NTU as well as NGOs such as Nature Society, Blue Water Volunteers and others
affiliated with the Singapore Blue Plan, volunteers and enthusiasts. • 2 massive expeditions: - Northern Expedition
was held on 15 Oct - 2 Nov 2012, - Southern Expedition was held on 20 May-8 Jun 2013. • All information will go into
a public national database that will be open to all. raffles museum of biodiversity research (RMBR)  now LKCNM.
Results of the expedition, identify the animals, etc, they put into database. Not species in sg but also those around sg
waters.
77: all their posters about polyclads, polychaetes, opisthobranchs, ophiuroids, isopods, alpheids, leucosioids,
holothuroids, crinoids,
84: sea cucumber 85: feather stars
87: The interlace in sg  eco-friendly building (TED TALK). If you just build the buildings vertically and upright on its
own, its v crammed with spaces in between, not much privacy since the next blk will be so close to you anws. But with
interlace, there is enough spaces in btw for activities to occur, e.g like parks. So can connect ppl better as well. Sg
more and more open to these kind of suggestions even tho this is a private (condo) proj. but if HDB can do something
similar, will probably benefit sg better.
88: • Ecosystems have a way of dealing with impacts – but in their own way and at their own time. (Need to
appreciate this aspect and not place unreasonable expectations on ecosystems.)  coral reef recovering slowly and
need monitoring.
• Give ecosystems a chance to perform their environmental improvement and re-conditioning role. (Whatever
ecosystems can be maintained, should be maintained. If man-made, they should be enhanced.)
• No point in keeping the environment clean but biologically sterile. (Technology can be employed to take over the
environmental conditioning function of ecosystems, but makes little economic or ecological sense.)
HABITAT RESTORATION
89: we should try to protect. If need to destroy, we should try to rehabilitate and move species elsewhere first.
Reversing environmental damage. Speed up repair operations. Restoration should not be taken as the preferred
management option. Best management option is to protect in the first place. More economical and most effective.
Because of large extent of degraded habitats, restoration cannot be avoided
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Australians are so strict  may request you to throw away shoes (fear of introduction of new species)
Intentional introduction  house crow was introduced for this reason
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LECTURE 6-1: COASTAL VEGATATION
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Tides  moon, sun and earth’s gravitational pull
o Moon has greatest influence
o When sun and moon are in alignment, it enhances the moon’s gravitational pull
o New moon/full moon  high tide (spring tide) vs (neap tide 1-2m)
o Spring tide  moon and sun
o Neap tide  places at right angles from sun/moon
COASTAL VEGATATION
• Vegetation on land but at edge of sea
TYPES OF COASTAL VEGETATION
1. MANGROVE FOREST
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Tropical/subtropical, intertidal saltwater community
Dominated by tree and shrub
Always must have freshwater input, if just seawater it may not grow so well
One of the most dangerous habitats
o Anopheles epiroticus and Anopheles sinensis
▪ light brown, with pale and dark scales on their legs, proboscis and wings
▪ look like mosquito
▪ Breeding habitats are sunlit brackish pools
▪ Bite at night
▪ Vector of Malaria (not endemic in Singapore)
o Culex quinquefasciatus
▪ golden-brown mosquito with a dark proboscis
▪ Breeding habitats are septic tanks and blocked drains.
▪ Bites during the night
▪ Vector of filariasis (not endemic in Singapore)  block the lymph node, the lymph cannot go back to the body
and causes the swelling.
Usually between tropic of cancer and Capricorn
Places with mangroves:
o Chek jawa
o Pulau tekong
o Lim chu kang (have coastal clean-ups)
o Sungei khatib bongsu
Status of Singapore mangroves:
o Primeval: fringed by mangroves, 14%, 7500 ha
o Present day: isolated patches and narrow strips, 659 ha
o are along the coast and must have freshwater input. Hence usually near mouth of rivers that are not fast
flowing  hence called sluggish streams
o planned to build bridge from johor to SG. But didn’t so that part of the mangrove is safe. Causeway built right
on the seabed  hence current cannot flow freely and cause disturbance  affects the mangroves.
o Mangrove forest zone  between mid-intertidal and high-intertidal tide  Hence if climate change  sea
levels rise  behind mangroves usually developments (for sg). Hence mangroves cannot move since urban. 
that level and lowest tide level could potentially be drowned with the rising sea level.
o Salinity 28% (35% or less)  varies due to the high and low tide change.
o Black part of the soil  anaerobic  H2S  due to bacteria that fix sulplur  smell of rotten eggs
o have strong wind and strong wave actions
o Mangroves get a lot of sunlight as there are no taller trees to shade off the mangroves. Hence sometimes we
see the roots during low and covered when high tide.
Adaptations for high salinity
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o Salt secretion  api api, sea holly
▪ Uptake
▪ Pump out
o Salt ultrafiltration  bakau, bruguiera, lumnitzera, perepat
▪ Take in only freshwater mostly
▪ Salt is not even absorbed
• Adaptation for unstable substrate
o Modified roots
▪ Prop (can see trunk all the way to the bottom) or stilt  bakau
▪ Plank  nyireh, dungun
o Vivipary
▪ Ordinary  embryo (the young plant within the seed) grows first to break through the seed coat then out of
the fruit wall while still attached to the parent plant. This condition is found in Bruguiera, Ceriops, Kandelia
and Rhizophora species  bakau
▪ Cryptovivipary  embryo grows to break through the seed coat but not the fruit wall before it splits open.
This condition is exhibited by Aegiceras, Avicennia and Nypa species  api api, kacang-kacang, nipah palm
• Adaptation for anaerobic substrate
o Breathing roots
▪ Pencil  looks like pencil. (very thin, sticking upwards from substrate)  api api.
▪ Cone roots  perepat.
▪ Kneed roots  half exposed  bruguiera/tengar.
▪ Prop roots  grow out from main trunk, propping the plant  bakau
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Major: bakau (BP  bakau prop roots)
Minor (e.g. piai raya, seashore pandanus)
Mangrove associate (sea hibiscus)
pure stands: group of trees at a site consisting of only one species  not rly true for SG as there is too much
disturbance.
Taxnomically isolated  no close relatives  unique by themselves  hence no terrestrial representative of
them  gone means gone
Seashore Pandanus (not in tb)  Can find relatives on land. Need to grow near mangroves, less tax isolated 
hence is minor.
35: this plant is actually a hybrid, 2 species cross tgt. Rare cus we don’t get these crosses often. But it’s not a
species that’s going to be extinct. As long as their parents are around, you will get the hybrid (COPY FROM PIC IN
PHONE).
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Bruguiera hainesii (not in tb) (HYBRID)  B. hainesii is a hybrid between B. cylindrica as the maternal parent and
B. gymnorrhiza as the paternal one. • rare in Singapore, with only a few known specimens; one at Pasir Ris, one at
Kranji Nature Trail and two at Pulau Ubin.
Bruguiera sexangula (not hybrid) • two on Pulau Tekong, and two at Sungei Buloh and it is being replanted at Chek
Jawa, Pulau Ubin and at Pasir Ris Park.
Animals found here: Cicada
TYPES OF COASTAL VEGETATION
2. SANDY BEACH
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Coast which consists of sands usually between two rocky headlands
when you have a beach and the wave deposit particles  get sand then get beach.
43: sand can be v colourful. Can be pieces of living orgs with shell. Pieces of org w skeleton (left pic, bottom yellow
thingy)
44: Sand is not permanent, can disappear, eroded by waves. and see the rock beneath.
They undergo:
o Erosion
o Accretion
▪ Accretion  sand can be brought in further
▪ Brunei artificial beach  dig seabed to create beach. When you create a beach artificially, the waves will try to
reclaim (sweep back) the band. Brunei created large pieces of structures to prevent the wave from sweeping
the sand away  expensive
▪ breakwaters
o Continual cycle of erosion-accretion
Sandy beaches of the past: Pasir panjang, changi beach, tanjong rhu, pasir ris beach
Present day natural sandy beaches: changi beach, kampong wak hassan beach, kampong noordin beach, pulau
tekutor (wanted to make it into meerkat sanctuary)
Present day artificial beach: ECP, pasir ris, pular selatar, pulau serangoon
Environmental conditions:
o Like reclaimed land
o High light intensity
o High wind speeds
o High max temp
o Low relative humidity
o Salt spray
Plants
o Seashore morning glory
o Sea putat (water dispersed fruit, bat-pollinated flower)
Beach vegetation succession
o Pes-caprae association (after the seashore morning glory, Ipomoea pes-caprae)
▪ Starts on bare ground (on accreting beaches)
▪ Non-woody (herbaceous) plants (herbs, trailers)
o leave have shape of goats’ foot. The seeds explodes out of the seed pod  then get dispersed further away,
get washed away and spread to another part.
o Barringtonia association (after the sea putat, Barringtonia asiatica)
▪ Succeeds pes-caprae association
▪ Woody plants (shrubs, trees, epiphytes)
▪ Have flower that only lasts for one night, will open at night. Will attract night flying moths and bats by
producing a lot of nectar. The flower gets pollinated by bat and when the fruit drop into the sea, can float.
TYPES OF COASTAL VEGETATION
3. ROCKY SHORE OR CLIFF VEGETATION
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Rare in primeval Singapore
Even rarer due to reclamation
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Environmental conditions more extreme than sandy beach
o Hot rocks, little or no soil, strong wave, landslides
o Conditions are more extreme than sandy beach
o High light intensity
o High wind speeds
o High max temp
o Low relative humidity
o Salt spray
• Plants:
o can only grow above the water line (above the highest tides)  they are not mangroves because it is rocky here
o e.g. mentigi, superb fig, sea purselane, pelir musang, sea teak
ANIMALS AT COASTAL VEGETATION
• cope with harsh conditions, salinity
• similar animals found in all three types of coastal vegetation
• types:
o molluscs:
▪ Telescope  can stretch like telescope. (telescop telescopion)  treats waste
▪ Red berry  v small, often missed. Like berries.
▪ Slug  have shell but v small and reduced. But still called molluscs.
▪ Periwinkle  v small. Like 1cm tall.
▪ Nerite  nerita  Narita airport LOL. Always found on the roots of mangrove plants. Size is about 3cm.
o Crab:
▪ face banded  have band on its faces.
▪ Tree climbing  top right. On the branch  climb up bakau tree during high tide  also tear mangrove
plant leaves into small pieces
▪ Fiddler crab  will wave. Male will have a bigger claw. The female will have claws of same size. The males 
bigger claw the better. Food taken in by other claw  from organic substrate in the sand.
o Mud lobster (KEYSTONE SPECIES)
▪ Makes lobster mounds that allows following animals to live in
▪ ant
▪ mound crab
▪ mud shrimp
▪ file snake (live in or forage). Lives in the mangrove, at the bottom (like earthworm)  will tunnel in the
ground. Will push the mud up to the surface. Will tunnel  after some time it will collapse but by tunnelling
will make the mud level the same level. Action of the waves and river, will bring in more mud and pile higher
and higher until same level as land. But with mud lobsters, will push the mud into the tunnel, push the earth
into the lobster mound and keep the mud level the same so that mangrove remains as mangrove. Lobster
mound is above high tide level so org can live inside e.g. mud shrimp, mound crab, ants. Mounds can even be
3m high.
o Fishes:
▪ Archer fish  can use their mouth to create so much force so they force a jet of water and are able to see
above the water and aim in the refraction index of the water and see where the insects are. They shot get of
water at the insects and the insects fall into the water for them to eat. So they don’t hunt in the water but
they hunt above the water
▪ Mudskipper may behave like amphibian since can come up to land and breathe
o Reptiles:
▪ Water monitor  they are no komodo dragon LOL only can find in the zoo. Croc wont harm you unless you
stick your hand there LOL.  come out during the day
▪ Dog-faced water snake  role of a predator mostly (nocturnal)
▪ Estuarine crocodile
o Dugong (not the same as manatees)
ECONOMIC VALUES OF COASTAL VEGETATION
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Direct
o Timber
o Fuelwood and charcoal  bakau
o Wood chipboard
o Tannin (defensive mechanism against insects) and dyes
o Nipah palm products (attap chee, gula Melaka, roofing thatch, salt)
o Seafood  a lot of the young hide among the roots of the mangroves  when older then swim back into the
sea.
o Commercial honey
o Seaweed
o Pet food
o Land  Reclaim the mangroves
• Indirect
o Food for marine organisms  cuz of dead leaves, the dead leaves feed other orgs. When the leaves drop, eaten
by other crabs.
o Nurseries for juvenile fishes
o natural sewage treatment  if you see a lot of telescop telescopian (snail)  means got a lot of waste present.
o Stabilise  mangroves take most of the forest. The rest inland will be safe.
o Carbon sequestrian  A lot of carbon stored in the mud. Hence if you remove trees, a lot of the carbon will be
released back into the air. Too much of it in the air will not be good.
o Ecotourism & education  European ctries don’t have mangroves since too cold. Hence these tourists can
come here.  education opportunities. Private educators can also make money out of this
o horseshoe crab can produce blue blood  can detect toxins from bacteria in the blood. This component can
bind to toxin of the bacteria and can show the ppl if toxin is present or absent (whether it is contaminated).
o Ornamental plants
FUTURE
• need to actively replant the propagules (?). Labrador  protection to protect the sandy and beach vegetation.
Also can see cliff and coastal forest  hence this place by protecting it can protect 3 habitats.  also can use of
ecotourism.
• rubbish go into mangroves and prevents the mangroves from generating  hence threaten mangroves and our
lives lol. Stop pollution
Which is one of the natural coastal habitat most likely to be disturbed? How is it disturbed?
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Mangroves: Destroyed, reclaimed, drained, developed, polluted (may also be by chemicals that come from
industrial discharge and marine trash)  In sg, PUB is v strict about water discharge. But not the same for
other developing ctries.
So what’s the world’s fav habitat? What risks does it face?
-
Sandy beach veg: Developed or reclaimed (may not be polluted by oil spills, marine trash or trash from beachgoers but not as likely to be polluted by industrial discharge from land)
Sandy beach  not as polluted  since there might not be a river present to bring the industrial junk here. SO less
likely compared to mangroves that are at the mouths of stream and rivers
•
•
Xyolo = wood, carpus: fruit
Even if there are disturbance  species rich vs species poor
35
LECTURE 8-1: MANAGED HABITAT
Must know organisms and managed habitats mentioned in the lecture. All of sg aquatic habitats are manmade =
managed habitat.
AQUATIC HABITAT
• 5: In a managed habitat, it was NATURAL before  then converted to our use. E.g. Labrador reserve, converted so
ppl can have stable walkway along the coast to enjoy seaview.
• Demo prawn harvesting
o During low tide, open the gate
o As the water goes in, young fish etc go into the pond
o Then they close the gates
o When it is low tide, they open the gate and set a net, all the water will flow out
o Shrimp farming (prawn pond, prawn harvesting) can be commercial industry. Booming biz compared to other
fishing. Thai largest exporting nation. Mangroves cleared for farms. Then coasts face erosion, coral reefs and
habitats are in danger. Water polluted. Soil unusable for anything else, hence no longer fertile. Takes 30 years
for the land to recover again. Unsustainable way of farming.
Organisms
o 6: Sea cockroach (tb pg 177)
▪ not insects  have more than 6 legs
▪ They eat anything, just like a roach.
▪ Feed on algae, anything that will drift onto the sea wall. Impt in the ecosystem, as they will have to clean dead
or living things.
▪ Related to crabs, shrimp, barnacles
▪ omnivore
o barnacles
▪ Goose barnacle  grows on any objects floating in the sea.
▪ Barnacles  have 6 pairs of feathery thoracic limbs, they will open and catch any micro org in the sea. They
are upside down. E.g., Rock barnacles
▪ When tide is low, they will close up. When tide is high, the 6 pairs of feathery limbs will start to feed
▪ They are filter feeders
▪ Longest penis
• Rivers
o 1. Singapore River Sungei Kallang 2. Rochor River Sungei Whampoa 3. Geylang River Sungei Bedok 4. Sungei
Ketapang Sungei Changi 5. Sungei Selarang Sungei Loyang 6. Sungei Tampines Sungei Api Api 7. Sungei Blukar
Sungei Serangoon 8. Sungei Punggol Sungei Tongkang 9. Sungei Pinang Sungei Seletar 10. Sungei Khatib
Bongsu Sungei Seletar Simpang Kiri 11. Sungei Sembawang Sungei Mandai 12. Sungei China Sungei Mandai
Kechil 13. Sungei Peng Siang Sungei Tengah 14. Sungei Kangkar Sungei Buloh Besar 15. Sungei Jurong Sungei
Lanchar 16. Sungei Pandan Sungei Ulu Pandan
o Rivers more or less dammed up  become reservoirs. Hence a lot of our rivers don’t reach the sea anymore.
Hence our mangroves no longer getting any freshwater inputs.
o Purpose of damming up rivers: Dam up the river to increase water catchment  since we have a lot of ppl and
industries that require water. We are v small. So, we have our own desalination plants. But we still need to
increase reservoirs to get more water.
o BUT when we dam up these water, when one is contaminated with toxic algae, it can contaminate the whole
water body. It can disperse by wind and spread. PUB able to remove toxins effectively. Water bodies v green 
algae clogged up the waters. • By 2011, the water catchment area has increased from half to two-thirds of
Singapore’s land surface with the completion of the Marina, Punggol and Serangoon reservoirs. • all the major
estuaries already dammed to create reservoirs
• reservoirs
o Oldest reservoir: Macritchie reservoir
o Newest: Serangoon and punggol
36
•
Ponds
o All ponds in sg are artificial. And used to be granite quarry (pit).
o Granite mining  granite very hard and impermeable to water
o Hence only way to mine is to use dynamite. All the quarries we have in sg have been dynamite-d before. Do it
repeatedly to get the hole.
o Granite harvested  Furniture, table tops etc.
o To mine for granite, dynamite has to be used to blast every thing
o impermeable to water. After mining  get the hole. When it rains, water level increase, since impermeable to
water  forms pond.
o e.g. little guilin at bukit batok
o E.g. Singapore quarry  Create concrete outlets to manmade streams to prevent flooding
o Beside is BTNR so next to the quarry we can see dipterocarp Forest (lol forgot how to spell)
Aquatic Plants  introduced
o 13: Cattail, Typha. (tb pg 179)
▪ AKA bulrushes
▪ Quite thick  like cat’s tail
▪ Will grow wherever the water level is low and muddy. Might grow in sandy env.
▪ like peanut, peanut got 2 halves, 2 seed leaves, DICOT.
▪ Monocot  look at leaves, all parallel veins, like grasses.
▪ Looks abit like sausage (pic bottom left),
▪ Purpose:
o Plant grow v fast, can harvest stem and leaves to make paper.
o The underground part rich in starch, can convert the starch to biofuel.
o Rhizomes and Heart of stem edible  middle of stem.
o Pollen  use in TCM to relieve heat
▪ Wind pollinated when wind blow it will pollinate. Seeds look like white cotton wool with seed inside.
▪ Common dicots = peanuts. Monocot → don’t have 2 seed leaves
o Water hyacinth. (tb pg 179)
▪ From south America
▪ Sitting on water. At this part of the world, reproduce v quickly.
▪ BUT do not undergo sexual reproduction.
▪ Reproduce by budding to get daughter plant (ASEUXAL REPRODUCTION).  grows bigger and litaxck’they
have seeds, go down to water body and can last for a long time. Cant get rid v fast.
▪ Can float, the bottom of the petiole have air
▪ Flowers are purple
▪ Introduced from HK  then Botanic gardens  then feed pigs
▪ Grows v fast and can use to feed pigs in pig farms. SG no longer have pig farms since v dirty. Our farms are in
thai, aussie, indo  all the waste enter river  which is dammed up to become kranji reservoir  high
nutrient content remains at bottom; therefore, it is black, which hasn’t been converted into water column and
utilised
▪ Reproduced mainly by runners or stolons
▪ in temperate areas, seeds are produced and maybe viable for more than two decades
▪ good: can remove heavy mentals, cyanide and arsenic
▪ bad: Introduced to many parts of the world to do these. V diff to get rid of them. They will reproduce so much
until they destroy the wetlands. Water supposed to be clean on top but it become filled with water hyacinth,
then will prevent sunlight from filtering into water body and changes the properties (in the slide). Kill the
plants below. No photosynthesis in the water no o2 in the water. PH becomes low (acidic) since not enough
o2. (like freshwater swamp forest). Hence cannot be used for recreation purposes anymore (e.g. water sports)
• Destroy wetlands • Eliminate native aquatic plants • Reduce infiltration of sunlight • Change oxygen, pH
37
of water • Restrict recreational use of waterways • Can double its mass every 5 days (can completely cover
the wetland)
▪ deemed as pest in Singapore because we don’t have application for it, Other ctries harvest the stem.  • In
the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam the water hyacinth's stems are a source of fibers • Form a braid or cord
used for making bags, footwear, wreaths, hats, vases, Christmas lanterns, and more decorative materials,
baskets, furniture and paper
o Water spangle, Salvania Molesta 18: (tb pg 180).
▪ This is a fern Ferns do not form flowers/fruits. Hence produce only spores  Genetically defective  since
the spores do not form new ferns  hence they reproduce by vegetative reproduction (without sexual
reproduction)
▪ Brown modified leaves underneath the green leaves.
▪ Molesta  Means troublesome in latin.  grows very quickly. It is a fern that floats on later.
▪ It has a egg-beater hair on the leaves. Presence of these hair, when water drops on the hair, remains on water
droplet, it will not spread
▪ Do v well in high nitrogen/phosphorous pollution in the water  used to extract nutrients and pollutants
from the water.
▪ If you collect it and let it dry  Mulch  look like fertiliser at the bottom of trees. When mulch breakdown,
provides nutrients to the plants. Instead of using artificial fertilisers. Mushrooms (fungi) may grow on it. •
o Hydrilla verticillata 20: (tb pg 181)
▪ Have flowers, have tuber (underground storage column)
▪ Also cannot be easily removed. Also grows v quickly. Once you intro these aquatic plants, v hard to get rid of
them. Once any of these plants are broken, they can grow into a completely new plant (like regeneration).
▪ At night, they don’t photosynthesise hence they take in o2 and fishes are not able to compete and die without
o2 LOL. Are all non-native plants invasive  NO.  some of them don’t do so well or they don’t undergo
asexual reproduction, hence their numbers don’t grow v big.
▪ Can grow in canal hydrilla growing in canal  when there is dry periods and there are still nutrients. E.g. wash
clothes and detergents get washed in canal, there is phosphorous and hydrilla can grow well in it
▪ Found in botanic gardens (have to regularly pick it out to make mulch)
▪ when they are dry, they SMELL fishy. Hydrilla only 5 leaves.
Flowering plant. Introduced. When you intro smth and if its growing v fast, can become invasive. If it doesn’t
reproduce v well then it’s not invasive.
TERRESTRIAL HABITAT
•
planting programme
o roads, parks, gardens
o phase 1: plant over vacant land  plant fast growing  e.g. acacia
o phase 2: add colour
o phase 3: add fragrance
o current phase: mixed phase  previously, all were shrubs/trees, now they want all of shrubs, herbs, trees 
to mimic forest
o done by: mostly NParks OR Jurong town council (JTC)  in charge of anywhere that has industrial area. Those
with clear demarcation of fences, JTC is involved.
•
Streetscape plantings
• Raintree, albizia saman  during bright sunny days, leave open up. In evenings/rain, leaves close
o Bean family
o Jurong to BV
o Native of northern south America
o Ferns grow here
• 28: Yellow flame(tb pg 190). Left pic  seed pods.
o Native!
o One of the coastal vegetation
38
•
•
•
•
•
•
o Legume  bean family  Grows on rocky and sandy shores Nitrogen fixing bacteria in the roots, can fix
atmospheric nitrogen in the air and convert to nitrates that the plant can use. Hence can grow in harsh
control like with infertile land. Can grow cuz of bacteria.
29: Heritage → cannot cut even around the area
o Chosen based on appearance, age, height, girth
o some kind of significance  botanical, cultural, historical, social, aesthetic
o have lightning conductors
30: Tembusu tree  Fissured bark.
o Tree that fell at botanic garden
o Smells nice in evening Flowers are most centred in the evening.
o 31: Branch to support the growing branch that’s v big LOL
Alexandra palm
o Introduced in Australia
o National plant of Madagascar
o E.g. traveller’s palm, sealing wax palm
34: Epiphytes.
o Most ferns are native.
o But aquatic ferns mostly non-native.
o Tree v big, trunks trap water, epiphytes grow on them. Epiphyllic ferns : most of them native
o E.g. dragon’s scales, oak leaf fern
35: Lithophyte.
o Grow on hard surface/rock  e.g. mosses, figs, ferns
o E.g. barbula indica
▪ moss
▪ Reproduce by spores.
▪ V small hence no need xylem vessels.
o Mosses are extremely small, need magnifying glass to see the leaves. Pic is magnified. • No flowers or
seeds • Spore capsules • No xylem vessels like vascular plants
37 Lithophyte ferns (pteris vittata) (tb pg 199).
o When you have old buildings, can see small trees growing and roots will come down.
o Tend to be figs. These that grow on old buildings/concrete, they are able to tolerate concrete which is
highly alkaline. Hence can stand alkaline env. AND also heat. Day time a lot of heat, at night, heat released.
ISSUE WITH MANAGED HABITATS
• Urban areas
o 39: Yellow vented bulbul, native. Birds that can exploit urban areas can get food and roosting sites.
o Egrets  feed on insects on cattles. White cuz not reproductive phase.
o Fungus will grow on poop (of mynas) Then when we breathe in the air we will get sick.
• Pang sua park connector
o For people to get closer access to canals
• 41: (tb 203) Henderson waves: tourist spot.
o Highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore • Connects Telok Blangah hill park and Mount Faber Park • forming part
of the Southern ridges
• National parks board
o Newest  chestnut nature park 25 feb 2017
• Why parks?
o Vegetation similar to roadside plantings or streetscapes
o Much bigger turf area
o Ornamental plants  Aesthetically pleasing
o Less pollution.
o Cools down
39
o 43: (tb pg 206) • Contain recreational facilities for fitness, play, performance, historical artefacts etc.
Sometimes have more heritage kind of parks. They will plant plants that are more historically important to that
specific area
• Park turf area
o 44: Ideally one type of grass only. When turf just started, it starts off with one type of grass.
o Buffalo grass, axonopus compressus  grow quickly. Usually planted after construction is finished.
o Carpet grass Zoysia matrella  golf courses, but more expensive
o Not made of one type of grass only, there are many organisms there
• Turf weeds
o Ophioglossum nudicaule
o Tridax procumbens (?) International weed  seeds with cottony hair  dispersed by wind
o Elephantopus scaber also weed
o 45: Quite hard to define a weed. What we consider a weed here might not be a weed elsewhere. Weeds have
seeds that grow v quickly. Form seeds within a few weeks. Seeds are windblown. V difficult to get rid of
them. These plants came via shipping routes, came from ballast Ships ballast w soil, and when they take soil
from mexico, soil contains seeds and they bring to Philippines. Ballast soil ends up at Philippines and from
Philippines v easy to spread to sg bc we have trade w them.
o 47: when see cyperus (nut grass)  we know the area is water logged. The soil locks in a lot of water. The stem
is triangular instead of round. Cyperus is not a grass, have triangular stem.
o Euphorbia hirta, chloris barbata, cyperus rotundus
PROBLEMS POSED BY GRASSLANDS
• 48: mynas Grassland giving the javan myna a lot of food sources.
• potential vector of avian H5N1. Javan myna not native also. Hence dw it to be around.
• If grass don’t get cut, they will grow taller and eventually become secondary forest  but this is labour
intensive/consumes fossil fuel etc.
GARDENS BY THE BAY
• 49: Gardens by the bay
• $1.035 billion. 101hec.
• A lot of the plants are exotic and have to be bought overseas. Have to create temperate env (aircon) for these
temperate plants. Hence expensive overall but we need tourist $$.
ROOF GARDENS
• 50: (tb pg 208) roof garden. Desert condition, need drought tolerant plants. But during rainy season, these desert
like cannot grow v well. Need for study to see which species will grow well in all conditions.
• E.g. Changi general hospital, NTU, Punggol HDB
• Strong wind, harsher condition
• Advantages:
o Cool building as much as 18 degrees
o Helps patients recovery for hospitals
o Reflect light  reduce glare by 15%
• Cost/disadvatnges:
o Water proof the roof
o Need support the weight  cannot convert any roof to green roof easily. Need to structurally account for.
o Water for irrigation
o The plants need maintenance  if not will have weeds
51: Roots will grow wherever there is water. Hence they may grow in your ceiling. Hence must make sure the layer
beneath is waterproof so they don’t grow to areas that you dw it to.
52: Another managed habitat benefit we have is growing crops which can sell to FB outlets. Green roof not only grow
plants but can also grow food → MBS garden at the top grows food to supply their restaurants.
GOLF COURSE
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
53: (tb pg 211) When you have a golf course, have diff types of habitats. Lots of turf, artificial marshland, ponds,
some trees, shrubs.
Many habitats to attract more wildlife. Mostly quiet.
A lot of input needed to maintain golf courses. A lot of insects will attack the plants at golf course, insect
population will go up if you don’t control.
Can also have pest birds and weeds. Hence need insecticide and pesticides.
Golf course typically mono specific → only one species. Hence must apply a lot of chemicals to ensure it remains
as only one species.
Why only one species? → easier to cut and better friction for golf ball to roll. A lot of diff species → diff to
control friction for golf course to roll. Ppl pay a lot of $$ for golf course so if golf ball doesn’t roll properly, they
will complain.
Need to be near water bodies if not pollutants will not be removed
54: • Not all bad • Insecticides and pesticides under PUB control list. NSRCC (never specify kranji or changi in the
cert) follow this instead of TB.  One at kranji and one at changi. Have to be very clean environment and have
sustainable practices to get award.
55: Some are downsized or have to be closed. • Golf courses with leases expiring within the next 10 years will
have to make way for redevelopment • Of the nine golf clubs with leases expiring within the next 10 years,
two will not have their leases renewed — Keppel Club and Marina Bay Golf Club —
Three others will have their leases extended but they will be giving up part of the land they now occupy — Tanah
Merah Country Club (TMCC) and National Service Resort and Country Club (NSRCC) and Singapore Island Country
Club (SICC)
Seletar golf course closed
FARMS
• 57: (tb pg 213) Farms and farming areas have been dropping steadily but government is increasing the funding for
growing food to encourage local firms or foreign firms to produce food. to buffer food prices and climate change
(if other ctries are suffering from climate change and decide to keep the food for themselves we need our own
food sources). Good if we can produce some food for ourselves.
• In the past got a lot of a farms (pig farms, duck farms). As sg dvped, they remove the farms and start to import
bc farms are polluting (sg river used to be v dirty.) AVA had a plan where we import and produce minimally.
When neighbouring ctry started to have problems producing food (eg food shortage, flood issues), sg started to
think about being self-sufficient.
• 58: Farms in sg: • Vegetables (beansprouts, hydroponics, herbs and spices, organic) • Orchids • Cut flowers and
ornamental plants • Food fish or aquarium fish • Chicken and Quail egg production
• Dairy farms: Dairy Folks, Viknesh Dairy Farm Pte Ltd, and Hay Dairies Pte Ltd.
• Others: Frog, crocodile, quail, bird and dog breeding.
• Duck farms (phased out in 1999)
• We don’t have chicken farms
• In farms, Fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides are used
59: breed to sell. So that ppl don’t have to buy exotic birds form the wild.
AGROTECHNOLOGY FARMS
• 60: high tech parks to grow food/animals. Being produced locally. AVA’s long term goal of being self-sufficient.
American bull frog  introduced in our frog farm. But may introduce deadly fungus
• 61: • 10,848 tonnes of leafy vegetables consumed here in 2014 were produced locally - 12 per cent of
Singapore's total vegetable consumption that year. This was up from 7 per cent in 2010, meeting the AVA's longterm target of 10 per cent.
• Orchid hybirds: REFER TO SLIDE 62
• 63: the orchids look like female insect (yellow one) form of mimicry  the sex crazed males (bees Insect) will
crowd around it LOL, and pollinate.
THE FUTURE
41
•
•
•
•
More people (more than 7 billion)
Urbanization will be the norm
Constant pressure to develop land, remove forest  4% forest cover declining even
Soil eroded by high rainfall
SOLUTION
• collect propagules from native plants and replant them outside  spreading forest into urban areas. Not all forest
plants can survive in urban env.  due to high temp and lower humidity. Those that survive can be made to
ornamentals
• If we don’t collect propagules now there will be none for future generations  conserve them for future
generations  potential medicines etc.
• 66: NUS  Nparks taken over the nursery since no more money and are reforesting certain parts.
• Bukit timah landscape current landscapred with native plants
• Problem: training manpower to plant these
URBAN PROBLEMS
• BIRDS causing noise pollution, droppings, feathers
• Plant them further apart from blocks
• Don’t plant monocultures  diseases, nesting environment
• Plant crow-desirable species plants away from people
• Plant species less suitable for crows
68: But mynah not native. Feed them  more nutrients to reproduce and population will increase  become issue.
Otherwise their population will increase when you feed them
What habitats require high human inputs?  Managed habitats.
What kind of human inputs?  Fossil fuel energy to remove pest, cleaning, fertilisers, fungicides, herbicides.
Food, water, waste disposal
Create and maintain gold courses, parks, gardens, reservoirs. Not always good to convert natural areas into
managed habitats.
Bidadari → initially a cemetery, become estate. A community in a garden. Estate is green-marked. Must have green
roof and green wall. Basically must have certain area of greenery. Green marked is theoretically is good but in sg,
we haven’t got to the stage where we know how to maintain the plants and keep it green. Green wall is not easy to
do. Most ppl who do this nv consider the plant’s character. Normally a climbing plant will climb and the bottom part
will start to bare (natural behaviour of the plant, doesn’t produce leaves anymore, so only the top got leaves). After
awhile the green wall looks horrible bc half bare and likely to be removed. So green wall must be renewed. Green
roof still not so bad but a lot of maintenance is required. Need to have expertise and select plants properly, need to
water and maintain. Will there be more org in a managed habitat (new estate at bidadari) or the wasteland at
bidadari (when the cemetery was first cleared, before its converted into estate)*** If you want to have high
biodiversity, you need to keep the place wild and no need so much maintenance.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
42
LECTURE 8-2 LOST HERITAGE
WHY CONSERVE
• Dodo  one of the birds with shortest history
• Discovered by Europeans when they went to the island.
• Supposedly smart and peace loving, delicious.
• But within 30 years they got extinct.
• They found feathers, preserved specimens and kept eggs in museum
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Is it because they are cute?
o Bambi syndrome
o 4: civet cat/sugar glider.  Animated like cats and cute. Can make use of them as umbrella species since they
are cute to protect habitat and indirectly protect the rest.
Is it because they are beautiful
o Halcyon chloris --> bird
o 5: usually collector’s items. During colonial times, ppl keep these bodies of animals as trophies. Stuffed
animals, carpets, hanging antelops/bison, etc. WALLACE LOL collect animals so he can preserve and also sell
them to collectors.
Is it because they are endangered?
o 6: endangered  means they not suited for env hence shouldn’t bother? (ofc no)
Is it because they are strange?
o 7: Albunea groenigi  the legs are hooked-shaped but we dk its use and they look weird.
Is it because they are poorly known?
o 8: monitor lizards??? we see them around. Relative of komodo dragon.
o NTU student studied stomach content
o Used to be caught in southern asia  drink alcohol or eat meat
Is it because they feel sentimental?
o 9: “so cute but going extinct ”
Is it because we worry about our future food?
o 10: food: many of these animals and plants could be our potential resource for energy.
Is it because we worry about the economy?
o 11: money:
o pic of rhino horn.  one of those animals that ppl kill to get money. 1kg/g(?) of the horn  >$60 000USD
more ex than gold. Now popular one is HORNBILLS. But driving it to extinction as well. Ppl sacrificing
animals to earn money.
is conservation all about making money and protecting rights?
o 12: left  periwinkle flower.
o Used to be v prevalent in sg in the 70s.
o Early 80s but suddenly disappeared cuz scientist found that there is bioactive compound that can halt the
spread of leukaemia cells  but you need a lot of the flowers.  but a lot of ppl keep cuz want earn
money.  now scientist come up with artificial compound
o Need a lot of it
o Top right  ginko, gymnosperm.
o Has been here since the dino period.
o Helps with memory work, some ppl eat a lot of it.
o Chi traditional med say cannot eat more than 12 a day otherwise toxic  hence pharmaceutical companies
harvest plant to make it a pill. Some studies have shown that the gingko pills don’t work, must eat the seeds
itself.
o Bottom right  tongkat ali plant NATIVE plant
o roots harvested and sold as VIAGRA  ppl make to soft drink also lol.
o Reforestation around nus and KR and includes this tongkat ali plant. But the plants disappeared.
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THE SCALE
• Standing rule …
o 90% forest loss = 50% biodiversity loss
THE MAGNITUDE
• 50-100 extinctions per day
• 5-50 million species but only 1.8 mill known to science
• Species lost at a rate faster than species discovered
• CLASSIC EXTINCTION  passenger pigeon, extopistes migratorius  at one time it was the most prolific bird
• 25-40% of north america’s bird population, prolly one of the most abundant bird in the world
• cheap source of protein to the slaves
• And was hunted. 1907  one bird left in Quebec. 1914  last bird Martha ciccinati is the bird LOL that was
kept in the zoo.
• Characteristic  if female don’t like male they will rather live single and die alone then species dwindle .
FACTS
• Indo west pacific – centre of diversity
• the coral triangle is near us (area at the sea from jap area all the way to near Australia)
• Singapore is a dead centre  so highly urbanised since all concrete structures that you can see  sg first covered
with vegetation. All pri veg. 2002  left v little.
SINGAPORE NEW LANDSCAPE
• Surrounding countries is not helping either
• Paper published:
o Based on bird specimens when raffles landed
o Major extinction occurred when raffles came to Singapore Paper said  many destructions started when the
british came into sg  sg center of spice trade (pepper, gambier, cinnamon)  hence clear forest and birds die,
mammals die. These collected and sent to museum. Hence based on these collections we know when these
destructions happen and how deforestation affected us. Hence we can obtain info form these preserved org. by
the time british left, it was alr damaged.
• 26: impending disaster  based on study of their museum collections. Since a lot of ppl collect animals and plants
and bring back to museum. Based on all the species that was studied then. Then they publish the paper. Sg govt
was not happy.
• Stamford raffles  naturalist
o Avid naturalist on top of being a governor
o People will send specimens to him
o Wanted to bring back to british national history museum  His boat burned  died of depression
• Already wallace:
o Came to Singapore
o Found evolution
o Collect specimen in Singapore and sell? 27: named species, collected a lot of species, ppl want to curry favour
and send the species to him, built up his collection but wanted to bring it back to british national history
museum, dw to leave it in sg. But then when he going back, his ship caught fire LOLOLOL  WALLACEEEEE. He
needs to earn money, not rich like Darwin. He sold specimens to museums. Discovered TOE in SEA.
o Dispute: Dispelling the darkness  JVW
• Last tiger shot in CCK village.
o Although no lions
FOREST CATASTROPHE
• Forest habitats
o Most acutely affected
• Open habitats
o Less affected
• Extinction of butterflies, freshwater fish, birds and mammals: consistenat at 34 – 43%
44
•
32: 25% of fish in about 5 hectares
o Pikehead Luciocephalus pulcher
o Grey loach Nemacheilus selangoricus
o Six-banded barb Puntius johorensis
o Eel loach Pangio muraeformis
o Sold in pet aquariums
• Still surviving but don’t know can survive for how long
o Leaf fish Nandus nebulosus  need very clean water to survive
o T-barb Puntius lateristriga also need very clean water to survive  so if see t-barb, you can drink water
• Crab (discovered in the last 20 years)
o Irmengardia johnsoni
o Johora singaporensis imperilled already  found in bukit batok park, extinct in its natural locality  that’s
why they working on it to make sure they won’t go extinct
o Both species are lucky  discovered and protected before they go extinct
LIVING DEAD  animals that have not been seen but also might have been spotted by people
• Giant cream coloured squirrel  Ratufa affinis affinis
o has not been seen in Singapore for 50 years  but we don’t want to declare as extinct yet
o Endemic to SEA
o We do not know if our subspecies is extinct or not, but those in Malaysia and Indonesia still exists
• Banded-leaf monkey  Presbytis femoralis femoralis
o One of the very rare monkeys
o Endemic subspecies
BUKIT TIMAH NATURE RESERVES
• 0.25% of area harbour over 50% of residual native biodiversity
• By the British government
• Paradox: it is actually very small
o Quarries: diary farm, Singapore and ??? quarry
o Big nature reserve, separated by bukit timah expressway from the central catchment area, surrounded by
human activities  many tree falls, saplings are not going fast enough
o IS IT WORTH CONSERVING THEN?
URBANISED SINGAPORE
• Concrete jungles
• Concretise humanway
o No erosion
o But this also means they are very very sterile
o Every river in Singapore has been concretised  ensure that banks do not erode + ensure we don’t have
landslides
o But we affect natural habitats + looks ugly
o PUB  add a thin layer of soil  let plants etc grow  make it look like natural river  let tide in and out to
allow propagules to come in to grow
• Manicured waterbodies and landscapes
o Areas carefully maintained
• Singapore coastlines  all are managed
o Converted into port, industries, beaches (changi beach, eastcoast parkway) etc.
o except Labrador and sungei buloh and some other areas
• sanitized shores
o changed into marinas
o hardly any natural shore left except Labrador, sungei buloh, some parts of pasir ris
INVASIVES
• red ear slider  aquarium trade
o become more aggressive
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o released and compete with native species
o some carry disease
American bullfrog
o Throw into freshwater shrimp
guppies to control mosquitoes
frangipanis
freshwater stingray
NATIONAL MUSEUM
• LCKNHM specimens used to be there
• Library there used to house literature and books related to natural history
• This used to be the place where successor of raffles kept all the specimens
• when Singapore became independent they wanted to have museum that showcase cultural history of Singapore,
so they were told to pack up all their specimens and go
• museum has changed to cultural history museum  culture of diff races  renovation  museum for all sorts of
things
• had whale skeleton and big mammals  but no space to keep everything
• entire collection divided into 3 portions
• 2 skeletons sent to Malaysia
• Got keep at science centre before but no space  donate to NUS
• Packed and moved several times
• Raffles museum of biodiversity research
• The whale we lost
o Used to be at the entrance
LKCNHM
• Previously known as raffles museum
• March 2016 whale
• They gave the whale away and wanted to take it back but it was very badly maintained, so they got 3 dinosaurs
instead
WHY BOTHER if can go other countries
• Better rainforests
• Better reefs in sepadang?
• But we need to keep Heritage & pride
• Many species are endemic
o Clown barb Puntius dunckeri
o Forest Fighting Fish Betta pugnax
o Tom’s Giant Fighting Fish Betta tomi  much bigger than normal fighting fish
o Grey Land Crab Discoplax hirtipes  found on land
o Green Broadbill Calyptomena viridis
o Leathery turtle Dermochelys coriacea  came in 1803  died and specimen kept
SURPRISING SINGAPORE
• Way back in early century there was this giant oyster, finest known specimen  got award  now in british
museum
• Still rich natural habitats and landscapes
• A treasure trove of species
o Singapore kopsia, Kopsia singaporensis
o Harlequin Rasbora, Trigonomorpha heteromorpha  very expensive aquarium fish
o Lowland Freshwater Crab Parathelphusa maculate  NATIVE
o Singapore Freshwater Crab Johora singaporensis  TRUE BLUE SG
o Temasek Tree Snail Amphidromus atricallosus temasek  TRUE BLUE SG
o Lee Crab Leelumnus radium
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o Small-clawed otter Amblonyx cinerea  Disappeared many years, came back
o Flying lemur Cynocephalus variegatus
o Pangolin Manis javanica rare species, highly threatened, hunted to eat for medicinal purposes
BACK FROM THE DEAD
• Dwarf snakehead (channa gachua)  declared extinct before (i.e. at least not seen for 50 years)
o Giant snakehead (yu pian mi fen)  when introduced into America caused a big problem
o Snakeheads freeze for 2 days can still come alive after you put in warm water
o Giant Snakeheads are invasive species and are a threat but dwarf snakehead is not (very impt species)
• Tekong’s treasure
o Many species tot is extinct but found there
RETURNING CITIZENS
• Pied hornbill
o Came back
o Suspected it was due to development
o Nparks  Started project of breeding hornbills by giving them proper homes (boxes)
o Female hornbills are very particular about the house, male hornbill will seal the tree trunk
• Chek jawa discovered in past 10-15 years  7 different types of habitat
RESSURECTION OF HABITATS
• Ecolink  bukit timah segregated from central catchment area (a lot of roadkills last time)
A BALANCE BETWEEN GREED AND NEED
• Money, food etc.
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LECTURE 9-1: HUMAN IMPACTS AND CONSERVATION
SINGAPORE IN THE PAST
In early days
• There were a lot of forests
• Human impacts were minimal
• Sir Stamford raffles was very interested in biodiversity  invited a lot of naturalists  who named a lot of new
plants and animals back then
• E.g. cream-coloured giant squirrel, sun bear, long-tailed macaque
land use change
• Loss of old forests, swamps and mangroves
• Forest replaced by agriculture
o Pepper and gambier planted
o pepper plant can provide income when price of gambier dropped  Black pepper when you pluck the
pepper when its raw and green (unripe), then you sun and roast it. White left on the tree to ripen to
become red, soak it to remove the skin and dry it. Use to be as valuable as currency. Food then bland, need
pepper to spice things up
• After gambier’s price dropped till there are no demand  Rubber replaced gambier  rubber came from brazil 
cut down agriculture  need more labour  more immigrants  more house  Number of people increase 
Water insufficient  rivers converted into reservoirs  need more land  reclamation
• 15: reclamation  need to get the sand from somewhere. A lot of damage the in source country and as well as in
sg  one of the earliest one want marina bay
Islands have been amalgamated
• 14: Semakau (tb p g225)  to dispose the ash (burnt from our waste)
• Jurong islands  used to have multiple islands. With reclamation, merged with more landfill material.
• Sand particles moving in the water column  murky  affects organisms
• 16: Solid bridge (causeway, 1923)  no water flowing underneath, the water cannot mix.
o During high tide, the water come in and hit the bridge, causes a lot of erosion esp at the mangroves.
o 17: Tuas link, cannot be causeway, must be a bridge. So will not lock in the sea water & cause death 
seawater can flow
o 19: Land reclamation at marina bay area  one of the earliest one  All v expensive land for economy. A lot of
MNC HQ and banks. High rental and high income buildings.
Habitats
• 1. Terrestrial Natural habitats  airports, harbours, buildings, reclaimed sites AND rivers  reservoirs
• 21: (tb pg 225) 2. disturbed habitats
o Highly disturbed  pri to sec OR converted into agricultural land, which may get abandoned and become
wasteland
o may recover but will take decades, but need to actively introduce species
o And if neighbouring countries lose their forest, their seeds will not spread here as well. (dispersal)
o Slightly disturbed  shelling during WW2
• 3. Reconstituted or created habitat
o In very disturbed habitat we try to do smth about
o Reclaimed lands  created
o Managed areas: parks, gardens, streetscapes
• 23: Coastline development @ johor affecting bird migration when the tide is low, is where the birds feed.
o When they come from Siberia or Mongolia, they will want to stop to feed.
o They will reach johor/other countries before Singapore.
o But if johor is developed, their feeding ground is gone, causing the birds to choose Singapore
o Or if they nothing to eat cant fly, get predated  or die??
• Forest city project
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o 24: M’sia anyhow approve (johor reclamation) projects, sometimes due to bribing, poor planning that will cause
probs
o Stopped investment halfway  but organisms and habitats already affected  25: fish yield will be lower (and
less profits) due to poor quality of water (mass fish deaths)  will affect food supply in sg and also their
livelihood of the fisherman in msia.
conservation
• 28: The british established nature reserves even back then. When agriculture progresses, more land cleared to
grow gambier. Hence must be protected.
o E.g. bukit timah, parts of changi, pandan, seletar and kranji
• But under development pressure
o 29: (tb pg 226) Reserves become degazetted  no longer a reserve, and ppl can develop it.
▪ E.g. pandan reserve, kranji reserve, Labrador reserve
▪ Labrador was degazetted in 1970s but then gazetted again.
o Central catchment utilized by MINDEF
• Wildlife protection
o 30: Wildlife protection: • Wild Animals and Bird act protect most vertebrates drafted late 1800s •
o National Parks Act, established in 1990, protects all plants and animals in reserves
o Today 4.7% of land are nature reserves
o Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Labrador Nature Reserve gazetted - 2002
31: dots of green urbanised  like parks, greenery. Big patches of forests like pulau ubin
FINDINGS
• 33: looking at the change 
o finding new species (new to science)
o new records (species known to sci but first time recorded in sg)
o rediscoveries (for long time not around, but the latest survey found it again)
o extirpations (local extinctions, extinct in sg, not the world)
NEW FOUND SPECIES
• 35: New to science. Thought no longer around but was found  dumeril’s monitor (colour is lighter than monitor
lizard)
• Long legged fly  150 new species in catchment areas and mangroves
• Dwarf snakehead  CCNR 1980s
• Lentor forest  streams are v rare. If we go there and step, will disrupt env
• 39: greater mousedeer (in pulau ubin)  thought to be extent but then rediscovered. But lesser mouse deer (in
pic left) found more commonly (in BTNR and CCNR)
• Vrydagzynea lancifolia orchid (leaves look like lance)
Habitats need management
• BTNR is surrounded by PIE, BKE, Hindhede Drive, Dairy Farm Road, Upper Bukit Timah Road. Condominiums,
granite quarries.
• 43: constantly surrounded by development, the quarries stop operating. Buildings, day time absorb heat. Night,
release heat hence the forest gets warmer and drier.
• Ecolink had to be built to help the animals
• 45: (tb pg 231) when you have animals using the ecolink  they are comfortable. Good thing. They feed and
defecate on the eco link, the stool may have seeds, and seeds will spread and new plants can grow up. Good news
regarding ecolink 
• Good news on ecolink:
o Five new species of orthopterans (grasshoppers and crickets) were discovered
▪ E.g. asiophlugis thaumasia, singapuriola separate, tremellia timah
o Lesser Mousedeer (Tragulus kanchil), and Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica) used the ecolink
o planting native species helps as well  animals are encouraged to used them
• under intense pressure
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o 47: (BTNR) all these disturb the plants and animals. Footsteps are much strong and louder  have vibrations 
affect animals that rely on vibrations. All will have impact. Also a lot of erosion when ppl walk.  hence need
repair
o 48: The North face 100 run 4-5 Oct’13 CCNR. run was bad since at night. Stopped doing it at night.
• Mangroves
o Can go PRP at night but cannot go SBWR at night
o Rhizophora stylosa  only at PRP (Pasir Ris Park)  require a more sandy substrate
o 49: protected reserve  SBWR. PRP (tb pg 234)  not as well protected since PARK.  can find, smooth
coated otter, owl chick, mangrove pitta(bird), oriental pied hornbills, scarlet-backed flowerpecker, dog-faced
water snake.
o 51: (tb pg 234) Chek jawa wanted to be develop. But got appeal to keep this and stop dvmpt. Broadwalk  not
as est like park. But place will be fairly permanent. Coral rubble  broken pieces of coral that some got
congregate the area. Habitats in CJ: 1. coastal forest, 2. mangroves, 3. rocky shore, 4. sandy shore and banks
5. seagrass lagoon 6. coral rubble (broken pieces of rubble)
ALIEN FLORA AND FAUNA
• Not native
• Potentially reservoirs  they have the virus, but they do not develop it, but can spread to other organisms!
• 53: Aliens (tb pg 241) E.g West Nile Virus that spread across North America was carried by non-native mosquitoes.
• Brought in a lot of plants  close to 46% are exotic
• May not be invasive
• Direct effects:
o 54: (tb pg 244) potentially invasive if they reproduce v quickly. Plants  take up a lot of water and deprive
other plants from water. If they die  will suddenly have a lot of nutrients, if they are alive, they take up too
much nutrients. Aquatic plants  block sunlight, disturb the light conditions. Animal habitats  preventing or
depriving them of homes, feeding grounds or mating grounds.
o No natural herbivores and pathogens
o Can grow very well because there are nothing that can hurt them  crowed out native species
• Indirect effects:
o Alter soil water content  e.g. acacia (introduced, modified leaves) take up a lot of water
o Nutrient cycling  remove all the nutrients
o Light conditions  if they grow very dense
o Disturbance regimes  change in species with time
o Affect animal habitats  if the habitat is removed/kena competed
• Calotes versicolor (lizard-looking) also not native vs bronchocela cristatella which is native
• Pest birds
o Mynas are the most abundant birds in SG
o 57: (tb pg 249) Javan myna outcompeted the common myna (native). Likely brought in from cage bird trade.
Common no longer common. • It has grey plumage (javan/white-vented myna). Two distinct white patches can
be clearly seen on the underside of the wings during flight. • Common Myna is identified by the brown body,
black hooded head and the bare yellow patch behind the eye.
o Sparrows numbers not so high, the rest can kill
• Fish aliens
▪ Tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus  From Mozambic (Africa)  first introduced to increase food supply
▪ Common mollies poecilia sphenops and guppies poecilia reticulata  from South America, prefer open water
and haven’t penetrated acidic water of the catchment
• Turtle
o Chinese soft shell turtle vs Asian soft shell turtle (become very rare)
• Frog
o American bullfrog (found in temperate regions, hence cannot breed here naturally)
• Pet trade
o Red ear slider  release on Vesak day, compete with native species for resources, fine 10k for releasing into
nature areas
• Water pollution
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o 64: only when got pollution and got things die then you will realise that got a lot of non-native species. E.g.
surfactant spill into drain (soap foam incident!!)
o Invasion of the Snakeheads (video): Snakehead → top lvl predators, eat anything in your path, can travel across
land and leave out of water for 3 days (have primitive lung above their gills)> Can decimate entire food chain.
Introduced predator, not native. Snakehead can move their fin and body back and forth to ‘walk’ on land.
Resourceful adaptation → impt diff for life and death.
o Knife fish
o Mayan cichlid
o Jaguar guapote
o 65: They are predators and they will eat things. Hence when intro must make sure they are not predators.
o Not so bad when you intro a herbivorous species but when you intro predator, it will start eating organism.
o Found in sg ‘san yu’ → fish that you eat after operation.
• Snails
o African land snail, not native  came in with xxxx plants?? Reproducing and growing quite well in sg.
Competing w local snail for resources.
o South American apple snail pomacea canaliculata displaced NATIVE native apple snail pila scutata
• yellow crazy ants
o kill red land crabs and other endemic animals etc
• bad stuff
o ferret
o poison arrow frog  blue frog that secrets poison
o piranhas
• marine aliens
o black striped mussel mytlopsis sallei
o a lot of ships come to Singapore  organisms come with ballast water of ships/ship hulls
o 71: ships painted with tributyltin  causes the death of algae, barnacles, and other orgs that stick on the ship.
The ship can last for over 20 years. And the paint can go into the env and affect animals. E.g. female snails
develop a pseudo-penis (imposex).
o Oysters produces pearls  but the shell become thicken  crash of the pearl industry. Hence the tributyltin 
becomes phased out.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
• 75: More info about Pulau Semakau: • World’s first offshore landfill made from the seascape • Cost $610 million
• Reclamation between two islands: Pulau Sakeng and Pulau Semakau • Evicted residents on both islands to the
mainland • Started operation since 1 Apr, 1999, supposed to last till 2035 or beyond • 2189 tonnes of nonincinerable waste and incineration ash dumped here every year. Have seagrass meadows there
• Divided into 2 phases: • Phase 1 is completely filled • Corals were translocated to Sister’s island in 2014 and
phase 2 has started to be developed. Currently we are at phase 2. Phase 1 is full alr.
• There was no translocation or marine life when phase 1 was being constructed, although there was a sediment
screen set up -> knobbly sea stars, funeral nudibranchs, sunflower mushroom corals were affected
• 76: black thing  geomembrane. Prevent the ash, etc from going into the sea but ppl don’t know how long it will
last. 4.5 million square feet of XR-5, a geomembrane designed to withstand both the long-term effects of the
tropical environment and the rigors of the installation process.
• Lifespan of semakau landfill: 2035
• Marine organisms at semakau landfill: knobbly sea stars, funeral nudibranchs, sunflower mushroom corals
• 81: semakau landfill sport fishing, birdwatching, star-gazing.
Brackish water → not as salty as sea water but still saltier than fresh water to its in between. Replacement of
tributyltin are herbicides which are also quite toxic.
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What is the name of the last landfill in SG?  Lorong Halus  last landfill in the main island of sg. Previously we had
landfills but the last one is that. Since independence we used all the landfills in sg. So have to go offshore to create
semakau landfill.  waste go incineration  ash remained  go there.
whatever org that were in the sea btw these 2 islands have to give way to us to throw ash LOL.
77: Why cant we use ash for construction? Incineration ash and not incinerable waste is v toxic so cannot use as
landfill material for popn to live in. When you lay the foundation, toxic material will be exposed then not v healthy.
Why dw buy land from other ctry to dump waste? Bc other countries wouldn’t let you do that. Africa lets you do
that but its corruption lol (so e-waste gets sent to Africa, toxic ppl will get sick).
78: used to have a lot of these. Mangroves are bio indicators.  if they show signs of death, we know smth is wrong. •
There was no translocation of marine life when phase 1 was being constructed • Although sediment screen was set up
to reduce sedimentation on the corals • The destroyed mangroves were replanted • using 400,000 saplings • First
time government organisations try to minimize impact of development on the marine environment • There is no way a
habitat can be moved, only certain important coral species were moved
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LECTURE 9-1 CHALLENGES
MANY DEMANDS
Demand for water
• 6: no of young: ageing adult ratio is getting smaller and smaller. If got old that’s not well, takes more than 1 adult
to take care of that person. When popn ages need more young ppl to support. Can think of better way of doing
things such as we don’t have to rely on more and more foreign workers?
o Singapore’s population was 5.5 million as of Sept 2015 • Reaching 6.5 to 6.9 million by 2030 • Total land area
719.1 km2 as of 2015 and 760 km2 by 2030 • One of the densest city in the world
• 7: more ppl  more water needed. Used to have reservoir, then buy water from msia, then have NEWwater
desalination plants. Used to think that with desalination plants, can meet demand. But with drought this year,
may not be the case anymore. Hence we must save water instead.
• Water prices will go up by 30%  price will go up even further if we use desalination
• Pricing + demand issue
• 8: When people remove their forests  less water  less rain.  Receding water levels at Linggiu Reservoir.
Hence cannot always just import water and develop stuff, must think of self-sustainability.
• 9: can this keep on going?  using land for developments
Demand for land
• Cross island line  supposedly new mrt line that link jurong to tampines.  original route was to cut through
CCNR  so that singaporeans can save 40mins on travelling LOL. But we only have 4 nature reserves and we need
biodiversity. The cross island line not confirmed yet. Will have soil investigation later this year to see if its feasible
(soil testing).
• But just soil testing  can have fumes of diesel that can be smelt  the pumping of the machine will not be good
for the animals as well. Roots of ancient plants may be affected and may not even be recovered. Protests from
nature groups  LTA trying to take steps to reduce damage?
• Cut under macritchie reservoir  which still has a lot of biodiversity (still has very good quality forest)
more ppl  need more goods and services.  cost goes up and more housing needed.
• Most ex city for 3 straight years LMAO. Price may not increase for food but portion has definitely decreased
more energy demand, attract tourism
• 11: when you have light (pollution)  need energy.  Attract tourism.
• A lot of insects esp and bats  get attracted into light  crash and die or burnt
• Can have termites into your house cuz of lights in your house.  killed by predators as well.
• These may cause more co2 emissions (light = electricity = carbon emissions) from infrastructure.
• But for tourism making climate change worse. F1  for tourism but also A LOT OF LIGHTS. But does it work? Biz
around that area may actually suffer.
• Melatonin  hormones in humans to regulate sleep patterns + keep you healthy (the more the better)
• Light affects behaviour of animals as well
• More light = more energy = more carbon  increase night time temperature
More demand for outdoor recreation
• Wild life have nowhere to take break from humans
• 13: last time reservoirs  ppl cannot get access to water. But NEA feel that if ppl can get into reservoir they will
cherish it more hence have ABC plan to let ppl use for recreation  fishing etc. Only can use artificial bait for
fishing and only restricted to certain areas. Fish hooks lying around may harm other animals. • Dragon boat racing,
wake boarding • 10 out of 14 reservoirs are open to such activities (more demand for outdoor recreation)
•Jogging ‘Bishan 10’ otter hurt by fishing hook.
• Reservoirs that permit fishing only at certain parts: 1. Bedok 2. Jurong Lake 3. Lower Seletar 4. Lower Peirce 5.
MacRitchie 6. Marina 7. Serangoon 8. Upper Seletar 9. Pandan 10.Kranji
• Tengeh reservoir to host world’s largest solar panel test bed  not good for the organisms under the solar panel
 no sunlight
More demand for land for the living
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15: Bukit brown cemetery. sg more land scarce, ppl got more car hence want to build more roads. Peace and quiet
roads  cemetery. • make way for a new 8-lane highway that would cut through the cemetery • the rest of the
cemetery would make way for a new public housing town in about 40 years’ time  grave collapsed
Birds
o 17: 375 birds recorded by nature society in SG 2011 and 94 in bukit brown.
o Utilising these quiet places.
o Resident birds  here all year round. May or may not be native but has chosen to stay in sg all year round.
o Migrant  fly here to sg to lay eggs but once young hatched they will fly away. Can potentially breed but don’t
breed.
o Non-breeding  can come any time but wont stay.
o Migratory  North or south  facing winter, fly to sg to escape winter. Start flying in autumn and come thru
sg to get to the south.
o Intro resi  people introduce, then they decide to stay  eg pets let to the wild. Birds only lived in wooded
areas  woodlands species.
Rare  even more rare than threatened.
Uncommon  may not be rare but just not common.
18: may or may not be native birds. Spotted wood owl and red crowned barbet  should be native(?)
Others include red jungle fowl, rufous woodpecker, grey-headed fish eagle, banded bay cuckoo
19: chestnut breasted malkoha  native bird. Not endemic to sg also found outside sg. But getting very rare
26: Current infrastructures built on land that were cemeteries
o Dhoby ghaut MRT
o Bishan estate
o Ngee Ann city
21: bidadari cemetery. cemetery becoming a garden; build houses there
22: Lim boon keng  his cemetery also there. A lot of pioneers’ graves there. Black baza  migrant, only come
during winter time, spot when they migrate. Birds in slides found int the cemetery: oriental pied hornbill, tiger
shrike. - Support one of the highest density of migratory birds - migratory pathway used by thousands of birds
headed to Indonesia, some that hail from as far as Kamchatka in Russia.
24: 141 species recorded here. Slaty-breated rail  common resident. Variable squirrel  not native. Goes and
feeds on tree bark. Damages tree bark  not a good thing. Damage local plants.
27: ST article 15 Mar 2015: Can sg survive?  never mention anything about env all about policies and econs. A lot
of sg don’t treat env seriously, they think always got solution.
29: things that harm us (or other species)  do they have the right to exist?  BUT it controls popn. So that that
species’ popn will not explode. Have checks and balances.
e.g. in US. Got this island, they remove ALL the predators. And intro antelope species for army ppl to hunt there.
But when army ppl left, the antelope species exploded and crashed  compete for food and just die.  we dw an
uncontrolled popn or popn explosion.
WHY CONSERVE
values
• 30: Aesthetic  enjoy  fishing, etc. Ecotourism  bring ppl who are int in seeing nature. More common in
developed countries to tap onto tourist dollars. Medical, environmental, technological, resource, educational
• Waterproof clothing  inspired by water lily
• 31: Ikan kuning  fish we eat in nasi lemak  at risk of going extinct must make sure don’t go extinct  don’t
overfish and don’t over consume
• 32: ethics mentioned in first lect before.
• 33: when all the species disappear  humans can go extinct as well.  hence must make sure env is healthy.
Nature can be exploited
• 35: attempt to build horseshoe crab (limulus, tachypleus, carcinoscirpius) (gram negative endotoxin detection)
but its hard as they take a long time to grow. ST times 10 oct 2016. But for now still using American one to get blue
blood. But after we release the crabs, females don’t breed v well  hence may slowly kill the org.
• Mangrove horseshoe crab Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda.
• Coastal horseshoe crab Tachypleus gigas  sepsin
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36: if shell is v shiny and glossy  the snail was captured while its still alive and killed.
If scratched  more likely that the animal alr died before collection. Reach maturity  small species some take 6
months but for giant ones like clams, they take months/years to become adults. But we consume them so quickly.
Buffet at hotels!! Can the animals reproduce fast enough when the rate of eating is so rapid?
Harvest them at maturity  they are not around to reproduce
37: other parts of the world where ppl are poor, they eat bats/rats/dogs  their source of protein. If they treat
animal humanely than kill  not too bad. Rats  if no increase  ok to eat them so they won’t over populate and
harm us
Norway rat  they are extremely dirty cannot remove pathogens no matter how much you cook
38: Good of frogs:
o Eat insects
o Produce toxins and antimicrobial agents from peptides of skin (so that can protect themselves) - We are
running out of antibiotics and more and more microbes have become superbugs
o Food for higher trophic level animals (predators)
o 39: But they got no protection against chytrid fungus that was intro by the bull frog will harm them. But
they are impt in controlling insect popns like mozzies BUT not aedes.
Pangolin  belief that ground up scales have benefits (e.g. helps lactating mothers, cancer or asthma)  not true
because their scales have the same composition as our fingernails
o Roll into ball when frightened
47: Toxin cone snail peptides.
o cone snail toxin  is to stun their fish prey.
o Neuropathic and chronic pain is typically caused by injury to the nerves, resulting in uncontrolled activation of
pain pathways and most conventional pain killers don’t work.
o Found in waters in SEA. Hunts by scent. Modified tooth/tube  works as harpoons  strike and paralyse
fishes within seconds and devour them. Venom can kill us too. • There are estimated 70k to 140 k Cone snail
toxic peptides, only 100 have been characterised and only from 6 out of 700 spp. have been studied in some
detail.
o Other than new drugs for treating pain, there may also be treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s
disease, diabetes, cancer, nicotine addiction
41: ginko good for blood circulation to brain. • Gingko extract improves memory in people with cognitive
impairment or dementia but not in healthy people. • Dried gingko leaves act as insect repellent • Kill brown rice
hopper • Potent antioxidant
42: Good of bears: we used to have bear  sun bears
Denning bear  bears spend their time in the dam and hibernate.  when they hibernate they don’t move for
months esp during winter times but they still remain healthy  hence no osteoporosis. Have enough fats.  can
learn physiology of bear to solve our diabetes probs.
o Denning bears don’t develop osteoporosis • They don’t develop diabetes type I and II despite being fat • Can
mobilize fatty acids from fat stores in the precise amounts needed for metabolic processes • If we can
understand how bears did it, we can solve the problem of chronic malnutrition
44: • Armadillo (E.g. Dasypus) - test animal for leprosy research & vaccine formulation. • Found in South-central
and south-eastern United States to S America. • Omnivore these creatures have v weak immune system  yet
able to survive. Hence we need to learn how they survive. D. novemcinctus useful as a medical research test
animal for diseases such as leprosy, typhus, and trichinosis, as well as for research on multiple births, organ
transplants, and birth defects.
45: leprosy  loose nerve endings  when injured, cannot feel. Ends of digits get rotten away
HUMAN WILDLIFE CONFLICT
• 48: top left  palm civet.  found in sg. Sometimes go to ppl’s home and built their nests there
• Top right and bottom left  wild boars. Lose stripes when they reach adulthood..
• Long tail macaque  bottom right
• ppl barbequed the macaque before. Or ppl go there to purposely feed them but its bad cuz not their natural food.
Associates plastic bag with food. then will attack ppl. Usually wildlife end up getting killed due to us being
irresponsible. Get killed when encroach into human territory.
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Labrador reserve  got bbq pits at the reserve?  not true. The bbq pit is at the PARK, not the reserve. Coastal
hill forest  considered reserve anything else is the park.
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY
• 51: The sg red data book  used by Nparks.
o Use this to see if they allow ppl to study these threatened species.
o Determine which species need top priority as well.
o Index on how much biodiversity has declined as well (can tell if increase or decrease).
• 1. How threatened is a particular species? 2. What are the threats to a species? 3. How many threatened
species occur? 4. How many known extinctions have there been?
• Draws attention to the magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity. 2. Identifies and documents those
species most in need of conservation action. 3. Provides an index of the decline of biodiversity. 4. Establishes a
baseline from which to monitor the future status of species. 5. Provides information to help establish conservation
priorities and guide conservation action 6. Helps influence national and international policy, and provides
information to international agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
• 52: poaching  capturing animals without permission. Using mistnets or glue traps to catch birds. Or nets to
catch fishes. Do it for fun or to sell. or to keep as pets. The act of poaching (to set up nets)  equipment are
actually v cheap (in sg context)  easy to do. Poachers don’t stay there all the time  they set up trap and they
leave. When animals are trapped  they strangle and get slow death
• Alien species 53: • N. American bullfrog may carry infectious diseases such as Chytridiomycosis, which may
spread and threaten native species. • Currently documented case of the chytrid fungus have been found in
Singapore (2013) • First identified in 1998, chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, has been detected on
at least 287 species of amphibians from 36 countries. • Chytridiomycosis has caused amphibian population
declines in Australia, South America, North America, Central America, New Zealand, Europe, and Africa, and is
likely responsible for >100 species extinctions since 1970's.
• 55: bring in by pet and aquarium trade. But when ppl get sick of their pets they release them and they can spread
disease to native frogs.
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56: freshwater south American stingrays (alien) manager in underwater world got killed by stingray, punctured
near the heart by the barb (tail looking), steve Irwin also
57: Mytillopsis sallei snails come all the way from mexico (central America).
o Intro by the ballast water when they ships release them. They like our reservoir env and can grow there when
young are released.
o 830 individuals per 100 cm2  very dense
o filter feed, remove all micrioscopic organisms
58: Paddle crab, harybdis japonica  from japan.
o But can be found in sg and now in NZ.
o Hitchhike onto ships and boats and get carried away.
o Crab is predator hence may eat up local species.
59: some even though native (clarias batrachus, monopterus albus), are predators.
o Can come on land and move as long as got water bodies, can spread.
60: Asian Arowana, Asian Bonytongue, Golden Arowana, Golden Dragon Fish.
o come into sg due to association with fortune.
o Not native to singapore. Through aquarium trade.
o Comes from Thailand and Indochina, some other of this species getting lesser and lesser in their own home
countries. Endangered  less than 250 mature individuals.
61: terrapins  from Mississippi  getting rare in their hometown. Can live up to 40 years!!
Invasive plants
o 62: non-native. Become invasive  mikania micrantha (mile a minute), passiflora foetida, dioscorea
sansibarensis, bulbil.
o Bottom right bulbil  vegetative reproductive part. When botanist bring this into sg, only intro one sex but it
can reproduce vegetatively, don’t need both sexes.
o Passiflora foetida  smelly. Brought in by trade.
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o 64: (reconstitute) easy to bring back plants and they can populate easily. Animals  if you want like leopards
back, reintroduce them, need to give them place to stay. Squirrels can be problematic as well.
o Banded leaf monkey  doing less well than long tailed macaque cuz of their personalities.
o 65: Albizia, an exotic.  grows fast, provide shade • Native to: Haiti, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, &
Solomon Islands. But if you remove, where are the birds gonna nest?
Animal borne diseases
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Mynas
o Viruses: Dermatitis - Newcastle viral disease (conjunctivitis and influenza-like) - Avian influenza - Asthma –
salmonellosis  causes diarrhoea. Dermatitis  cause skin probs. When birds eat a lot, they poop a lot and
fungus can grow on it and spread to us. Yeast is a fungus  spread by birds
o Avian malaria impact native birds in Hawaii and Australia
• pigeons:
o Histoplasmosis is a respiratory disease that may be fatal. It results from a fungus growing in dried bird
droppings. • Candidiasis is a yeast infection spread by pigeons. The disease affects the skin, the mouth, the
respiratory system, the intestines and the urogenital tract, especially the vagina. • Cryptococcosis is caused by
yeast found in the intestinal tract of pigeons and starlings. The illness often begins as a pulmonary disease and
may later affect the central nervous system. • Salmonellosis often occurs as "food poisoning" and can be
traced to pigeons, starlings and sparrows. The disease bacteria are found in bird droppings; dust from
droppings can be sucked through ventilators and air conditioners, contaminating food and cooking surfaces in
restaurants, homes and food processing plants. • E.coli. Cattle carry E. coli 0157:H7. When birds peck on cow
manure, the E. coli go right through the birds and the bird droppings can land on or in a food or water supply. •
Chiamdiosis is a virus similar to influenza • Psittacosis is a disease similar to pneumonia
CLIMATE CHANGE
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71: climate change impacts:
o increase temp
o sea level rise
o change in rainfall  get very extreme conditions.
• 72: ocean acidification:
o More co2, more dissolve in water more acidic  shellfish cannot grow their shell.
o Because shell breaks down
• 73: Less o2. • O2 comes from photosynthetic activity of plants (terrestrial as well as aquatic)
o More CO2 less O2 • Health impacts. o2 not able to dissolve in water as well as co2. When we have less o2
being able to dissolve in water, less creatures in marine environment. All these need o2. When we have less in
water, bad consequences  all due to o2 depletion
o Become smaller + become more stressed
• 78: lesser and lesser expertise left. • Prof Wee Yeow Chin • Prof Benito Tan • Prof Richard Corlett • Prof Hugh Tan
• Prof Edward L. Webb • Dr Ian Turner (Vascular and non-vascular plant ecologists past and present)
• 80: when you see ppl creating artificial baits, or they tie birds to take pics  unethical photographers.
81: if you eat predator fish  need to eat more fishes to support the predator fish popn.  hence eat herbivorous fish
HINT finals: one qns from slide 81 and 82.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Things you can do to conserve biodiversity:
• Take public transport. If you must drive, car-share • Roads, pollution
• Eat more vegetables than meat, eat herbivorous fish such carp and filter feeders like shellfish, avoid carnivores
like salmon, shrimp and tilapia  because If you want to keep carnivorous fish, you need to feed them with
even more fish in order to get just one carnivorous fish as compared to eating herbivorous fish because you only
need to feed them with plants
• Stay healthy - medicines require energy to develop, consume a lot of resources and pass out of our bodies
• Turn off light, don’t leave appliances on standby, reduce air-conditioning usage
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Design better buildings
Get others to do the same, spread the message.
Don’t waste, reduce your consumption, buy only what you really need, reuse or recycle whenever you can
Reduce energy to make the goods, transport the goods, mining the raw materials and reduce landfill or methane
generation
• Be informed
• Support conservation work by NGOs
• Write to your political leaders – no risk cuz _ but don’t be rude!  Politicians listen to majority so if more ppl not
happy more likely there will be change.
• invest wisely
Invest  when you choose invest products, look at companies involved  see if they are destructive to env. If they
destroy env, you have no future. No future left to invest. Sg getting strict about investment companies. May force
more companies to be more responsible OR they go underground and just don’t declare what they are doing OR they
just leave sg. Hence impt for ppl to have right ethics.
Mandai  gonna move bird park to mandai area so its near to the zoo. Nv consider bird flu. If got bird flu no one will
go to bird park and nobody will go to the zoo also  everybody loses.
Elevation wise, pri can be a hill. Pri is elevated. seconndary also can be elevated, almost similar to primary. Waste can
be similar to secondary. Managed tends to be flat. Reclaimed land and mangrove next to the sea.  from a drawing,
prof will send us.
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CA revision #1
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Dodo birds could be found in Mauritius
Nationally extinct: panthera tigris, raphus cucullatus
Learn how to write scientific names
o Underline each word by itself
o Second word (species) is small letter
Mud lobster  feeds on bacteria + tunnel  keep mangroves’ mud level constant, the mounds create habitats
Dog faced water snake plays the role of a predator most of the time
Dillenia  simpoh air
Anything that is fast-growing tends to be herbaceous
Primary vegetation  all native, NO EXOTIC
Casuarina  native
Korster’s curse, albizia, common acacia  exotic
Coastal plants  no pri/secondary  either become more or less diverse
Nature can harm us  venomous creatures
Chek jawa
o Not a protected area, but hoping it will be someday
o It is not the only coastal nature reserve
Marina reservoir
o Kallang and Singapore river flows into it  so marina reservoir is the largest
o Used to be one of the most polluted waterways
Mangroves compete for sunlight most
Sea urchin  intertidal
Common snakehead  freshwater
Poor visibility around Singapore waters  reclamation, dredging etc.
Mutualistic relationships:
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o Acropora crabs and corals
o Cleaner wrasses and reef fish
o Gobies and snapping shrimps (a little bit blind)
o Sea anemones and clown fish
Filter feeders:
o Sea cucumbers
o Sponges
o Fishes and sea urchins don’t filter feed (eat materials submerged in water)
Crabs, prawns, barnacles
o Small size + structural complexity of reef makes it easy for hiding
Sea anemone  spawning
Mangroves got tide pools
Drills  snails that are carnivorous
Not endemic
o Harlequin rasbora
o Melastroma malabathricum
o Hairy clidemia (korster’s curse)  invasive species
Endemic (native)
o Johnson’s freshwater crab
o Cream-coloured giant squirrel
Native
o Dugong
o Tape seagrass
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CA revision #2
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Durian flower lasts for one night  if no pollinator (a bat)  no durian
Bat will require mangrove plants around where they can get nectar from so that they can survive rest of year
Kacang kacang found in mangroves
Draco spp.  video LKCHM  gliding lizard
Casuarina  thin and triangular leaves  parts that look like leaves are actually not the leaves
First thing that grows when the land is cleared is fast-growing  typically herbaceous
Biodiversity  living things
Not all species of birds are subjected to bird flu, no evidence that red jungle fowl got bird flu (?)
Study of cross island line  study if the soil beneath is suitable for building the MRT
Development of mandai  bring in bird park from jurong
o Three animal parks together  if birds get bird flu then all three places have no visitor  putting all eggs in one
basket
• Microfiber fabric  fibres come off with every wash  goes into the water treatment system  filter feeders,
shellfish etc can eat the fibres  toxins
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CA revision #3
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Exotic  rubber in pulau ubin (brazil)
Specimens in LKCHM are preserved by
o Arsenic  dry specimen
o Formalin
o Mercury
• LCKHM was officially established to house
o Zoological reference collections
o Used to have fungal culture collection when we used to have a prof who studied microbiology
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Brown anole is not native
Native fish prefer acidic water
Non-native have ability to adapt to alkaline water
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GUEST LECTURE 1: GREENING THE RED DOT
• City in a garden: Everywhere in sg is concrete. But if we look at satellite map we are 50% GREEN LOL. How we
create the illusion of green  concrete canal/drain but a lot of mud/sad around it then orgs can grow there and
trees can grow, look like a natural place. We are a virtual-real world, not virtual-virtual world.  since a lot of
biodiv.  means we have clean air, water and food.  but maintain by protecting creatures.
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Biodiversity  Clean food, water, energy
Wheat under threat
CCNR  HSBC tree top walk  built mechanically by AIR, no bulldozer entered the forest. Give ppl the feeling of
open since its 25m suspended on the air, to see the creatures.
Not a single tree fell when building the bridge in the nature reserve  micropiles
Guest lecturer asked Labrador park to be protected as a nature reserve
Opportunity cost  every land in sg is a real estate. Economic growth and survival at the expense of our env over
the years. Labrador 1980s, they want to fill up 300m stretch of beach (to earn 50m$), our only ROCKY SHORES.
There is hard corals on the main land of sg. Almost every species of the island can be found here except the large
mammals. The rocks house several 100 thousand animals that depends on the tides for survival. Fish also feed on
the species on the rocks. This beach was gazetted in 2001 as a nature reserve after 30 years of petition. The
world’s most poisonous crab (mosaic crab) is found here. They all play a part in the ecosystem to ensure the env
is stable.
Largest sea anemone found in Chek Jawa  also almost reclaimed to join islands. But in 2001 also stopped this.
They found a beauty spot that has a lot of animals and plants that should be protected.
At least 100 new species found here?
SG also avian hub. A lot of species of birds stop over at sg. UN and ASEAN designated Sungei buloh as ASEAN
Nature Park. The zone of where the birds fly in from Siberia is known as the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. They
go back after the summer is over. When they stop over, they bring enormous amount of diversity. Also attracted
FDI (foreign direct investment) in SG.
Sungei buloh  every year between October and april  the birds migrate from syberia, through SEA to austrialia
When winter is over, they go back
Nparks banded one of the birds  realised they flew 7000 miles without stopping  made use of thermal waves
and air current to glide (conserve energy) to reach Singapore
Birds can also bring in revenue  some investors will want to invest
Turtle release in jan 2005 in sg  turtles don’t land in sg cuz we have no nice beaches for them to come and lay
eggs cuz of the concrete. But one came and laid 150 batch of eggs on East coast. 144/150 eggs survived after
incubated by scientist. For turtles, the gender is determined by temp. SO they must control the temp using sci to
get 50/50 chance of both genders so that they can breed. Altruism of nature, they will def come back even after
they are released again at ECP.
Leaf monkey(?) Raffles ___  true Singaporean (endemic?)
Johora singaporensis
Pied Hornbills (reintroduced)  found in Johor. But how to introduce back again? Not easy to get them to mate.
They like holes in trees but usually NEA will chop down these unstable trees so we got no natural nest. But females
choosy to find nest. She and chicks will be imprisoned in the nest until the chicks can fly. Fed by males (since they
mate for life). We have around 100 now in sg. They are pollinators for DURIAN. (thru pooping of seeds). Safety
while protecting  wild boars are aggressive. For top predators, if their numbers increase and the prey species
dwindle  they will soon intrude into humans’ space  hence BALANCE is impt.
Sustainable future?  white house in sg, houses incineration of rubbish in sg  pulau semakau, done by joining 2
islands. We cannot sell rubbish cuz nobody want to buy and cannot bury cuz we got no ground. Incinerated waste
 rubbish reduced from 100% to 30% only. But instead of destroyed the corals there, there is actually growth of
corals and fishes there. The biodiv actually came back. New reporter called it “Garbage of Eden”.  have waste
but it’s still so clean.
Gardens by the bay  it is on reclaimed land. Hence govt sell by sq INCH not sq FOOT. Hence expensive(?). He
wanted 101 ha. govt said cray but prof wanted this. Idea didn’t catch on until LKY saw this as investment of the
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future. Flower dome, only half the structure is above ground. The rest is underground. Got cool temp but got no
air con vents  use tech to make the aircon underground. The ground take in the air, remove water (since absorbs
heat) and circulate the dry air and water as it cools. Hence the cool air comes out from the ground. Plants don’t
care about the air it’s the ROOTS of the plants that are temp sensitive and therefore the temperate plants can cont
to survive with the cool air is kept at the roots. The hot air rises and escapes at the top of the dome. Running costs
of the domes were alr recovered by the first year. Hence alr making profit for 5 years.  HENCE have recreational
and scientific basis for this
City in a garden  e.g. Katong area. Got a lot of building but a lot of greens.
Former city in the garden  Montana (USA) place where occasionally weathering reveals stones/bones. And fresh
water came to graze. But this was on QUICKSAND. Hence they think a lot of big clumsy dinos come here to drink
water and fall into the quicksand and are preserved. Can be found in museum. Almost FULL skeletons are found
which is good. They have lived for almost 200 million years. Humans 300 000 years on earth. Dinos used to be top
of the pyramids. They used to live in 38deg, 10 deg higher than us. But co2 levels actually the same as now. They
could tolerate the high heat and high co2 level. Can huamans adapt as well to the “new” norm?  there is proof
that this has happened and survived (dinos). Sg owns 3 dino specimens?
Apollonia Approximately 24 m Discovered in 2007. Prince Approximately 27 m Discovered in 2008. Twinky
Approximately 12 m Discovered in 2009
SG now also got specimen of sperm whale. In sg need permission to take any carcass out of the water. But many
staff went to Mustafa in 3am before approval to get chain saws to dissect the beached (decaying) whale. Inside the
stomach of the whale was plastic water cups that were made in msia LOL. Even the whale that lives in the ARTIC
area can chance upon OUR junk
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GUEST LECTURE 2:
OUR ROLE IN NATURE CONSERVATION
• NParks -Roles in Nature Conservation
o •The government’s Scientific Authority on Nature Conservation
o •The conservation of both terrestrial and marine flora and fauna in Singapore
o •Represents Singapore in international / regional biodiversity conventions/fora (e.g Convention on Biological
Diversity, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, Arctic Council)
WHY CONSERVE
• Our Biodiversity, Our Biz, Our Lives
o . Natural heritage
o . Contributes to quality of life
o . Reflects our value system
o . A good indicator of our environment, well-being and lives
• Who started it?
o LKY
o Prime minister of singapore
• The most green city in the world?
o MIT Treepedia Project: Green View Index using Google Street View
o Research on 17 cities including Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Sacramento, Vancouver, etc. (2017)
o Canopy cover in 17 cities  Singapore came out first
• How did we do it?
o pragmatic approach of balancing development and nature conservation
o created a unique conservation model that champions environmental sustainability and nature conservation in
an urban setting.
o 40-50 yrs of careful urban planning that balances development with nature conservation, we have created a
unique urban environment that is rich in biodiversity…”
OUR KEY CONSERVATION AREAS
• 4 key conservation areas
o Western catchment
o Central nature reserves
o Pulau ubin, pulau tekong
o Southern islands
• BTNR protected since 1883
o Forest reserve –est. 1883; Highest hill (163m)
o •Only remaining primary rainforest in Singapore
o •Flora –lowland dipterocarps (Shorea, Dipterocarpus, Vatica, Hopea), up to 80m tall
o •Fauna –monkey, flying lemur, pangolin, mousedeer, snake, bird
• SBWR
o Migratory shorebirds  birds will use this flyway to fly down south  Singapore is in the east Asian
Australasan flyway
o whimbrel  (1995 to 29 jan 2014)  longest record for this bird was 19 years
o common red shank  (nov 1990 to jan 2011) 21 years (100 grams)
▪ Birds fly into a net
▪ Weigh bird etc
▪ Put a ring + has a number
▪ Or put colour flag (Green over white flag  Singapore) so you can use binoculars and realise that
it was first tracked in singapore
▪ Nowadays have satellite tracking  sim-card like thing (very expensive)
• 2 years ago  set up our first marine park
o Southern islands
o Rich in biodiversity in terms of marine diversity
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Compelling reason: arsenal or miracle drugs, more than 50% of research of focused on finding cures from
marine sources, coral reefs have potential
They may have more in terms of numbers, but in terms of biodiversity, we are not that bad
o 400 bird species recorded
▪ Our bird species is more than 60% of the species in UK or 75% of those found in France
▪ Oriental Pied Hornbill last seen in 1855; rediscovered in 1994; ~139 years later
NEW DISCOVERIES
• Brown wood owl, Strix leptogrammica
▪ description
o No known records in Singapore
o •Size: 50cm, 500g
o •Nesting in secondary forest, P Ubin
o •Range: India, SE China, SEA
o •Habitat: Lowland tropical forest
o •Status: Rather uncommon
o •From: Southern Johor ?
▪ Features
o •Below Parts: Downy white feathers
o •Upper Parts: Brownish, white markings
o •Face: Buffy-brown, black border, shaped like a bat
o •Eyes: Deep brown
o •Bill: Bluish-grey
• Leopard cat, Prionailurus bengale
o In CCNR
o Thought to be extinct after 43 years  nocturnal animal  they used camera traps
• Bruguiera hainessii Berus Mata Buaya
o rarest mangrove tree
o 200 in the world
o And 4 are in Singapore
o Pores on bark looks like eye of crocodile
CONSERVATION EFFORTS
• Hornbill
o Yr 2004 -2011:CVM Pte Ltd, WRS, NUS, NTU
o •Ecology and breeding behaviour of hornbills
o •Monitor the breeding activities in nests (using HD CCTV)
o •Yr 2011: 60 hornbills in Ubin, 40 in mainland
• Ecolink
CONSERVATION CHALLENGES
o Limited land
o Human-animal conflict
o Users conflict (humans-humans)
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
• Citizen specialist  Orchid thought to be extinct reappears
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First tree planting in Singapore  1953
Free-ranging chickens  nparks need to verify the status of the chickens, check genome if its red jungle fowl
(cause actually they are endangered)
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GUEST LECTURE 3
Phil have best env laws but they have poor governance so we don’t actually see it in place (worse than sg). If we have
laws, but no money to build the facilities (e.g. waste treatment plants)  the law is also no use. Hence governance is
impt, have to invest the money in infrastructure.
--Tiger Hunt 1928 SG  last tiger killed. Worldwide there are 7bn ppl, only 3200 tigers left in the wild, in the entire
world. We live our lives without the concern for the lives of other creatures. Env laws try to save these animals and
stop this from going on. Need for ethical ways, respect for env and the creatures.
--ISO14000
Wild Animals and Birds Act  illegal to kill, take, keep wild animal unless for self-defense
--Pangolins – on the verge of extinction in SEA.
Only eat ants
Big market in china
Grind their scale and drink  believes it helps lactating mums
Hedgehogs
Online selling of wildlife
106 rescued in Viet in 2011, worth US$50000. Ppl believe that if you make soup with the scales can increase amt of
milk for lactating mothers. But we can also take nutrition from other protein like fish. These animals like pandas, v
hard to reproduce. And only one cub at once.
--Article: Sting op nabs online sellers of python  online trade of black market.
Neighbours  developing states  may not have proper laws  illegal trade becomes v lucrative and many species
getting extinct. Much look at it with the same seriousness with drugs and trafficking. Laos resort ‘a lawless playground’
for illegal wildlife trade  Article. SG have INTERPOL  set up to work on importing illegal wildlife.
Article  importing 7 endangered animals illegally without licenses. $41k fine. Aquarium owner
--How do we define a wild animal? A camel?
For a law to be passed, it needs to be read thrice: Bill  details of the bill, invites comments  ask for it to be
passed  refinements go into subsidiary law
Pri laws  acts passed by govt.
Subsidary laws (sec laws)  rules, regulations, all under the main law.
3 ways to look at laws, national, regional, international.
Both are hard laws. (have to comply, law of the land)
Soft laws  guidelines, they are not laws. If you do not comply you may be found negligent.
--International Law
(IMPT) Ramsar  SG not a party. But we have SBWR so why are we not a party?
Heritage  sg just joined as botanics become a heritage cite. This laws protects the great wall of china, and like
pyramids. Protects natural env and man made envs (eg. Preserve buildings. Man made heritage. Also part of the law)
(IMPT) CITES  prevent the import and export of endangered species.  sg part of this  through pressure
SG not a party. But a lot of birds come here during winter. They go to sungei buloh.
(IMPT) CBD convention. Sg is party to this convention
We are not part of it
--First agreement  Sg, brunei and msia  they sign the agreement but never rectify. So the law is not enforced.
In international agreements  first step is signing. After signing you are morally bound, but not legally bound. The
person who signs usually is ministry of env. Have to go back to parliament to get a vote from other ministers to
RACTIFY.
Agreement and convention is hard law.
Declaration and memorandum is soft law.  little can be done internationally ot embarrass or shame them.
--Bradshaw, Giam and Sodhi study
Named Singapore as the worst
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But to be fair to us, the brtish destroyed most of the nature in sg. About 90% was gone by the time sg govt took over.
--From our tb  v optimistic. But bradshaw study said sg was v bad.
--Sg biodiv index
Govt said it was misleading to compare with other countries cuz sg is a CITY STATE. Compare with other countries like
Canada with vast lands. We have many constraints on our land  if compare us to the city states, we come off very
strong
We are the richest ctry in asia we overtook Japan over the yeas. But we are so small and used to be very small. Richest
ctry back then was actually phil but now they are coming here to be our maids  bad due to poor governance and
corruption. Sg is thriftier. LKY invited international world bank experts to advise sg how to be rich and sustainable. LKY
wanted experts from SMALL ctries not big ctries. Expert from Netherlands. Advised us to be industrialised.  must
educate ppl.  wanted sg to be a place for ppl to invest in. concept of “garden city”  shows that ppl are disciplined
 since need to maintain, weed and prune. Now want to bring back native flora and fauna. Other ctries are urban
jungles  adds stress to ppl.
LKY and his wife were law students in Cambridge and they were impressed with the greenery in England. What the
British left us was very polluted
Two assets: strategic location & people
Educate people + industrialise (but we got no money)
Tax-free status (for pioneer industry) to entice people to come to Singapore and invest, set up factory and train our
people.
First road he beautified: roads from airport to city
Biodiv index  impt for other ctries to use us as benchmark for conservation. Many cities are following us now. Our
contribution to the world committee. Our response to the bradshaw study to show that they are wrong.
--From pictures  even tho we urbanised and industrialised we became GREENER. Govt did not always take advise from
experts. Listen to them but choose whether to do it.
e.g. experts say expand old airport and kallang. But LKY said no and shifted it to changi instead.
e.g. expert (albert wensernier(?)) say remove sg river and build highway there. Instead we cleaned it up. And invited
him back and fished from it and made him eat it
--Oriental pied hornhill returns to sg after 50yrs.
We have greened the env successfully.
--From “garden city” to “city in a garden” – vision and political will.
Msia tried green city but fialed cuz no maintenance and the trees died. Poor system.
Keep sg clean  in order to have good public health. We have flush toilet law LOL to ensure ppl flush. Toilet dirty so
ppl dw to flush. BUT its embarrassing LOLOL. Squat on toilet seats, a lot of posters cartoons to tell us to flick water. We
got no recycling laws LOL.
We have no recycling laws  and no env impact assessment (EIA) (laws)
--Land use planning  without them means anybody can set up industry beside a village. Our land here are marked and
carefully zoned. Pollutive industries  at jurong island. Group tgt for synergy, the waste of one in factory can be raw
material for another factory ( called industrial ecology)  and if got accident it can be contained. Since no residential
areas around.
Concept plan  long term. Master plans are stagnant.
Concept  divided island to 55 zones and each have guideline on how to develop and improve specifically.
--Singapore Green plan 1992
Stolkholm declaration (not convention) on the human environment
Declaration: soft law, guidance
Convention: hard law
---
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1st way  from msia. Water plans (pollution)  we’ve done v well for water. Cannot rely on msia. In the past there
was water rationing. A lot of ctries just let rainfall drain our and wasted (mistake), then got prob when don’t have rain
2nd way  drainage and reservoir. Advice from Israel  we are tropical ctry hence we should not waste it. Our drains
all lead to the reservoirs. Other ctries have water supply prob. We have contract with msia.  when it ends, not gonna
get water anymore.
Third source of water  NEW water. From sewage and waste water. But its cleaner than tap water. Has NO
MINERALS at all.
Fourth source  desalination. Take water from sea and remove the salt.
--Lightbulb conspiracy  on youtube.
Planned obsolesce  eg after finish printer ink the printer will not work anymore. Ppl will have to buy new printer.
These companies are not ethical. Care about profit only. Similar to Lightbulb  its fragile and doesn’t later for v long.
Developed ctries then dump these waste at developing ctries that have no resources to cope with it  killing the
biodiv there by dumping at rivers. In sg, also no system for recycling batteries. Sg also got prob with rats  cuz we just
throw our trash at one common area  down hdb and the bags will just break. We don’t segregate our trash. In other
ctries like korea and Taiwan  no personal rubbish chute you have to deal with it yourself. Recycling is norm.
--2030: more land, more homes, more greenery.
In the old days we always concretise he banks  threatens the biodiv. But now we don’t, let the plants grow.
--CBD  before you conserve your biodiversity, you need to know what biodiversity you have!
requires all the ctries to take stock of their biodiversity and how to enhance it. Hence ctries have the red data books.
Sg have done 2 books. Govt then set conventions for sustainability. We want to enhance deteriorated places.
--Wild animals and birds act 1965  cant kill, eat, take
Singapore statues  get all the laws online on google. Current SL  means subsidiary laws.
Singapore’s Nature ConservaJon Laws
• Wild Animals & Birds Act. 1965  6 birds not protected - Housecrow (1974), Feral pigeon, purple-backed starling,
Philippine glossy starling, common myna, white vented myna
- Wild Animals (Licensing) Order  can apply for license to keep
- Wild Animals & Birds (Bird (Sanctuary) Order
• Endangered Species (Import & Export) Act, 2006
• Parks & Trees Act 2005 & selected subsidiary laws:
- Parks & Trees Regulations, 2005
- Parks & Trees (Preservation of Trees) Order
- Parks & Trees (Planting Areas) Notification
- Parks & Trees (Heritage Road Green Buffers) Order 2006
• Public Utilities Board (Reservoirs and Catchment Area) Regulations, 2006
• Sentosa Development Corporation Regulations (see Reg. 7)
• Jurong Town Corporation (Parks) Regulations
Are invertebrates protected?  not clear since only says animals and birds. Never define clearly.
Bird sanctuary  what does this mean? So if any bird flies (not protected) into the bird sanctuaries does that mean
they become protected? NO. cuz this is a subsidiary law. The main law predominates. Is there a prohibition in
taking birds’ nests? This is not addressed as well. Since taking nests but not birds.
--Parks and trees  protects our trees. Says that we can feed monkeys as well.
--JTC  have Chinese gardens and Japanese gardens.
--Wild animals and birds (licensing) order 1975
You cannot get the license to keep these animals.
Protected Nature Areas in Singapore
• Four Nature Reserves –
- Bukit Timah NR
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- Central Catch NR
- Sungei Buloh NR
- Labrador NR
• Two National Parks
- Botanic Gardens (World Heritage site)
- Fort Canning Park
• One marine park – Sisters Island (2014)
--Most serious fines under parks and trees act. Trees are protected as well. We cannot anyhow pluck flowers as well.
Cannot feed, take nests. Etc.
--Penalties: difference fines across the acts and areas. So why is it inconsistent?  depends who catches you.
--For CBD  sg don’t have indigenous tribes but other ctries have. North America  have red Indians. Aussie  have
aborigines. They all should be considered when we conserve env. But when govt want to set up parks, they always
chase these indigenous ppl out. Hence we should have proper laws for this. DO they have the right to do this?
--Public participation. Sg got no EIA law. Hong kong has v good EIA law  city state just like us. But to have good eia
laws  must do EIA assessment first and be AVAIL for the public. Not secret. Govt should be a trustee (for us, present
and future generations) of all the lands that are not in private ownerships. Hence they must consult members of the
public. E.g. group of nature societies. The govt gets the decisions but should also listen to us and find out what we
think. Should develop before damaging the env.
Govt always think EIA is pushed by tree huggers. But its not always the case. E.g. floods in orchard  could have been
avoided if they did EIA before building ION. Before Ion, was a big field. They did not do EIA, the just concretise such a
huge amount of land and impacts the amount of rainfall that falls down. Less filtration, rain cannot flow out. If they did
EIA will provide for this, and have deeper drainage. Butonly after these things happen then they dig out orchard again.
--In situ  means conseration ON site.
Ex situ  Outside the site. Reserve this.  store of species in a garden, etc.
Controversy  in the museum, the artefacts belong to who? The ctry where it is found? Problem. Other ctries
scientists can say we must share whatever research with them
--Other ctries catch fish using cyanide and dynamite BUT its destructive to corals.
--Only law that protects corals  under State Land Encroachment Act. V old law. Anything attached to the land, is
considered part of the land. But no laws that protect fish that swim near the area (loophole).
--Rooftop garden  source of CLEAN energy.
--We have a lot of wild boars  destructive  they dig our young seedlings to eat  hence must control numbers.
Panda rhino sea turtles  all highly endangered.
--Acceded
When ctry isnot present in the signing  they cannot rectify. SG ws not there when CITES was put up for signing in
Washington in 1972. Convention will only come into act after a certain no of ctries have retified and signed. Came to
act in 1975 but Singapore was still not involved, was not party to cites. We were busy with entrepreneurship. US was
looking at us. US banned all tropical fish coming from sg after 10 years of sg. We claimed that it is farmed, not from the
wild. US say we should be part of CITES. As long as we’re notin the party, they don’t allow us to sell tropical fish in US.
Hence we were forced to be a party. We never sign, so we cannot rectify. SO we ACCEED to the convention (if youre
not present but want to be party and bound to the convention). All 10 ASEAN states are partied to CITES.
We first drafted a bad law under cites. Penalty was only 5000$.fundamental diff btw PER species and PER specimen 
Indo fisherman was caught with a 26 000 thousand sea turtle eggs to sell in geylang serai market. If its under PER
species (the way law was drafted)  considered only ONE species. But he was first offender so it wont be the max fine
and he was only fined $2000. If it ws PER SPECIMEN  he brought in 26 000 will be a lot more. This was not addressed
only until 2006. In 2005 ASEAN decided that have to do smth to prevent proliferation of illegal trade. ASEAN WEN(?)
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 based in bangkok. Ctries must first take step to prevent illegal trade. Sg and msia quickly took steps to beef up with
act. BUT max fine is 500 000 but ppl bring in ivory that are worth MILLIONS these thousands are nothing to them.
Hence they should pay more in accordance to the proportion of the worth of what they bring in (more ex, more fine)
International crime  min imprisonment is 4 years. But ours is 2 years. So loophole.
--US don’t allow police to enter houses without warrants. But sg police can enter without warrant.
--PP v Kuah Kok Choon. Case adjourned. Guy was caught with 2 highly endangered birds. Only 300 left in the wild. He
was given maximum fine. Now we have the principal  when in doubt go in favour with nature.
--Controversies
1. Lower pierce reservoir  govt wanted to build. Said we did EIA but confidential. But then after that say no and
did not proceed? Was legally protected.
2. chek jawa  site that only nature’s lovers know. The rest of sg didn’t know because it was a site that was hidden
under water  during low tide, got 6 ecosystems, although it is not a site for dugongs etc. Same for chek jawa. Many
eco systems. Now have broadwalks. This was not legally protected.  hence activate ppl to go there and see the
area. To persuade the MPs the stop this. Byt the time the govt decided to keep this  there was reclamation (?) and
the env was not as pristine as before.  could be prevented with proper EIA.
Orchard flood  maybe it was because they didn’t do EIA before building ION?
--3. Bukit brown  nature society against. But its probably lost govt said its meant to be for housing. No EIA done.
Over 100,000 graves
--4. Cross Island Railway  but they wanna cut into LEGALLY PROTECTED area. But govt gonna do it and now can only
control damages  that’s why now nature society help them do EIA. And publish. DO EIA is damaging enough since
machines required.
--5. Latest controversy is the MANDAI proj. home to all the zoos. They gonna have integrated nature and wildlife
heritage in SG. Nature society disagree cuz they wanna move the bird park there. But over there got a lot of native
species. And the bird parks could have ‘alien’ species escaping. They asked for EIA to be done. Called for experts to do
EIA and advice.
Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and River Safari will be joined by a new Bird Park and the Rainforest Park, crea
--Cities have to spend millions of $ to raise ground level  to tackle floods. Since our rains are getting worse.
Heritage road  Arcadia
Road and
The
Arcadia
Urban Butterfly
Trail –
launched
June 2010 Botanic Gardens
to
Orchard
Road to
Fort
Canning,
4
km
•
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