- produces latex
- commonly used in landscape planting
- A. angustiloba has creamy white flowers, and side veins on leaves that are 0.1 inch or less apart, without visible reticulations
- A. scholaris has greenish yellow flowers and side veins that are 0.1-0.25 inches apart, with distinct reticulations between them

Penaga Laut

- Native to Singapore, critically endangered in the wild. Cultivated.
- beautiful leathery leaves, each with numerous slender veins running parallel from midrib to margin
- many uses: oil from seeds used to heal a multitude of skin ailments; resin, leaves, and roots have medicinal uses

Sea Fig (found near water tank, forested area)

- deciduous strangling fig that grows mostly on coastal areas and develops a vast crown formed by large spreading branches
- aerial roots grow from branches, as well as from the trunk and the base of lower limbs

Machang Pulasan

- Native to Singapore
- critically endangered in the wild population in Singapore

Tempinis Tree (found at edge of forest, near path to Tropical Marine Science Institute)

- leaves are oblong elliptic, ,tipped, thinly leathery and drooping
- young leaves are pinkish brown in colour
- flowers occur in hanging green spikes or catkins 8-20cm long
- fruits are round and enclosed at the base of the flower

https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/heritage-trees

- The shoreline gives way to the shallow reef flat that may vary in width and depth--at very low tides, some parts of the reef flat are exposed to air and direct sunlight. Here, scattered about are small colonies of boulder-shaped knob corals (c), maze coral (Platygyra) and sponges of different colours. .
- Marine life on the reef crest is usually the richest. Almost every type of coral is represented: the brain corals (Lobophylliidae), bubble corals (Euphylliidae), pore corals (Poritidae), mushroom corals (Fungidae), cauliflower corals (Pocillopora), cave corals and disc corals (Dendrophylliidae), the table and staghorn corals (Acropora), anemone corals (Goniopora)and many others. Living among them are many other marine animals: Deep purple-coloured sea anemones, with their symbiotic clownfish are a common sight. Feather stars (Crinoidea) are cryptic by day, and hide in coral crevices. Attached on the reef substrata are the sponges (Porifera), sea squirts (Tunicata), feather-duster worms (Sabellida) and stinging hydroids (Hydrozoa). The other more mobile reef residents are the cowries, cone shells, nudibranchs, shrimps and crabs, which may be found in the crevices of the reef.

What are we doing to protect these wonderful creatures?
Check it out at https://www.nparks.gov.sg/news/2015/6/marine-conservation-action-plan-an-action-plan-of-the-ncmp

1) What can we find in the intertidal zone?

We can get students to categorize under:

(i)Biodiversity, (ii)Landforms, (iii)Human activities  

2) Do you think the intertidal zone is important? Why?

-Part of Coast

-houses biodiversity 

--> Link to threat to coasts and conversational efforts 

2. Islands included are: Kusu Island, Lazarus Island, Seringat Island, Pulau Tekukor, Saint John’s Island, Sentosa and the two Sisters’ Island

3. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) wanted to develop the Southern Islands, so land reclamation started in 2000 to link the two islands, forming a sand bank that created a lagoon.

The lagoon (see image above)
(retrieved from http://www.yachtcharter.sg/files/2011/11/Lazarus-Island-3.jpg)

(retrieved from
http://wildshores.blogspot.sg/2010/04/seringat-kias-in-mizzle.html#.Wd72zWiCw2w)

2. Today, the island, which was linked to St John’s Island in the early 2000s, is home to a rich coastal hill forest with plants such as the Delek Air, Common Rhu and Sea Almond.

2. Seringat Island now part of the extended Lazarus Island (see earlier posts)

3. Roads have been paved for accessibility 

4. Island features a man-made beach; sand was imported from Indonesia and mature coconut trees were transplanted onto the island to add a touch of tropical vibe as part of tourism development for Seringat Island

 

But his studies have shown that they are also a treasure trove of useful compounds. He told The Straits Times that a number of cyanobacterial compounds have undergone clinical trials for the treatment of human cancers in the United States.

For example, a synthetic molecule based on the chemical structure of a marine cyanobacterial compound known as dolastatin 10 has been developed, and is currently being used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma. This refers to a a type of cancer originating from white blood cells.'

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/new-25m-programme-for-singapore-to-unravel-mysteries-of-the-deep

These clumps reduce vessel speeds by more than 10 per cent owing to drag, and increase fuel consumption of ships when they power up to overcome it.

The Asian green mussel, like other marine pests, can also damage engines and propellers and upset native ecosystems.

In the past 10 years, Dr Teo and her team - together with chemists from NUS and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research - have developed new environmentally safe anti-fouling additives and materials, which prevent marine pests from latching on to vessels.'

The plants also fight disease, it turns out.

Scientists reported recently that seagrasses can purge pathogens from the ocean that threaten humans and coral reefs alike. (The first hint came when the scientists were struck with dysentery after diving into coral reefs without neighbouring seagrass.) But the meadows are vanishing at a rate of a football field-sized patch every 30 minutes.'

'Dr Joleah Lamb, a postdoctoral researcher at Cornell University and lead author of the new study, said she hoped it would help draw attention to their plight. "We call seagrass the ugly stepchild of marine organisms," said Dr Lamb. "They don't get a lot of respect, compared to corals and mangroves."'

'"Killer whales are a big tourist attraction, but people probably don't realise that seagrass beds are really important as nurseries for the fish that the salmon require, which the killer whales require," said Dr Drew Harvell, a marine biologist at Cornell University and senior author of the new study."

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/humble-grass-with-huge-role-in-ocean-health

'Most of Singapore's seagrass have not been sexually reproducing for at least three to four years, and worried scientists are working to find out what is wrong.

A lack of sexual reproduction - creating new plants through flowers and seeds - could lead to decreased genetic diversity in seagrass populations here, making them more vulnerable to mass die-offs.'

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/growing-problem-for-local-seagrass