Bleaching at Pulau Hantu

June 28, 2010

Photo: wildshores.blogspot.com

Ria Tan and Loh Kok Sheng visited Pulau Hantu early on Sunday to check out the island’s intertidal reef is responding to the widespread coral bleaching in the region, that’s been observed since May 2010.

Ria wrote in her post that it was, “disconcerting to see for the first time, bleaching in some kinds of animals that we have not seen before.”

Photo: wildshores.blogspot.com

Both bloggers reported bleaching amongst zoanthids for the first time.

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

Kok Sheng raised some interesting questions when he came across the path of bleached leathery corals (above). He writes,

This is puzzling, why would corals at the edge respond worse than those in the lagoon? Shouldn’t they be in the deeper waters and thus more shading from the sun? Or is it because those in the lagoon are already very tough in nature since these corals have to endure more physical stress in normal times?

Photo: wildshores.blogspot.com

Ria came across the bleached flowery soft coral (above). She blogs, “I noticed the tiny little filefish that was hiding among the ‘branches’. Bleaching probably makes such animals more visible to predators.”

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

Though the situation looks dismal, Kok Sheng reports, “Interestingly, many colonies of the Lettuce coral (Pavona sp.) seem to show up as one of the toughest species, a phenomenon that is similar to that of Tanah Merah’s reef.”

Apart from documenting the impact of coral bleaching, Ria and Kok Sheng also came across some usual and not-so-usual lifeforms on Hantu’s reefs!

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

The Orange-edged black flatworm (Pseudobiceros uniarborensis) is commonly spotted by divers at Hantu.

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

This Arabian cowrie (Cypraea arabica) however, is a rare encounter in our Southern Shores. Great to know that it can be spotted at Hantu!

Photo: Loh Kok Sheng

Another rare find was this Feathery filefish (Chaetodermis penicilligerus) which Kok Sheng reported to be a rather large specimen!

Thanks to Ria Tan and Koh Kok Sheng for working so hard (read: waking up in the wee hours and having the energy to post these blogs within such a short time and probably on a red-eye!) More about bleaching on Bleach Watch Singapore

Posted in Announcements, Biology