Underwater treasures at Kume-jima (Ni)

Centropyge ferrugata

Chrysiptera starcki

An urchin

Tridacna sp.

[Photographs by Tan Heok Hui]

Underwater treasures at Kume-jima (Ichi)

The dive boat coursing along the eastern side of Kume-jima.

Trapezia sp.

Periclimenes imperator

Cirrhitichthys falco

Gymnothorax meleagris

Hermit crabs.

[Photographs by Tan Heok Hui]

Marine expedition to Kume-jima in the Okinawa islands, Japan

Several RMBR staff are now in Kume-jima or Kume Island as part of an international marine expedition which runs from 7 to 23 November 2009.

Kume-jima is about 30 minutes flying time southwest of Okinawa. It is about one-quarter of Singapore’s land area, or the combined size of Siglap, Marine Parade, Tampines, Bedok and Tanah Merah.

The expedition team comprises over 30 researchers from Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, France and Indonesia (in descending representation), and includes Okinawa Aquarium staff members who operate the ROV and collect animals.

A base camp and laboratory have been set up on the eastern side of the Island. Every morning, the various teams (diving, trawling, dredging and ROV) head out to collect specimens which are then brought back to the lab for sorting, processing and photographing. Work is carried out from 8am to 11 pm.

The ROV/trawl/dredge boat getting ready to leave the port on the morning of the first day.

[Photograph by Martyn Low]

Assoc. Prof. YEN Shen-Horn

Assoc. Prof. YEN Shen-Horn (Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, TAIWAN) is an entomologist who works on systematics, evolutionary ecology and biodiversity databasing of Lepidopteran insects. He visited the Raffles Museum from the 7th to the 9th of November, 2009 to examine our small collection of moths belonging in the groups Zygaenidae, Psychidae and Pyraloidea.

Crab expert leads charge on climate (The Straits Times 7 November 2009)

Please click on image for larger view.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2009)

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2009) was released on 3 Nov 2009. According to the list, 17,291 species out of 47,677 assessed are in danger of extinction. This is about one third of the number assessed. For details on the 2009 list, please visit the IUCN website.

Our very own contributed to the 2009 list. They include RMBR Director Professor Peter Ng and DBS Instructor Dr Darren Yeo who contributed to the findings on Crabs while Dr Tan Heok Hui contributed to the data on Freshwater fish. Our research associate Dr Maurice Kottelat also lent his expertise to the Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment. The full list of contributors are here.

The Betta pinguis is known only from the middle Kapuas River basin in Indonesia. It is listed as Vulnerable in the 2009 IUCN Red List.

[Photograph by Tan Heok Hui]

Specimens make their mark at the ASEAN Wetland Management Training Course

Specimens from the Raffles Museum do not always stay in the museum, some get to travel! Research specimens typically move in and out with some frequency, typical to any research collection. Specimens may be loaned out for special occasions such as the recent loan to National Heritage Board of the large, old specimens from the former Raffles Library and Museum for display at the Asian Civillisations Museum for their “Hunters and Collectors: The Origins of the Southeast Asian Collection” exhibition.

Smaller specimens typically also travel out for public education events with the Raffles Museum Toddycats during special events such as Envirofest and Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve Anniversary. For undergraduate teaching, the specimens also make an appearance at the Department of Biological Sciences such as the Labrador rocky shore preparatory practicals for the new second-year ecology module, LSM2251.

Discussing the morphological adaptations of Toxotes jaculator.
Photo courtesy of NParks.

Last Sunday, 16 bottles (8 of fish, 8 of crabs) were prepared and packed with lots of padding by Kelvin Lim and Tan Siong Kiat into a styrofoam box for Research Associate N. Sivasothi. He conducted a conducted half-day mangrove fauna workshop at Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve (SBWR) for the ASEAN Wetland Management Training Course coordinated by NParks staff at SBWR. Individual sessions were conducted by volunteer instructors from NParks, NTU and NUS.

Sivasothi’s session was conducted as a lecture in two parts on common mangrove fauna interspersed by field observations at the Visitor Centre mangrove boardwalk and ended with a demonstration using the specimens.

Discussing adaptations in Episesarma versicolor
at the VC Boardwalk, SBWR. Photo courtesy of NParks.

The use of specimens was effective in providing a close up view of several features in various fauna which had been discussed or observed earlier. This also gave rise to a tutorial on preservation techniques and a discussion the importance of curating a faunal collection at wetlands sites for staff training and education.

The locality data and date of collection on labels in each bottle was the subject of some discussion too, as it highlighted the importance of regular collections over time and proper preservation techniques that allow well preserved and carefully handled specimens to be used over centuries.

For the record the specimens used were:

Crabs:

1. Selatium brockii – ZRC uncat., Mandai mangroves (1990).
2. Episesarma singaporensis – ZRC 2000.1934 (7 ex.), Lim Chu Kang.
3. Portunus pelagicus – ZRC 1984.5535-5541 (7 ex.), Sentosa.
4. Myomenippe hardwickii – ZRC 2004.0488 (6 ex.), Sarimbun-Poyan mangroves.
5. Neosarmatium smithi – ZRC 2001.2236 (4 ex.), Loyang mangroves.
6. Metopograpsus frontalis – ZRC 2001.2288 (4 ex.), Kranji.
7. Uca sp. – ZRC 2009.0104 (7 ex.), Sg. Serangoon.
8. Metaplax elegans – ZRC 2009.0318 (13 ex.), Pandan mangroves.

Fishes:

1. Oryzias javanicus (Javan Ricefish) – ZRC 26631-26805 (175 ex.), Mandai mangroves.
2. Pseudogobius javanicus (Javan Fatnose Goby) – ZRC 47296 (49 ex.), Sg. Buloh.
3. Periophthalmus walailakae (Walailak Mudskipper) – ZRC 1304a (6 ex.), Sg. Seletar (1966).
4. Scatophagus argus (Spotted Scat) – ZRC 51934 (5 ex.), Marina Bay.
5. Etroplus suratensis (Green Chromide) – ZRC 49359 (23 ex.), Khatib Bongsu.
6. Toxotes jaculator (Banded Archerfish) – ZRC 49266 (7 ex.), Raffles Marina.
7. Tetraodon nigroviridis (Green Spotted Pufferfish) – ZRC 47831 (4 ex.), Kallang River.
8. Zenarchopterus buffonis (Stripe-nosed Halfbeak) – ZRC 27114-27143 (30 ex.), Sg. Buloh.

Research Assistant/Technical Support Officer opportunities with the Department of Biological Sciences, NUS and the Public Utilities Board (PUB)

As Singapore is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, water management is critical.

The Public Utilities Board recently commissioned the National University of Singapore’s Department of Biological Sciences to develop a lentic macro-invertebrate biotic index for the island’s waterways, with an emphasis on shallow tropical lakes. This will now complement the extensive water quality sampling regime already in place.

We are seeking three Research Assistants and/or Laboratory Technicians to assist a team with monitoring freshwater invertebrates in Singapore. The candidates should have either a polytechnic diploma or degree in biology or a related subject, field experience and preferably a Singaporean driving licence. Experience in ecological sampling protocols and/or freshwater macro-invertebrates would be advantageous. However, full training will be provided ‘on-the-job’.

The posts are initially for six months with a likely possibility of longer-term employment depending on the performance on the job and/or progress of the project. Positions are available immediately.

Interested candidates are invited to send their CV to Dr Esther Clews at dbsec@nus.edu.sg .

The closing date for applications is Thursday 29th October. Interviews will take place in the first week of November.

Visit by Prof Chan Tin-Yam and company from Taiwan, ROC

RMBR warmly welcomed Prof Chan Tin-Yam and his team of scientists and graduate students from Taiwan ROC on 7 Oct 2009.

Based at the National Taiwan Ocean University, Prof Chan is an expert on lobsters and other non-brachyuran crustaceans while Ms Yang Chien Hui is a graduate student working on crustaceans.

The rest of the delegation comprised members from the Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica: Ms Tsai Pei Chen (Dr Benny Chan’s research staff) who works on barnacles; Dr Liao Yun Chih, Postdoctoral Fellow (marine fishes) who works for Taiwan’s leading fish expert Prof Shao Kwang Tsao; and Mr Lee Mao-Ying, PhD student at the Laboratory of Fish Ecology & Evolution.

The group was here from 7 to 12 Oct 2009 to study the local and regional marine life as part of our ongoing collaborative research efforts. After a day of going through our collections of crustaceans, barnacles and fishes, the group spent the next few days scouring the fish markets in Singapore and Kuching, Sarawak, purely for research purposes of course.

We bid the group, and the bountiful marine life they are bringing back with them, a fond farewell yesterday.

From left: Prof Chan Tin-Yam and Ms Yang Chien Hui (National Taiwan Ocean University).

From left: Dr Liao Yun Chih, Ms Tsai Pei Chen and Mr Lee Mao-Ying (Academia Sinica).

[Photographs by Tan Heok Hui]

New Guidesheet – The Hidden World of the Fungi

The latest guidesheet “The Hidden World of the Fungi” has been launched. Part of the series of ten guidesheets on Singapore’s natural history sponsored by ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, it is for sale to the public at $5. For the full range of RMBR-ExxonMobil publications, please visit the website http://exxonmobil.rafflesmuseum.net/.