Cyrene Reef Exposed!

Cyrene featured by the World Seagrass Association

2011-10-09T23:37:00.003+08:00

Cyrene's amazing seagrass meadows are featured on the World Seagrass Association blog, thanks to Siti Maryam Yaakub who manages the blog.

This was a great opportunity to share with seagrass scientists and workers around the world, Cyrene's rich seagrass meadows, despite its location in the middle of this ‘Industrial Triangle’.

The World Seagrass Association is a global network of scientists and coastal managers committed to
research, protection and management of the world’s seagrasses. The blog features seagrasses and work done on them throughout the world.

Cyrene Reef at the Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III (24 Sep 11)

2011-09-25T11:19:00.002+08:00

Jocelyn Sze shares more about Cyrene Reef and the work done by TeamSeagrass on the Reef, with the VIPs attending the Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium III.

How nice to be able to share about Cyrene Reef with the more than 300 people who attended the Symposium!

Guest of Honour Brigadier-General (NS) Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister of State (MOS) for National Development and Manpower not only learnt more about Cyrene from Jocelyne. We also found out that he may be visiting Cyrene Reef! How exciting! Jocelyne took the opportunity to highlight some of the marinelife that he will see on Cyrene, including the awesome Pentaceraster sea star, a new record for Singapore first seen on Cyrene.

During my very brief presentation on marine issues in Singapore at the Symposium, I also managed to squeeze in mention of Cyrene Reef.

Despite being in the middle of the industrial triangle, it has awesome marine ecosystems including among the best seagrass meadows in Singapore!

More about what happened at the Symposium on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Sharing Cyrene with CEOs NParks and URA

2011-08-07T09:58:00.001+08:00

Last week, I had the pleasure of sharing Cyrene with two CEOs!

We had a great time exploring Cyrene's rich marine life!

CEO NParks Mr Poon Hong Yuen was on the first trip. Sharp-eyed participants helped find special marine life such as the Pentaceraster sea star (Pentaceraster mammilatus). This sea star was first discovered on Cyrene and is a new record for Singapore.

Among the other exciting finds, an octopus! There's a rush to have a look at it. Fortunately, the little beast was quite obliging and allowed everyone to get a glimpse of it.

Also with the team were members of the NParks Board. As well as key members of NParks' National Biodiversity Center who organised these trips and shared lots of interesting stories with everyone.

A few days later, I joined the same NParks team to share Cyrene with CEO URA Mr Ng Lang, who is great at spotting marine life. He found and gently caught a swimming crab to show everyone.

As usual, among the first things to greet us on the shore are lots and lots of large Knobbly sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus)!

On this trip, we managed to show everyone 'Nemo'! The False clown anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) lives in the Giant carpet anemone (Stichodactyla gigantea) and is quite commonly seen on our shores, including Cyrene. But a bit shy and hard to spot at low tide.

On the sandy shores, we find several of the intriguing Grey bonnet snails (Phalium glaucum). These snails eat sand dollars, which of course, are found in the sand banks...haha...lame marine joke.

Cyrene remains rich with marine life despite the many pressures around it. During our trip, the huge dredger was still at work nearby. Dredging has been going on near Cyrene for some months now.

Cyrene is located in the middle of the industrial triangle yet has marvellous seagrass meadows, sandy shores and coral reefs! It was a treat to be able to share these with the CEO and staff of NParks and URA!

Thank you to the team from NParks' National Biodiversity Center for organising these trips! And to the participants for spotting so many interesting marine life and being so encouraging.

More about these trips on the wild shores of singapore blog here and here.

Cyrene sea star featured in Singapore biodiversity poster

2011-07-22T20:04:00.002+08:00

The Cyrene Reef Pentaceraster sea star is featured in the poster of "A Decade of Amazing Discoveries" by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research!

Click on image for a larger view

Thanks to Kai-xin for using my photo and giving me the soft copy of the gorgeous poster! For more about the celebration of "Decade of biodiversity discoveries and conservation in Singapore".

The Pentaceraster sea star (Pentaceraster mammilatus) is a new record for Singapore and was first discovered on Cyrene Reef in 2008! Kok Sheng blogged about how Chay Hoon first spotted it in April 2008. Two weeks later, we returned to Cyrene with Dr David Lane, an echinoderm expert who wrote the Guide to Sea Stars and other Echinoderms of Singapore.

Vyna, the rose among the thorns,
found the sea star during Dr Lane's visit in April 2008.

After the trip, Sijie shares an update on his blog that Dr Lane has tentatively identified it as Pentaceraster mammillatus. Sijie added that "Its distribution is that of Indian Ocean, but apparently with its appearance in Singapore, it has expanded its range. It is usually found in lower eulittoral and deeper region, on sand and seagrasses. However, the taxonomy of this group has some uncertainties, with gradations between species, possible hybrids and a closely related form living in the Philippines region." Sijie added that "it's an important find, indicating the cleanliness of our marine environment despite Singapore being one of the busiest port in the world. The new find is the reason why Cyrene is so amazing." Indeed!

In March 2009, Kok Sheng noticed that some of them didn't look very well. But in 2010, we started to see baby Pentaceraster sea stars!

Photo by Sean on his blog.

Sean saw a tiny one (about 5cm in diameter) in April 2010, I saw a small one (about 9cm) in May 2010 and Kok Sheng and Chay Hoon saw a slightly larger one in June and July 2010.

We continued to see this delightful sea star over the years since then. They come in a variety of patterns and colours. I did a post about whether the Pentaceraster sea stars are breeding on Cyrene and some of the past sightings of these amazing sea stars there.

Top row red one by Mei Lin,
Bottom row left most by Kok Sheng, middle also by Kok Sheng.

During our Cyrene trip last week, James and Geraldine found these two large ones which look somewhat different but have all the features of the Pentaceraster sea star.

In June 2010, I launched the new "Been to Cyrene" button during our trip to bring URA to see Cyrene. It features the Pentaceraster sea star and the new Cyrene Reef Exposed blog.

Cyrene Reef is indeed an amazing shore!

This post first appeared on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Been to Cyrene: "Exceeding expectations"

2011-05-12T22:18:00.001+08:00

"I was in anticipation after being able to go to Cyrene - expecting to see stuff on other intertidal shores of Singapore", says Tony.

Knobbly that seems to have raised its arm to "shake hands" -
remarks Tony of this photo he shared.

"However, I was able to see far more than I had seen before!"

Tony adds: "Cyrene is the only place that I have seen so many sea stars and with beautiful corals providing lots of colour too."

Great closeup of a Leathery soft coral shared by Tony.

"Cyrene is truely a thriving natural living community of wildlife so near our mainland shore. It is a heritage that we need to cherish and protect." concludes Tony.

Tony shared lots more photos and stories of his Cyrene trip on his Soaring c-eagle blog which also features more marine adventures kayaking other shores in Singapore.

Tony Seow is in his late 40s. His life pursuits are summarised in the 3Cs: Christian, CPA and Sea Kayaker.

Been to Cyrene: "An ecological jewel"

2011-05-09T21:41:00.001+08:00

Azlin says: I'm thankful for this ecological jewel in the midst of a busy busy “highway”.

Cyrene lies in the middle of an "Industrial Triangle" and busy shipping lanes.

Azlin recently visited Cyrene and was struck by the corals on this submerged reef! And shared these photos of his trip.

Azlin, 34 is an NParks Outreach Officer at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

More about this trip to Cyrene on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Been to Cyrene: "Mother Nature's treasure"

2011-05-09T21:33:00.000+08:00

"It's great to be back with Mother Nature again and this always put life back into perspective for me," says Teck Hui.

Teck Hui recently visited Cyrene and is great at spotting the fascinating marine life there! She shares this scuffle among tiny moon crabs over a colourful shrimp.

Another well-spotted sighting, she shares this photo of a superbly camouflaged filefish among the lush seagrasses on Cyrene! She's really good at this!

"Mother nature has many treasures waiting for us to discover yet how many of us really take time to visit her, explore and preserve her?" says Teck Hui.

Teck Hui, 43 is an Education Officer. She is a volunteer guide with NParks and also enjoys swimming & Yoga.

More about this trip to Cyrene on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Been to Cyrene: "Go visit at least once in your life!"

2011-03-22T17:32:00.001+08:00

"It's a reef? A sea reef? It's off an island? Oh, it's part of an island? Erm it has starfish and other cool looking animals, corals on it. Do I get to see a 'Nemo'?". Probably common questions if I were to ask a land lover who's never been to our country's smaller islands (Mainland Singapore, Tekong and Sentosa doesn't count!!).

Just one of Andrew's many gorgeous photos of Cyrene.

So begins Andrew as he shares awesome photos and stories of his trip to Cyrene on his One° North Explorers blog.

"I had to admit, visiting and walking on a real sea reef was totally something I have not done before", says Andrew. "Even then, I did feel a little apprehensive of going out to sea, when I previously had a near drowning incident - leg cramps while trying to swim out from beach to small land mass on Sentosa. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the sea. In fact, I did diving and snorkelling before and loved them! For a person like me, who's more into urbex (urban exploration), heritage and urban legends, I am definitely 'A fish out of water' for this latest adventure!"

But Andrew had a great time on Cyrene and ends his post with: "To everyone out there, if you have not visited the Cyrene Reefs. Please do so, at least once in your life! There's quite a bit of land reclamation going on on Jurong Island, so let's hope Cyrene Reef retains it's splendour for future generations."

Read more about Andrew's trip on his One° North Explorers blog which also has a facebook page.

This trip was organised by the Environmental Engineering Society of Singapore. More about this trip on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Been to Cyrene: "A safari-load of animals!"

2011-02-22T06:47:00.003+08:00

To probably anyone else around the area, it’s just a patch of rocks and sand.

Glorious weather over Cyrene, photo by Clarence Chua.

But take a boat out and take a close peek ....

And a safari-load of intertidal animals come leaping at you (3 blue-spotted stingrays literally bumped into a group of us)!

Giant corals on Cyrene, photo by Clarence Chua.

Super fun trip. Thank you!

Thanks to Clarence, 27, for sharing these thoughts after a trip with his colleagues from Coastal Parks, National Parks Board.

He adds that "Coastal Parks maintains parkland adjacent to the coast. Our skill set includes managing terrestrial parkland flora and fauna, but we have much to learn about the intertidal biodiversity just next to our parkland. We have therefore embarked on trips to find out more about intertidal life off Changi Beach Park and West Coast Park. This knowledge is especially useful when we carry out projects to renourish the beach sand due to erosion."

More about the trip with Coastal Parks on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Cyrene sea cucumber featured in global study

2011-01-25T09:29:00.003+08:00

Thanks to Andy, Cyrene is included in the Ohio State University's Uncovering an Ancient Tree of Life video clip

giant synaptic sea cucumber ! ....from outaspace from BeachBum on Vimeo.

More on Andy's blog and check out his other awesome video clips of Singapore's marine life!

Uncovering an Ancient tree of life is a project led by Ohio State University scientists involving a 10-institution team in using genetic information from modern species as well as anatomical data from fossil specimens dating back more than 500 million years to figure out precisely where echinoderms fit into the history of all life. More about this project.

Cyrene: poster child for balancing conservation and coastal development

2010-11-26T13:07:00.000+08:00

Cyrene Reef is featured in a series of panels about the need to balance conservation and development!

Not once, but twice!
There's also a panel about the massive reclamation project at Pasir Panjang Container Terminals near the natural shores at Labrador, Sentosa and Cyrene Reef. It's good to know that there is realisation that this project will impact our marine life.

These panels were done by NParks' National Biodiversity Centre and highlight Singapore's work towards integrated coastal management. These posters showcased this work at the PEMSEA East Asian Seas Congress 2009 in Manila.

I came across these panels at the inspiring talk I attended yesterday, about integrated coastal management. More about the talk on the wild shores of singapore blog.

South Cyrene in National Geographic!

2010-11-19T10:06:00.000+08:00

Goh Pei Hao's awesome photo of South Cyrene is featured in National Geographic's weekly selection! Thank you and congratulations Pei Hao!

from National Geographic

Pei Hao was part of the small team that visited this 'little sister' in the Cyrene Reefs last month for the first time.

What we refer to as Cyrene is actually properly called Terumbu Pandan, the largest of the three submerged reefs that are collectively called Cyrene Reefs. The other two are the much smaller: Pandan Beacon and South Cyrene.

Though this tiny reef is not as spectacular as the usual huge Terumbu Pandan that we visit, it was still an interesting visit.

An Arabian cowrie spotted by Kok Sheng on South Cyrene.

Read more about the trip to South Cyrene in blog posts by Kok Sheng and Ria.

Been to Cyrene: "Unlike any other reef I've seen in Singapore"

2010-09-22T22:26:00.001+08:00

I had the most awesome time visiting Cyrene reef in the early morning hours of 13 July 2010, says Oliver. It was an unforgettable experience!

Cyrene was not like any other reef I have ever seen in Singapore!

It was teeming with wildlife and its shores were covered with knobbly sea stars! Despite being in the middle of heavy shipping lanes, Cyrene had more flora and fauna compared to many shores found away from busy lanes.

Regardless of how fast our country is developing, I do hope to be able to bring my children and grandchildren in the future to visit this awe inspiring place. I do hope that the Singapore government would mark Cyrene Reef as a national conservation area so that all would have the chance to enjoy the wonders of nature right here in Singapore without having to cross the border.

Oliver, 21, is currently studying at the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. He passion for nature and the environment has motivated him to pursue a degree in Geography. In his free time, Oliver volunteers with the Scouts, both at home and abroad. He is also affiliated to the World Wide Fund for Nature, an conservation organization he firmly believes in and supports.

Cyrene on Google Earth's "Explore the Ocean"!

2010-09-08T19:37:00.000+08:00

Cyrene Reef appears in Mission Blue's Google Earth's "Explore the Ocean" layer!

Thanks to Marcus Ng aka Budak for highlighting Cyrene Reef!

Marcus had submitted to the Carnival of the Blue, these two post about Cyrene Reef from his Annotated Budak blog: Stellar by Starlight and Fishtrapped.

Thank you Marcus!

Sharing Cyrene with JTC, July 2010

2010-07-20T19:14:00.008+08:00

A spirited and sporting team from JTC visited Cyrene on 14 Jul!

What a great team from JTC!
Photo by Annabelle.

The enthusiastic team not only discovered and spotted many interesting animals, but also helped to deal with the huge fish traps we encountered.

It was cool and shady as we explored the reefier side of Cyrene. Among the fascinating finds were Mei Lin's fluted giant clam, lots of different kinds of crabs and fishes, and sadly, also many bleaching corals.

A train of clouds chugged overhead towards the mainland
to dump rain there instead of on us!
Photo by Ria.

The corals on Cyrene can be quite large, and fascinating!
Photo by Ria.

Alas, the group came across huge fish traps on the reef, a total of seven of them! Everyone pitched in to release the fishes and deal with the traps.

The seven large fish traps were laid out all along the reef!
Photo by Ria.

Some of the fishes released from the traps.
Photo by Sam.

More fishes that were released from the traps.
Photo by Sam.

With the help of so many hands from JTC, we quickly released all the fishes! Then we head across to have a quick look at the seagrasses and the intriguing marine life that live here.

The curious T-shaped hammer oysters are
found in abundance in Cyrene's meadows.
Photo by Annabelle.

The stars of Cyrene! Common, cushion and knobbly!
Photo by Sam.

All kinds of strange creatures dwell in the meadows.
Photo by Ria.

Shu Yen from JTC, who organised the JTC team,
found this Discodoris nudibranch!
Photo by Ria.

But of course, the most captivating creatures are
the baby Knobblies that are plentiful on Cyrene.
Photo by Ria.

We hope our new friends at JTC enjoyed their trip. We are delighted to hear that they will share what they saw with their other colleagues.

More about the trip in posts by:

Sharing Cyrene with URA, June 2010

2010-07-20T19:00:00.002+08:00

An enthusiastic and excited team from URA visited Cyrene on 16 Jun!

A happy team makes it safely on to Cyrene!
Photo by Ria.

They join the Mei Lin who is here with a small team of volunteers to look for Giant clams. And what amazing creatures we saw!

Just a few steps into our trip and Chay Hoon found a baby Cushion sea star!

With very short arms, it's hard to believe this is a sea star.
Photo by Kok Sheng.

Sadly, as we move deeper into the reefs, we noticed lots of coral bleaching. Even though dark clouds have gathered over us, we press on with our exploration.

Bleaching hard and soft corals stand out starkly on the shore.
Photo by Ria.

And we did see some interesting creatures!

The shell of a recently dead heart urchin!
Our first encounter on Cyrene!
Photo by Ria.

Of course we get an overdose of Knobbly sea stars.
Photo by Kok Sheng.

Chay Hoon spots this intriguing sea star that we have yet to identify.
Photo by Chay Hoon.

Tsen Yang found the Fluted giant clam that we have been looking for over several trips! Yay!

The Giant clam finally found!
Photo by Kok Sheng.

The weather turned evil towards the end of our walk and we hurried off Cyrene in high waves.

Photo by Ria.

We had a safe departure and it only started storming once we were on the boat. It was only later when we arrived on the mainland that we discovered the intense rainfall had caused massive flooding on Orchard Road that is now so famous.

During the trip, we also launched the new "I've Been to Cyrene" badge! Mei Lin says it's the 'pre-dawn' version! Indeed, this badge features one part of the 'industrial triangle' around Cyrene: our world-class container terminals and the city skyline during our dawn trip a few weeks ago. With the spectacular Pentaceraster sea star (Pentaceraster mammilatus) that was first recorded for Singapore from Cyrene Reef! It also features this Cyrene Reef Exposed blog.

It was a productive trip with good finds (especially the Clam) and we hope URA had an enjoyable trip too!

More about this trip in posts by:

Been to Cyrene: "Am I in Singapore?"

2010-07-19T09:47:00.000+08:00

It's truly surreal, says Russel, to be standing in the middle Cyrene, basking in the rays of the rising sun, against the backdrop of the heavy industries in the distance and being nonchalant about the large vessels just sailing by. One can't help but wonder, "Am I in Singapore?

Surreal Cyrene! Photo by Russel

Russel shares more about his first trip to Cyrene on his awesome blog into the wild

Here's a small sample of his many gorgeous photos of Cyrene.

See also his beautiful shots of sunrise over Cyrene.

Russel is a nature lover and avid photographer. More about Russel on his blog.

Been to Cyrene: "A mesmerizing gem"

2010-07-18T17:54:00.003+08:00

Jane and Terry Heppell join us for their first trip to Cyrene. And among our first night trips there!

A glorious sunrise at the end of the night trip to Cyrene
Photo by Terry Heppell

They are amazed to be standing almost as if in the middle of the sea surrounded by the bright lights of the nearby petro-chemical facilities. They share what they saw in their brand new blog: Urchin's World.

Among their awesome sightings, a Long-horned cowfish! Unlike our other shores, these fishes are regularly encountered among the lush seagrasses of Cyrene.

A cowfish is seen!
Photo by Terry Heppell

The Heppells declare "Any visitor would be mesmerized by what we saw." And they consider Cyrene a "gem" which shows that Man and Nature can co-exist as we progress, through our actions to preserve Nature whenever we can.

Read all about their trip on Urchin's World and see more of their photos on Picasa.

Jane and Terry are retired. Terry shares that he was formerly an engineer and worked in the petroleum industry so he is well aware of how the activities done offshore can affect our environment and understand the need for conservation. They both started volunteering at Pulau Ubin about four years ago when they were both working and now they have been guiding on Pulau Ubin at Chek Jawa and the Sensory Trail. Now that they have more time they are trying to be more active and also recently joined the Nature Society (Singapore) to learn more about conservation and the importance of biodiversity. Photography and birding are some of the current activities they are spending time on.

Cyrene on Channel NewsAsia videoclip

2010-07-13T19:45:00.000+08:00

Cyrene is seen in a video clip about the BiodiverCity photo competition on MediaCorp's newly launched News In Singapore on YouTube.

Minister Mah looking at a photo of Cyrene Reef!

Here's the clip!

"This channel aims to widen the reach of news from Singapore by tapping into the growing online and social media audience. News clips will be come largely from Channel NewsAsia's nightly Singapore Tonight bulletin and will be made available within three days of its telecast" says Channel NewsAsia.

More video clips of Singapore nature news on the wild shores of singapore blog.

Cyrene in the news: Lianhe Zaobao features coral conservation in Singapore

2010-07-04T15:26:00.001+08:00

Thanks to Kok Sheng, we learn that Cyrene has been featured in Lianhe Zaobao today!

The article highlights that despite our small size, Singapore has 256 out of the total 800 coral species in the world. That makes up about 32%! It also details the work done to conserve our reefs. In particular, NPark's Coral Nursery at Pulau Semakau currently led by Collin Tong, with lots of photos.

The article also features Collin's field work to monitor the seahorses and pipefishes of Cyrene!

Read more about the Lianhe Zaobao article on Kok Sheng's blog.

Been to Cyrene: Succulent Drumstick and Mystery Tentacles

2010-06-08T20:25:00.005+08:00

Ling Ling shares a delightful report of her encounters at Cyrene. And I intrude in italics in her text:

Cyrene reef first came to my mind when I was planning for our tri-monthly Central Nature Reserve volunteer gathering. I wanted our ‘terrestrial’ volunteers to know that there are other valuable habitats in Singapore.

Today is Labour Day and full moon was just a few days ago. The moon was hanging over the water and there was serenity at Marina Keppel Bay before we depart for the reef. This is one taken when I was on the reef.

Although this is my second time to Cyrene, every trip is a surprise to me. It is beyond my comprehension that we can actually walk on a reef that is submerged most of the time and only become visible during low tide.

The sunrise was superb but after that, a big container ship sailed by slowly, reminding us that Cyrene is located at the junction of all the major shipping lines.

The intimate and complex interaction, behaviour and the appearance of all the creatures on this reef is downright amazing. I am not sure if this is a Favid Boulder Coral. (You're right, it is a hard coral from Family Faviidae! These corals come in a bewildering variety of patterns and colours!)

Ria, are those tentacles that are sticking out? (Great question Ling Ling! Those are actually the long skinny polyps of the hard coral Goniopora sp. With these long 'tentacle-like' polyps, this hard coral is often mistaken for an anemone. In fact, its common name is Anemone coral!)

One of my treats is to see the common sea stars mating and there are a few of these on the reef.

As a true Singaporean, we always relate very well to food and it is no exception on Cyrene too. Anuj shared with me that there are sea grapes and sea sausages and like a foodie searching, I chanced upon another one which I named ‘Succulent Drumstick’. Ria, may I know what is this?

(Ha, ha, I didn't know you were all that hungry on the trip. Thank goodness you made that delicious breakfast we all enjoyed afterwards on the boat. This looks like a leathery soft coral. You can see some of the tiny polyps sticking out in the part of the colony that is still submerged. While on the exposed parts, the polyps are retracted, leaving a smooth leathery surface that does resemble the skin of a chicken drumstick. I never thought of that!)

One of my favourites and these will retreat into a hole when they sensed moment or vibration.(Ria: My favourite too! They are tiny white fan worms!)

All these would not be possible without the constant effort of documentation and research. Collin and Jeremy were one of these dedicated people. Collin patiently explained and let us feel the difference between a male and female Alligator pipefish. There were other interesting fishes like the Razorfish which swims vertically.

Some of the volunteers have never been to a reef before and this is their first time. Some will exclaimed excitedly when they spot something and some filled with quiet curiosity. Everyone is paying attention to every single creatures and this just made my day. I am happy that they came to this reef and know that we have SO MUCH in our home and this reef is truly uniquely Singapore.

I wanted to bring Kareena to this reef but anyone younger than 19 years old is a no-no for this trip. I do not know if Cyrene will still be around in at least a decade or two from now so that I can bring her to this reef and tell her that Mummy wanted to show you all the wonderful creatures that I saw on this shore a decade ago.

Only you and I can help to protect Cyrene reef so that your children and mine can enjoy and take care of them too.

“For in the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand what we are taught.” Baba Dioum

Woon Ling Ling, 29, works at the National Parks Board and is the Volunteer Co-ordinator at the Central Nature Reserve. She loves nature and is an avid plant lover.

Been to Cyrene: "A Precious Experience"

2010-06-07T18:15:00.001+08:00

Chai Joo shares her visit to Cyrene Reef, "it was my first and most exciting intertidal walk!"

I remember the very first marine animal I saw - the sand dollars! The entire reef was teeming with life - sea cucumbers, flat worms, nudibranch, sea urchins, knobbly sea stars, common sea stars, cushion stars, a lovely carpet anemone with resident shrimps, hairy crabs, sponges, sea grass, corals ... the list goes on.

I felt very fortunate that other experienced guides were on hand to help locate and show us marine creatures that were far away from our exploration site.

Cyrene Reef was almost pristine, untouched and in the middle of the ocean only to be revealed at low tide. It was a precious place. I had a precious experience.

Unfortunately, in the distance we can see Jurong Island with their oil refineries. Large tankers pass right next to the beautiful reef. On our way back, we saw dredging activities that explained the murkiness of the waters.

How this reef remains beautiful in spite of all the threats nearby, I do not know. But such is the wonder of nature. They are resilient. All the more we have to help protect them as best we can so that the next generation can see them and learn about them.

Ling Chai Joo, 48 is a Parent Volunteer and a volunteer with NParks. She is a member of the Nature Society (Singapore), helps out with Cicada Tree Eco Place, and also volunteers with ACRES and TeamSeagrass. She says "I'm a photographer wanna-be, curious and interested to learn lots about the nature around me, learning from others how they protect the environment and doing my part through composting."

Been to Cyrene: "Yoga sea stars!"

2010-05-29T18:25:00.001+08:00

Anuj is a big fan of Knobbly sea stars. So when he sees one, he usually photographs it and he tries to keep a running count of them on the field. But, he say, "this proved to be a disaster" during his first trip to Cyrene!

There were just too many of them!

He's shared about some of these sea stars and the intriguing 'yoga' poses they adopt when stranded out of water, on his blog: Knobbly Yoga at Cyrene Reef. Go and read all about them!

Anuj Jain, 25 is an engineer. He is also an avid nature volunteer working with the Nature Society (Singapore) and is a nature guide with NParks Central Nature Reserve as well as with the Naked Hermit Crabs. Besides Knobbly sea stars, he is also particularly interested in plants and applied plant ecology.

Vote for Cyrene!

2010-05-29T18:14:00.000+08:00

Kevin Lam's awesome photo of Cyrene with the special Pentaceraster sea star is featured in the BiodiverCity Voter's Choice Competition!

Kevin's awesome photo of Cyrene and its stars!

Vote for it and your favourite photos and you could win iPod and other prizes!

Here's Kevin with his son Ethan posing next to Kevin's photo.

Kevin says: "Here's Ethan staring at the seastar instead of looking at the camera. Hopefully he will get a chance to see the seastars in Cyrene in person instead of through a photographic print."

To vote for your favourite photo, be sure to scroll up or down (arrows on horizontal bar) to view all the photo choices.
The big winner of the competition is Singapore's biodiversity! Winning and other entries will be featured in an exhibition that allow more to know and care about the rich variety of animals and plants in Singapore.

The exhibition features 55 print photographs and a slide show of another 100 photographs. The slide show will be featured in a specially constructed darkroom, where public can view mammals, insects, marine life and birds amidst nature sounds, right in the heart of Singapore's busiest shopping street. They were selected from 2,200 entries.

The exhibition located outside Mandarin Gallery. Covering over 360 square metres in area, it is the one of the largest nature photo exhibition organised in downtown Orchard. The exhibition is open from 7.00am to 10.00pm daily for four weeks, till 20 June 2010. It will subsequently rove to the World Cities Summit at the Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre (28 June to 1 July) as well as to parks in Singapore.

Related links

International Biodiversity Day! from Psychedelic Nature.

Singapore marks International Day for Biological Diversity Satish Cheney Channel NewsAsia 22 May 10;

Been to Cyrene: "Magic in my own backyard"

2010-05-26T05:56:00.005+08:00

"Cyrene seemed like a fantasy at first. But when I set foot on Cyrene, the fantasy disappeared and the magic began!"

Wunson is captivated by Cyrene!

Wunson Khoo shares more about his first trip to Cyrene!

I have heard much about Cyrene Reef. It seemed like a fantasy place at first, a bit of sea grass and a bit of coral, trying to eke a living in the middle of the busiest port on this planet. So when I set foot on Cyrene at 6.12am on Labour Day 2010, the fantasy disappeared and the magic began.

It was hard to imagine that a place like Cyrene could exist in the Singapore we are so familiar with. I have been to other tidal flats, dived all over the world but to be able to admire the proliferation of sea grass and coral and to marvel at the diversity of aquatic fauna in my own backyard left me spellbound.

The encounters with the octopus, harlequin shrimp, sea cucumbers, anemones, crabs, a myriad of reef fishes and the hordes of knobby sea stars pointed out clearly that all is not lost in our concrete jungle.

I hope that Cyrene Reef will continue to prosper, thrive and serve as a healthy reminder of our natural heritage.

Wunson, 34, works in a bank and is a Nparks volunteer at the Central Nature Reserve. He is also an avid photographer and intrepid diver.

Thanks Wunson, for sharing about Cyrene!

Cyrene Reef at Orchard Road!

2010-05-22T19:27:00.003+08:00

Cyrene Reef is featured in the BiodiverCity exhibition!

Photo by Dr Chua Ee Kiam

Thanks to Dr Chua Ee Kiam for taking this lovely photo of Minister Mah Bow Tan discussing the photo with CEO NParks Ng Lang and senior NParks officers during the launch of the exhibition today.

The BiodiverCity exhibition celebrates the rich biodiversity found in our urban environment. It's aim: "Singapore is often known as a bustling city state and a centre for commerce. Through the lenses of residents, we hope to show that it is also a haven for biodiversity."

From 22 May - 20 Jun the exhibition will be located outside Mandarin Gallery at Orchard Road. The exhibition will then make its way to various locations in Singapore.

How wonderful to know that Cyrene Reef will be introduced to tourists and eventually Singaporeans in the heartlands via this exhibition.

Special thanks to Lim Wei Ling of NParks who has been working very hard on the competition and exhibition over these last months. Bravo!

Been to Cyrene: Sea Star Paradise!

2010-05-11T22:05:00.009+08:00

Baby Pentaceraster photographed by Sean at Cyrene Reef

Sean is an 18 year old student who volunteers with Teamseagrass. He is also a volunteer guide as part of a school-based project. He describes himself as an "avid photographer, nature wanderer, activist against illegal wildlife trade and the consumption of threatened species such as sharks." This young volunteer recently found the first baby Pentaceraster sea star in Singapore!

Sean recounts his experience with Cyrene in an interview for this blog.

1) Why did you want to go to Cyrene?
Well honestly the first time I actually got to know about Cyrene was when I was invited to join the facebook group "I want to go to Cyrene Reef!", and from then on whenever I asked relevant people about it they always gushed passionately about how they wanted to go (for people who hadn't been there before) or how (insanely) awesome it was (for people who had). The real turning point was when Kok Sheng (a fellow volunteer) was arranging some knobblies (seastar) for a group pic (he put them back) at Semakau, and I was being all excited and he told me "wait till you go Cyrene, you don't even have to arrange them, they're literally everywhere!". That's when I started wanting to go real bad :P

2) What did you expect, and what did you actually experience?
I expected the image Kok Sheng put into my head - a seagrass bed sprawling with knobbly sea stars and other cool organisms - and that was exactly what i experienced :D

I've been to Cyrene Reef and TeamSeagrass buttons which Sean carries proudly

3) Tell us your special encounters, stories, etc?
My first and only trip was with Teamseagrass, and after we were done with monitoring we had some time left to look around. We were stalking a pistol shrimp when i noticed a little Pentaceraster mammilatus, about the size of a pinky sitting right next to it. That was apparently the first sighting of a juvenile Pentaceraster so i guess that was pretty special, especially since i had read up on the star for a project but not actually seen it before.

4) Tell us your thoughts and feelings about Cyrene?
It's really as amazing as everyone makes it out to be, clear waters (relative to singapore standard), teeming with life. Where else will I face the same level of difficulty with seagrass monitoring? :P

There's really so much to see and so little time. makes me feel kind of numbed whenever I visit other shores now (don't worry, i still love you Semakau, Chek Jawa and Sentosa!)

It is also a testament to how nature can possibly coexist with humans, being surrounded by heavy technology and shipping routes. Being rather pristine due to relatively less human impact, it would be a terrible shame if anything happens to Cyrene before people even know of the beautiful things that reside within it.

5) What are your hopes and wishes for Cyrene?
I hope that people will come to learn of the treasures on our shores, Cyrene being a prime example. Just a few years ago I had no idea these awesome organisms were here, they always seemed so far away in books and documentaries on other countries. Now I'm amazed, active on the shore and enjoying it, and I hope that others can have the same experience (at least until the amazed part).

Read more about Sean's nature adventures on his blog: Diary of a Boy wandering through Our Little Urban Eden.

Been to Cyrene: "like Jack Sully in Avatar"

2010-05-10T17:02:00.005+08:00

Eddic Lim is enthralled by Cyrene Reef. On his first visit there, he shares "it was like I've entered another world, similar to Jack Sully in Avatar".

Some of the denizens of Singapore's own Avatar! Photos by Eddic.

"Everything is special and exotic!" says Eddic.

Eddic Lim is marketing executive for a recycling company, and a volunteer with Bukit Timah Nature Reserve,. He was probably among the first few to register for the Cyrene trip.

Read more about Eddic's trip on his Protect the Cyrene Reef blog

Been to Cyrene: "Where?!"

2010-05-07T18:31:00.003+08:00

"Where?!" That was Low Sze Gin's initial reaction upon hearing about a trip to Cyrene Reef. He explains that while most of us would probably have heard of the biodiversity of Chek Jawa, Pulau Hantu or even Pulau Semakau, Cyrene Reef is certainly not a familiar name.

Sunrise over Cyrene Reef by Low Sze Gin.

But after the trip, his reaction is: "Cyrene Reef is simply an unbelievable treasure trove!"

Low Sze Gin is a government servant, 33, currently volunteering with Nparks and says: "I'm currently trying to pick up photography and I love nature. I also enjoy diving and hiking."

Read all about the trip on his Encounters with Nature in Singapore.

Tricky Cyrene Trips

2010-05-06T18:00:00.005+08:00

It's not easy visiting Cyrene. Being a submerged reef, there is no jetty. We need to know the tides very well so that we can arrive and leave at the right time.

Oops, I hope we don't have to swim back!

Here's a bunch of brave souls waiting till the last minute to leave Cyrene Reef as it disappears beneath the incoming tide.

Siva has uploaded a great video clip of the amphibious landing with a 360 degree view of Cyrene Reef, and the taking of the obligatory traditional group photo.

There was a time when we used a sampan to land on Cyrene. We found a chair was quite useful to get in and out of the wobbly high-sided sampan.

The Chair also has many other uses...

The Chair gives a good indication of where to start the queue.

A quick snooze on The Chair.

The Chair is a handy throne for those of us who decide to be
Queen of the Shore for the Moment.

For a short while, we were ferried to Cyrene on a little boat that was very aptly named.

The attitude one must have towards landing on Cyrene.

More recently, we make a much safer landing in an inflatable dinghy.

The dinghy gets us well into shallow water when we can land without getting too wet.

In Jul 08, this button was launched. Everyone who goes to Cyrene (and survives) gets one.

Only issued to survivors of a trip to Cyrene

Read more about what visitors to Cyrene have to say about their trip!

Star Trackers on Cyrene Reef

2010-05-01T18:15:00.000+08:00

First time visitors are often overwhelmed by the number of Knobbly sea stars that can be seen on Cyrene!

Photo by Marcus Ng.

Chim Chee Kong and Tan Sijie have discovered that the arrangement of knobs on these sea stars are unique (to the trained eye). Thus individual Knobbly sea stars can be tracked! They decided to start up an effort called the Star Trackers to learn more about Knobbly sea stars on Cyrene as well as other shores in Singapore!

The awesome Star Trackers blog!

Cyrene is a special place for Knobbly sea stars for several reasons.

Firstly, there are a LOT of Knobbly sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus) on Cyrene. In fact, the Star Trackers believe Cyrene has "perhaps the largest Knobbly sea star population in Singapore".

Large yellow flag marks a Knobbly on Cyrene.
Photo by Loh Kok Sheng.

Here's some of the Knobblies marked out with yellow flags on Cyrene during a Star Tracker survey. Despite the close proximity to major international shipping lanes and the Pasir Panjang Container Terminals. As well as ongoing dredging and other major coastal works nearby.
During a short low tide window, and working as fast as they can, the Star Trackers can measure and record more than 100 Knobbly sea stars on Cyrene Reef!
Those Knobblies seem to be everywhere on Cyrene Reef!
Secondly, Cyrene is home to Knobblies of varying ages. From huge adults to small juveniles. The Star Trackers say that "the presence of juveniles, subadults and adults indicated that there is a healthy level of recruitment at Cyrene Reef. This habitat may be the only sustainable population of knobbly seastars left in Singapore today".

A bewildering variety baby Knobblies on Cyrene!

Besides monitoring the Knobblies in the field, the Star Trackers are also active in public outreach efforts to share about Cyrene. Through public exhibitions, talks and special events such as . They have also been featured in the newspapers and on TV, in order to highlight the beauty of our marine life and Cyrene Reefs.

Saw a Knobbly sea star? Take a photo of it and share the photo on the Star Tracker flickr group so that they can include your sighting in their study. Here's more on how you should take your sea star photo so that it can be more useful to the Star Trackers.

More links
Star Trackers the blog - find out What are knobbly seastars? Where can knobbly seastars be found? How to track seastars?

TeamSeagrass at Cyrene

2010-04-30T20:24:00.000+08:00

The lush meadows of Cyrene are monitored by the volunteers of TeamSeagrass.

Amazing living meadows of Cyrene,
just opposite our world-class container terminals.

Every three months, a small team of mad seagrassers brave the tides to do a quick check up.

Monitoring Cyrene requires dedicated and experienced volunteers because there are so many different species of seagrasses, all packed and jumbled up together.

Michelle and Nor Aishah always take a long long time to make sure
they get all the species recorded properly at Cyrene.

Seven seagrassses of Cyrene

There are 7 species of seagrasses at Cyrene. These are easier to tell apart: from left to right - Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides) here with a female flower, Sickle seagrass (Thalassia hemprichii) also with a tiny flower, Noodle seagrass (Syringodium isoetifolium) and Spoon seagrass (Halophila ovalis).

Seagrasses which are 'easier' to identify.

While others are very tricky to tell apart: from left to right - Serrated ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea serrulata), Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata) and the last two photos at the bottom are both Needle seagrass (Halodule sp.) which can be broad and long or skinny and short! Those naughty seagrasses!

The tricky seagrasses!

The special species are Noodle seagrass (Syringodium isoetifolium), so far only found on Cyrene and Pulau Semakau (with small patches on submerged reefs off Pulau Semakau). And Smooth ribbon seagrass (Cymodocea rotundata) so far found on Cyrene and Chek Jawa, with a small patch at Tanah Merah.

In the beginning ...

TeamSeagrass first began monitoring Cyrene in 2007. With unique and healthy seagrass meadows, Cyrene simply had to be a key part of the Team's effort to gather data for Singapore's seagrasses.

Andy practices putting the markers in during our first session on Cyrene.

As long as its low, we go!

The intrepid Team heads out for the scheduled monitoring even if it rains! There are few suitable low tides, so it's important not to miss any windows for checking up on Cyrene.

Ponchos on, all ready for monitoring!

On other days, it can be scorching! Monitoring seagrasses is hard work. Siti takes a well deserved snooze after a hot monitoring session, while the rest of us are too excited and are having a quick look around before the tides turn.

The pile of life-vests makes a nice bit of shade on a scorching morning.

We almost always wait until the last moment before leaving Cyrene. At which point it become very obvious that it's a submerged reef!

The first batch of Seagrassers safely on the big boat,
while the second batch wait to be picked up from Cyrene.

Special Seagrass Moments on Cyrene

TeamSeagrass shared many special moments on Cyrene. In Mar 07, it was a real delight to have Len and Rudi from international SeagrassWatch on Cyrene. AND Choo Chee Kuang as well, who leads the awesome Save our Seahorses campaign at Sungei Pulai across the Johor Straits near our Tuas shore.

The happy Team on Cyrene with Len and Rudi, and Choo.

The Team also celebrate the wedding of Seagrassers Kevin and Shufen, who spent their honeymoon on Cyrene!

The Team toast to the newly wed Mr and Mrs Lam (in white at right).

In Aug 08, it was exciting to have journalists of the Straits Times join the Team at Cyrene!

Siti shares how monitoring is done on Cyrene.

More about TeamSeagrass

TeamSeagrass monitoring on Cyrene is ongoing. TeamSeagrass also monitors seagrasses at Chek Jawa, Pulau Semakau, Sentosa, Labrador and Tuas, as part of Seagrass-Watch, a global seagrass assessment and monitoring programme spanning 18 countries with more than 200 monitoring sites worldwide. The effort involves NParks, Seagrass-Watch HQ and TeamSeagrass volunteers now with about 60 regulars.

TeamSeagrass is open to all volunteers above the age of 19 who are fit and enjoy working outdoors. More details about the Team and how to join on the TeamSeagrass blog.

Fish survey at Cyrene Reef

2010-04-28T18:38:00.004+08:00

What fishes can be found on Cyrene Reef? Collin and his colleagues from NParks conduct regular surveys to find out!

Collin and Jeff do the hard work of seining for fishes.

Despite the Reef's location near major installations like Pulau Bukom, there is an amazing variety of fishes on this seagrassy and reefy shore.

In particular, Collin tags the Alligator pipefishes (Syngnathoides biaculeatus) that are commonly seen in a deep seagrassy pool on Cyrene Reef.
These fishes are tagged with a tiny little orange marker so that each fish can be differentiated and records kept for each one.

To tag it, a tiny bit of harmless dye is inserted gently into the outer skin.

Fishes are marked at different parts of their body so that they can be differentiated.

Here's one tagged in a different part of the body.

Collin measures the fish to see how much it has grown since he last measured it. This kind of study will reveal a lot about our fishes as we monitor tagged individuals over time.
Like their relatives the seahorse, it is the papa pipefish that carries the eggs. These are not kept inside a pouch but stuck to the bottom of his long belly.

A closer look at the little round eggs on papa's tummy.

Like the seahorse, this pipefish also has a prehensile tail. That is, it can curl its tail to grasp things!
After gently tagging and measuring the fishes, they are released back into the deep pool.
The Alligator pipefish is very hard to spot when it is among the seagrasses!

Among the surprises that turn up in the survey is this strange fish with a 'beard'.It is the Bearded filefish (Anacanthus barbatus) which is a kind of filefish (Family Monacanthidae)!

Here is a closer look at its face. It is holding up the 'beard'
into a point under the tiny upturned mouth.

It has a long broad tail.

There are usually lots of filefishes in the pool! They are often well camouflaged. There are three different coloured filefishes in this photo, can you see them? The bright green one with the white smiley mark is probably the Seagrass filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus), while the darker one on the lower bottom of the photo is probably the commonly encountered Fan-bellied filefish (Monacanthus chinensis). Filefishes belong to Family Monacanthidae and get their common name because they have a rough skin that has the texture of a file. They are also sometimes called Leatherjackets for their tough skin.

This one is probably the Strapweed filefish (Pseudomonacanthus macrurus).

Other fishes aften encountered in the fish surveys include razofishes (Family Centriscidae). These fishes are often seen hanging vertically head down over hard corals. They are also known to be found among the spines of large sea urchins such as the Long-spined black sea urchins (Diadema sp). And now we know they are also found among seagrasses!
These well camouflaged Variable fang-blennies (Petroscirtes variabilis) can be common among the seagrasses at Cyrene.Other fishes encountered in the fish surveys include flatheads (Family Platycephalidae), rabbitfishes (Family Siganidae), tiny cardinalfishes (Family Apogonidae) and pufferfishes (Family Tetraodontidae).

The fish survey is not only useful to learn more about Cyrene, but also helps lucky visitors get a first hand look at the rich marinelife that can be seen in a good seagrass meadow. It's hard to see these well hidden fishes without seining for them!

Collin shares with some visitors at Cyrene about how the survey is conducted.

It's amazing what we can find in a vast seagrass meadow just off the main business district of Singapore!
Thanks to the hard work put in to the regular fish surveys at Cyrene Reef.

Visiting scientists at work on Cyrene Reef

2010-04-27T18:34:00.001+08:00

Cyrene Reef is a great place to bring visiting scientists from abroad!
Among the most memorable scientific visits was the one by Dr David Lane (standing, left most) in Apr 08.

Dr David Lane is a leading expert in Singapore's echinoderms, especially sea stars. And it was during his visit that he confirmed the new record of Pentaceraster mammilatus for Cyrene Reef!

Sea stars

Here is the special star that was first seen by Chay Hoon on an earlier trip.
And finally found by Vyna (the rose among the thorns) during Dr Lane's trip to Cyrene Reef!

Sea anemones

We were also very fortunate to have a chance to introduce Cyrene to Dr Daphne Fautin, the world expert on sea anemones. See also her awesome Hexacorallians of the World site. Unfortunately, the weather was not very cooperative when we visited with Dr Daphne on Jul 09.
Nevertheless, we managed to have a look at some of Cyrene's sea anemones. Here's a video clip of a strange sea anemone on Cyrene shared by Andy.

Mysterious Anemone @ Cyrene from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Zoanthids

Among those who have given Cyrene Reef a look is the very cool Dr James Reimer (the guy with the tatoos!)
Dr James of JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology) was in Singapore to survey our zoanthids. It was great that he could have a closer look at these animals on Cyrene Reef in Jun 2008.

Seagrasses

We also had the opportunity to share Cyrene with Prof Paul Erftemeijer from Deltares in Nov 09. Prof Paul is involved in the Singapore-Delft Alliance, has vast field and policy experience all over the world and is particularly interested in seagrasses. He was quite fascinated by the seagrasses at Cyrene Reef.

Cyrene astounds even leading world class scientists with its diversity of life!

Mapping out Cyrene Reef

2010-04-26T19:03:00.000+08:00

How big is Cyrene? Good question! Fortunately, Dr Raju is here to help us find out the precise answer.This fabulous map was kindly shared by Dr. D. Kumaran Raju based on his GPS mapping of Cyrene Reef on in May and July 08. The total area of Cyrene Reef is 45.7 hectares and it's about 1km long and 500m wide. This fabulous map and Dr Raju's other amazing maps are hosted on wildsingapore.

This map took a lot of hard work to create. Dr Raju and his colleague did lots of it. Siti also helped to take the readings on one of the trips. Dr Raju has really snazzy equipment to do the job!

Dr Raju takes readings all over this vast reef.

Here he is next to a container ship passing by Cyrene Reef.

November circumnavigated the boundaries of this enormous reef to take readings. In the process scaring and being scared by marinelife as well as adding more mileage to her already weak knees. More about her experiences on her Midnight Monkey Monitor blog.
Prof Teh Tiong Sa was also present for the May trip to lend his vast expertise to our understanding of Cyrene Reef.

This map will no doubt be invaluable to the Star Trackers, TeamSeagrass and others studying this amazing reef in the middle of our port.

Past outreach efforts for Cyrene Reef

2010-04-25T14:05:00.000+08:00

100 unique stars of Cyrene were put up for adoption!
During the International Year of the Reef Celebrations in 2008, the Star Trackers and the Naked Hermit Crabs organised the adoption of 100 Knobbly sea stars of Cyrene.

It was hard work explaining about the stars and Cyrene Reef: Here is Vyna sharing about all the 100 stars.Here is a pair of young adopters with their selected Star!
The Naked Hermit Crabs have adopted a Knobbly sea star without knobs on its arms and named it Nudistarre!
The Star Trackers also gave a talk about Cyrene Reef and the stars found there during Reef Celebrations in Aug 08 as part of International Year of the Reef.At the end of the day, November is pleased to share that 25 out of the 100 stars have been adopted! These stars are now listed on the Star Tracker blog.

Other outreach events for Cyrene Reef included

Apr 2008: Launch of the "I want to go Cyrene" Facebook group

May 2008: Launch of the "Let's Go to Cyrene Reef" blogging contest.

May 2008: Public talk on Cyrene Reef and our shores by Ria Tan hosted by NParks at the Botanic Gardens.

June 2008: The Naked Hermit Crabs featured Cyrene Reef during EnviroFest 2008
Envirofest was organised by Boon Wah who earlier visited Cyrene and did a lovely poster of the trip!Jul 08: Thanks to support by Bert Wee, a team from the URA planning department visited Cyrene Reef!
Volunteers from the Naked Hermit Crabs like YC helped to guide on Cyrene Reef.
And the team saw lots of interesting stuff!

July 2008: Exhibition on Cyrene Reef at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research.

July 2008: Ria Tan shared about Cyrene at Reel Revolution a youth film mentorship programme that pairs teams of youths with established filmmakers and challenges youths to produce video essays on social issues. Following this, some young filmmakers visited Cyrene.

In Aug 08: A team from the Straits Times visited Cyrene Reef to observe TeamSeagrass at work.

Oct 08: The Star Trackers were features in the City Footprints series on Channel U. Here's Sijie explaining the Star Tracker programme on our way to Cyrene Reef
Jan 2010: Feature on Cyrene Reef by Ria Tan in Nature Watch, magazine of the Nature Society (Singapore).

Cyrene in the news: "Singapore's neglected heritage" by Liana Tang, Jun 08

2010-04-15T22:36:00.005+08:00

Cyrene is in the news with a fabulous article by Liana Tang! Graced with a photo of Vyna by Marcus. Fantastic job by our volunteers, speaking up for Cyrene and our shores!

by Liana Tang, Straits Times 23 Jun 08

WHAT makes Singapore unique? Is it our quaint shophouses, old buildings from colonial times, antique monuments or lush rainforests?

Singapore's heritage is a hotchpotch of cultural relics and natural beauty, and efforts towards their preservation made by the authorities are laudable.

However, I must speak for our more elusive natural heritage sites that are being neglected.

Reefs, seen only underwater or at low tides, are a marine heritage unknown to many Singaporeans.
If you have ever marvelled at the panoramic spreads in National Geographic and curious animals detailed in Sir David Attenborough's travels, know that you can view the same for yourself without even leaving our shores.

One such place is Cyrene reef, a 10-minute boat ride from the mainland.

Full article on wildsingapore news.

This post first appeared on the wildfilms blog.

Cyrene: "Chek Jawa of the South"

2010-04-14T21:31:00.004+08:00

Lying so close to world-class industrial facilities, a first time visitor is often astounded by the marine life on Cyrene.

Some parts of the reef are thick with marine life.

Best seagrass meadows in the South?

Cyrene has lush and vast meadows with seven seagrass species in healthy condition. The only other shores in Singapore with as many species are Chek Jawa and Pulau Semakau.

A downloadable 300dpi poster of seagrasses on Cyrene.

Cyrene also has the special Syringodium isoetifolium, called Noodle seagrass because it resembles stiff green 'mee hoon'. The only other place where Noodle seagrass grows in abundance is at Pulau Semakau. Indeed, Cyrene probably has among the last few large seagrass meadows on our Southern shores. Certainly, the closest to the mainland.

The cylindrical Noodle seagrass is not commonly seen in Singapore.

Cyrene is one of the key monitoring sites of TeamSeagrass, volunteers who gather data on various seagrass meadows in Singapore.

Echinoderm Heaven!

Cyrene is especially rich in echinoderms: a group that includes sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sand dollars and feather stars.

Cushion stars are frequently encountered on Cyrene.

Astonishingly abundant are the large cartoon-like Knobbly sea stars (Protoreaster nodosus). Cyrene is probably the only reef in Singapore where juvenile Knobblies are commonly seen. In fact, Cyrene may be home to the only sustainable population of Knobblies!

A bunch of baby Knobblies in different colours and patterns!

Home of the Special Star!

A spectacular sea star find at Cyrene is the amazing Pentaceraster mammilatus, a new record for Singapore! It was previously known only from the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Recently, a juvenile Pentaceraster mammilatus was also spotted, suggesting that these special sea stars are breeding on Cyrene!

The intriguing Pentaceraster mammilatus.

Living reefs!

Cyrene also has lots of hard corals. One survey reported in 1991 found Cyrene Reefs to have "the highest diversity of hard corals, with 28 genera covering 48.06% of the transect". (from Hsu, L.H.L. and Chou, L.M. 1991. Assessment of reef resources at sites identified for artificial reef establishment in Singapore. abstract on the Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO website). Enormous leathery soft corals the size of a dining table, large boulders of hard corals and a wide variety of all kinds in between, are home to an array of fishes and other marine life.

Rich reefs of Cyrene

The sand is alive!

Cyrene's broad sandy shores are teeming. Besides the abundant common sea stars and sand dollars, other surprises include moon snails and other burrowing snails and sea cucumbers.

Wide sand bars thick with sea stars and sand dollars!

"Chek Jawa of the South"

Cyrene Reef also has some kinds of marine life that are common in Chek Jawa but less frequently encountered in the South, such as Haddon's carpet anemones (Stichodactyla haddoni), peacock anemones (Order Ceriantharia), Olive snails (Family Olividae), various sea hares. Unlike at Chek Jawa, the carpet anemones on Cyrene are often inhabited by anemone shrimps.


Nestled among the seagrasses, are Haddon's carpet anemones homes to tiny anemone shrimps!

We have also seen a variety of animals on Cyrene, that we seldom see in the South but often encounter on our Northern shores such as Chek Jawa and Changi.


The Thorny sea urchin is commonly seen on our Northern shores, but in the South, I've only seen it at Cyrene.

As at Changi, White sea urchins are sometimes seen in large numbers
on Cyrene, something I've not seen on other Southern shores.

The Red scaly sea star is commonly seen on the North,
but so far for the South, I've only seen it at Cyrene.

More marvels and mysteries!

Here are some recent interesting encounters on Cyrene, some of which have yet to be identified!

'Blondie' - the unidentified sea star on Cyrene.

The special Walker's cowrie,
found by Chay Hoon and identified by Chim Chee Kong.

The Remarkable sea cucumber,
first seen on Cyrene and identified by Robin Ngiam.
It was eventually also seen on Changi and Chek Jawa.

Variegated Sundial (Heliacus variegatus)
found and identified by Chim Chee Kong,
possibly a first record for Singapore.

Seen in Oct 08, a Fluted giant clam.

A sea cucumber that has yet to be identified!

A huge nudibranch, the Melibe is not often seen elsewhere,
but is sometimes abundant on Cyrene

A large burrowing Olive snail, yet to be identified.

T-shaped Hammer oysters are common in Cyrene's seagrass meadows,
first highlighted by Tan Sijie.

Cyrene is always a delight to visit as we almost always find something interesting or even entirely new to us!

A reef in the 'Industrial Triangle' and why we should preserve it

2010-04-14T20:07:00.008+08:00

What is Cyrene Reef?

What we refer to as Cyrene is actually properly called Terumbu Pandan, the largest of the three submerged reefs that are collectively called Cyrene Reefs. The other two are the much smaller: Pandan Beacon and South Cyrene.

From MPA's 'Charts for Small Crafts" 2003 edition

Where is Cyrene Reef?

Cyrene Reef lies smack in the middle of the 'Industrial Triangle' in the Southern tip of Singapore.

The huge orange Cyrene Beacon is the only thing that sticks out at high tide.

Cyrene is surrounded on three sides by Pasir Panjang Container Terminal, Jurong Island and Pulau Bukom.

From MPA's 'Charts for Small Crafts" 2003 edition

On one side of the Triangle is Pulau Bukom, the site of Singapore's first oil refinery, set up in 1961 by Shell. Today, the 500,000 barrels-per-day Bukom Refinery is the largest Shell refinery in the world, in terms of crude distillation capacity. 90% of Bukom's products are exported. Some activities that can potentially impact marine life include flaring. In 2005, a submerged reef (Terumbu Bayan) near Pulau Bukom was reclaimed for expansion of the petrochemical plant there.

Flaring at Pulau Bukom from the seagrass meadows of Cyrene.

Singapore used to be the world’s third-largest petrochemical refiner, although recently overtaken by huge refineries coming online in China and elsewhere.

On another side of the Triangle are the massive heavy industries on Jurong Island encompassing a wide variety of installations. Jurong Island was formed by reclamation of seven southern islands: Pulau Merlimau, Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Seraya, Pulau Sakra, Pulau Pesek and Pulau Pesek Kecil.

TeamSeagrass monitoring the meadows near Jurong Island.

Declared open in Oct 2000, there are now 95 petroleum, petrochemical and chemical companies located on the Jurong Island with more than S$31 billion in fixed assets. Within weeks of declaring the reclamation of Jurong Island completed in Sep 09, there are reports that further reclamation is being considered as land has run out on the Island.

Exploring the reefs of Cyrene with Jurong Island in the background .

And on the third side of the Triangle are the world-class container terminals at Pasir Panjang. Developed in 1974, the Pasir Panjang Container Terminal is the largest of Singapore's four terminals. Together, the terminals handle about one-fifth of the world's total container transhipment.

The marine life is too interesting! The huge container terminal is ignored.

Cyrene under siege?

Cyrene Reefs lie just across from the enormous $2 billion Pasir Panjang Container Terminal project. Massive construction include extensive reclamation to build 16 berths along a total quay length of 6km that will increase our port capacity by 50%. Work began in Oct 07 and is expected to be completed by 2013.

This photo is from the table top model at the URA Master Plan exhibition.

The work site is right next to Labrador, and is also near Sentosa's natural shores. This reclamation project is so large that it may even impact Cyrene Reefs.

The work site (in green) in relation to Cyrene (highlighted in yellow).

While $20 million has been spent engaging experts to conduct studies on how these works may affect corals around Labrador, there has been no publicity on whether the review includes impact on other natural shores nearby such as Cyrene Reefs and those on Sentosa.

The Pasir Panjang Port expansion project, and city skyline, from Cyrene.

Major shipping lanes criss cross around the Reef, with huge container ships and ocean-going vessels coming really close by.

Huge container ships the size of horizontal skyscrapers silently cruise by Cyrene.

Cyrene is at a key maritime crossroads where east-west traffic routes cross north-south traffic routes. About five hundred ships in excess of 5,000 DWT per day transit the waters around the Reefs.

Since 1986, Singapore has been the busiest port in the world in terms of shipping tonnage, with an annual average of 140,000 vessel calls. At any one time, there are about 1,000 vessels in Singapore port. Every minute, about 2 to 3 ships arrive or leave Singapore.

Singapore also has more than 80 ship building and ship repair companies, holding about 70% of the world's jack-up rig-building market and over 65% of the global floating production storage and offloading conversion market. Most are found along our Southern and South-western coastline.

Singapore is also a regional cruise centre with about about one million visitors passing through the international cruise terminal (located next to Vivio City opposite Sentosa) from more than 30 international cruise ships making about 400 port calls per year.

Huge cruise ships are often seen passing by Cyrene.

Singapore is also one of the top bunkering (ship refuelling) ports in the world. Annually, about 30 million tonnes of bunkers are lifted in Singapore. This is enough to fill 12 million Olympic-size pools.

A reef in the way?

Here are some records of collisions that are available from an online search.

December 1991: a fully loaded 2,680 dwt containership was stranded at the Cyrene Shoal. (from the Kasel Salvage website).
29 Jan 1998: the ferry 'Falcon 5' ran aground on Cyrene Reef in the afternoon as it left World Trade Centre for Kukup (West Malaysia) with 152 passengers and 8 crew (from the MPA website).
5 Dec 1998: the ferry 'Baruna Permai' ran aground at Cyrene Reef in the afternoon, enroute from Singapore to Tanjong Batu, Indonesia with 33 passengers and 7 crew. (from the MPA website).
9 Oct 2000, Cyrene Reef was affected by an oil spill when an oil tanker ran aground off Batu Berhanti Beacon (from the MPA website).

To prevent collisions, a ring of beacons has been set up around the Reefs. Since the last major collision by a ferry in Dec 08, no major incidents have been reported.

Lying so close to these massive world-class industrial facilities, a first-time visitor is often astounded by the marine life on Cyrene.

Why does it make sense to conserve Cyrene?

The presence of such rich biodiversity on Cyrene clearly shows that Singapore has done something right when developing the world class port and petrochemical facilities that surround the Reefs. It shows that Singapore CAN develop without wiping out every last vestige of natural habitat.

These credentials will stand us in good stead when Singapore participates in tenders to build or operate similar facilities elsewhere. In other countries, reefs generate significant income in tourism, fishing or cultural heritage. A recent study showed that in East Asia, annually, coral reefs are estimated to be worth US$112.5 billion. Recent articles show that reefs, seagrass meadows and other coastal habitats have a vital role in carbon capture and climate change mitigation.

As Singapore starts to 'export' our development approaches, being able to prove that our methods are sustainable will put us ahead of the pack in international tenders. Indeed, the PSA Corporation already has many international operations. Currently, PSA International has investments in 28 port projects in 16 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Being among the large and possibly best submerged reefs in Singapore, Cyrene can also contribute to the Singapore City Biodiversity Index. The index was first raised by Minister of National Development Mah Bow Tan at the 9th international Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Minister Mah said “Currently, there are no well-established indices to measure biodiversity in cities. Such a City Biodiversity Index can assist cities in the benchmarking of our biodiversity conservation efforts over time. It can help us to evaluate our progress in reducing the rate of biodiversity loss.”

Minister Mah noted that Singapore has managed to not only set aside 10% of land for parks and nature reserves — it has even increased the green cover to 50%. This is a 10% increase over the past 20 years, despite a 70% growth in population, he said.

Perhaps it is time to extend the City Biodiversity Index to the marine realm? We still have stunning marine biodiversity, despite the extensive development of our coasts and offshore islands. Cyrene is one testament to this.