Been to Cyrene: "Yoga sea stars!"

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!

Vote for Cyrene!

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!

Been to Cyrene: "Magic in my own backyard"

"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!

Cyrene Reef at Orchard Road!

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.

Been to Cyrene: Sea Star Paradise!

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.

Been to Cyrene: "like Jack Sully in Avatar"

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.

Been to Cyrene: "Where?!"

"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!"

Tricky Cyrene Trips

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.

Star Trackers on Cyrene Reef

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.