ABOUT THIS BLOG

HELLO FRIENDS!

The beautiful Pulau Hantu at sunset

Welcome to our blog! We are a group IP Year 4 students of Temasek Junior College, and we were privileged to go on an exciting Biology field trip to Pulau Hantu. In this blog, we will be exploring more about the organisms living in the inter tidal zones of Pulau Hantu, and their amazing adaptability, in this blog! The organisms are organised from top to bottom, where the organisms at the top are found above sea level, and the ones at the bottom are below sea level!
ENJOY!

Love,
Natalie Lee Yixin
Gan Xincheng
Kenneth Eer
Tan Qing
4A/13 Term 1 Group 4

The Sea Almond

The Sea Almond Tree

Common Name: Sea Almond

Scientific Name: Terminalia catappa 

Family: Plantae

Found on coastal regions, the sea almond has the ability to cope with sandy, well draining soil, and salt spray.

Its fruits have a smooth outer skin that covers an inner layer of corky fibers, allowing it to be easily dispersed by water.

The sea almond’s extensive and deep-rooting structure allows it to a dune retention species against proposed climate change and sea-level rise.

The Sea almond tree has a distinct pagoda shape, formed by its tiered branching, to allow sunlight to reach deep into the leaves near the stem.

The Fruit of the Sea Almond tree that is light and easily dispersed by water

The Bracket Fungi

The Bracket Fungi, growing on a host tree!

Common Name: Bracket Fungi 

Scientific Name: Ganoderma Applanatum 

Family: Fungi

The Bracket Fungi, are hard and leathery brown fruiting bodies which grow out from tree trunks. Its lower surface has pores through which spores are produced and dispersed by wind.

As the bracket fungi cannot photosynthesize, they have hyphae which helps the fungi to acquire nutrients by increasing surface area. When feeding off trees, these hyphae grow to increase surface area. By doing this, more plant material would be broken down by digesting.

The Ganoderma applanatum grows from a host as it does not have a stalk. These mangrove fungi are also adapted to the high salinity.

The Mangrove Apple

The Mangrove Apple Tree

Common Name:The Perepat / Mangrove apple

Scientific Name: Sonneratia alba

Kingdom: Plantae

Perepat have to adapt their leaves and roots in order to survive the harsh environment of low oxygen soils and varying salinity.
They have leaves with glands that excrete salt. They can tolerate the large amounts of salt in their leaves, and discard them when the salt load is too high. Mangroves can also restrict the opening of their stomata to conserve fresh water. Mangrove trees can reduce the surface area of the leaves that is exposed to the sun to reduce water loss through evaporation. This tree also has far-reaching exposed breathing roots to support them in soft soils.

Look at all those far-reaching breathing roots!

The Sea Star

Top: The Front side of the sea star

Bottom: The back of the sea star
Just look at all the tube feet the sea star has!

Common Name: Star fish/ Sea Star
Scientific Name: Asteriodea
Kingdom: Animalia 

The starfish lives on the seafloor and have bony, calcified skin, which protects them from predators. The five-armed starfish is dull coloured, enabling it to camouflage well into the seafloor. The sea stars are able to regenerate their limbs, and can even grow an entirely new sea star from just a portion of a severed limb! Therefore, they are able to survive, even after being attacked by predators! The sea star also has suction-cupped tube feet, which allows them to move and pry open their preys.

The Hairy Ghost Crab

The Hairy Ghost Crab really camouflages well with the murky water!

Common Name: Hairy Ghost Crab

Scientific Name: Ocypode quadrata

Kingdom: Animalia

The hairy ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata, is a species of ghost crab, once described as an "occult, secretive alien from the ancient depths of the sea”. Their pale coloration causing it to be distinguished from the sand or rocks. As they are nocturnal, they can avoid their predators like eagles and kites, the crabs adapt to the environment by adjusting the common habits and behaviours. The sand and rock colour of the crabs appearance reveals how the crabs adapt to the sinister living environment where birds are preying through developing a colour that is not easily distinguishable.