Phyllidia ocellata, a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Phyllidiidae.
When the tropical storm blew across the island on Saturday night, divers laid in their beds, quietly contemplating the conditions that we’d face out at sea on Sunday morning. The rain had stopped by the morning, and the sun had returned with a mean vengeance, and as we moved out from the docks the water appeared to be in not-to-bad conditions. In fact, I thought it looked good. As it turns out, looks can be rather deceiving. Read the rest of this entry »
While many people on holiday during this season slept in on this stormy and miserably wet morning, a group of biologists and volunteers like myself, trudged down to Pulau Hantu for a little exploration. The order of the day was to do a survey of gobies and sand-divers, and retrieve some data loggers and coral samples. Sounds easy. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve got the 4C’s! Hantu Blog diver, Jimmy Goh, who’s used to taking great photographs for us of the reef and it’s inhabitants, puts together a video of the highlights from this weekend’s dive during the cold and overcast monsoon weather.
See more amazing photos and videos of Singapore’s sea life first on our Facebook Page!
I last visited Hantu on 26November. Visibility then was pretty bad, around 1 metre; I could barely see the tip of my fins. Currents were pretty strong as well, Sargassum seemed in full bloom. This weekend however, visibility was good, around 3-plus meters, and currents were manageable. I tried looking for seahorses but couldn’t find any, but I saw quite a handful of nudibranch and flatworms, 2 large urchins, at least 2 red swimmer crabs, loads of sand divers, a few butterfly fish and silver moonies. Spent the last part of my dive trying to chase down a good shot of a filefish but failed miserably. Read the rest of this entry »
Marine biologist Siti M. Yaacub will be giving a talk about sea grasses at the National Geographic Store at VivoCity next Saturday, 10 December, at 2.30PM.
Seagrass meadows are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth but ask around and chances are, no one knows what they are! Are they algae? Are they seaweed? Can it be eaten? Is it true you can find mermaids frolicking in seagrass meadows? Dive in and learn more about these underwater forests, what makes them tick and why their disappearance is a big problem for us. Join us and we guarantee that you’ll wanna hug a seagrass today! Read the rest of this entry »
Ria Tan gave a wonderful and inspiring talk today at the National Geographic Store at Vivocity. Together with the crowd that included grandparents and children, Ria took us to explore some remote, and not-so-remote coastlines in Singapore, all in air-conditioned comfort! The crowd 00hed and ahhed as Ria went though a small collection of photographs she’s amassed over the past 10 years (did you know that Ria has a collection of over 2000 photographs on her website?!) Read the rest of this entry »
On Saturday, it was my turn to give a talk at the National Geographic Store at Vivocity. I’m really happy that the store decided to create this marine month for a few of us to share with others our experience of exploring our seas and coastline. Walking around the store, we see a lot of images of forests and land creatures, but the earth is 75% water! That means we still have a lot of exploring to do! Being an island, Singapore is the perfect place for any one to get started. Read the rest of this entry »
On Friday, I was among several nature volunteers that were invited to welcome President Tony Tan to our shores at Chek Jawa. The President, together with the first lady and their grandson, were greeted with beautiful weather out at the mudflats where young volunteers gave an introduction to the local odd and curious marine fauna. Read the rest of this entry »
Regular diver and nudibranch hunter, Toh Chay Hoon, joined the Hantu Blog over the weekend and spotted a heap of nudibranches, including two palm-sized Dendrodoris nudibranch, which she excitedly surfaced from the dive to talk about!
As a part of the National Geographic Store‘s Marine Month, Hantu Blogger Debby Ng will be speaking instead of blowing through her regulator, all in an effort to share her experience of diving and exploring Singapore’s reefs for the past nine years! There’s no better way to spend the weekend! (Apart from an actual dive at Pulau Hantu)
There will also be a colouring session for kids after the talk that gives kids a fun and easy way to learn about some of Singapore’s curious and colourful marine creatures.
See you at the National Geographic Store: 1 Harbourfront Walk, #01-19, Vivocity, at 2.30PM.
January 16, 2012 
Posted in Biology, Blog Log 
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On Friday, I was among several nature volunteers that were invited to welcome President Tony Tan to our shores at Chek Jawa. The President, together with the first lady and their grandson, were greeted with beautiful weather out at the mudflats where young volunteers gave an introduction to the local odd and curious marine fauna. 
