Singapore Field Trip (May 30 - June 3, 2016) Group 6 Nature Trails Chow Lai Him (Mark)* Lam Lit Man (Alex) Tsang Hin Tung (Alex) Li Choi Chi (Amber) Tsang Chui Shan (Jade) Nature Trails (June 2, 2016) Imbiah Nature Trail MacRitchie Nature Trail Telok Blangah Hill (Night walk) 13 Imbiah Nature Trail ● located in Sentosa Island ● 1.85km long ● Opened to public since 1970s ● For education & research ● Rare tree species & endangered species of Nepenthes ● Secondary forest 13 History of Sentosa Before 1819: mostly uninhabited 1819: British opened the free port (Sentosa was known as Pulau Blakang Mati) 1846: land cleared for pineapple cultivation 1878: British forts and millitary installations constructed 1942-1945: Japan invaded Singapore during WWII 1945: Temporary naval shore station 1967: After independence, became Singapore Armed Forces’ School of Field Engineers 1968: Demobilised as a military base 1972: Renamed as Sentosa (Malay term: peace and tranquility), for tourism and recreation 13 13 Adenanthera pavonina ● Fast-growing legume tree ● Up to 25m tall ● Creamy-yellow star-shaped flowers ● Dark brown pods ● Toxic raw seeds ● Unit of measure: 4 seeds = 1 gram Photo by Edwin Kwok Heritage Tree in Botanic Garden 13 Alocasia odora (Elephant Ear) ● Family: Araceae ● Evergreen herb ● Used as food and ornamental ● Contains calcium oxalate crystals(toxic) ● Medical use of rhizomes: treatment of stomachache, abdominal pain, cholera 13 Kopsia singapurensis ● Family: Apocynaceae ○ connated petals in salverform ○ opposite leaves ● Small evergreen tree (5-6m tall) ● Native to Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia ● Traditional medicine ● Vulnerable ○ Stress: Housing & urban area development, logging & wood harvesting ○ Reduction of habitat 13 Ixonanthes reticulata ● Common name: Ten men tree ● Evergreen tree, up to 40m tall ● Narrow buttresses ● Hard & heavy wood ● Native, common, cultivated 13 Pavo cristatus (Indian peafowl) Introduced species Female Male 13 Insects Dragonfly Cicada (Cicada Slough) Ants 13 Fungi 13 Educational Facilities Before entering Imbiah trail, we saw... ● Sentosa Nature Discovery ● Provide the history, rocks, habitats and species information ● Display boards ● Target: public ● Encourage visitors to observe during exploration 15 Education ● Information boards 15 Education ● Information boards 15 Education ● Information boards (Be an animal detective) 15 Education ● Information boards (Be an animal detective) 15 Education ● Information boards (Be an animal detective) 15 Education ● Applications (Apps) 15 Education ● Information boards 15 Teach you how to conserve the rainforests Guide you to look at Imbiah trees (common or rare) Introduce special tree species 15 Teach you how to recognise the trees by leaf size & colour, trucks and roots Introduce ferns, fungi, lichens and mosses Remind you to investigate leaf litters, seeds, insects, birds and other animals in forest 15 Display the model of bird nest Display the model of seeds to attract visitors Maps: Provide visitors's locations and prevent them get lost 13 Locational advantages of Imbiah Trail ● Located in Sentosa Island ● Near to tourist sites e.g. Universal Studios Singapore, Siloso Beach ● Good transport (Cable cars, MRT, public buses,Sentosa Express, taxi) ● Attract visitors to explore nature ● Ecotourism ● Nature conservation and economic development in one island MacRitchie Nature Trail 13 Google Maps (2016). [MacRitchie Nature Trail, Singapore] [Street map]. Retreieved from https: //www.google.com. hk/maps/place/MacRitchie+Nature+ Trail/@1.3526386,103.7593086,12 z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1! 1sMacRitchie+Nature+Trail!3m4! 1s0x0000000000000000: 0x8bdba8588cbee21b!8m2!3d1. 345739!4d103.8365614 13 MacRitchie ● Singapore’s largest and oldest reservoir (Constructed in 1867) ● Parks and nature reserves ● Treetop Walks: 250m long ● Nature Trail: 11km long ● Outdoor activities: Water sports, fishing, hiking, bird watching, exercise 13 Layered structure of the tropical rainforest ● Unclear emergent layer ● Undergrowth and ground layer compared with primary forest ● Mosses and fungi ● Not much sunlight 13 Special features of plants ● Large buttress roots ● Can stand as high as 15 feet ● Support tall trees ● Get more nutrients ● Adaptation to rainforest 13 Special features of plants ● Swollen maroon stipules ● Found in Common Mahang ● Produce food which is rich in lipids and proteins ● Feed ants(Crematogaster) ● Ants protect the plant from other herbivores and fungal pathogens ● Mutualism 13 Lianas ● Woody climber ● Start at forest floor ● Climb along other plants ● Reach sunlight-rich environment ● Not harmful to the trees 13 Galeopterus variegatus (Sunda flying lemur) ● Family: Cynocephalidae ● Forest-dependent species ● Habitat: evergreen forests ● Feed on fruits ● Sleep on trees during the day ● Population decline ● Protected by national legislation 13 Gallus gallus (Red junglefowl) ● Family: Phasianidae ● Original wild chicken ● Hybridization and domestication by human (thousands of years) ● Native to SE Asia ● Endangered in Singapore 13 Eutropis multifasciata (Common Sun Skink) ● Family : Scincidae ● Smooth, scaled skins ● 36cm long ● Feed on insects ● Habitat: Primary/Secondary forests ● Widespread and common 13 Macaca fascicularis (Long-tailed macaque) ● Family : Cercopithecidae ● Feed on leaves, fruits, small size of mammals and birds ● Can live for 31 years ● Habitats: primary + secondary forests, mangroves, agricutural lands ● Widespread and abundant 13 Insects Ypthima baldus newboldi Pseudagrion microcephalum Dragonfly Cricket (Common Fivering) (Blue riverdamsel) 13 Management and Facilities ● Visitors have specific routes e.g.Trails and Treetop walk to walk ● Oberve the forest in different ways ● Minimise soil and water erosion ● Minimise disturbance to wildlife Treetop Walk 13 Fishing is not allowed in this area(nature reserve)! Introduce Tembusu to you! Map and Trail Manners to visitors 13 Beware of MONKEYS! Keep your food in bags! No pets, No smoking, No bicycles please! Don’t get lost and see how long did you walk already? 14 Telok Blangah Hill Explore the sound and soul of the forest in the dark 14 Diversity Ahaetulla Felis catus ● mildly venomous with rear fangs Toad ● slender body, triangular head, keyhole shaped pupils ● diurnal ● diet: lizards, frogs & rodents 14 Hammerhead worms ● genus Bipalium ● nocturnal ● shape of head resembles to a hammer ● tetrodotoxin was recorded in some species ● hermaphroditic ● predatory: ○ diet: earthworms, mollusks ○ tracking→uses muscles & secretions to adhere itself to the prey→ turn pharynx inside out & secrete enzymes for digestion→ suck the liquefied tissues 14 queen male Insects Parade- Ants worker work from S.E. Thorpe ● genus Solenopsis (fire ants) ● brown head, brown body & darker abdomen ● consume dead animals & sweet food ● Nest= mound of 40 cm high ● react aggressively towards stimulant→ exact a painful sting→blister after 48 hours ● major pest in agriculture & city 14 Insects Parade- Wasps ● bees, ants & wasps are paraphyletic ● eusocial ● harmful stings & warning coloration (black & yellow) ○ Batesian mimicry ○ Müllerian mimicry ● build nests beneath leaves/ branches ● only nest maintenance & brood care continues during the night 14 Indulge in the beauty of the secondary forests at the fringes of Telok Blangah Hill Park by trekking the Forest Walk - National Parks Board Special Design of Facilities& What’s More Behind ● Elevated walkway of Forest Walk ○ same eye level with the canopy layer ○ with interspace: for light & water droplets penetration ○ minimum artificial light: dim, does not point outwards ● Social conception of nature ○ for health, recreation, economic resources, asthetics, scientific research ○ consumerable form, objectification ○ replacement of primitive nature to artificial (commercial?) nature ✔ improve quality of life ❌ not “real” conservation 11 Secondary forest primary forest agricultural Deforestation land secondary Abandoned forest 11 Secondary forest ● lower biodiversity ○ slow recovery rate ○ challenges in re-colonization: fragmented landscape, lack of seed dispersers ○ depletion of soil nutrients & soil erosion ➔ domination of some plant species 11 Secondary forest Long-lived pioneer: Dense thickets formers: Tiup-tiup tree, Resam fern, Simpoh Ayer, Adinandra dumosa Dicranopteris linearis & Dillenia suffruticosa Wang LK (n.d.). Adinandra dumosa. Retrieved from http://lkcnhm. Wang LK (n.d.). Dicranopteris linearis. Retrieved from http: nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/details/365 //lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/details/417 Wang LK (n.d.). Dillenia suffruticosa. Retrieved from http://lkcnhm. nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/details/362 11 Telok Blangah Hill ● 60 hectares urban forest (red) ● surrounded by traffics, residences and industrial buildings Google Maps (2016). [Telok Blangah Hill, Singapore] [Satellite map]. Retreieved from https://www.google.com. hk/maps/place/Telok+Blangah+Hill+Park/@1. 2785178,103.8106982,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4! 1s0x31da1bdaf58d556b:0x35699ad324d5c58!8m2!3d1. 2785124!4d103.8128869 11 Land-Sharing/Sparing ● integration/segregation of production system and nature King A and Cole B (2006). Singapore Satellite Image. Retreieved from http: King A and Cole B (2006). Hong Kong //geology.com/world/singapore-satellite- Satellite Image. Retreieved from image.shtml http://geology.com/world/hong-kong- satellite-image.shtml Google Maps (2016). [Hong Kong] [Hybrid map]. Google Maps (2016). [Singapore] [Hybrid map]. Retreieved from https://www.google.com. Retreieved from https://www.google.com.