Wonders of Nature

Last Call for Crazy Captions!

2007-03-16T12:35:00.000+08:00

A big HEY to all out there!

Please note that the Crazy Caption Competition will end soon! Closing date: 18/3/07 at 12:00pm! All entries are to be tagged onto our tag-board before the closing date and time!

Refer to the countdown timer at the side of our blog!

All late entries will be disqualified!

So far there is no body tagging yet, so we need not buy any prizes! Whew!

Answer Scheme

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The followings are the answer scheme for the worksheet. Please note that the answers are (bracketed) and bold! These are only the suggested answers, other answers may be accepted. Please refer to the textbook for the other acceptable answers or tagged on our tag-board for any enquiries.

Remember.......
By tagging onto our tag-board does not gurantee a reply! If you need a urgent reply, PLEASE, PREY HARD HARD!

Q1a.

(i) What is the percentage of Singapore’s land that is covered by mangroves in the past? (Ans: 13%)

(ii) What is the percentage of Singapore’s land that is covered by mangroves now? (Ans: 2.4%)

b. Suggest a reason for the change in percentage. (Ans: Land reclamation)

c. Give some examples what mangroves provide us with.
(Ans: Food, Medicine, Building materials) *Also accept answers from textbook

d. What is the importance of Mangrove Forests? (Ans: Prevent soil erosion. Pollution control system. Provide us with food. Provide organisms with shelter. Protect coastline from waves. Act as wind breakers.)

Q2. Adaptations of Mangrove forests

The three types of roots are aerial roots which are found in the ____________ (Ans: coastal) zone, _________ (Ans: kneed) roots which are found in the inland zone and the ____________ (Ans: prop) roots which are found in the _________ (Ans: middle) zone. The fruits found there are and can be carried away by the currents and waves and will eventually anchor themselves to the ground with their ___________ (Ans: sharp) tips. ___________ (Ans: Flowers) are ____________ (Ans: brightly) coloured to attract insects to pollinate them.

Q3. Why are aerial roots also known as breathing roots?
(Ans: Mangroves have waterlogged condition, the soil is lack of oxygen. Aerial roots which are exposed during low tide will take in oxygen, thus it is also known as breathing roots.)

Q4. How are the roots beneficial to the mangroves forests?
(Ans: Provide firm support for the trees. Take in oxygen.)

Error In The Worksheet

2007-03-16T12:20:00.000+08:00

Apology to all! Please refer to Question 4. Please note that there is an error in the mark allocation. Please change the mark allocated from a '3' to a '2'. You are expected to give only 2 points.

Thank-You for your cooperation! for any enquiries,

...........

Tagged on our tag-board, prey hard hard that someone comes to solve for you!

Where Mangroves are Found???

2007-03-01T16:35:00.000+08:00

"If there are no mangrove forests, then the sea will have no meaning. It is like having a tree with no roots, for the mangroves are the roots of the sea."

Mangrove swamps are found along tropical seacoasts on both sides of the equator. They are named for the Mangrove trees that grow there. Mangrove swamps, to most people, look like muddy, swampy places filled with mosquitoes, snakes and spiders. Actually, they are a forest community that bridges the gap between land and sea. Mangroves are found along muddy estuaries of large rivers, and in sheltered internal coastal settings that include lagoons, bays, tidal creeks and inlets.

Functions of Mangroves

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Mangrove swamps protect the land from soil erosion and the effects of storms. They also act as a form of pollution control, naturally filtering out industrial and human waste. Mangrove swamps, like other wetlands, are important components of the water cycle, absorbing excess water flow during times of flooding.

Mangrove swamps serve important functions:
they provide food, nesting and nursery areas for many animals which include at least 220 fish species, 24 reptile and amphibian species, 18 mammal species and 181 bird species. The dead leaves and twigs in the water grow microorganisms that provide food for young marine animals.
they protect the coastline by acting as wave breaks. They stabilise coastlines, promote coastal accretion and serve as natural barriers against torrential storms. In this way, they preserve the coastline and prevent shoreline erosion.
they trap debris, sediments, excess nutrients and toxicants through their natural filtering processes. This improves the water quality of tidal rivers that drain through mangroves.
they act as wind breaks which reduce the force of winds that may destroy and damage property.

Benefits of Mangroves

2007-02-27T17:19:00.000+08:00

Mangrove Swamps offer mankind many benefits, including, but not limited to:

Mangroves are extremely important for supporting the fisheries industry which generates a high amount of revenue.

Mangroves are a rich source of timber which can be harvested on a sustainable basis.

Other mangrove products are also used, including the harvesting of mangrove plants for a wide range of medicinal uses.

Some mangrove animals, like the proboscis monkeys of Borneo with their unusual noses, are tourist attractions and thus generate income.

Harms Done to Mangroves

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Mangrove forests are lost when they are torn up, filled in and dug under for other purposes such as agriculture, aquaculture and other development activities.
People often wrongly perceive Mangroves as unsightly and want them removed so as to enhance the environment. Mangroves then often become garbage dumps.
Pollution adversely affects Mangrove Swamps. Pollution degrades the quality of the plant life and the water in the swamp, which in turn adversely affects the insects and animals that also live there. The roots of the mangroves can become easily clogged with man-made sediments and petroleum as well as from other pollution.
Mangrove Swamps often are mistakenly thought to be breeding grounds for mosquitoes and either flooded with insecticides or filled in with dirt hoping to prevent a mosquito infestation..
Pruned mangroves grow fewer prop roots and fruit and this in turn provides a lower quality habitat. Pruning also diminishes shoreline protection and reduces the number of bird species using this habitat.
Mangroves are vulnerable to oil spills because oil floats into these swamps and strands among the roots and sediments, killing and damaging trees and fauna, and persisting in sediments afterwards.

oil stains on Rizophora apiculata

What You Can Do To Help

2007-02-25T20:45:00.000+08:00

Every time another house is built; a bigger shopping mall goes up; or another parking lot is paved, wildlife habitat is lost! You can voice your disapproval in a number of ways, one of which is: vote out of office those politicians who do not support the environment or wildlife.
Learn all you can about the importance of Mangrove Swamps. Teach others what you have learned. Be sure to impress others how important Mangrove Swamps are to biodiversity on Earth! Help others see the real beauty of this unique habitat area.
Buying organically grown vegetables, flour or meat reduces the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, which, in turn lessens the pollution killing the Mangrove Swamps.
Use environmentally-friendly cleaning products to avoid polluting water.
Dispose of oils, chemicals and old batteries at your local collection site. This will ensure that they are disposed of properly and will not end up in a Mangrove Swamp, if you live near one, or in your local river or stream that eventually will pass through a wetland area on its way to the sea.
Use less water.
Turn the water off while brushing your teeth.
Repair Leaks.
Using less petroleum products will mean less oil transportation thus resulting in less oil spills. Drive less in order to lessen your gasoline consumption. Carpool whenever possible. Better yet, bicycle or walk to work! It's healthier.

Root System of Mangroves

2007-02-25T16:54:00.000+08:00

Now let us further understand the roots of the mangroves...

The Root System

Mangrove trees stand in mud on roots that look like stilts above water that contains a high degree of salt. This tangle of roots can be divided into three types:

the radiating cable roots with their tangle of anchor roots provide support against the ocean's strong waves and tides

little nutritive roots grow up out from the main cable root and feed on the rich soil just below the mud's surface

the third type of root collects oxygen for the plant
provide a hiding place for many small marine creatures

Mangrove root systems provide a filtering system for run-off from the guts of our islands, allowing the sediments to be removed before entering open water. This sediment would otherwise cover and kill coral reef colonies. The mangrove swamp is regularly inundated with salty seawater, but the trees are never fully submerged. With each high tide, the soil surface is covered and the soil often becomes waterlogged. The soil may also be shifted by the waves.

Mangroves at high tide

Mangroves in Singapore.

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Singapore, located 137km north of the Equator has an average daily temperature of 26.7ºC, annual rainfall of 2353mm. In the 1800s, 13% of Singapore's land was covered by the mangroves, however, today, only 2.4% of the land are mangroves found. Due to land reclamation , the percentage of mangroves found in Singapore had decreased.

Currently, most mangroves are found at the northern area. These mangroves are the last few left. The mangrove is a productive ecosystem and we rely on it heavily. Mangroves seeds found in Ice provide us with food, e.g. the attap chee in ice-Kacang, Seafood. Mangroves do provide us with building materials such as wood use to build kelongs.

Mangroves are lost through land reclamation, IT's a must to protect the remaining and NOT let it LOST FOREVER!

Learning Points during Sungei Buloh Trip

2007-02-23T20:49:00.000+08:00

Thank you for visiting the blog! In the previous posts, you had learnt many facts of the mangroves. Congratulations in completing these posts. To reward you, we will be bringing you to Sungei Buloh, the only Mangrove Reserve and the largest mangrove area in Singapore! :)
Sit Back, Hang On Tight, We'll be travelling to Sungei Buloh in another few scrolls down!

Sungei Buloh, here we COME!!!!
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WELCOME to Sungei Buloh! Please flash your admission ticket!

Sungei Buloh is one of the last few mangroves in Singapore. Even though Sungei Buloh is known as Wetland Reserve, human activities had made its way and affected the original mangrove. The area used to be prawn farms parts of the mangrove were cleared to build ponds. Later, the government resettled the farmers and Sungei Buloh was declared a Nature Reserve.

Refer to map:

Today, we'll take a walk at the Mangroves Broadwalk, getting to see all the plants from the inner land to the outer areas. Spot creatures living in the mangrove, be it the mudskipper, the migratory birds or even the hard to find kingfisher.

Trees found in mangrove have to be salt tolerant as they will be submerged in sea water at least twice per day. They have to cope with both salt and fresh water. These plants are called halophytes.

The plants have special adaptations to absorb water. All plants will absorb saltwater, however, some will store the salt while others excrete salt.

By storing salt, the salt concentration in the plant is higher than that of the water. Osmosis will then be made easier. This means that water molecules will then move into the plants quickly so that the amount of salt in the plant and water can be balanced.

When there is too much of salt, some plants do excrete the salt through the leaves while other plants will shed their leaves.

The soil in the mangroves consist of silt and clay. It is soft and the oxygen level in the mud is low, thus the roots of plants growing in the mangrove habitat have special adaptations to breathe and to support itself firmly to the ground. The roots can be classified into:

AERIAL ROOTS
A few hours of breathing each day is sufficient for the plants to grow.

PROP ROOTS

KNEED ROOTS

Not all species of plants can be found in the entire area. Some prefer more freshwater to salt water, others prefer more salt water to freshwater. Even though these plants grow in salt water, they are also able to grow well without any salt water. Take the Sea Hibiscus for example. The Sea Hibiscus prefers more freshwater to salt water. It can only be found in the inland zone where little or no sea water is able to reach.

The fruits of most mangrove tress are buoyant. They will be able to float and be carried away when it's time for dispersal. That is why, the same type of mangrove species in Singapore, can be found in other places in the world as long as the conditions are suitable for the fruit to germinate. However, some of the fruits have sharp tips which will help it to anchor itself firmly into the soil to allow germination to begin. However, fruits with sharp tips may have a disadvantage. When being dispersed, the fruit may anchor itself near the mother plant and thus the 2 plants will then compete with each other.

Flowers of mangrove trees are brightly coloured. The bright colours are to attract insects to pollinate its flowers.

Crazy Captions!

2007-02-21T17:55:00.000+08:00

Crazy time, enjoy some photos and captions! Relax, let nature help you to recharge!

the water is coool

we love the water!

beware of crocodiles! we bites

am i beautiful?

look at the map and dont get lost! hahas.

we breathe through areial roots.

look how well i pose in front of the camera (:

i can do better!

Hate the captions put up???

Let your creative juices flow!!!! Chip-in to improve the captions for the blog!

Posts your captions on to the tag-board under the "Talk" Section.

We promise to publish all really zany and attracting captions!

LET NATURE AND WORDS RECHARGE Y oU!:)

Movie Clip (Trip to Sungei Buloh)

2007-02-20T17:17:00.000+08:00