Ecological observations in Singapore

Currently, there are five Bodhi Trees (Ficus Religiosa) in Singapore registered under the list of Singapore’s heritage tree register. However, one that is especially worth mentioning is the latest addition to the list, and that would be the Bodhi tree located within the premise of a temple located off Bartley road. The tree is over [...]

As i walked along the intertidal zones of Pulau Semakua, many forms of  ecological relationships can be identified on the shore and these interactions  includes competition, exploitative interaction, commensalism, herbivory and symbiosis. However , out of all the organism i saw during that trip, a weirdly oriented organism that seemed like a flower anemone caught [...]

Ever thought of something growing right beside your steps? This is noticed when I hopped down the slope at King Edward VII Hall in NUS. It is a mushroom. It seems that it is most probably under the Order Agaricales, Family Psathyrellaceae. During observation, the bunch of mushroom was among piles of dead leaves. After [...]

Sea slugs which belong to Phylum Mollusca and Class Gastropoda appears like snails but without shells. You will be almost certain to see a sea slug on a visit to any of Singapore’s shores. These sea slugs are interesting invertebrates as some being highly toxic whereas others used for behavioral and neurological research medically important [...]

Having ticks was one major problem when I kept dogs as pets. Especially during humid and wet periods, they would always appear in numbers after I took my dogs for walks. They would leave bite sites and rashes on my dogs, which made me very worried for the dogs. Though small, these parasites are smart! [...]

I came across this picture where it shows a picture of a Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), feeding a Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) .   ( from Z.Faisal, Flickr)  I find it interesting that the myna mum is rearing a child that is not of its own species. This behavior is usually noted in bird-brood parasitism. [...]

I started my freshwater aquarium in January. Desiring it to be self-cleaning, I added dwarf suckers (a.k.a. otos) and snails, along with other species that lived in peace for weeks. Unfortunately, due to a Chinese New Year holiday, custody of my tank went to my room-mate. An economist desiring to decrease opportunity cost, he threw [...]

An observation that enabled me in understanding plants behaviour that is happening around NUS. This is about Sea Almond Tree (Terminalia catappa) in NUS.

Have you ever walked around Singapore and observe the many unusual growths on large trees? Bird nest ferns, dragon scales and many other epiphytes can be found on many roadside trees. Amidst all the creeper plants overtaking its host tree, it is likely that you would have observed this particular tree and thought that it [...]

Pollination, which is a term for sexual reproduction process in plants, is a common and ubiquitous form of mutualism between flowers and their pollinators. According to Poole (2004), the use of a pollinator can be much more exact if the plant species can attract a pollinator, attach its pollen to it, and then get the [...]

Often, concepts and lessons taught in class are thought to be something observed in the laboratory or in some jungle where students will never go. Yet a trip to one’s own backyard or park proves otherwise. While taking a walk in a park (literally), a trail of Weaver Ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) on a tree trunk [...]

While reef walking along the shores of St John’s Island, a step on a soft “rock” turned out to be a near scare for an envenomation event. Further investigation of the “rock” while extricating it from my bootie led to the discovery of the estuarine stonefish, S. horrida, infamously known as the most venomous fish [...]