31 March 2010

Dazzling Dragonflies of Singapore!

Rapacious predators on gossamer wings, these jeweled aerial acrobats play a key role in the habitat and are a delight to observe.
Crimson dropwing by Tang Hung Kei

A study of Singapore's dragonflies and damselflies reveals that we have now more than 120 species (124 to be precise)! This is as large as the number in the whole of Europe.

What's special about Singapore's dragonflies?

26 March 2010

'Bad' biodiversity: Invasive alien species

Not all biodiversity is good for the ecosystem. One example are the freshwater stingrays found in Singapore's reservoir.
Growing to the size of 'dinner plates', barbed Motoro stingrays (Potamotrygon motoro) are breeding in Upper Seletar Reservoir, Grace Chua reports in the Straits Times today quoting a paper by authors from the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research.

Why are these exotic animals dangerous?

25 March 2010

Be a part of Singapore's new natural history museum!

You CAN contribute to building Singapore's new natural history museum! A website has been launched to accept donations from the public. Your gift will help to create a museum that we all can be proud of! Currently, the public can only get a glimpse of less than 1% of the total collection of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, at its tiny but well-loved public gallery. So it was great news to hear that we will soon get a new natural history museum. With massive space to showcase our wonderful biodiversity! $24million is needed by June to make this a reality!

Tell me more about the new museum!

22 March 2010

Faunaweb - a sneak peek at NPark's new site!

Although it doesn't appear (yet) on the NParks homepage, we can already have a look at the brand new FaunaWeb site!
How wonderful to see this resource highlighting the astonishing diversity of animals in Singapore!

17 March 2010

Biodiversity matters: thank the 'weeds' for our clean water

It's easy to love cute furry creatures, or even ugly icky ones if they are rare. But biodiversity is more than just attractive animals. The diversity of life includes even unseen lifeforms and dull boring ones like 'weeds'.
Stream at Woodlands Park
And why should we care about 'weeds'? Why does biodiversity matter?

12 March 2010

What do you think about diving Singapore's reefs?

Share your thoughts and experiences in a brief survey of divers' perceptions of Singapore's reefs.
Photo montage of Singapore underwater
from the
I love SG Reefs Facebook page.

The survey is being done by Zeehan Jaafar and Neo Mei Lin. The survey aims to find out the perceptions of Singapore divers on local and regional reefs. All information provided will be kept strictly confidential and anonymous.

08 March 2010

New walk at the Wallace Education Centre Gallery

Learn more about our forests, from the 18th century until today and find out how you can play a part in biodiversity conservation!
Photo courtesy of Johnny WeeJoin the Wallace Education Centre Gallery walk.

05 March 2010

Save our Pangolins!

The pangolin is a little-understood creature that can still be found in Singapore.
Pangolin photographed in Singapore by Norman Lim. From Wildlife Singapore.

Sadly, this harmless beast may soon be poached out of existence.

04 March 2010

Jumping spiders' jig, counting colugos and more in the latest Raffles Bulletin of Zoology

Our jumping spiders in love: what do they do to attract a mate? The latest edition of the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology has a fascinating paper on this.

Sambar deer in our forest

We have Sambar deer in our forest! It is unfortunate that this came to light only because a deer was recently run down on our highway.
Photo from the Straits Times 4 Mar 10


What is the Sambar deer?

02 March 2010

2010 TeamSeagrass Orientation: 27 & 28 Mar (Sat & Sun)

Have you wanted to make a difference for our shores? Curious about seagrasses? And these wacky people who work on our seagrass meadows?
Want to get a glimpse of some of their adventures?

01 March 2010

Singapore BiodiverCity Photo Competition: Closing date 28 Mar

Attractive prizes just announced for this competition!
Click on image for larger view

Winning entries will be showcased in roving exhibitions around Singapore, including the World Cities Summit. What a great way to tell everyone that Singapore has wild places and wildlife!

Submissions close Sunday 14 March 2010. Closing date extended to Sunday 28 March.

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