here are some videos on the beautiful coral reefs(:
videos from: http://youtube.com/

The beautiful coral reef is for us to keep.
We should help and hand-in-hand save ALL the coral reefs.
If everyone does their part, I believe that we all can help the coral reefs.

here is a view of the coral reef.
in the deep blue sea.
they ARE beautiful.
BUT they are endangered.
if you want them to last,
you need to conserve them.
if you don't know how to,
read the past posts they we have made,
through our archives or just by scrolling down.
THANK YOU for reading our blog.
and i hope you can be triggered to help save the coral reefs.
i believe that everyone has a part to play in the saving of these coral reefs.
WHY WAIT?
START TODAY(:
KAIYING<3
&
LISA:D

HELLO PEOPLE
I hope after reading this news article you'll all be inspired to save the coral reefs.

10,000 underwater hours to save corals

By Leong Ching Ching

Diver Toh Kim Kwee, 33, fought strong currents and weather to save living corals. "We had to carry chunks of coral, which weighed up to 30 kg on land, and at the same time, deal with strong current.

"The visibility underwater was poor and sometimes I had to use my hands rather than my eyes to do the work," he said.

For his involvement, he and 13 others received a certificate from Rear-Admiral (NS) Teo Chee Hean, Acting Minister for the Environment yesterday. Mr Toh, who represented the People’s Association Adventure Club, is a Navy officer. He was among 450 divers who gave up their Sundays over the past two years to look for healthy corais at PuIau Ayer Chawan.

The corals were plucked from Pulau Ayer Chawan, off Jurong. They were placed in tanks of seawater on two boats and ferried to Sentosa, about 1½ hours away. The corals had to go because of plans to turn the area around Pulau Ayer Chawan into a petrochemical hub.

The project was spearheaded by the Nature Society (Singapore) and funded by Hong Kong Bank, which donated about $51,000. In the rescue mission, the divers, all volunteers, made about 9,000 dives, spending more than 10,000 hours underwater.

For some, though, it was more fun than work. Chemical engineer Leong Kwok Peng, 38, said he went almost every month as he enjoyed diving. "It's shallow water, sunshine and a lot of fun," he said.

And how are the transplanted corals faring?

Mr Jeffrey Low from the National University of Singapore reef ecology study team, who is monitoring the corals, said: "The corals have some colour, which is a good sign but it will take at least a year to see if they will survive."

Source : The Straits Times, 5th June 1995

Save the corals!

Lisa:D

HELLO!
here is some information on an association.
Endangered Species Act of 1973:
Set up by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 is designed to protect and aid in the full recovery of all imperiled plants and animal species. It requires the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service to develop and carry out plans to recover and aid all endagered species in the United States and its territories. 1. The act prohibits any action funded, authorized or carried out by federal agencies from jeopardizing the existence of an endangered species. 2. The act prohibits anyone from harming, killing or uprooting an endangered species. 3. The act demands that decisionsin the listing (or delisting) process be based solely on biological data. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 gave more protection to 392 species that faced extinction. Since 1973, more than 550 species of animals and plants have been officially listed in imminent danger of extinction or threatened with extinction. Just 6 species have recovered: the Brown Pelican, the American Alligator,the Palau Dove, the Palau Owl, the Palau Fantail, and the Rydberg Milk-Vetch. Since 1973, 7 listed domestic species have been declared extinct. During the 1980's alone, at least 34 animal and plant species met extinction without ever receiving full benefit of ESA protection. More troubling is data that more than 300 species may have gone extinct while awaiting listing decisions. Today, there is a backlog of more than 600 severely imperiled species in Category I, warranting immediate protection. Over 3,500 more species exist in Category II: species suspected of being threatened or endangered, but about whom there is not enough information to qualify them for listing. At today's pace and level of funding, it could now take anywhere from 38 to 48 years to simply list those species now thought to qualify for protection. The "ecosystem approach" is championed by conservation biologists who believe that endangered species protection would better served through regional conservation of biodiversity. Based on the preservation of individual communities of species and their physical environment, the idea is that entire ecosystems could be set aside and protected, leaving myriad interrelationships among all organisms to flourish.
Save the coral reefs!
JUNESU:D

:::Saving a precious resource:::
We are working for healthy and well-managed fisheries, as well as for fishing practices that no longer negatively impact on marine habitats and other marine species.
What's the problem?
Unsustainable fishing - caused by poor fisheries management and wasteful, destructive fishing practices - is decimating the world's fisheries, as well as destroying marine habitats and killing billions of unwanted fish and other marine animals each year. As a result, the future of the fishing industry is under threat - as are already endangered marine species and habitats, and the livelihoods and food security of millions of people.
Many within the fishing industry are working towards healthy, sustainable marine ecosystems to provide a future for their livelihoods. WWF’s Global Marine Programme is working with these legitimate, proactive players, with the long-term aim that the world’s fisheries will be healthy and well-managed and that fishing will no longer negatively impact on marine habitats and other marine species. Bringing conservation into fisheries managementThe basis for our fisheries work is ecosystem-based management (EBM) - which aims to achieve sustainable exploitation of natural resources by balancing the social and economic needs of human communities with the maintenance of healthy ecosystems.Using the EBM framework, we are engaging with the fishing industry to:
Improve fisheries management
Reduce the impacts of fishing
Promote sustainably caught seafood
SAVE THE CORAL REEFS, every effort counts
JUNESU;P

HELLO(:
here are a few questions on the coral reefs.

Information from: http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/reef/Reefinsights/coral_reefs.htm

WHAT ARE CORAL REEFS?
ANS: Coral reefs are essentially massive deposits of limestone formed by the accumulation of countless hard coral skeletons over thousands of years. This massive framework which can be very thick, is built by coral polyps. Calcareous algae and organisms that secrete calcium carbonate also contribute to reef building. This limestone framework is riddled with many crevices and caves which provide habitats for over 3000 species of marine plants and animals.

WHERE ARE CORAL REEFS FOUND?
ANS: Coral reefs are found in the warm shallow waters of tropical seas (not below 18° C), roughly between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The shallow depths in which they occur allow sufficient light penetration (<50m) size="4">HOW DO WE HELP/SAVE THE CORAL REEFS?
ANS:
A good way of conserving reefs and yet using them, is to manage harvest or usage at a rate allowing natural replenishment and repair. Proper management is crucial for such sustainable use of reefs.
Marine parks and reserves are important to reef conservation. Management includes the zonation of reef areas allowing different levels of usage. Zones could be set up to allow different levels of usage. Zones could be set up to allow fishing, collecting, diving and snorkelling, research, while certain zones are set aside as sanctuaries and are totally closed to all activities.
Reef enhancement projects have been rather sucessful in speeding up the recovery of degraded reefs. Tyre and concrete artificial reefs as well as sunken derelict ships are presently being used to enrich reef resources, especially the fish populations.
Other forms of reef management include controlling fishing methods and frequency, setting up municipal and national legislation and educating the local communities on how they can manage their reef resources.

WHY DO WE HAVE TO HELP SAVE THE CORAL REEF?
ANS: The coral reefs supply man with a substantial amount of food. Reef-related fisheries annually contribute an estimated 9-12 % of the world's total fishery of 70 billion kg. Important food items from the reef are fish, sea-turtles, shellfish, squids, cuttlefish, shrimps, spiny lobsters, crabs, sea-cucumbers, algae and jelly-fish. Most of these are consumed by the local village communities in the region. They also support the large export industry for shells, hard coral skeletons and other ornamental products, which bring in substantial revenue for many Southeast Asian countries. Another large industry is the aquarium industry. Large numbers of fishes, other reef life like anemones, starfish, etc. and corals are collected to meet the increasing demand of marine aquaruim keepers. Naturally-occurring compounds of pharmaceutical importance may be extracted from certain reef organisms. Corals are also mined in many areas in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and the Philippines, for use as construction materials.
Coral reefs are valuable resources for recreation and tourism. Water sports like snokelling, SCUBA diving, spear-fishing, underwater photography are very popular. Reefs are important as natural laboratories for education and scientific studies. Research investigations on coral reefs have been invaluable in the understanding of their many intricate biological and ecological processes.
As natural breakwaters and wave buffers, they are very important in protecting shores against erosion. They also make large contributions of sand to the beaches. Atolls and barrier reefs or the ridges of fringing reefs which partially traverse bays from headlands help in the formation of sheltered harbours.

Have i all the questions that you need? Well, I hope i did! Don't hesitate. SAVE CORAL REEFS. START TODAY :D

KAIYING<3>

HEY THERE.
One to know more about the life on the coral reefs?
I bet you do!

Information from: http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/reef/Reefinsights/coral_reefs.htm

The reefs in Singapore have several zones typical of most reefs:
the shoreline gives way to the shallow reef flat which may vary in width and depth.
Often at very low tides, some parts of the reef flat are exposed to air and direct sunlight. Scattered about are small colonies of boulder-shaped knob corals (Favia), maze coral (Platygyra sp.) and sponges of different colours. Also seen on the reef flat are pockets of sandy areas, surrounded by lawns of large brown algae Sargassum sp. Bands of black sea-urchins gather in large numbers. This level also marks the outer edge of the reef flat, which gives way to the reef crest.

Marine life on the reed crest is at its richest with respect to productivity and diversity. Almost every group of coral is represented:
- brain corals (Family Mussidae)
-bubble-corals (Caryophyllidae)
-pore corals (Poritidae)
-mushroom corals (Fungidae)
-cauliflower coral (Pocillopora sp)
-cave corals and disc coral (Dendrophyllidae)
-table and staghorn corals (Acropora sp.)
-anemone corals
and many others!

Living among these corals are many other marine animals. Deep-purple coloured sea-anemones, with their symbiotic clownfish are a common sight. Crinoids (featherstars) are cryptic by day, and hide in coral crevices. Attached on the reef substrata are the sponges, sea-squirts (tunicates), feather-duster worms and stinging hydroids. The other more mobile reef residents are the cowries, coneshells, nudibranchs, shrimps, crabs and many others.

No other marine habitat supports such numbers or diversity of fishes as coral reefs. Most reef fishes adopt bright colouration, curious body shapes and habits. They not only add much vibrance to the reef, but are also important contributors to its productivity. The most prominent fishes in Singapore reefs, in terms of numbers and diversity, are the damselfishes (Pomacentridae) and wrasses (Labridae). Other colourful members are the copperband butterflyfish (Chelomon rostratus) and pygmy angelfish (Chaetodontoplus mesoleucus). Some of the reef fishes are important as food-fish. These include the groupers (Family Serranidae), snappers (Family Lutjanidae), scads and trevallies (Family Carangidae).

As the upper reef slope gives way to the lower reef slope at about 7 to 8m depth, the density of marine organisms decreases. Coral boulders are scattered, separated by coral rubble and sand. Occasionally, one comes across some sea-urchins, crinoids, gobies, goatfishes and mushroom corals, the Neptune-cup sponges and brilliantly coloured sea-fans.

The sea-floor near many reefs in Singapore are usually silty. Long sea-whips and soft corals are rather common. A few colonies of corals still grow.

Since there are so many different species of animals and fishes that use the corals as protection or shelter. See? One more reason to save these wonderful coral reefs ;D

KAIYING<3

HELLO EVERYONE.
we're finally back(:

Information from: http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/lab/reef/Reefinsights/coral_reefs.htm

THE CORAL REEFS IN SINGAPORE.
The coral reefs in Singapore are found skirting many of the islands south of mainland Singapore. These comprise fringing and patch reefs.

Since the mid 1970s, major land reclamation was carried out on the mainland as well as the offshore southern islands. Some 32 islands were reclaimed. The reef flats of many islands were also reclaimed right up to the reef slope. As a result, there was an increase in the water turbidity which drastically reduced sunlight penetration thus limiting the depth to which hermatypic corals can grow.

Contrary to the belief that our reefs have been permanently devastated, they still support rich marine life. Perhaps some species of fish, corals and others have been lost, but many still persist and are thriving well. The reefs in Singapore may boast of a record of 51 genera of hard corals (over 100 species). There is a good possibility of more being added as further surveys are carried out. This is comparable to the 44 genera recorded in Java; 46 genera along the east coast of peninsular Malaysia; 56 genera in Malacca and 61 genera in Phuket.

Our reefs also possess certain physical and biological characteristics which make them unique as compared to other reefs. Coral reefs in Singapore occur only in very shallow waters as marks opposed to reefs in clear waters, which are found at 40-50m depths. The high turbidity of our waters limit light penetration and reef life ends at a depth of only 12m, which the lower light limit for hermatypic corals.

As a consequence, the reef is very compact and a high diversity of corals and other reef life can be observed within a small area. Another advantage of shallower waters is that SCUBA divers in Singapore have less to worry when it comes to decompression.

After reading this, I hope all of you will help out in saving the coral reefs that are decreasing in number. DON'T FORGET! SAVE. THE. CORAL. REEFS.

KAIYING<3

Look.
We need to stop damaging our only life support system. A system on which, factually, we all depend (whether you recognize it or not).We need to share our world with all the other species that live on it. Respectfully. Harmoniously.And we must stop being the cause of their disappearance. Their extinction.We must also learn to live with what natural resources are available to us. It's not hard. It's not rocket science. It just means that in living, we must stop polluting. And poisoning. And being so outrageously wasteful.
Let's take a look at one of the main reasons why animals living in the coral reefs are endangered-pollution.
Over 80% of marine pollution comes from land-based activities
A staggering amount of waste, much of which has only existed for the past 50 years or so, enters the oceans each year.
From plastic bags to pesticides - most of the waste we produce on land eventually reaches the oceans, either through deliberate dumping or from run-off through drains and rivers. This includes:
-oil
-fertilizers
-solid garbage
-sewage
-toxic chemicals
OIL SPILLS cause huge damage to the marine environment - in fact, oil spills are responsible for only around 12% of the oil entering the seas each year. According to a study by the US National Research Council, 36% comes down drains and rivers as waste and runoff from cities and industry.Fertilizer woesFertilizer runoff from farms and lawns is a huge problem for coastal areas. The extra nutrients cause eutrophication - flourishing of algal blooms that deplete the water's dissolved oxygen and suffocate other marine life. Eutrophication has created enormous dead zones in several parts of the world, including the Gulf of Mexico and the Baltic Sea.
Several years ago a minke whale was found on a Scottish beach with 800kg of plastic bags in its stomach.
SEAS OF GARBAGE
Solid garbage also makes their way to the ocean. Plastic bags, balloons, glass bottles, shoes, packaging material - if not disposed of correctly, almost everything we throw away can reach the sea.Plastic garbage, which decomposes very slowly, is often mistaken for food by marine animals. High concentrations of plastic material, particularly plastic bags, have been found blocking the breathing passages and stomachs of many marine species, including whales, dolphins, seals, puffins, and turtles. Plastic six-pack rings for drink bottles can also choke marine animals.This garbage can also come back to shore, where it pollutes beaches and other coastal habitats.
SEWAGE DISPOSAL
In many parts of the world, sewage flows untreated, or under-treated, into the ocean. For example, 80% of urban sewage discharged into the Mediterranean Sea is untreated.This sewage can also lead to eutrophication. In addition, it can cause human disease and lead to beach closures.
JuneSu=P

HELLO BLOG-VISITING PEOPLE
more about corals... no such thing as too much information!

Corals are from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals. The group includes the important reef builders that are found in tropical oceans, which secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.

A coral "head", commonly perceived to be a single organism, is formed from thousands of individual but genetically identical polyps. Each polyp is only a few millimeters in diameter. Over thousands of generations, the polyps lay down a skeleton that is characteristic of their species. A head of coral grows by asexual reproduction of the individual polyps. Corals also breed sexually by spawning, with corals of the same species releasing gametes simultaneously over a period of one to several nights around a full moon.

Although corals can catch plankton using stinging cells on their tentacles, these animals obtain most of their nutrients from symbiotic unicellular algae called zooxanthellae. Consequently, most corals depend on sunlight and grow in clear and shallow water, typically at depths shallower than 60 m (200 ft). These corals can be major contributors to the physical structure of the coral reefs that develop in tropical and subtropical waters, such as the enormous Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland,Australia.

corals corals corals.... SAVE THEM!!!
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral
Lisa:D