Singapore: When corals come out to play…

Earlier this month, we had a real treat. We were invited by a very kind friend to help out in her research dives – to witness and study the annual coral spawning event.

Now, being avid divers, we were naturally very (VERY VERY) excited!

And on that balmy night, in the short stretch of reef fronting the Raffles Lighthouse, the corals did not disappoint. No sirree – they were all out to play! They rock and rolled, and put on a great show!

Check out Jeff’s amazing photos for an idea of the performance we enjoyed.

The corals came out to play!

The corals came out to play!

What happens during a mass coral spawning event is that parcels of egg and sperm are released by the corals. They float to the surface, where fertilisation occurs if they mix.

A microscopic larva then forms and settles on a hard surface, like a rock. It transforms into a sedentary coral polyp, which multiplies to form a colony. Only one in thousands of eggs completes this process, with the rest being eaten by fish and other marine life.

It’s not exact, but typically, corals spawn a few days after the full moon nearest to Good Friday. In Singapore, at least.

A closer look at the parcels being released

A closer look at the parcels being released

Pop, pop, a-popping!

Pop, pop, a-popping!

We had to mark the corals that were spawning using white ribbons attached to weights (lower right hand corner)

We had to mark the corals that were spawning using white ribbons attached to weights (lower right hand corner)

A group of researchers from different parts of the world were also there to study the coral spawning.

This goes to show that there is something amazing beneath the depths of the infamously murky Singapore waters. Something worth preserving; something worth saving.

Here’s Karenne’s video for more coral action:

Synchronous Mass Coral Spawning 2010, Singapore from Karenne Tun on Vimeo.

And I wrote about the researchers and the coral spawning too in my paper.

We’re all hoping to do our small little part in spreading awareness of the treasures we have.

Raffles Lighthouse

Raffles Lighthouse

All in, it was a great experience – something that will forever be a reminder to me about how wonderful nature is.

It was also a great night out with friends, some of whom we haven’t seen for a few months.

We are blessed.


Esther

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at 11:14 PMand is filed under Featured, Photoblog, Published articles, South East Asia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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