sos newsletter - global seagrass monitoring … a table for depar-ture. from above... inside this...
TRANSCRIPT
1
The end product features a picture of an elongated Merambong shoal, with patchi-ness running through the middle section. Seeing is believing and getting it docu-mented from the air for the first time is a dream comes true. Most importantly, the aerial photography using remote control copter save cost! We can’t thank Adrian enough for making
this happen!
Aerial photography is usually obtained from a plane or heli-copter, and an expedition for such activity is costly. But on April 6, with the help of a Pro, SOS had managed to get a first glimpse of how Merambong seagrass bed looks like from above — using a remote-controlled copter . The master of this RemoteCAM Aerogra-phy is a 37-year-old ex-UPM veterinary graduate - Adrian Majani, who adopt the hobby three years ago. What’s interesting is, Adrian’’s aircraft is equipped with a high resolution camera to take snapshots in the air. Maneuvered by the skilled owner, the air-craft took off effortlessly and hovers at around 400 ft from the ground off the Merambong seagrass bed. Pei Yee, who volunteered for the SOS, helped snapped pictures from the remote-control based on what appears on the cctv screen.
(Left): View from
above, the Merambong
shoal extends in an
elongated shape.
Patchiness runs along
the middle portion.
(Below): Adrian and
Pei Yee setting up cctv
and a table for depar-
ture.
From Above...
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
From above 1
Bidding adieu 1
Coastal cleanup 2
Awareness cam-
paign
2
Community sur-
vey
2
Marine education 3
Latest 2008 sur-
vey schedule
4
Quirky creatures 4
SOS NEWSLETTERSOS NEWSLETTERSOS NEWSLETTER
V O L U M E 2 W W W W . S O S M A L A Y S I A . O R G 2 1 A P R I L 2 0 0 8 S P E C I A L P O I N T S
O F I N T E R E S T :
Read how RemoteCAM
Aerography was used
to generate bird’s eye
view of Merambong
seagrass bed.
The community survey
launched by SOS and
Raleigh International
rebuke claims from the
Comprehensive EIA
report.
Bookings can now be
made for June to Aug
2008 slots
Call for good pictures
for SOS species hand-
book. Contribution by
volunteers will be duly
accredited
The master (Adrian Majanil) & his aircraft.
Bidding adiéu Having volunteered for the SOS for close to two months since Feb 2008, Soon Pei Yee is all geared up to pursue her new line of in-terest. The fresh biology graduate from the Univer-sity of Washington is an all rounder who has the abilities to do virtually every aspect of SOS “chores”. In particular, she devel-oped the funding proposal for the man-grove boardwalk, being a great helper in the survey work and an accomplished poster designer and coordinated marine education programme at Ming Terk Primary school etc. and most importantly, keeping the
research station tidier than ever before. Pei Yee’s dedication and motivation have set a new standard for volun-teers. SOS is very privi-leged to have her, even for a very short term. We wish her all the best in her future undertak-ings.
A quick learner, Pei Yee took us home safely on her first boat driving lesson
2
Coastal Community Survey been approved by the State Department of En-vironment. The statistic also shows
that 88% of the respon-
dents have no desire to
live near the petrochemi-
cal industries and 89%
think that mangrove for-
est should be preserved
rather than being cleared
for the mega project.
The findings present a
contrast to the statistics
stated in the Compre-
hensive Environmental
Impact Assessment re-
port which claimed that
63% of the local resi-
dents gleefully low for-
On Jan 24-25, Raleigh
International volunteers
helped carried out a
questionnaires survey on
the coastal communities
in eight villages around
the Pulai River Estuary.
From a total of 70 local respondents inter-viewed, it was found that 82% were concerned that the petrochemical indus-tries may jeopardize their health. They also claimed that none of them were in-formed by the govern-ment officials about the possible adverse health effect when the project was proposed, and even after the project has
ward to the proposed pet-
rochemical industries.
Exhausted—but worth it! Plastic bags, bottles, tires, glasses and other marine debris weighed close to one
tonne were collected from the mangrove-fringed Tanjung Adang shoreline near Saujana Restaurant on 23 Januari 2008. The coastal cleanup activity was organ-ized by SOS in collaboration with the Raleigh International volunteers and some restaurant staff. The dense marine debris was believed to have been washed up to the shores due to the change in hydrology since the sec-ond phase reclaimation by the Port of Tanjung Pelepas took place in 2003. The marine debris is an eyesore that overwhelmed visitors and restaurant customers.
Coastal Cleanup
Scientific reports have lay out evidences of
petrochemical-related health impacts. In
most cases the victims developed tumours
or cancers which often resulted in death.
Prolonged exposure for residents who lived
within 3 km radius from the petrochemical
industries had significantly higher risk of
developing the deadly symptoms as shown
Awareness Campaign SOS collaborate with the Fishermen Association of Peninsular Malaysia(JARING) dan Friends of Nature (SAM) in creating poster awareness on the adverse health effects of petrochemi-cal industries which is planned at the river mouth of Sungai Pulai
Leukemia
Bone cancer
Brain cancer
Lung cancer
Preterm baby
Liver cancer
Symptoms caused by exposure to petrochemical
waste
3
P A G E 3
SOS volunteers, the programme
kick-started with slides presen-
tation and classroom interac-
tive activities. At 4pm, they
departed to the mangrove for-
est at the Second Link bridge.
The outdoor learning activities
encompass drawing, species
identification and observation,
which reinforced their learning
curves.
SOS also took the opportunity
to thank the Wetlands Interna-
tional, Johor National Park and
the helpful volunteers.
A mangrove education pro-
gramme was subsequently held at
the Sek Rendah Kebangsaan Ming
Terk in Gelang Patah targeting 24
school kids aged between 10-11
on the 2nd April.
Soon Pei Yee, the programme co-
ordinator, took the effort to con-
duct the programme in mandarin,
with full translation of mangrove-
associated terminologies down to
the species level.
With the help of the deputy head-
master, Ms. Chen, the school
teacher, Ms. Khor and a bunch of
Sek Rendah Kebangsaan Ming Terk (2 April 2008)
School kids listened attentively to Pei
Yee’s slides presentation
Sea cucumber, starfish, sea anem-
one, wing shells and seahorses
are some of the bountiful marine
creatures that thrilled students
and teachers from the Sek Menen-
gah Tanjung Adang when they
visited the Merambong seagrass
bed on 19 Mac 2008.
Launched by SOS in partnership
with the MNS and Seagrass-Watch,
and sponsored by the ABN AMRO,
the programme was aimed to
raise the awareness of the local students about
the importance of seagrasses.
The talk was coordinated by Choo (SOS) at the
school classroom. The participants aged between
15-16 were briefed on topics on seagrass identifi-
cation, importance and conservation, seagrass
invertebrates species and techniques associated
with seagrass monitoring,
A total of 15 students, 4 teachers and the school
headmaster then proceeded to catch the low tide
at the Merambong seagrass bed. With guidance
from the SOS staff, the monitoring activi-
ties were completed in less than an hour
and students began the second task to
document seagrass invertebrate species.
On the following day, the students did
some data analyses and presented their
findings. They also prepared the herbar-
ium samples of the different
seagrass species for display at
the school exhibition corner.
AT Sek Men Tanjung Adang (19-20 Mac 2008)
Left: Estimating seagrass percent
cover from a quadrat
Right: Preparing herbarium samples
Summary of observation
1. “Stu”—the local name for the
species Enhalus acoroides, had
an estimated coverage of 30%
2. In general, six seagrass spe-
cies were found: HO, HM, TH,
HU, SI (codes adopted from sea-
grass watch).
S O S N E W S L E T T E R
“In the end, we will
conserve only what
we love, and we
will love only what
we understand, we
will understand
only when we are
taught”
- Baba Duolm
(Left): Students and teachers alike were excited on seeing the diverse marine creatures at Merambong
4
Despite two and a half years of survey work at the Meram-
bong, our volunteers continued to discover new creatures,
some of which had never been seen by SOS scientist.
Last month we discovered a cluster of weird looking tubu-
lar jelly-like stuff that nestled on the seagrasses. At a closer
inspection, they were baby squids
inside each tube wrapped in trans-
parent membranes.
In March, the volunteers’ attempt
to sample the seahorses and pipe-
fishes using push net had sent shiv-
ers down their spine. What ap-
peared inside the net was a sea
snake. Sea snake possess deadly,
venom, though they rarely attack
human. The snake was released on
the spot.
There were large numbers of jellyfishes that came into the
estuary. We found these tiny, reddish little shrimps and
brittle stars living in the interior-cup of jellyfishes.
Perhaps the most interesting of all, our volunteer, Liew,
discovered a 6 cm pregnant pipefish, a species never before
documented in Malaysia. Identification work is underway.
Address: No. 90. Kg Ladang, 81560, Gelang Patah, Johor Bahru. Email: [email protected] Save Our Seahorses
http://www.sosmalaysia.org
Quirky Creatures
Squid
Date Time
(survey)
Time
(briefing) Program Activities 2008 Vacancies
JUNE
6 0645-0930 0600 Seahorse and pipefish tagging Open for 6 vacancies
7 0730-1000 0645 Seahorse and pipeifsh tagging Open for 6 vacancies
8 0745-1100 0700 Seahorse and pipefish tagging (visit to
Merambong) Fully booked by MNS Selangor
JULY
5 0645-0915 0600 Seahorse and pipefish tagging Open for 6 vacancies
6 0730-1000 0645 Seagrass monitoring at Merambong
(Seeking 3 facilitators)
Slot reserved for local secondary
school and fishermen group)
7 0815-1030 0730 Seahorse and pipefish tagging Open for 6 vacancies
AUG
3 0645-0900 0600 Seagrass monitoring (PTP) Open for 6 vacancies
4 0730-0930 0645 Seahorse and pipefish tagging Open for 6 vacancies
5 0745-0930 0715 Seahorse and pipefish tagging Open for 6 vacancies
Register online at: www.sosmalaysia.org/register.html
READ THIS PRIOR TO
BOOKING:
Plan properly and make
sure that you will be avail-
able for the slot.
If a particular slot is full,
you can still request to be
put on the waitlist.
The following participation
fees apply:
Newcomers: RM40
(working group) & RM30
(student)
In return you will get a T-
shirt, a badge and a certifi-
cate of participation,
Ex-volunteers (RM20)
* SOS reserves the right to cancel
trip with prior notice under un-
avoidable circumstances.
Announcem
ent
June to Aug 2008 is now open for booking
Dear Volunteers, SOS is looking for high quality digital images of species and scenery taken at Merambong for publication of a species handbook. Your contribution will be duly accredited. Kindly email the images to [email protected] by May 30.
Pipefish
Calappa sp.
A cluster of squid eggs
Baby squid in membrane
Sea snake (by Roland Tay)
“Shrimp in the jelly”
Partners and Sponsors: