Mangrove LQ

“To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.”

Siddhartha Gautama

Overview

1. Objectives

To be aware of the importance of mangrove forests
To learn from the resilience of mangroves

2. ASK

Attitude (Resilience)

Face changes and challenges courageously and positively
Recognise the value of perseverance towards achieving their goals

Attitude (Social Cohesion)

Value (and appreciate) others who may be different

Incidental Teachable moments

Being non-judgemental

Attitude (Concerned Citizens)

Appreciate the natural heritage of Singapore and recognise that everyone plays a part

Incidental Teachable moments

Being concerned about what affects the community

Knowledge (Resilience)

Challenges and failures contribute to learning and personal growth
We can take actions to manage difficulties and adapt to change
One can make choices to influence the circumstances

Incidental Teachable moments

Why it is important to be resilient, what it means to be resilient and how to be resilient

Knowledge (Social Cohesion)

Everyone is interdependent
Know that resilience, responsibility and care promote team work

Knowledge (Concerned Citizens)

it is important to take care of the environment
the cultural, historical and environmental significance of the places they visit during expeditions
Know the code of conduct for outdoor activities that minimises human impact on environment

Incidental Teachable moments

One’s actions can impact on others and the environment

Skills (Resilience)

Apply flexible thinking to manage uncertainty and adapt to diverse demands and challenges in new and unfamiliar contexts
Perseveres in problem-solving

Skills (Social Cohesion)

Influence others to work towards common goals in a team
Take the perspectives of others in the team
Tap on diverse strengths of the team members to achieve group goals

Knowledge (Social Cohesion)

Reflect on how one can better contribute to the improvement of the environment and community
Adopt practices that minimises negative human impact on the environment

Activity Guide - Mangrove

3. Conduct of Activity

Divide the watch into subgroups of 4 each
Dispatch the groups to the mangrove boardwalk to complete the Crossword puzzle within 30min
Reminders to observe park etiquette & ensure that the groups adhere to the set boundary and stipulated time
Share additional interesting facts as you go through the crossword puzzle

Mangrove Crossword

4. Clues and Answers to Mangrove Crossword:

Across [3]: The ______ makes the loudest calls in the mangrove. It does so by rubbing its ribbed plates, found on its abdomen, together. Males make these loud calls in order to attract females to mate. After mating, the females will lay their eggs and die.

Cicada. Cicadas are the only insects capable of producing such a unique and loud sound! Besides being a mating call, the sound protects the cicadas from birds who might prey on them. Some larger species can produce a sound so loud that it is approaching the pain threshold of the human ear.

Across [5]: I can survive even in the harsh conditions of the mangrove. I am a delicacy amongst locals and is also known as “chut-chut” due to the sound one makes when eating me. I am boiled and eaten by biting off the tip of the shell and sucking me out! I am a mud ______.

Creeper. The mangrove is a valuable source of food such that it has become one of its own greatest threats. Besides food like “chut-chut”, mangroves all over the world are suffering rapid decline due to shrimp and fish farming. Man-made invasions and clearance due to such aquafarming is one of the most pressing threats to mangroves today.

Across [6]: The mud ______ creates the mud moulds in the mangrove. As it digs, it releases nutrients that the other animals feed on. The mud mould is also drier than its surroundings, making it the perfect refuge for animals during high tide.

Lobster. The mud lobster is hard to spot since they are mostly never out of the ‘condo’ they built. Many animals can be found living in the “mud-condo” created by the mud lobster which may include snakes, crabs, ants, spiders and shrimps.

Across [8]: Special bacteria that can breathe without oxygen thrive in the harsh oxygen-poor mud in the mangrove. The bacteria release hydrogen sulphide which explains why the mud in mangrove is black and ______. These bacteria are in turn eaten by tiny animals which in turn are eaten by larger ones, forming a complicated food web

Stinky. Do you know that the mangrove soil traps carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases much better than any forest soil? They are necessary to help us reduce carbon emission and they do it much better than tropical rainforests!

Across [10]: Moths are usually ________. Some of us are too! They are often overlooked against their prettier, brightly -colored relative, the butterflies, who are more active during the day.

Nocturnal. Urban Myth Alert!!! There is an unsubstantiated observation that an unusually high number of Singaporeans born between 1980 and 1984 have Lepidopterophobia, or the fear of butterflies and moths!

Across [12]: The trees in the mangrove have special roots to cope with oxygen-poor mud. When the tide is low, small ________ on these aerial roots help to take in oxygen from the air. One of them is the Pencil Root which are erect roots sticking out of the mud, looking like pencils or straws. Can you spot them?

Openings. These pencil-like roots usually grow to be about 30-50cm tall. However, in some species, it can be as high as 3m in height.

Breathing Roots (Pneumatophores)

Down [1]: Mangrove trees act as _______ to prevent excess nitrogen, phosphorous and other contaminants from entering the ocean waters and the sea.

Filters. Underwater, a huge number of filter-feeders fasten onto the tangle of roots: barnacles, sponges, shellfish. These filter feeders clean the water of nutrients and silt. As a result, clear water washes out into the sea.

Underwater roots of mangrove trees absorbs nutrients from fish waste. (mothernature.com)

Down [2]: Mangrove plants contain a complex _____ filtration system and root system to help cope with the stresses caused by changing salinity of the water as well as varying levels of oxygen and water levels.

Salt. Mangrove plants are natural desalination plants because they have effective ultrafiltration at the root level which filters out as much as 90% of salt found in seawater. Some species excrete salt through glands in their leaves.

Salt glands in leaves of some mangove tree (asknature.com)

Down [4]: The ___________ are fascinating creatures that can breathe on land and water! They are fish that can climb up tree roots to rest and their large googly eyes allow them to see above water.

Mudskippers. Do you know that OBS conceptualised a craft called the ‘Mudskipper’ that is also amphibious in nature? On land, it carries all your load and in water, you can use it to paddle to your destination. Currently, it is not being used for MOE-OBS Challenge programmes.

Mudskipper

Down [7]: Mangroves is a natural and adaptable coastal defense that can help prevent rising sea levels, stabilize coastlines and prevent ________.

Erosions. Mangrove roots prevent mud and sand from being washed away with tide and river currents. A wall of mangrove trees can also reduce coastal erosion by absorbing the wind and wave energy of violent storms.

Click on picture to read article on New Straits Time.

Down [9]: Mangrove forests occur on low, muddy coastal swampy areas, mainly in the tropics. The tide is an important element in the mangrove because its trees and shrubs require tidal ________ water for growth and survival.

Brackish. Mangroves have a unique way of reproduction. The seeds of mangrove plants can all float and they have been known to bob along the buoyant sea waters. When they reach fresher, brackish water which is ideal for mangrove growth, the seedling turns vertical, so its roots point downwards!

Floating mangrove pods (from In Defense of Plants)

Down [11]: The Heavy Jumper Spider has ________ eyes! You can tell where it is looking by the color of the eyes. If they are black, they are looking at you; if they are brown, they are looking somewhere else. Each eye can move independently, so make sure to check all its eyes!

Eight. Jumping spiders do not have super legs, even though they can jump up to 50 times their body length! Instead, these creatures cause a change in their blood pressure to jump. They rely on their jumping abilities to catch their prey, and so there is no web necessary for this spider!

Heavy Jumper Spider

5. Debrief Questions

a. What are Mangroves?

Mangroves are tropical trees that grow in coastal saline or brackish water
They tolerate levels of salt that would be toxic to other pants by excreting this salt through their leaves.
They thrive despite twice-daily flooding by ocean tides; even if the water were fresh, the flooding alone would drown most trees. Growing where land and water meet, mangroves bear the brunt of ocean-borne storms

b. How do Mangroves survive under such hostile conditions?

Natural Desalination

Saltwater can kill plants. Mangroves filters out as much as 90% of the salt in saltwater as it enters their roots. Eg. Some species will excrete the salt through glands n their leaves.

Hoarding Freshwater

Mangroves store freshwater in thick succulent leaves Eg. Some species have a waxy coating on the leaves which seals in water and minimises evaporation.

Creative Breathing

Root systems that arch high over the water are a distinctive feature of many mangrove species. Eg. Pencil roots, stilt roots

Ready-to-Roll seeds

Seed pods germinate while on the tree, so they are ready to take root when they are done. If a seed falls in the water during high tide, it can float and take root once it finds solid ground.

c. Why are mangroves awesome?

Water filters

Help to filter pollutants from river water, trapping excess sediments before it reaches the oceans.

Carbon Powerhouse

They lock away many times more carbon in soil than a similar-sized rainforest.

Coastline Protection

Mangrove protect our coastlines from erosion and storm damage.

Nursery of Wildlife

The complex ecosystem sustains many species of wildlife.

Provider of Food and Resource

Mud creeper, “atap-chee”, prawns, wood, charcoal? The mangroves provide useful materials and food

Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Not convinced about how awesome mangroves are? Here's the most important reasons!

Do you know that bats help to pollinate the blooming flowers of durian trees? Durians only flower once or twice a year and only happens at night. Bats helps pollinate these night-blooking flowers and mangrove trees support the population of bats the rest of the year. So durian lovers should take note, your king of fruits depends on healthy growth of mangroves!

Despite wide-ranging benefits and importance, mangroves are being destroyed and degraded at an alarming rate all around the world. Around the tropics, mangrove forests are being cleared for aquaculture (fish and shrimp ponds).

Mangroves covered 13% of Singapore’s land area more than 200 years ago. Today, only about 700ha, or about 1%, remain.

6. Guiding Questions

i) Should we conserve mangroves?

ii) What will happen if we lose all our mangroves in Singapore to rapid development?

We will suffer the consequences of raising sea levels, erosion, increased carbon emission, disappearing wild lives and more! We will lose all the benefits that the mangrove brings to us and therefore suffer the consequences.

Remnants of Singapore Mangrove (source: Wild shores of Singapore website)

iii) What do you think Singapore is doing to conserve the mangroves?

Singapore is actively trying to expand our mangroves and growing more trees to tackle raising sea level. These include growing mangroves back in areas like Pulau Ubin, Tekong, Semakau and incorporating mangrove strips like the one here at Pasir Ris into our urban parks.

Mangrove Engineering @ P Tekong (source: Singapore Natural Blogger website)

iv) What can you do to help conserve our mangrove?

Visit the various mangroves with your family or friends and help them understand how awesome they are!
While visiting, take care of the mangrove by not throwing litter or disturbing the wildlife there. Leave nothing behind!
Whenever possible, look for sustainable alternatives to eating farmed shrimps and fish.
OBS Alumni organises Project IsLand-A-Hand (PIAH) that focuses on environmental conservation in Ubin and mainland Singapore. Activities can include coastal clean-up and weeding etc. Plan an outing with your friends and have fun doing meaningful work!

Mangrove planting @ Sundai Buloh Wetland (NParks)

7. Additional Information

Fact 1: Indonesia tops the worldwide list - largest amount of mangrove coverage. Read more here

Distribution of mangrove (in green) in South East Asia (Source: NASA Earth Observatory)

Read about our important natural heritage Mangroves: https://www.roots.gov.sg/stories-landing/stories/rainforests-by-the-sea-celebrating-singapores-mangrove-forests/story

Explore more on Mangroves and its flora and fauna at the NUS website: http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/contents.htm

Fact 2: The largest patch of mangrove area in mainland Singapore is found in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve – an ASEAN Heritage Wetland site

Sungei Buloh Wetland (Source: The Straits Time)

Reflection (Mangrove)

(with reference to ASK)

Having to navigate through a difficult situation in our life can be tough and challenging.
Are you facing a difficult situation in your life currently? Or do you know of someone in such a situation?
How are you coping? Or how is the person you know coping?
Can you deal with this current state that you are facing by adapting and displaying resilience to weather “storm and tidal conditions” like the mangroves? Or is the person you know demonstrating such traits?

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