[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – Twenty new species of animals have been recorded at Pulau Ubin so far, as part of the first comprehensive study of biodiversity on the rustic island in the northeast of the continent.
Discoveries include Piranthus sp., a species of spider new to science, found in secondary forest near the island’s coast.
Researchers who combed the island during the survey also found six other animal species recorded in Singapore for the first time, as well as 13 other never-before-known animals found at Pulau Ubin.
The findings of the first Ubin Comprehensive Biodiversity Survey (Cubs) were announced by National Development Minister Desmond Lee on Friday (September 25), ahead of the ninth Ubin Day on Saturday.
The event has been held since 2002 to celebrate the island’s rich natural and cultural heritage dotted with quarries. Due to the Covid-19 situation this year, a series of talks will be held online on a variety of Ubin-related topics, such as the history of the island and its rich mangrove habitats.
“The unique biodiversity found in Pulau Ubin is fascinating,” Lee said in a Facebook post.
“Let us continue to preserve and treasure the rustic charm and natural beauty of Pulau Ubin,” he added.
The survey findings will allow the National Parks Board (NParks) to update Pulau Ubin’s biodiversity baseline data and its species inventory.
Piranthus sp.For example, it has been seen in other parts of Singapore and in Brunei before. But those were wrongly classified as belonging to a different gender.
It wasn’t until the spider was found in Pulau Ubin during the survey and closely examined by researchers that it was determined to be a completely new species that had yet to be described in the scientific literature.
Other new animal species found in Singapore for the first time during the survey include the ruby-cheeked sunbird, named for the blush on the face of adult males, the swamp tiger butterfly and four other species of spiders.
Khew Sin Khoon, who runs Singapore’s Butterfly Circle citizen science blog that documents Singapore’s butterflies, told The Straits Times that the swamp tiger butterfly, in a serendipitous discovery, was found on Butterfly Hill in Ubin.
“The swamp tiger is quite rare even in Malaysia and is mainly found in mangrove habitats like Kuala Selangor. My theory is that it also exists in the mangrove areas of Johor, and somehow it was able to fly to Ubin,” he said.
As the offshore island is a convenient “pit stop” between West Malaysia and Singapore, researchers occasionally find species that drift toward Ubin. New records for the tiny island include three species of bats: the black-bearded grave bat and the Horsfield’s long-legged bat. and Javanese pipistrelle, and birds such as the buck-rump woodpecker, as well as species of butterflies, dragonflies, and damselflies, and grasshoppers, crickets, and grasshoppers.
The Ubin Comprehensive Biodiversity Survey, which includes field studies conducted by scientists and naturalists across the island for various groups of animals, began in January 2018 and is still ongoing.
Since then, field studies have been completed for certain groups of animals, including reptiles, amphibians, birds, butterflies, spiders, and orthopterans, including grasshoppers, crickets, and grasshoppers. Surveys are being conducted for other groups of animals, including phasmids (leaf and stick insects), mammals and moths, and are expected to be completed by the end of this year.
More than 200 NParks staff members, researchers from the National University of Singapore, and citizen scientists from nature groups such as the Nature Society (Singapore), Herpetological Society of Singapore and the Butterfly Circle have participated in more than 165 field surveys that make up Cubs .
Mr Khew said: “NParks’ ongoing biodiversity surveys are a good platform to connect experts and citizen scientists to collaborate on field research. The surveys are important to increase our knowledge of our local habitats and to be able to discover and learn more about Flora and fauna. “
On Friday, Lee also announced plans to make the rustic island greener.
As part of the One Million Trees movement, an initiative announced earlier this year that would see one million trees planted in Singapore over the next decade, 16,000 trees of more than 70 native species will be planted at three sites in Ubin.
Currently, the sites, which total an area of 16ha, are covered with invasive plant species and do not support a great diversity of wildlife.
Removal of invasive species and replanting areas with native trees will provide additional habitats for local biodiversity in Ubin, such as mouse deer, Sumatra palm civet, leopard cat, Sunda pangolin, and several species of birds, bats and butterflies, to thrive. NParks said.
These wildlife species have been observed to use reforested sites as new habitats for roosting and feeding.
[ad_2]
