Lecture 10 Managed Habitats Flashcards
(30 cards)
Aquatic habitats
Marine habitats: reclaimed land revetments
Concrete piers and moorings
Organisms found on sea walls:
Sea cockroach or sea slater, Ligia sp.
• Crustacean • Not insect • Related to crabs, shrimp, barnacles • omnivore
Organisms found on sea walls &
elsewhere: Barnacles
barnacles on baleen whale
baleen whales filter feed, meaning they open their gaping mouths wide and swim into the deep blue of the ocean, taking in whatever happens to get sucked into their mouth.
Reservoirs
newest reservoirs are Punggol and Serangoon
Reservoirs which are our 16th and 17th reservoirs
• By 2011, the water catchment area has increased
from half to two-thirds of Singapore’s land
surface with the completion of the Marina,
Punggol and Serangoon reservoirs
• all the major estuaries already dammed to create
reservoirs
Cattail Typha spp.
Monocots (1 cotyledon) • A.k.a. bulrushes • Stem and leaves make paper • Rich in starch can make into biofuel • Rhizomes and heart of stem edible • Pollen used in TCM • Native of America, Africa and Eurasia
Water hyacinth
Introduced from Hong Kong, then Botanic
Gardens and then grew in ponds to feed pigs
• Thrived in Kranji reservoir with high nutrient
input from pig farms
• Reproduces primarily by way of runners or
stolons, which eventually form daughter plants
• In temperate areas, seeds are produced and
maybe viable for more than two decades
he good pest? • Remove nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients, heavy metals, cyanide, arsenic • Destroy wetlands • Eliminate native aquatic plants • Reduce infiltration of sunlight • Change oxygen, pH of water • Restrict recreational use of waterways • Can double its mass every 5 day
Water hyacinth
In the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam the
water hyacinth’s stems are a source of fibres
• Form a braid or cord used for making bags,
footwear, wreaths, hats, vases, Christmas
lanterns, and more decorative materials,
baskets, furniture and paper
Water Spangle Salvinia molesta
Free floating
• S. molesta has been used to extract nutrients
and pollutants from the water.
• When dried out it is used as mulch (improve fertility)
• Produce spores but they are genetically
defective and do not produce viable offspring
Hydrilla verticillata
Tuber makes it difficult to remove
Broken pieces of plants can grow to become new plant
Terrestrial Habitats
Planting programme
Planting programme • Planting along roads, parks, gardens • Phase 1: planting over vacant areas asap • Phase 2: add colour • Phase 3: add fragrance • Current phase: mixed, massed planting
Streetscape plantings
Rain tree albizia
Rain tree Albizia saman
• Bean family
• Native of Northern S America
seed pod and seeds
Yellow flame (native
Native
• Grows on rocky and sandy shores
• Legume
• Well liked by horticulturists
Heritage trees
Chosen based on appearance • Age (at least 30 - 40 years old) • Height • Girth of at least 5 m • Botanical, cultural, historical and social significance or aesthetic value • Cannot be felled, no excavations around roots, installed with lightning conductors
Alexandra palm
Native to austrialia
Epiphytes
Dragon’s scales
Oak leaf fern
Litophyte
Plants that grow on hard surfaces like rock or concrete Mosses, figs, ferns • Barbula indica • Moss • No flowers or seeds • Spore capsules • No xylem vessels like vascular plants
Issues
Urban area
pang sua park connector Henderson Waves Highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore • Connects Telok Blangah hill park and Mount Faber Park • Forming part of the Southern ridges
National Parks Board
Newest park : Windsor Nature park
Parks
Vegetation similar to roadside plantings or streetscapes • Turf area much bigger • Contain recreational facilities for fitness, play, performance, historical artefacts etc • Less pollution • More ornamental plants • Cooler, more humid, wetter
Grass
Park turf area Tropical carpet grass or cow grass Axonopus compressus Manila or carpet grass Zoysia matrella widely utilized in golf courses Ideally one type of grass only
Problems posed by grasslands
Javan myna feeding ground, increase in their
numbers
• Potential vector of avian influenza H5N1 as
they come close in contact with humans
• Need constant cutting
– rise in fossil fuel consumption
– labour intensive
New park
Gardens by the Bay at Marina South
1.035 billion
101 hectares
Roof top gardens
Roof top gardens
• Harsher condition
• Need drought tolerant plants
• Strong wind, rain deluge
green roofs
Advantages – Cool building surface by 18oC – Reduced ambient temperature by 3oC – Reduce reflected glare by 15% • Extra cost on – Water proofing – Support the extra weight of plants, soil, pots etc – Water for irrigation – Maintenance of the plants
