Best of our wild blogs: 29 Mar 13

1 Apr (Mon): Talk on "Lessons from Chek Jawa" by N. Sivasothi
from wild shores of singapore

Seabed Survey (21 Mar 2013)
from Mega Marine Survey of Singapore

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Why heartlanders should not be left green with envy

Liew Kai Khiun Today Online 29 Mar 13;

I am heartened that work has started on the incorporation of the 9.8-hectare forested site along Tyersall Avenue into the Botanic Gardens.

I am also reminded, though, that several other natural sites in Singapore will not be sharing the same protection in the immediate future.

While the latest land use plans have envisioned more connectivity to green spaces, where 85 per cent of homes will be within a 10- to 15-minute walk from a park, residents and conservationists have been concerned about the impending loss of rich ecological spaces.

These include the Pasir Ris green belt and the Punggol knoll.

In this respect, I wonder what determinants the authorities use in prioritising and allocating land for conservation.

From looking at the satellite images of Singapore on Google maps, one would see an uneven spread of green spaces around the Bukit Timah estate, where the residential population density is relatively low.

In contrast, in the densely populated heartlands of Pasir Ris and Punggol, one would mainly see greyish building shapes.

Even as Singapore is lauded as Asia’s greenest city, with 66 sq m of green area per person, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the internal disparity is obvious.

A public housing dweller in Potong Pasir, like myself, has significantly less green space than those living in Bukit Timah, with its convenient access to golf courses, parks and reservoirs as well as sports fields around the area.

For me, the gap will probably widen when the former Bidadari Cemetery is redeveloped into residential housing.

While the discussion of inequality in Singapore has often been framed in monetary terms, one must not lose sight of other variables of inequality — in this context, spatial and ecological inequalities.

It would be sad if only the minority can enjoy more natural forests and world-class botanical gardens, while heartlanders have to crowd in artificially manicured neighbourhood parks with sparse natural vegetation and tree cover.

As much as the Tyersall site brings much greenery to residents of Holland Road, the same can be said for the Bidadari woodlands, Pasir Ris green belt and Punggol knoll for ordinary Singaporeans.

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Lead and learn

The number of volunteer guides at museums, parks and wildlife reserves here is rising
Kezia Toh Straits Times 29 Mar 13;

If spending your weekends attending lectures, reading and conducting mock exhibition tours sounds like fun rather than work, you may want to sign up as a docent at museums, parks and wildlife sites here.

Docent means "to teach" in Latin. If you love animals, nature, art or history and want to spread that love to others, you can join training programmes to lead guided tours once or twice a month around museums and the zoo.

More and more people are volunteering to be docents, says Friends of the Museums president Elaine Cheong, 60, who oversees more than 500 docents, 20per cent up in numbers from three years ago.

The non-profit group of mostly women run a $500 six-month training programme where one must attend lectures and tours and write research papers before he can be certified as a docent at five museums and heritage institutions run by the National Heritage Board.

These are the Singapore Art Museum, Asian Civilisations Museum, Peranakan Museum, National Museum of Singapore and the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall.

The training fee is borne by the docent.

The docents also serve the Singapore Tyler Print Institute, which does not come under the board, and they will start guiding at the Malay Heritage Centre in May.

They may do "soapbox guiding" when the museums offer free admission to Singaporeans and permanent residents from May 18, helping to ease traffic from a potential spike in visitor numbers.

"Rather than taking hordes of visitors along and crowding the gallery, we could station docents in various parts of the gallery and visitors go to them instead," she says. She adds that the group is prepared to put up more tours if there is a massive influx of visitors.

Hers is the largest group serving museums run by the board. The other two groups are the Museum Volunteers - a newer and smaller group with mostly Singaporean guides - and one with the Preservation of Monuments Board, which promotes an appreciation of national monuments.

Overall, volunteer numbers of the three groups have risen from 530 in 2011 to more than 900 as of January, said a spokesman for the National Heritage Board.

Volunteer numbers at the National Parks Board have grown too by a third from 2011. More than 800 people help out for free at public parks and gardens with activities such as guided tours and conservation programmes, says director of conservation Wong Tuan Wah, 56.

Those with a passion for animals can volunteer at the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and Jurong Bird Park. They have a total of 154 docents, up from just 30 in 1997 when the docent programme started, says Ms May Lok, 51, director of education at Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

It is looking to introduce tours in Mandarin and get more retirees to become docents.

Heritage sites such as the Sultan Mosque in Arab Street and Baba House along Neil Road are also docent hot spots.

The programme at the Sultan Mosque was started in 2002 to counter the problem of visitors attending tours handled by tour agencies which sometimes gave "inaccurate information" such as bowing in the wrong direction during prayer, says the mosque's executive officer Asmawi Said, 59.

Today, 10 docents conduct tours at the mosque, up from just two in 2002 when the programme started, he says. Most are female retirees aged 60 and above.

A half-day training gives guides information on the mosque's history and, most importantly, do's and don'ts - such as wearing proper attire and not shouting. "After all, this is a place of worship and we have to protect its sanctity," says Mr Asmawi.

The five-year-old docent programme at the Baba House - a heritage house showcasing Straits Chinese culture managed by the National University of Singapore Museum - is one of the newest here with 19 guides.

The ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands, which opened in 2011, employs 14 full-time, paid docents. It is the only organisation here to pay its docents. It declined to reveal how much they are paid.

It offers a career to docents as they are in the frontline, delivering the best museum experience, says associate director Ross Leo, 36.

He adds: "It is important that our docents have a passion for the creativity at the heart of art and science - and for sharing it with others."

keziatoh@sph.com.sg

SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF ANIMALS

Spreading the message of conservation often hits a snag when visitors ask zoo docent Rachael Lim if a specimen is for sale.

Sometimes, they also ask if a specimen, such as the horns of an antelope, should be better used as medicine instead.

"It is difficult to persuade them otherwise," says the 24-year-old docent with a sigh. She frowns on poaching as animals are killed to harness their medicinal benefits. Antelope horns, for example, are used in Chinese herbal medicine to disperse heat.

Getting through to young children is the best way, says Miss Lim, who is single.

For example, she fishes out specimens, such as lion and cheetah skulls and leopard skin, for children to touch and feel, while more mischievous youngsters put their heads in the big cats' jaws.

"When they touch and interact with these specimens, they feel closer to the animals and view them as creatures to be protected," she says.

The laboratory officer at the Health Sciences Authority has spent the past three years volunteering at the zoo, going back to her undergraduate days reading chemistry at the National University of Singapore.

She volunteers at the big cats and reptile stations every Sunday and leads tour groups of up to 20 visitors.

Another perk of her weekend job: She shadows a keeper at the reptile station, checking on lizards and snakes to ensure they are well-fed.

She says: "Reptiles are amazing. They gradually get used to people and, as long as I stay calm, they feel it and will fall asleep in my arms."

While these slithery creatures may strike fear in those who do not know them well, they awaken in her an instinct that is almost maternal.

She explains: "They cannot speak and need someone else to express on their behalf that they are creatures surviving alongside humans."

DOCENT PROGRAMMES

Wildlife Reserves Singapore

What: Docents are based at the Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari and Singapore Zoo.

Training: A $150 eight-week programme to equip docents with knowledge on animals and wildlife conservation and public presentation skills. They must also complete a group project.

Commitment: Once a month for a year. Go to education.zoo.com.sg/docent.html

Preservation of Monuments Board

What: Guides conduct special tours of national monuments such as the Sri Perumal Temple and the former Cathay Building (now The Cathay).

Training: A $200 three-month programme to equip guides with knowledge about Singapore's built heritage and issues surrounding preservation, as well as guiding skills.

Commitment: One year. Go to www.pmb.sg.

Friends of the Museums

What: The 35-year-old non-profit group serves National Heritage Board museums such as the Asian Civilisations Museum, National Museum of Singapore and the Peranakan Museum.

Training: A $500 six-month programme of lectures, research papers and following tours of qualified docents.

Commitment: A year's guiding at the museum where the docent is trained. E-mail office@fom.sg.

Museum Volunteers

What: A non-profit group that gives visitors guided tours at National Heritage Board museums.

Training: A four-month programme on guiding skills and etiquette, history of building, lectures and gallery walk-throughs by curators. The training fee for the Peranakan Museum and Singapore Art Museum is $200; training is free for other museums.

Commitment: Once a month for a year. Go to sites.google.com/site/museumvolunteers

ArtScience Museum

What: Full-time paid position to guide visitors around travelling exhibitions at the museum.

Training: Three months, including full museum orientation, written assessments and shadowing senior docents. Free.

Baba House

What: Docents take visitors around this heritage house, containing National University of Singapore Museum's Straits Chinese collection.

Training: A four-month programme including lectures, walking tours and workshops. Trainees do research on Peranakan culture, Baba House and its Neil Road neighbourhood and write papers. Commitment: One year. E-mail babahouse@nus.edu.sg for price and details.

National Parks Board

What: Volunteer guides take visitors around parks such as Fort Canning Park, Singapore Botanic Gardens and the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, sharing information about their flora and fauna.

Training: Varies, depending on location. Free.

Commitment: At least four times a year. Go to www.nparks.gov.sg/volunteer.

Sultan Mosque

What: Multilingual docents guide visitors in English, Malay, Japanese and Chinese around the mosque, which dates back to 1824.

Training: A half-day free training programme detailing the history of the mosque, do's and don'ts at a place of worship and public speaking tips.

Commitment: At least twice a month.

Call 6293-4405 for details.

HELPING THE DEAF ENJOY ARTSCIENCE EXHIBITS

A hearing-impaired group touring the ArtScience Museum's Titanic exhibition a year ago received a pleasant surprise when senior docent Gina Soh signed to them in response to their questions.

Although a sign-language interpreter was present, the 35-year-old former social worker - who attended a year-long sign-language course at the Singapore Association for the Deaf - could answer questions directly.

"It really helps to build rapport with the visitors: I can relate more to them and they learn more," says Ms Soh.

She leads the Marina Bay Sands museum's only tours in sign language, conducted on request from visitors.

She started working with the docent programme - a full-time paid position - two years ago, a change from her previous work helping the disabled find jobs. Ms Soh, who is single, leads about seven tours a day.

"It is an opportunity for me to meet people from all over the world and share experience that goes beyond reading the label next to the artefact," she says.

For example, New York-based artist Nathan Sawaya, whose Lego sculptures are showcased in the museum's ongoing The Art Of The Brick exhibition, visited last year. He related to Ms Soh the personal anecdotes behind each piece, which she now passes on to her tour groups.

These include the story behind the artist's 6m-long T-Rex skeleton sculpture and which part of the dinosaur he found the most challenging to construct from Lego bricks - its rib cage.

She says: "It is through passing on these little stories that I feel like an ambassador of sorts, which is very fulfilling."

SELLING HISTORY TO SCHOOL KIDS

Mr Poh Lip Hang, 28, relishes being a museum guide so much that he sometimes takes leave from his civil service job to conduct tours.

The assistant director at the Competition Commission of Singapore uses his days off accumulated from overseas work trips and about a third of his annual leave to be a guide at the National Museum of Singapore.

He volunteers with non-profit organisation Friends of the Museums, where taking charge of school groups is his favourite part of the job, particularly as expatriates, many of whom volunteer as docents, are often not keen on leading local students.

"Local kids are more reserved, so sometimes expat guides are a little worried because it is hard to draw them out," he says.

To engage them, Mr Poh designed a guiding method: throw leading questions to elicit responses that lead students to their own conclusions.

He pauses at a portrait of Sir Stamford Raffles, for example, and asks: "Is he an important man?" "Look at what he is wearing - is he local or from the Western world?" From there, students are led to probe deeper into history, such as the role of Raffles.

"There are many ways you can sell a story," explains Mr Poh, who is single, and started guiding two years ago during his undergraduate days reading economics and business at Singapore Management University.

However, guiding youngsters through the highs and lows of the nation's history comes with its challenges, says the docent, citing how he led a group of lower primary pupils this month through the museum's prized funeral hearse exhibit belonging to the late philanthropist Tan Jiak Kim, when a boy turned pale and burst into tears.

"After this, I learnt that with young kids, we have to be very sensitive with artefacts that feature death," he says.

Now, he guides once a month at the National Museum and heads its student programmes.

The interactions on the job - with both young and old - keep him going. He says: "Older Singaporeans share interesting anecdotes growing up here during the 1950s and 1960s. I learn about their perspectives of Singapore and through them, see how Singapore came to be."

SPREADING HIS LOVE FOR MARINE LIFE

He may be only 16, but Choo Yi Feng can steer visitors expertly through mangroves that dot the Chek Jawa wetlands, pointing out mudskippers, sea snails and worms.

Four years ago, when Yi Feng - then a Primary 6 pupil at Yu Neng Primary - led his first tour through Chek Jawa on Pulau Ubin, his father had to be a chaperone.

Today, the Dunman High School student is no longer the "nervous and trembling" guide of before, he declares.

The National Parks Board volunteer guide now leads tours once a month, although the school holidays in June and December see him on the island - a one-hour bus and bumboat ride from his home - as often as five times a month.

He conducts tours for groups of about 15 people and, two years ago, even guided President Tony Tan.

Yi Feng's love for sea animals was sparked by a visit to Underwater World as a child and, after that, the aspiring marine biologist eagerly read up on sea animals.

"I enjoy understanding the relationship between marine plants and their surroundings, like how a sea hibiscus releases sweet water on the underside of its leaves to attract ants to protect it," he says.

Unlike artefacts in a museum, the changing face of nature makes each tour different, he adds. "Once, I got really excited when someone on my tour spotted a small mud-coloured octopus, which is a rare find," he says.

His young age, he is quick to add, is no barrier to being a guide. "I just try to sound professional," he says.

But he is sometimes stumped by the barrage of questions visitors fling his way, such as one who quizzed him on the relationship between a clownfish and sea anemone.

His strategy is to explain as much as he knows. As for the rest, he says: "It is up to me to hit the books and read up on what I don't know."

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Best of our wild blogs: 28 Mar 13

Hantu Blog Celebrates 10 Years!
from Pulau Hantu and Yellow-lipped sea krait

Red Junglefowl Third Brood
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Thu 28 Mar 2013: 1pm @ NUS LT14 – “How much is that doggy in the window?” from Otterman speaks

Wed 10 Apr 2013: 7.00pm @ NUS Museum – Frank Bucks’ “Tiger Fangs” from Otterman speaks

APP suppliers allegedly slashing forests and peatlands in Indonesia, despite new 'no deforestation' policy from Mongabay.com news by Rhett Butler

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Hazy conditions expected in Singapore over next few days: NEA

Channel NewsAsia 27 Mar 13;

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) said hazy skies in Singapore are due to more hotspots in the northern South-East Asian region experiencing the traditional dry season.

"This has led to an increased concentration of particulate matter such as dust particles in the air over the region, including Singapore," it said in a statement, adding that weakening winds over Singapore in the past few days have added to the current hazy situation.

The NEA said the PSI as of 4pm on Wednesday is in the good to moderate range of between 39 and 53.

The hazy condition is expected to persist over the next few days, and NEA will continue to monitor the situation.

- CNA/xq

Overseas hot spots contributed to haze: NEA
Grace Chua Straits Times 28 Mar 13;

SMOGGY skies the previous two nights were not just due to Tuesday's shipyard fire at Jurong and the blaze that gutted several motorcycles at Hougang.

Rather, dust particles and other particulate matter have drifted over from hot spots in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, which are going through their dry season, said the National Environment Agency.

"With the weakening of winds over Singapore in recent days, the accumulation of increased particulate matter in the air could have led to the current hazy condition," explained an NEA spokesman.

Winds are light and variable during the current inter-monsoon period between the North-East and South- West monsoons, which typically lasts from late March to May.

At 4pm yesterday, the PSI, a measure of air pollution, was between 39 and 53, in the good to moderate range. The level of PM2.5, or very fine particulate matter, was between 25 and 39 micrograms per cubic metre.

While those levels did not trigger any health advisories for the general population, those who are unusually sensitive to haze should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion, the NEA said.

The hazy condition is expected to persist over the next few days and NEA will continue to monitor the situation, said a spokesman.

Mr Dave Liew, a 43-year-old artist, complained of a scratchy throat and headaches since Monday.

"It's like an assassin," he said. "It gets you before you can actually see it."

Air quality readings and health advisories are available at http://www.nea.gov.sg/psi, or at the Weather@SG website http://weather.nea.gov.sg, on Twitter @NEAsg, by calling 1800 CALL NEA (1800 2255 632), or via the myENV iPhone or Android app.

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Indonesia: Tainted Turtle Meat Kills at Least Three Kids, Poisons Hundreds in West Sumatra

Jakarta Globe 27 Mar 13;

At least three people have died and hundreds more were sickened after consuming toxic turtle meat in Mentawai Island, West Sumatra, a local news portal reported on Wednesday.

Rijel Samaloisa, deputy mayor of Mentawai, told news portal Vivanews.com that three children — a 3-year-old, an 8-year-old and an 11-month-old – died after eating the tainted meat on Tuesday night.

“The first victim died this morning [Tuesday] and the other two passed away in the afternoon. The latest information, a child aged 7 years old, is in critical condition at the Tuapejat Regional Hospital,” Rijel said.

He said residents of a fisherman’s community in the Sao hamlet of Bosua village, South Sipora, ate turtle that had been caught on Sunday. The deputy mayor added that some victims died because their families could not seek treatment in time.

“People were [sick] on Sunday but they were not directly taken to get medication,” he said.

All of the poisoned survivors have since received medical treatment, Rijel said, adding that they were admitted to Tuapeijat Hospital and Sioban community health center.

Sindonews.com reported that limited access to the village hindered the ability to seek treatment for the sickened villagers, as the only means of transportation which can accommodate many people at once is a boat with an outboard engine. Soa hamlet is located at the southern part of Sipora island and it can take up to two hours in good weather to reach the district health facilities. The regional hospital could take up to four hours to reach from the village, which has no mobile phone coverage, according to the portal.

Rijel said this was not the first time Mentawai people were sickened after consuming turtle meat.

“People have never learned, there were similar cases like this in the past,” he said.

Vivanews.com reported that 36 people on the island were poisoned from turtle meat on March 16.

Mentawai Island Health Office head Warta Siritoitet said there were four cases of poisoning from turtle meat in the past year in Mentawai.

Rijel said that the Mentawai administration would issue a mandate to prohibit the consumption of turtle.

“People will be prohibited to eat any kinds of turtle. We will distribute [a circular about the ban] in the mosques, churches, governments offices and other places,” he said.

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Solomon Island villagers kill another 70 dolphins

Solomon Star 28 Mar 13;

MORE than 70 dolphins were reportedly killed by Fanalei villages, Malaita, last week.

Sources from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources revealed this to Solomon Star yesterday.

One source said that a team from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources was last week sent to observe and assess the people’s ongoing traditional hunting practices.

“More than 70 dolphins were hunted and killed last week when we (Fisheries team) were there,” the source said.

“There were in-fact two traditional hunts that took place-the first hunt I believe they caught around 40 dolphins,” he said.

When asked about the current dolphin ban, the source explained the ban only applies to life export,

“Traditional dolphin hunting is a way of life of many people in our coastal areas. The ban doesn’t apply to them but it restricts them to a certain number of dolphins caught during a particular hunt,” the source said.

He added that the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources is now currently working on a dolphin management plan to help restrict the number of dolphin catches in particular traditional hunts.

“We are now working on a management plan which will then be implemented and made aware to our coastal people.

“This will safeguard our dolphins stock,” he said.

This latest killing is likely to infuriate animal rights groups who have recently condemned the killing of up to a thousand dolphins in recent weeks.

The villagers kill the dolphins for their meat and teeth.

By Jeremy Inifiri

Related posts
Dolphin slaughter affecting Solomon Islands tourism Campbell Cooney and Sam Bolitho Radio Australia 30 Jan 13;

700 dolphins slaughtered in Solomons money row Campbell Cooney ABC 24 Jan 13;

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US regulators under fire over bee-toxic pesticides

Kerry Sheridan (AFP) Google News 28 Mar 13;

WASHINGTON — US environmental regulators are under fire from beekeepers and conservationists who say they are failing to vet risky pesticides that put people and valuable crop pollinators like bees in peril.

On Wednesday, the Natural Resources Defense Council issued a scathing report of the Environmental Protection Agency's record of using a loophole to allow more than 10,000 "untested or under-tested" pesticides on the market.

That followed a lawsuit brought last week by several beekeepers and environmental groups, accusing the EPA of failing to protect pollinators and challenging practices that speed to market about two-thirds of all pesticides.

The suit seeks to suspend the EPA registrations of pesticides that have been identified as toxic to bees.

Pesticides in a family called neonicotinoids are believed to contribute to colony collapse disorder, a mysterious plague that has killed off about 30 percent of bees annually since 2007.

The two pesticides highlighted in the federal district court suit are clothianidin and thiamethoxam, both of which were first used heavily in the mid-2000s, around the time that the bee die-offs began worldwide.

Last year, France banned thiamethoxam, found in a pesticide made by Swiss giant Syngenta, after research showed it shortened bees' lifespans.

A handful of European countries have restricted or banned neonicotinoids but the European Union earlier this month failed to reach a consensus on the issue.

In the case of clothianidin, Bayer CropScience was granted conditional registration from the US EPA in 2003.

It has been used widely to treat canola and corn seed. Nearly all of the 92 million acres of corn seeds planted annually in the United States are coated with these pesticides, said Larissa Walker of the Center for Food Safety, one of the parties bringing the lawsuit.

"A lot of the farmers feel that it is difficult for them to find seeds these days that don't contain a neonicotinoid product," she told AFP.

The EPA approved the pesticide but said Bayer had to submit a field study of the effects on bees by 2004.

"Unfortunately the field study that Bayer handed in was not only late by several years but was poorly conducted, and had some serious flaws in it," said a senior scientist at NRDC, Jennifer Sass.

A separate study by Purdue University in 2012 showed clothianidin-coated seeds contaminated farm machinery with as much as 700,000 times a bee's lethal dose of pesticide.

"Nonetheless, EPA continues to rely on the Bayer CropScience studies only that failed to find harmful effects on bees," Sass told reporters.

In response, Bayer CropScience said it "has no concerns about the quality of the field study in question" and that the NRDC claims "are incorrect and unwarranted with regard to bee health," according to a statement sent to AFP.

Environmental groups say a congressional loophole dating back to 1978 has allowed the EPA to approve more than 10,000 pesticides with minimal testing.

This "conditional registration" was meant for rare cases -- such as a disease outbreak or a public health crisis -- but instead has been used for 65 percent of the 16,000 pesticides on the market, the NRDC said.

Mae Wu, an attorney at NRDC, said the EPA was not tracking the conditional registrations properly and that supposedly temporary pesticides were falling into a "black hole."

The EPA said it "does not comment on pending litigation."

However, it defended the practice of conditional registration, saying 90 percent of the pesticides approved that way are identical to or differ just slightly from products already on the market.

The EPA also said it is "accelerating the schedule for registration review of the neonicotinoid pesticides because of uncertainties about these pesticides and their potential effects on bees."

The NRDC urged the EPA to review all its conditionally registered pesticides, cancel the registration for clothianidin and a germ-killer known as nanosilver, and start a publicly searchable database of approved pesticides.

Neonicotinoid pesticides 'damage brains of bees'
Rebecca Morelle BBC World Service 27 Mar 13;

Commonly used pesticides are damaging honey bee brains, studies suggest.

Scientists have found that two types of chemicals called neonicotinoids and coumaphos are interfering with the insect's ability to learn and remember.

Experiments revealed that exposure was also lowering brain activity, especially when the two pesticides were used in combination.

The research is detailed in two papers in Nature Communications and the Journal of Experimental Biology.

But a company that makes the substances said laboratory-based studies did not always apply to bees in the wild.

And another report, published by the Defra's Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), concluded that there was no link between bee health and exposure to neonicotinoids.

The government agency carried out a study looking at bumblebees living on the edges of fields treated with the chemicals.

Falling numbers

Honey bees around the world are facing an uncertain future.

They have been hit with a host of diseases, losses of habitat, and in the US the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder has caused numbers to plummet.

Now researchers are asking whether pesticides are also playing a role in their decline.

To investigate, scientists looked at two common pesticides: neonicotinoids, which are used to control pests on oil seed rape and other crops, and a group of organophosphate chemicals called coumaphos, which are used to kill the Varroa mite, a parasite that attacks the honey bee.

Neonicotinoids are used more commonly in Europe, while coumaphos are more often employed in the United States.

Work carried out by the University of Dundee, in Scotland, revealed that if the pesticides were applied directly to the brains of the pollinators, they caused a loss of brain activity.

Dr Christopher Connolly said: "We found neonicotinoids cause an immediate hyper-activation - so an epileptic type activity - this was proceeded by neuronal inactivation, where the brain goes quiet and cannot communicate any more. The same effects occur when we used organophosphates.

"And if we used them together, the effect was additive, so they added to the toxicity: the effect was greater when both were present."

Another series of laboratory-based experiments, carried out at Newcastle University, examined the behaviour of the bees.

The researchers there found that bees exposed to both pesticides were unable to learn and then remember floral smells associated with a sweet nectar reward - a skill that is essential for bees in search of food.

Dr Sally Williamson said: "It would imply that the bees are able to forage less effectively, they are less able to find and learn and remember and then communicate to their hive mates what the good sources of pollen and nectar are."

'No threat'

She said that companies that are manufacturing the pesticides should take these findings into account when considering the safety of the chemicals.

She explained: "At the moment, the initial tests for bee toxicity are giving the bees an acute dose and then watching them to see if they die.

"But because bees do these complex learning tasks, they are very social animals and they have a complex behavioural repertoire, they don't need to be killed outright in order not to be affected."

The European Commission recently called for a temporary moratorium on the use of neonicotinoids after a report by the European Food Safety Authority concluded that they posed a high acute risk to pollinators.

But 14 out of the 27 EU nations - including the UK and Germany - opposed the ban, and the proposal has now been delayed.

Ian Boyd, chief scientist at Defra, said: "Decisions on the use of neonicotinoids must be based on sound scientific evidence."

He said that the results of the Fera bumblebee study suggested that the extent of the impact might not be as high as some studies had suggested - and called for "further data based on more realistic field trials is required".

Dr Julian Little, communications and government affairs manager at Bayer Crop Science Limited, which makes some of the pesticides, said the findings of laboratory-based studies should not be automatically extrapolated to the field.

"If you take an insecticide and you give it directly to an insect, I can guarantee that you will have an effect - I am not at all surprised that this is what you will see," he explained.

"What is really important is seeing what happens in real situations - in real fields, in real bee colonies, in real bee hives, with real bee keepers."

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Best of our wild blogs: 27 Mar 13

President Tony Tan visits RMBR for a Last Hurrah too!
from Raffles Museum News

Random Gallery - Cycad Blue
from Butterflies of Singapore

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More reliable forecasts with new climate centre?

Research centre will focus on Singapore's tropical conditions
Grace Chua Straits Times 27 Mar 13;

IS IT possible to predict monsoon storms more accurately? How will climate change affect rainfall in Singapore?

The new Centre for Climate Research, which opened officially yesterday, will tackle these questions, before advising agencies on managing water resources and flood risks, for example.

The centre, which is part of the National Environment Agency's Meteorological Service, will be led by senior British researcher Chris Gordon, the former head of the UK Met Office's Hadley Centre, Britain's climate research arm.

One of its first priorities will be to work on Singapore's second climate-change vulnerability study, the first phase of which is expected to be done by late 2014, said Dr Gordon, who begins as director on April 15.

It will use the latest climate models to update the first such study, started in 2007, to improve the reliability of predictions.

The centre will also study poorly understood tropical weather systems which have unique features such as thunderstorms caused by convection - hot moist air rising and forming clouds.

The centre, located in Paya Lebar, hopes to produce seasonal weather forecasts. For example, while February is normally warm and dry, a monsoon surge made last month exceptionally wet. Researchers hope to predict such unusual patterns ahead of time.

"The single biggest issue is to explain uncertainty in a way that doesn't cause people to lose confidence. People don't want a range of outcomes - they want the outcome," Dr Gordon said.

The centre, which will cost between $7 million and $8 million a year to run and have a staff of 25, is part of national plans to build climate science capabilities, and focus on Singapore's tropical climate.

It was first mooted in 2011, a year after intense rain caused flash floods across the island, including the Orchard Road shopping district.

The director-general of the Meteorological Service, Ms Wong Chin Ling, said: "There is a common misconception that climate change and environmental issues are a problem for the distant future.

"The reality is that preparedness must begin in the present."

New Centre for Climate Research aims to improve weather prediction
Dylan Loh Channel NewsAsia 26 Mar 13;

SINGAPORE: Singapore has a new Centre for Climate Research, which aims to improve weather prediction for the country. It was officially opened by Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

The centre also plans to advance scientific understanding and forecasting of the climate over the wider Southeast Asia region. It is the first in the world to use high resolution computer models do this.

Dr Chris Gordon is the centre's director and will lead a core team of research scientists to look into weather simulation.

The centre will also network with overseas and local experts to ensure that latest scientific developments are incorporated.

-CNA/ac

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Dengue set to worsen with 3 active strains

Trend points to outbreak worse than 2005, when 25 people died
Salma Khalik Straits Times 27 Mar 13;

SINGAPORE'S dengue fever epidemic has entered its 12th week and is looking serious.

There are three strains of the virus that are almost equally active, and this is a rare occurrence.

As a result, weekly infection cases are at a six-year high, and more than double the figures seen in the first three months of the last three years.

Experts fear that if these trends continue, this year's outbreak could be worse than in 2005, when 14,000 people fell ill and 25 died.

So far this year, more than 3,100 people have been infected by the mosquito-borne disease, with a quarter landing in hospital. There have been no deaths so far.

Last week, 308 people were diagnosed. Usually, there are fewer than 100 infections a week this early in the year.

Latest figures from the Ministry of Health show that the long dormant Den-3 strain of the virus has resurfaced, and was responsible for 33 per cent of infections last month. The Den-2 strain - the most common strain since 2007 - made up 39 per cent, and the Den-1 strain accounted for 26 per cent.

Dengue sufferers develop an immunity to the particular strain they contract that usually arrests further spread of the disease.

As the Den-3 strain has stayed low key for more than a decade, people in Singapore do not have immunity to it, said internal medicine specialist Doshi Mukund of Parkway East Hospital.

To make matters worse, the presence of three strong strains means a dengue sufferer who recovers can more easily be re-infected with a different strain.

"Those who have been exposed to previous two viruses and contract the new virus will be at risk of having a more severe disease," said Dr Mukund.

Clinical director of the Communicable Disease Centre Leo Yee Sin noted that the two newly-active strains - Den-1 and Den-3 - are infecting more than half the patients.

"This requires close monitoring," she said.

Historically, dengue epidemics come in five-year to seven-year cycles, with each peak significantly higher than the previous one.

Experts expect this year's numbers to rise further, as dengue cases usually peak during the hotter months of May to July.

"There is typically a lag period from the wet months to the peak of the dengue cases," noted Dr Indumathi Venkatachalam, an infectious diseases expert at the National University Hospital.

If this is the lead-up to the usual mid-year highs, then the number of infections this year could exceed Singapore's worst outbreak in 2005. That was the only time weekly infections topped 300 a week this early.

A Health Ministry spokesman said yesterday that although the number of infections is up, the number of people with haemorrhagic fever is low and nobody has died.

The biggest hot spot is Tampines, where 167 people are down with it.

Responding to queries, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said it is stepping up ground-level checks nationwide to spot and eradicate potential mosquito breeding grounds.

At the two biggest clusters - both in Tampines - NEA's search and destroy operations "are being extended to another 20 blocks outside each cluster zone to create a wider buffer to prevent further spread of the virus".

As a preventive measure, it will also send more than 60 officers to check homes and outdoor areas of about 100 blocks of flats between these clusters.

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4 vessels catch fire at shipyard, man injured

Joyce Lim Straits Times 27 Mar 13;

A MAN had to be rescued last night after four vessels caught fire at a shipyard.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) rushed to Tanoto Shipyard, off Shipyard Road, after being informed of the blaze at around 9.20pm.

Officers arrived to find four vessels on fire, all berthed alongside each other. Some were believed to be tugboats.

One of the vessels was fully engulfed in flames and eventually sank.

The man was rescued from the blaze with burn injuries and taken to the Singapore General Hospital.

It took the officers 90 minutes to get the blaze under control, an SCDF spokesman told The Straits Times. Four fire engines, two Red Rhinos, six supporting vehicles, two ambulances and two marine fire vessels were deployed.

The SCDF used eight hand-held water jets from the fire engines and two foam monitors from one of the marine fire vessels.

It is not known how many people were on the vessels that caught fire, or the cause of the blaze.

The SCDF was still conducting secondary rescue operations at press time.

Man injured in shipyard blaze in critical condition
Leong Wai Kit Channel NewsAsia 27 Mar 13;

SINGAPORE: A man injured in a blaze at a shipyard in Jurong is in critical condition, with 38 per cent burns to his body.

Singapore General Hospital (SGH) says the man was admitted to its burns unit early Wednesday morning.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said the fire broke out at Tanoto Shipyard at around 9.15pm on Tuesday.

Four vessels, berthed alongside one another, were on fire.

One of the vessels was fully engulfed in flames and sank.

- CNA/ir

Tugboat blaze: Three still missing
Jalelah Abu Baker Straits Times 28 Mar 13;

THREE men were still missing in the waters off Jurong yesterday, after a blaze destroyed four tugboats the previous night.

Rescuers in three craft fanned out to look for the three foreigners, who are believed to have been on the tugboats at Tanoto Shipyard in Jurong.

They are from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, which is coordinating the search and rescue mission, and the Police Coast Guard.

Meanwhile, the tugboats lie in ruin.

Surveying the scene from a boat off the shoreline yesterday, The Straits Times saw the charred remains of part of three vessels, as the rest had sunk under water.

The fourth tugboat vanished under water on Tuesday night, soon after the fire broke out at about 9pm.

Firefighters took around seven hours to put out the inferno, whose cause is not known. It had started on one tug boat and spread swiftly to the other three which were also in the ship repair yard in Jalan Samulun.

Four foreign crew members were injured in the fire, two of whom are in critical condition at Singapore General Hospital (SGH). One suffered 30 per cent burns to his body and the other, 40 per cent burns to the body, said an SGH spokesman. Both are unconscious and on ventilator support.

Of the other two, one has burns and the other, a suspected fractured finger and cuts. They were warded at the National University Hospital.

Three of the injured crewmen were in a vessel that was passing near the fire.

They were ferried by a Police Coast Guard craft to the Police Coast Guard Gul Base nearby, and then taken to hospital by the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

The National Environment Agency, whose officers were checking for pollution in the area yesterday, said that except for isolated patches of light oil sheen, the waters were clear. Tanoto Shipyard had cleared the oil.

Driver Rajaraman Suresh, who works at a nearby shipyard, said he heard an explosion at about 8.40pm on Tuesday.

"It was scary. The ground shook and we were all told to leave. I could see thick, black smoke, and there was a strong burning smell," the 30-year-old said.

Additional reporting by Eugene Chua

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