------ Forwarded Message
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:33:59 +0800
Subject: QE: Connectivity of Coral Reefs within the Singapore Strait (Tay
Ywee Chieh, 11:30AM, SR4, 27/11)


Department of Biological Sciences, NUS
Qualifying Examination







Connectivity of Coral Reefs within the Singapore Strait


Speaker : Tay Ywee Chieh (Graduate Student, Department of
Biological Sciences, NUS)
Date : 27 November 2008, Thursday
Time : 11:30 AM
Venue : Seminar Room S4 (SR4) S2-0205
Supervisors : Dr. Peter Todd
Prof. Chou Loke Ming


Abstract:

The coral reefs in Singapore still support a good diversity of marine
organisms despite being deleteriously affected by more than three decades of
anthropogenic impacts, mainly land reclamation and dredging works that have
resulted in the loss of up to 60% live coral cover. Ongoing reef
restoration works, that are both labour and cost-intensive, are
unsustainable in the long-run if there is no natural recruitment of coral
larvae to maintain populations. It is therefore important to study the
dispersal patterns of coral larvae released from Singaporešs Southern
Islands to determine whether local coral reefs are self-seeding and
ecologically self-sufficient, or externally-seeded from neighbouring reefs
such as those on the northern coasts of the Riau Islands in Indonesia. At
the current rate of economic development in Singapore, there is an urgent
need to strike a balance between land use and marine environmental
conservation, especially as there is still no national policy on coral reef
management. I will be using hydrodynamic models to predict dispersal
patterns of coral larvae released from the Southern Islands and molecular
analyses to elucidate the potential connectivity of reefs within the
Singapore Strait. Knowledge of the key sources and sinks of coral larvae in
Singapore will allow for prioritization of conservation efforts and more
effective management of the reefs.

All Are Welcome


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