Habitatsnoun, plural: habitats

(1) Place where an organism or a biological population normally lives or occurs.(2) The location or environment where an organism (or a thing) is most likely to be found, e.g. the body part of the host of a parasite as in the scalp of the host is the

habitat of a head louse.(3) The home to a particular organism where the species will attempt to be as adaptive

as possible to that particular environment.(4) The place being occupied by an organism, population, or community.

Primary Rainforest

Photo credits: http://www.ifimages.com/public/image/3338/view.html

Photo credits: http://room42.wikispaces.com/Rainforest+Vegetation

Primary Rainforest

• Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Botanic Gardens

• Original forest

• Never been cut or restored

• Full ceiling canopy, several understory layers

• Biologically diverse

Aspleniumtenerum var. retusum Pregnant Mother Moss

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Secondary Forests

Photo credits: http://www.theabreys.com/Past%20Updates.htm

Photo credits: http://www.runningmaps.eu/spip.php?article55

Secondary Forests

• Central catchment area, Bukit Batok Nature Reserve

• Areas that have been re-grown

• Lack of a full canopy, so light reaches the ground

• Results in thick undergrowth

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Little Maplet Spotted Wood Owl

Mangroves

Photo credits: http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/nis/bulletin2010/2010nis139-145.pdf

Mangroves

Photo Credits: http://chekjawa.nus.edu.sg Photo Credits: http://blog.asiahotels.com/appreciate-nature-at-the-sungei-buloh-wetland-reserve/mangroves/

Mangroves

• SungeiBuloh, ChekJawa, PulauUbin• Located in intertidal zones• Trees and shrubs growing in saline conditions• Flora often adapted to grow in anaerobic soil e.g. air

breathing roots

Bak White-chested Babbler

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Mangrove Pitta

Rocky Shore

Photo credits: http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg

Photo credits: http://chekjawa.nus.edu.sg

Rocky Shores

• ChekJawa, Labrador Beach, St John’s Island

• Usually set against a steep slope

• Ubiquitous large sedimentary boulders– Provide shelter for fauna

• Rock pools which are exposed during low tide

One horned Spider Crab Lukeh

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Coral Reefs

Photo credits: http://coralreef.nus.edu.sg/map.htm

Coral Reefs

Photo credits: http://limjunying.wordpress.com/tag/environmental-degradation/

Coral Reefs

• Southern Islands

• Support complex ecosystem

• Recent land reclamation caused destruction to the reefs

Green turtle

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Chaetodiademagranulatum