Mangrove As A Bioindicator.....

for pollution in our water. So what actually happened?

Today, I attended a Mangrove workshop conducted by Dr Jean Yong at RMBR. He had gone to Lim Chu Kang to collect some Bakau Minyak (Rhizophora apiculata) for today's workshop. The first thing that he showed us was this;


Hmmm...I have never seen a pinkish mangrove seedling before...what could it be?

Dr Yong told us that this is a mutated mangrove seedling. This is an INDICATION by the mangrove that the water in that area is NOT Good! It is POLLUTED! It could be due to oil leakage or heavy metals contaimination in the water.

As the fruits of this tree start develop and grow while they are still attached to the parent tree. Dr Yong said it's like a pregnant mother exposing to bad stuffs (eg radiation/second-hand smoking) and the baby gets affected. Thus, the baby of this tree has mutated as the parent tree is being exposed to pollutants.

Here's a pic showing a mutated seedling and a healthy one which should be green.