Population study on the freshwater crabs in Nee Soon swamp forest, Singapore.

• Main Author: Woo, Chia Mun.
• Other Authors: School of Biological Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/53808
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Nee Soon Swamp Forest (NSSF) is the only place left in Singapore that houses the highest concentration of freshwater flora and fauna. Two out of four freshwater crab species found here are endemic and in low abundance. Therefore, study was carried out on these freshwater crabs to provide a baseline data, so as to develop a long-term monitoring system for future conservation effort of these species. Study was performed by hand and trap sampling in eight sites for four cycles. All four species were encountered in this study, with Parathelphusa maculata (P. maculata) as the most abundant species appearing at most sites, followed by Parathelphusa reticulata (P. reticulata), Irmengardia johnsoni (I. johnsoni) and Geosesarma peraccae (G. peraccae). Water pH and temperature readings were seen to increase from Site 8 to Site 1. Richness test and Shannon-Wiener index showed that Site 3 held the highest crab species diversity. No crabs were encountered at Site 1 throughout the entire study. Crab abundance was also seen affected by rainfall. Results from this study would serve as a baseline data for future conservation efforts on these freshwater crabs.