Chek Jawa

Chek Jawa

At first, when I heard of Chek Jawa, I thought that it is in Indonesia or maybe, Malaysia. But after searching on the Internet, I found out that it is actually in Pulau Ubin, Singapore. Chek Jawa is a gem of marine wildlife. Located at the eastern tip of Pulau Ubin, Chek Jawa is a collection of six distinct habitats - coastal forest, mangroves, sand bars, sea grass lagoon, rocky shore & coral rubble.

Coastal Hill Forest
The hill overlooking Chek Jawa is covered with trees and plants that shelter and feed a variety of animals. Many of these plants and animals are no longer commonly seen on mainland Singapore.

Mangroves
The mangroves of Chek Jawa have many interesting plants and animals. Mangrove trees have unusual shapes and properties as they are adapted to being covered in seawater at high tide and to grow in soft mud.

Rocky shore
Chek Jawa is among the few places left with a natural rocky shore, gravel beach and other interesting rock formations.

Sandy shore and sand bar
The shore teems with tiny crabs which, if undisturbed, go about their amusing antics at low tide. The sand bar is the backbone of Chek Jawa and provides a home for all manner of intriguing creatures.

Seagrass lagoon
A calm, shallow lagoon lush with seagrasses and seaweeds form behind the sand bar. Here, a rich variety of marine creatures shelter during the low tide. First-time visitors are often stunned by the carpet anemones which are bigger than your face and come in a stunning variety of colours.

Coral Rubble Area
The coral rubble area near the front beacon is probably the richest part of Chek Jawa and also the most fragile. Rarely exposed, even at low tide, this area shelters delicate sea creatures that prefer to be submerged most of the time.

The living thing that I liked the most is the sea stars. The knobbly sea star is larger than your face (up to about 30cm across). These gorgeously coloured sea stars are indeed the Super Stars of Chek Jawa. They come in shades of red, orange and beige. On Chek Jawa, these spectacular sea stars can be rather numerous at times in the coral rubble area. They are also sometimes seen on the northern arm of the sand bar and in the seagrass lagoon.

Knobbly parts: Knobbly sea stars are not venomous, although they are often brightly coloured and covered with dangerous-looking knobs, nodules and spines. They are also called the Giant Nodulated sea star, Horned sea star or Chocolate Chip sea star. They have thick, triangular arms. Although their arms appear stiff, these can bend quite extensively. Knobbly sea stars are mostly red, but sometimes, white or brown ones are encountered on Chek Jawa. Blue or green ones have been recorded in the past. Their knobs may be black or brown and come in various patterns and arrangements. Like other sea stars, they have tube feet emerging from the grooves under their arms. These tube feet can be bright red or purple!

Knobbly food: The Knobbly sea star prefers to eat snails and clams, but will also eat sponges, soft corals and other small creatures. It is also reported to eat algae and scavenge on dead creatures.

Knobbly Babies: Like other sea stars, Knobblies practice external fertilisation. Eggs and sperm are stored in their arms and released simultaneously into the water. It is reported that they gather in large numbers to spawn. Like other sea stars, Knobblies undergo metamorphosis and their larvae look nothing like the adults. The form that first hatches from the eggs are bilaterally symmetrical and free-swimming, drifting with the plankton. They eventually settle down and develop into tiny sea stars.

Human uses: Knobbly sea stars are harvested from the wild for the live aquarium trade, often selling for only a few dollars. In captivity, they are unlikely to survive long without expert care.

Status and threats: In the past, Knobbly sea stars were among the most common large sea stars of Malaya. They are now listed among the threatened animals of Singapore. Chek Jawa is among the few places left in Singapore where they can be seen regularly.