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Adapted picture from Wikimedia Commons - Bernard Dupont: The endangered Tiger Cowrie species
#DidYouKnow about half of Singapore’s cowrie species have eroded through the years due to habitat loss and over harvesting of their attractive shells?
The Tiger Cowrie (Cypraea Tigris) species has been deemed endangered locally and it is now “exceedingly rare” to sight them even though they have been found on Singapore’s reefs in the past. This is also a far cry from its healthy populations in the Indo-Pacific region.
#YouShouldKnow that cowries play important roles in the marine ecosystems! Beyond their beautiful shells, cowries help to control algae growth by feeding on them, thereby contributing to healthier coral reefs and habitats. They’re also part of the marine food chain; helping to maintain equilibrium in the marine ecosystem.
While there have been efforts to restore these endangered cowries in the past, attempts have been unsuccessful. This has changed – because for the first time, a team of marine biologists from the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute managed to breed the Tiger and Arabian cowries in the lab! The team had successfully recreated conditions suitable for the settlement of the cowries larvae, overcoming one main contributor to the high mortality rate of Tiger Cowries -- algae growth on their shells. There were eight Tiger Cowries which survived to adulthood out of the approximate 360 larvae. This was by no means an easy feat for the team who had 25 failed attempts over 10 months prior to this.
Indeed, these promising results signify a push for the development of farming methods for the sustainable production of cowries for future research, conservation, and the aquarium trade.
#Singapore #Conservation #MarineLife #NUSResearch