Sarawak are Inaugural Champions - Sime Darby Plantation

Kehidupan HijauGreenLivingMangrove Brigade:Getting Down and Dirty WithMud LobstersMoh points out that the mud lobsters he brought were both female.Bp Moh menunjukkan bahwa kedua udang laut lumpur yang dibawa adalah betina.he humble-lookingcreature commonlyTknown as mud lobsterwas the subject of thepenultimate class of theMangrove Brigade on July 29,2009 that was held at theMangrove Research Centre inCarey Island. Humble as itmay seem, the crustaceanmanaged to poke thecuriosity of each member ofthe Brigade who was eagerto learn more about themangrove ecosystem’snative.Although all Brigademembers reside on theisland, some had never seenthe crustacean before. It hasa bit of resemblance to thelobster but it definitely doesnot offer the same taste as aregular lobster. The mudlobsters are found rathereasily in mangrove forests inMalaysia, though they aremore likely to be treated aspests rather than a source offood.On hand to teach thestudents on thecharacteristics, the habitsand habitat of this creaturewas Mr. Moh, a PhD studentfrom Universiti Malaya, whois currently writing his thesison mud lobsters.His enthusiasm towards thesubject had seeminglybrushed on the Brigademembers who were evidentlycurious to know about thecontents of the two plasticcontainers that he brought into the classroom. The plasticcontainers that Moh broughtespecially for the viewing ofthe children actuallycontained mud lobsterswhich had already beencleaned.The children were told thatwhile mud lobsters are animportant part of themangrove ecosystem, theywere also regarded as pestsdue to their burrowing habit.The tunnels that theyburrowed in the bundsaround Carey Island hadknown to have cost thecompany a whopping amountof between RM1 and 1.5million in maintenance cost.Universiti Malaya which iscollaborating with R&DCentre in the Carey IslandBiodiversity Project came upwith a proposed solution touse biological measures tocontrol the damaging effectsof the mud lobsters’ activitiesto the bunds by plantingvertiver and cynodon grass.After a rather lengthy lectureabout the maincharacteristics, habitat andtaxonomy of the creature,the Brigade members wereall smiles when Moh askedthe class to gather round toview and also to hold the twolive specimens he brought inthe plastic containers.Having heard the lengthybriefing and seen thespecimens, the children werelater taken to the mangrovearea where traps had earlierbeen placed to catch mudlobster. The idea was to showthem what mud lobsters looklike in the wild and they werenot disappointed when fourmud lobsters were caughtfrom a dozen or so traps setby Moh and his team.Moh showing off a freshly caught mud lobster to the excited children.Bapak Moh memperlihatkan udang laut lumpur yang baru ditangkap kepada anak-anakyang terlihat sangat gembira.40.Seedlink July - October, 2009