IMROVING AQUATIC HABITAT

Liu Xiaolei

As a result of urban development, the coastal habitat is fragmented and isolated which disrupts aquatic ecosystem process and decrease water quality. This project aims to create a new aquatic habitat to improve existing conditions. I choose the certain species – seabass as the project’s starting point -

As there is an abundance of them living here in marsh lagoon behind mangrove areas, serving as a protection for mangrove roots. But now the number of seabass is decreasing drastically. This project is located in a part of the industrial zone in Sungei Pandan area next to drains where fishes inhabit. This area has potential to be connected to the remaining mangrove zone that allows fauna to move through.

The first strategy of this project is to imitate aquatic habitat working process by providing different habitats for different growth stages of seabass that serves as food and shelter for aquatic animals. By creating a spawning area which satisfies the condition for seabass to grow with shallow water with low flowing speed and fine-grained substrate, this will allow related plant species to flourish.

The second strategy is to create fish nursery area, by planting new mangrove as shelter and food source for the juvenile fish. The design slows down the water speed by changing the water topography, planting of new mangroves and removing a part of the industrial area to let water in.

The last strategy of this project is to improve the connection between nature and urban environment by adding educational area and building a long path that extends into the mangrove for people to see the whole aquatic ecosystem process.

With the creation of new aquatic habitat, not only strengthen the ecological function, but also enhance the connection of the existing habitat, this provides a new habitat for seabass to regenerate that positively improves the conditions of all related coastal species.

Marine Habitat And Speices

Habitat Isolation Map

Strategy 1 Create Spawning Area

Satisfy the condition for seabass to spawn，shadow water with low speed, finegrained substrate, related plant and species

STRATEGY 2: CREATE FISH NURSERY AREA

pLanT neW mangroVe as sheLTer and food sourCe of juVeniLe fish tide fine - grained substrate tidal mangrove

Costal forest Coconut tree

Taliparti tiliaceum Mangrove cannon

Before Before After After high tide low tide high tide low tide quick

DIRECTION quick current slow current stable current

Detritus :mangrove leaves and dead organism year 0

STRATEGY3: IMPROVE THE DRAIN

mangrove speices year 20 tidal swamp speices coastal forest speices buffer speices urban speices

Terminalia catappa L. Barringtonia racemosa (L.) Spreng. base(stone) bioretention

Mallotus paniculatus

Manihot carthaginensis

Solanum melongena Macaranga gigantea

Barringtonia inophyllum Samanea saman Calopyllum inophyllum

Casuarina equisetifolia Pandanus tectorius

Cerbera manghas

Horsfieldia irya (Gaertn.) Warb. Sindora wallichii Benth.

MLA publication_Helen edit.indd 160-161 2018/2/28 14:33:27