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Supporting home-based self-regulated learning for secondary school students: An educational design study
Echinoderms are an important phylum in the ecology of marine ecosystems and also hold great scientific interest and, for some, commercial significance and potential. However, few studies have investigated echinoderm community assemblages in Singapore. This study aimed to examine the community structure of intertidal echinoderms on the shores of Singapore, namely, Coney Island, Chek Jawa, Pasir Ris Park Beach, Changi Beach, Tanah Merah Beach, East Coast Park Beach, Lazarus Island, St. John’s Island, Small Sister’s Island, Pulau Hantu, Tanjong Rimau, and Berlayer Creek. At each survey site, three replicate belt transects measuring 10 m × 5 m were established. Echinoderms encountered within the transects were identified and enumerated. From this study, 29 taxonomic groups of echinoderms were encountered, representing all five classes of echinoderms. Multivariate analyses (that excluded Ophiuroidea and Crinoidea) showed community clusters distributed in five geographical regions, namely, Northern Islands, Northeast, Southeast, South and Southern Islands. Analysis of Similarity indicated that echinoderm communities in the Northeast locations were significantly dissimilar from the Southeast, South and Southern Island communities, respectively. Similarly, Northern Island and Southern Island communities were significantly dissimilar (p < 0.001). Analysis of environmental factors suggested that the echinoderm community clusters could be explained by the percentage of silt/clay in sediments. Similarity, percentage analyses indicated that the holothuroid taxa, Holothuria scabra, Cercodemas anceps, Colochirus quadrangularis, and Phyllophorus spiculata, and the echinoid, Arachnoides placenta, contributed to the clustering pattern of echinoderm communities along a North–South direction. The abundance and community data presented in this research could serve as a baseline for future studies on echinoderms in Singapore.